You can rent a bike and ride down the old PA Turnpike. It's a bike trail now. When I was a kid, we'd take it out from NYC to Uniontown to visit cousins. There were four tunnels that I gather are now bike accessible. Uniontown was once a town of millionaires. Even when I visited, my father noted that it had an awful lot of jewelry shops. Now it is on hard times.
I once had the time and opportunity t ride my Bicycle from Baltimore to McKeesport PA[Just outside Pittsburgh ]and back to Baltimore again.I rode up RT 30/Lincoln Highway on the way to McKeesport.And stoppedfor lunch at the Hardees in Breezewood. I was soaked to the skin from rain.And the ladies that worked there fussed over me in sympathy.As if i was their own child. They were very kind and friendly!
I didnt stay overniight in Breezewood.I wish that i had. I did stay overnight in many other small towns on my trip.And even stayed for a few days in a few different small towns.And i was always overcome by the friendliness of the people
when i got back home, a friend asked me how the trip went. I told him that i had to ride my bicycle with a broken derailer for over 600 miles of the trip,before i finaly was able to get a new one..And that it rained 15 of the 17 days of my trip. But it didnt matter,Because i met some of the friendliest people i had ever met.And that was what was most important
I hope that MR Arnade can visit many cities and towns.And i wish him well on his walks and journeys . I look forward to reading about his future walks.
Thanks for this one. I live in a similar town--more of a city--Pueblo, Colorado. And I can't tell you how many people from Denver and Boulder call it a shit stain or worse when headed down the interstate on their way to Taos, Santa Fe, or farther down to Texas. I mean, I lived in the Denver/Boulder bubble and thought similarly, until I moved here. There is so much history, so much beautiful architecture, and good people here. Yes, drugs, gun violence, bad schools, poverty, too many Dollar Stores taking over and poorer than much of the state, which has turned into LA or SF. I've reported on it. The worst thing is that people--often reporters--drop in here and it's the struggling former steel town and not the many unknown heroes who make change on a daily basis. So anyway, end of rant. Thanks for this newsletter!
Just saw your panel discussion Chris. Here’s what I posted in the Q&A that the moderator never read:
“ Hi guys. Here’s an idea. Go to a working class bar where guys who just got out of hard dirty jobs hang out. Have a beer. Not a fancy drink…A beer. Not a light or low carb or craft beer. A Bud. And talk to people in a non-judgmental way. Don’t use big fancy words. Listen with respect. Treat people with dignity. And most importantly listen to their stories. Look for moments you can bond with them with stories of your own. And laugh and tell jokes and don’t judge theirs on PC’ness”
Anyhow, good discussion. Seemed the other two panelists spoke from a more theoretical perspective rather than a lived one. You were very much on point though.
Breezewood was the place my family would stop on the way from Iowa to visit family in Philadelphia. This was in the sixties and we stayed at a family run motel and shopped at the nearby Amish market. It was simple but nice. 10 years ago I made sure to stop overnight there on a long cross country trip. What a change!
Subscribed, landed here via the Bulwark, great writing.
Couple observations, I showed the picture to my partner, and she said, as she often does about this, "But it doesn't have to be that ugly." We've moved all around the country, and in some places you even crowded commercial districts that at least make an effort, and others that don't. But, of course, that is obviously besides the point of your writing here.
On that note, I traveled to many small towns around Nebraska, Kansas, and South Dakota with my boat behind me. And I frequently took time to get to the know the locals. And the damage our "modern" economy has done those areas is sometimes heartbreaking. Nearly every person you meet has a side hustle or two to make ends meet. But some of those little towns and cities are surprisingly vibrant, and seeing the differences is interesting. What makes one place successful and another a decaying failure is sometimes a bit of mystery, but mostly just done to specific circumstances and luck.
The last 30 years of my career was spent as a sales rep and sales manager on the road. Selling retailers, first in Upstate NY and then later, most of the North East and across North America.
Before I became sales manager, I drove almost 95% of the time, racking up 35,000 miles per year on average with some years driving close to 50,000.
I am very familiar with these kinds of truck stop, traveler areas, as every trucker in the world is.
I can tell you that they are a very welcome site after driving for several hours and you are either hungry, tired or both.
When planning a week on the road, sometimes places like Breezewood would be the end of day destination, with a welcoming hotel and a wide range of food options.
That picture, instead of illustrating something "not worth fighting for" is more oasis and relief that I made it though another day and have a welcoming place to recharges, gas up, eat, sleep and relax.
Whenever I think of Breezewood, I think of John McPhee's paean to trucking in Uncommon Carriers: "The hum of a truck stop in the dead of night is one of the sonic emblems of America, right up there with the bombs in air, the rutilant rockets, the stern, impassioned stress. You have not heard the sound of creature comfort until you have heard hundreds of huddled trucks idling through the night." He doesn't say the locale is Breezewood, but I like to think it is.
Of course the original tweeter and all his mindless retweeters have not reduced their own fossil fuel consumption (direct and indirect, like the stuff delivered by all those semis) by the tiniest smidgen.
Breezewood is white meaning it is racist
You can rent a bike and ride down the old PA Turnpike. It's a bike trail now. When I was a kid, we'd take it out from NYC to Uniontown to visit cousins. There were four tunnels that I gather are now bike accessible. Uniontown was once a town of millionaires. Even when I visited, my father noted that it had an awful lot of jewelry shops. Now it is on hard times.
