Thanksgiving beside The Point

While it appears to be a nice late autumn day in my native Western Pennsylvania, it doesn't compare to those spring and summer days of childhood spent along the Slippery Rock and Connoquenessing creeks.

And what would spark these far-flung memories on a Thanksgiving Day as I sit in Florida? Well, an unintentional search of the Internet that evoked a thankful heart for what I'd had in my past, of course.

I don't know who to praise for the following photos – I discovered them by accident. They certainly have brought me miles of smiles!

In the first, we get a canoe view of The Point – what we from the Ellwood City, Pa., area called the spot where the Slippery Rock empties into the Connoquenessing. That's The Point itself, that rock that juts into the waters as we look upstream into the Slippery Rock. What a great fishing area for young boys and adult anglers alike!

The water here is said to be quite deep. I've never been able to discern its true depth, but in a boyhood effort to get to the bottom of things, so to speak, a lifelong friend and I once gave it a shot.

My buddy Mark Reese hung on to an inner tube as I swam below him with a firm grip on his feet as my legs disappeared into the water. At the time, I'd say Mark was about 5 feet 10 and I was about 6 feet 3 – and my feet never touched bottom. Oh well . . .

At one time – before 1958, at least – this view would have been much different. There was a railroad trestle that crossed the Slippery Rock just yards upstream from The Point. A pump house clung to the right bank beyond the trestle. Both are long gone.

The second photo shows another view from the Connoquenessing just before it reaches the Slippery Rock. That large rock on the right was a favorite fishing spot for me, my friends and even my Uncle Ed, who I discovered with his line in the water on one early summer day. As I recall, this was a great area for bass fishing.

Finally, we're looking upstream into my beloved Slippery Rock Creek, above the former water works dam to the area we called Fowler's Rock on the far right. I have no idea about the source of that name, but that was our favorite swimming hole. Countless summer days were spent with many friends in those cool waters.

Of the many things of which I am thankful, having these healing waters in my youth are near the top of the list. May you have a Happy Thanksgiving, and may your memories be fond and clear!