This is my maternal grandfather's house where my mother, uncle, and three aunts grew up. I was born here in 1945 as troops were coming home from the war down the highway, the Old Lincoln Highway, in the front. To the right, that is the west, the road climbed up the mountain toward Pittsburgh. On the mountain top was a beautiful restaurant and hotel operated by a Jewish family that escaped the Nazis. Irt was called the Ship Hotel, sadly it was left to deteriorate into what was called Noah's Ark, now razed to the ground. There were several barns adjacent to the house for horses, and a carriage shed that housed an old horse-drawn sleigh. My family lived here during the Great Depression, surviving well on rabbits and squirrels my grandfather shot. He worked as the gardener for Leon Falk, a Pittsburgh multi-millionaire manufactuer of ball bearings. Mr. Falk had a beautiful farm and home nearby. For many years his farm produced prize-winnng Hereford cattle.

My dad was also the Gardener for Falkland farms in the 60’s and we lived in this house. We loved watching the army jeeps come down the road. I also remember the ship hotel when we would drive to Pittsburgh. My 3 sisters and I have so many awesome memories from our time there.