Archive for September, 2009
A rare sarcophagus is one of many unique attractions at a beautiful old church included on a tour of churches this weekend in Brownsville, Pa.
BROWNSVILLE, Pa. – The Rev. Pozzuto doesn’t believe it will be long before his congregation learns the contents of a rare sarcophagus in the historic cemetery behind his church.
The stone grave marker that dates to the early 1800a is deteriorating to the point that it should soon collapse amid the plot of graves at Christ Episcopal Church in Brownsville, Pa.
“It’s pretty strange,” Pozzuto said. “Inside is a wooden box containing the remains.”
He doesn’t know whose grave the tomb contains since much of the lettering relating to the deceases has disappeared with the weather.
It’s just one of a number of interesting stops in this graveyard that will be included in a tour this weekend of local churches to raise money for efforts to dress up the old town along the Monongahela River.
People have been mysteriously placing such odd objects as a round stone pained to look like an alien beside other tombstones in this cemetery in the 300 block of Church Street. The place is just plain weird and creepy in a wonderful sort of way.
There also is false story that is still told today about President George Washington’s cousins having been buried here after being murdered by their slaves.
Here is that tale, taken from the pages of the Observer-Reporter newspaper in Washington, Pa.:
By Scott Beveridge
The story involving two cousins of President George Washington having been killed by their slaves and buried in Brownsville appears to have been mostly bogus from the onset.
The author of an 1881 article in the Magazine of American History was unable to find any mention of the men, Archibald and John H. Washington, in the former president’s genealogy.
Yet people still believe the legend about the men buried here behind the historic Christ Episcopal Church, a tale that has been passed along by word-of-mouth through the generations.
“If enough people say it, it must be true,” said the Rev. Keith Pozzuto, pastor of the church that will be included in an Oct. 4 tour of Brownsville churches to raise money for a local beautification project.
The tour guide here surely will discuss the story about the 1818 deaths of the men.
The lead author of the magazine story, John Austin Stevens, claimed to have interviewed eyewitnesses of good character for his story. They insisted Archibald, 33, and John Washington, 38, died of typhoid fever after receiving the diagnosis from a local physician who also came down with the same illness after treating them.
The only part of the story that appeared to be true involved their dying while transporting as many as 100 slaves from Virginia to Kentucky while stopped in Brownsville, which was the gateway to the west at the time.
The mystery deepens as to how their tombstones found their way beside that of town founder Thomas Brown. Stevens claimed the visitors were buried in a potter’s field reserved for strangers and blacks, having been refused burial at the church whose members were staunchly opposed to slavery.
Regardless, this church built in 1859 “has always had a storied place” in the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, Pozzuto said.
It’s believed to be the second-oldest Episcopal church west of the Allegheny Mountains, behind one in Mt. Lebanon, Pozzuto said.
The main doors to the Brownsville church lead to an understated sanctuary with an altar crafted from Italian marble and wood imported from Germany. The altar represents the marriage of the Roman Catholic and German Protestant churches that created the Anglican congregation, Pozzuto said.
The building also boasts a rare and priceless Tiffany stained-glass window, he said.
Meanwhile, the cemetery also contains remarkably preserved tabletop tombstones and an unusual sarcophagus. The 1854 above-ground receptacle holds the remains of a corpse whose identification has worn with weather off the stone.
“It’s pretty strange,” Pozzuto said. “Inside is a wooden box containing the remains.”
The cemetery also holds the graves of many members of the Bowman and Hogg families that were prominent to Brownsville’s early rises as an important trade center.
“The history of Brownsville is right here behind this church,” Pozzuto said.
The main entrance to the church leads to an antique altar crafted with marble from Italy and wood from Germany, materials that represent the two countries that gave life to this Anglican congregation.
The church tour is hosted by the Northside Beautification Committee to raise money for the purchase banners for Market Street.
The other churches involved are: St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church, St. Ellien’s Orthodox Church, First United Methodist Church and Calvin United Presbyterian Church.
