Sawadi-kap & Greetings from Thailand. – I’ve now been living in Bangkok longer than any other place I lived. Second longest place where I lived was Ashley, Pennsylvania my hometown, for seventeen years until the day I left for US Army basic training.
ASHLEY OVERVIEW – A small town on the edge of Wyoming Valley, PA next to a mountain and large areas of state game lands. These areas are not developed, basically natural woodlands, bears’ natural habitat. Ashley’s history is major anthracite coal mining town with a coal breaker and loads of railroad track leading in and out with a large railroad shopyard. Lots of noisy activity that kept the bears away. But these are long gone and the large area is now overgrown offering bears easy access to downtown Ashley.
Black bears spotted in and around Ashley seems to be increasing. I keep up with my hometown news following “ASHLEY Happenings (Pennsylvania)” a FaceBook Group Page. A recent post with photo on 18 Oct by Jolene Dana really caught my attention. First, the photo was so close to where I used to live and second, it’s during daylight hours.
Posts I’ve seen before were all night time vids from security, motion activated cameras. But a bear comfortably lounging next to an active street intersection in daylight hours is new. As the bears become more relaxed, I guess we’ll see more pics of them getting into cars and trucks in Ashley like the stock pics I posted.
(TIP: Many insurance policies do not cover wildlife damage to vehicles or homes.) A bear isn’t breaking in. It’s just following its nose to something that smells like food, cleverly opening an unlocked door or window. Black bears have relatively short, curved claws (often under 2 inches) that are well adapted for climbing trees and tearing into rotten logs in search of insects. They’re also well-suited for opening lever-style handles and sliding doors, unscrewing jar tops, opening coolers and picnic baskets and pushing up unlocked windows. – BearWise (https://www.facebook.com/BearWise.org)
Also seen are six of my Dad’s photos published for the first time online. Dad shot a Yashica 35mm Camera shooting slides. Slides were the cheapest to develop in mass, which Dad did himself. Dad loved shooting blue skies with big fluffy white clouds, which he did very well. Looking over Wyoming Valley and Ashley you can clearly see Huber Breaker and the steeples of a few churches.
Kelsey’s Restaurant is Ashley’s most popular destination with a great food menu and draught beer selection. If I were back in “good ole Ashley”, I’d be having my meals at Kelsey’s. Sadly, they do not deliver to my current address. Kelsey’s is my center landmark in Ashley, located at the corner of N Main St & Cemetery St. Across Cemetery St. from Kelsey’s is where N Main St. turns to S Main St and where the Ashley train station was located.
Last but certainly not least – “shout-out” to my favorite Kelsey’s Trivia Night Team – “Steamy”. Yep, they are my cousins and I look forward to seeing more pics of them & their victories at Trivia Quiz Night from Kelsey’s Restaurant, Ashley, Pennsylvania.
Until my next report – Stay Well. – Johnny
ASHLEY Happenings (Pennsylvania)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/112346212255797
Kelsey’s Restaurant – Ashley, Pennsylvania
https://www.facebook.com/p/Kelseys-Restaurant-100063718701690/
Huber Breaker Preservation Society
https://www.facebook.com/huberbreaker/
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