This was a captivatingly beautiful write-up. Thank you.
I once had the time and opportunity t ride my Bicycle from Baltimore to McKeesport PA[Just outside Pittsburgh ]and back to Baltimore again.I rode up RT 30/Lincoln Highway on the way to McKeesport.And stoppedfor lunch at the Hardees in Breezewood. I was soaked to the skin from rain.And the ladies that worked there fussed over me in sympathy.As if i was their own child. They were very kind and friendly!
I didnt stay overniight in Breezewood.I wish that i had. I did stay overnight in many other small towns on my trip.And even stayed for a few days in a few different small towns.And i was always overcome by the friendliness of the people
when i got back home, a friend asked me how the trip went. I told him that i had to ride my bicycle with a broken derailer for over 600 miles of the trip,before i finaly was able to get a new one..And that it rained 15 of the 17 days of my trip. But it didnt matter,Because i met some of the friendliest people i had ever met.And that was what was most important
I hope that MR Arnade can visit many cities and towns.And i wish him well on his walks and journeys . I look forward to reading about his future walks.
Great article!
Thanks for this one. I live in a similar town--more of a city--Pueblo, Colorado. And I can't tell you how many people from Denver and Boulder call it a shit stain or worse when headed down the interstate on their way to Taos, Santa Fe, or farther down to Texas. I mean, I lived in the Denver/Boulder bubble and thought similarly, until I moved here. There is so much history, so much beautiful architecture, and good people here. Yes, drugs, gun violence, bad schools, poverty, too many Dollar Stores taking over and poorer than much of the state, which has turned into LA or SF. I've reported on it. The worst thing is that people--often reporters--drop in here and it's the struggling former steel town and not the many unknown heroes who make change on a daily basis. So anyway, end of rant. Thanks for this newsletter!
Just saw your panel discussion Chris. Here’s what I posted in the Q&A that the moderator never read:
“ Hi guys. Here’s an idea. Go to a working class bar where guys who just got out of hard dirty jobs hang out. Have a beer. Not a fancy drink…A beer. Not a light or low carb or craft beer. A Bud. And talk to people in a non-judgmental way. Don’t use big fancy words. Listen with respect. Treat people with dignity. And most importantly listen to their stories. Look for moments you can bond with them with stories of your own. And laugh and tell jokes and don’t judge theirs on PC’ness”
Anyhow, good discussion. Seemed the other two panelists spoke from a more theoretical perspective rather than a lived one. You were very much on point though.
Breezewood was the place my family would stop on the way from Iowa to visit family in Philadelphia. This was in the sixties and we stayed at a family run motel and shopped at the nearby Amish market. It was simple but nice. 10 years ago I made sure to stop overnight there on a long cross country trip. What a change!
Breezewood is to an exit, like the reputed southern small-town speed traps are to traffic law enforcement.
Subscribed, landed here via the Bulwark, great writing.
Couple observations, I showed the picture to my partner, and she said, as she often does about this, "But it doesn't have to be that ugly." We've moved all around the country, and in some places you even crowded commercial districts that at least make an effort, and others that don't. But, of course, that is obviously besides the point of your writing here.
On that note, I traveled to many small towns around Nebraska, Kansas, and South Dakota with my boat behind me. And I frequently took time to get to the know the locals. And the damage our "modern" economy has done those areas is sometimes heartbreaking. Nearly every person you meet has a side hustle or two to make ends meet. But some of those little towns and cities are surprisingly vibrant, and seeing the differences is interesting. What makes one place successful and another a decaying failure is sometimes a bit of mystery, but mostly just done to specific circumstances and luck.
John
The last 30 years of my career was spent as a sales rep and sales manager on the road. Selling retailers, first in Upstate NY and then later, most of the North East and across North America.
Before I became sales manager, I drove almost 95% of the time, racking up 35,000 miles per year on average with some years driving close to 50,000.
I am very familiar with these kinds of truck stop, traveler areas, as every trucker in the world is.
I can tell you that they are a very welcome site after driving for several hours and you are either hungry, tired or both.
When planning a week on the road, sometimes places like Breezewood would be the end of day destination, with a welcoming hotel and a wide range of food options.
That picture, instead of illustrating something "not worth fighting for" is more oasis and relief that I made it though another day and have a welcoming place to recharges, gas up, eat, sleep and relax.
It's the best of what America has to offer.
Whenever I think of Breezewood, I think of John McPhee's paean to trucking in Uncommon Carriers: "The hum of a truck stop in the dead of night is one of the sonic emblems of America, right up there with the bombs in air, the rutilant rockets, the stern, impassioned stress. You have not heard the sound of creature comfort until you have heard hundreds of huddled trucks idling through the night." He doesn't say the locale is Breezewood, but I like to think it is.
Of course the original tweeter and all his mindless retweeters have not reduced their own fossil fuel consumption (direct and indirect, like the stuff delivered by all those semis) by the tiniest smidgen.
The dude sitting at the bar looks like the kind of guy who knows the score.
Maybe knows the score a little too well.
This is beautiful. Looking forward to reading more of these, Chris!
So beautifully told. Thank you for sharing your journeys with us.