The tour will begin at 3 p.m. Oct. 4 at St. Peter’s Church, 300 Shaffner Ave. Tickets are available by calling 724-785-2444 or can be purchased between 2 and 3 p.m. the day of the tour at St. Peter’s.
Well, I’m back after nearly 2 weeks. I was really busy getting ready for the GABF (which was amazing; I tried so many great new sour beers from all over the U.S.!)
I have a nearly 2,000 word article on Brouwerij Girardin, one of Belgium’s great lambic breweries, in the October/November issue of Ale Street News.
As you’ll read in the article, I was the first beer writer allowed to tour the brewery since the late Michael Jackson in 1993.
While editor Tony Forder only had room for a couple of photos with the article, rest assured I have many more: high-resolution 12 megapixel shots in both the lambic and pils brewhouses. You’ll see these in future articles in other publications!
To read this article, you’ll have to get a copy of Ale Street, which is available at great bars, brewpubs and breweries, especially here on the East coast and the Midwest.
Cheers!
Chuck
Sep
30
I am sitting in the main town of Bumthang which has the rather evocative name of Jakar. The internet cafe here has four terminals, wifi and espresso. What else can one ask from life! I shall try to post a few photographs in the coming few days. The two festivals in Wangdue and Tamshing exceeded our expectations, and our collective image storage has run in the hundreds of gigabytes.
Sep
30
I am sitting in the main town of Bumthang which has the rather evocative name of Jakar. The internet cafe here has four terminals, wifi and espresso. What else can one ask from life! I shall try to post a few photographs in the coming few days. The two festivals in Wangdue and Tamshing exceeded our expectations, and our collective image storage has run in the hundreds of gigabytes.
Huawei Technologies has lined up a $30 billion credit line from the China Development Bank (CDB) to help it win telecom contracts abroad. The two companies yesterday signed a “strategic partnership agreement”, expanding a $10 billion loan deal from 2004, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Earlier this year Huawei’s smaller rival ZTE secured $15 billion in credit from the CDB and another $10 billion from the Export-Import Bank of China, also to help it win foreign contracts.
The lines of credit create a huge war chest for the two suppliers, enabling them to extend low-interest loans to help their customers many of whom are in emerging markets, or are feeling the effects of the recession to buy their equipment.
CDB was putting into practice the government’s globalization strategy. As a major medium to long-term investment bank, CDB implements the country’s globalization strategy, supporting strong companies to expand their businesses abroad.
Since the financial crisis broke a year ago, Huawei and ZTE had grasped the “counter-cyclical development opportunity” to win business from foreign service providers. No wonder they are the leading players in emerging markets having in excess of 60% market share in Africa.
Sep
30
I’m working on my 2010 calendar. It will have the same format as last year, well as every year so far, and it will be ready to ship in about three weeks. I’ll keep you updated. I think I will throw in a picture of Morran, originally made for the book Janine - at Uppercase - is working on right now.
Lucia Guanaes, photography.
Bertrand Sallé, Illustration.
Sep
30
I’m working on my 2010 calendar. It will have the same format as last year, well as every year so far, and it will be ready to ship in about three weeks. I’ll keep you updated. I think I will throw in a picture of Morran, originally made for the book Janine - at Uppercase - is working on right now.
Lucia Guanaes, photography.
Bertrand Sallé, Illustration.
Sep
30
Sep
30
The Date: Sunday, September 28, 2009
The Companions: My husband, Ral, and our friend Dave
The Hike: Leisurely loop from Upper Beaver Meadows trailhead; 5 to 5 1/2 miles (depending on whether the source is my husband’s GPS or Dave’s iPhone, which compiles the stats and also generates a map); 1,195 vertical feet
The Conditions: Warm, sunny, cloudless blue sky
The Highlights: Snow-dusted Longs Peak, golden aspens, deer and elk
The Experience: Priceless
The Right Way to End the Day: The first episode of Ken Burns’ exceptional 12-hour series, “The Natonal Parks: America’s Best Idea” on PBS.
