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Ed Kelly, of the Daniel C. Roberts Fire Company in Harveys Lake, in 2002 at the ballroom at Hanson's Park in Harveys Lake. The fire company sponsored the last dance at the park on Aug. 10, 2002.

Clark Van Orden

“Hamburgs, hot dogs, pizza.”

That’s what it says on an old stand off of Chase Road in Jackson Township. Every time I pass it, I laugh because it says “hamburgs.” I’m allowed to laugh at the Northeastern Pennsylvania coal cracker lingo because I have lived in “the valley” my entire life. I’m even the granddaughter of a coal miner who is still living.

But what I really wonder is what happened to the little snack bar. Who owned it? When did it close? Was it only open in the summertime? Why wasn’t it knocked down?

How many other old treasures like that exist in the Back Mountain?

When I was a child, my parents often took my siblings and me for rides around Harveys Lake. They would point out the remnants of Hanson’s Amusement Park and I would look at the rollercoaster track and the structure for “The Whip.” Even at seven or eight years old, I thought about youngsters like myself skipping throughout the park eating cotton candy and lining up for rides.

My grandmother and great-grandmother used to picnic on land owned by Sacred Heart of Jesus Church on Dorchester Drive in Dallas near the church’s cemetery where they are both buried, along with my mother. Like much of the land in Dallas, it was sold and only the cemetery remains.

Solid Cactus recently moved into the former Westmoreland High School in Trucksville. I think it’s great to see the company take over and refurbish a historical building. My friends Shane, Amy and Patrick all went to elementary school at Westmoreland and have fond memories from there. They are happy the building is being used.

I don’t know if the old Dallas Township High School building is in structurally good shape, but wouldn’t it be great for it to be acquired, too?

Everyone is so quick to build in the Back Mountain that I speculate what will happen to many of the old and historical buildings, homes and restaurants. I can only hope they won’t become long lost remains on the side of the road.

 

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