Epiphany...the Creative Endeavors of Shae Leighland-Pence

Jesse graduated as a Marine at Parris Island on 14 March, 2008.  Congratulations, Jesse!
While we were there, I snapped some Spanish Moss. Parris Island is surprisingly pretty. Except for the sand fleas, that is.

T his is the only known 1949 Dodge Hearse ever manufactured, built by J.C. Little. Originally from Scotland, John J.C. Little (1888-1971) started his North American career as a coachbuilder at Canada's largest coachbuilder, the O.J. Mitchell Hearse Company of Ingersoll, Ontario. He built his first home-built coach sometime in 1937 and by 1940 had saved up enough money to open his own body shop. From his small shop, which was located in the service bays of an Ingersoll Shell station, Little produced a series of hand-built professional coaches until he closed in the late Fifties. He specialized in modifying regular wheelbase production vehicles into sedan-ambulances and funeral cars.¹

Found in a small town museum in Ingersoll, Ontario, by the last owner, the car is currently unrestored. Completely unrestored.  It is the ex tour vehicle of the band THE TOMBSTONES of Owen Sound, Ontario. Various parts of the adventure to recover this, ahem, professional car, are posted under Buffalo, Johnsonburg and Crossing Over. The saga behind this adventure can be absorbed here. 

The Tombstones

James Wayner (aka Mr. Blues) - (1947 - 31 March 2007)  - Singer, songwriter, drummer and harmonica player  - Was a member of The Bearcats, Georgia Strait, The Sharks, Sounder and The Tombstones.  On his web site, now expired, he said of the Tombstones, "This is the band that started all for me... went out with my friend Scotty to watch him audition for a band we knew nothng about. We both wanted to be drummers. e got the job and I was depressed because now he had a band and I didn't. We started jamming and I grabbed a microphone and started o sing what I thought was the blues. I never sang before in my ife. Well guess what?  They decided to have two singers in the band. Wow my first band and boy was it fun. rom there on I never looked back! *wink*.  We have had two reunions so far, which were complete sell outs. There wasn't too many places we didn't play in Ontario, Canada. REAT memories and great times."

The JC Little Hearse

For the very brave, see this car on fire and another video, sans pyro (both done by the previous owner of the car).

1. Excerpt from an article on Coachbuilt. 

En Route to Oshowa, Ontario

Another leg of this trip is posted under Buffalo and another under Johnsonburg. The saga behind this adventure can be absorbed here.

 Buffalo, New York

These were taken, ahem, sailing past Buffalo in the Queen Mary (aka bigass rig hauling a long yellow trailer) en route to Oshowa, Ontario, on yet another insane expedition. 

Buffalo (IPA: [ˈbʌ.fɵ.loʷ]) is an American city in western New York. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 292,648.^[1] It is the state's second-largest city, after New York City, and is the county seat of Erie County.^GR6 It is also the economic and cultural center of the Buffalo-Niagara Region, a diverse metropolitan area with a population of 1.2 million people.^[2] The Buffalo area is adjacent to the Golden Horseshoe, an urban region in southern Ontario.

Buffalo lies at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the southern head of the Niagara River, which connects Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.

  Another leg of this trip is posted under Crossing Over and another under Johnsonburg. 

Johnsonburg, Pennsylvania

THE JOHNSONBURG MILL

The Johnsonburg mill is more than 100 years old and was originally owned by Curtis Publishing which produced coated paper at the site. In the 1950s this was believed to be the largest coated paper mill in the world.

In the 1960's Curtis Publishing fell on hard times and in 1969 decided to shut down the Johnsonburg mill. It was only closed for six months when Penntech Papers, a group of investors that included George Petty, purchased the mill and ran it for 20 years.

When Willamette acquired the mill from Penntech in 1990, it was operating a number of small machines and employed over 700 people. One of the first things Willamette did was resolve a number of outstanding environmental issues beginning with a new effluent plant. Today the mill generates nearly 100% of its own energy, and gasses from the fiberline and chemical recovery process are incinerated which virtually eliminates noxious odors normally associated with kraft pulping.

To feed the three operating machines, the mill has a single integrated continuous hardwood kraft pulp line. There is also a sheeting plant and rewinder in the nearby town of Dubois, Pennsylvania.

"Johnsonburg, Pennsylvania, is a difficult place to reach. It lies nestled in the hilly terrain of the northern part of the state, three hours from Pittsburgh, one hour from Dubois and a short drive from St. Mary's, Pennsylvania (population 20,000). In the center of this small, working-class town sits the local pulp and paper mill which for more than 100 years has provided employment for many of the residents, and today is part of Willamette Industries." excerpt from PaperAge, February 2001 Issue, Johnsonburg Mill Installs Single Nip Shoe Press

Furthermore, Wikipedia says: Johnsonburg is a borough in Elk County, Pennsylvania, 164 miles (264 km) northeast of Pittsburgh. It is in a productive farming and lumbering region. Paper mills were once common here, and Domtar still maintains a paper mill there today. In 1910, 4,334 people lived here. The population was 3,003 at the 2000 census. It was founded in 1810 and incorporated in 1891.

Johnsonburg is located at (41.493950, -78.679600)^GR1. According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 7.8 km² (3.0 mi²), all land.

The major industry in Johnsonburg is paper, with the largest mill owned by the Domtar Corporation. [Paper mill from photos]

It was built more than a century ago, originally owned by Curtis Publishing Company, publisher of the Saturday Evening Post. By 1950, it was believed to be the largest coated paper mill in the world.^[1]

By the 1960s, Curtis Publishing was questioning its ownership of the mill due to financial concerns, and by 1969, had closed down the Johnsonburg mill. Six months later, a group of investors including artist George Petty formed a group called Penntech Papers, purchased the mill assets, and continued it in operation for the next 20 years.

In 1990, Penntech sold the mill to Willamette Industries, the company that would later be acquired by Weyerhaeuser in February 2002 in a hostile takeover and then in 2007 was acquired by Domtar.

Johnsonburg... 

• Is the oldest incorporated town in Elk County, first incorporated in 1810
• Was originally called Quay
• Like many towns in the 1920s and 1930s with organized crime, the borough carried the name of "Little Chicago."
• It was once considered a booming town along the Clarion River where former United States President Ulysses S. Grant used to visit during and after his presidency to fish with other retired Civil War generals that had lived there. Neighboring municipalities such as Kane and Wilcox were named after generals.
• During World War II, the borough had, per capita, the highest number of soldiers entering into military service. This fact was officially recognized years later.(citation needed)
• Paper from the mill originally was used for the Saturday Evening Post during the days that artist Norman Rockwell would do its covers. In later years, it would produce the paper used for the books in the Harry Potter series.^[2]

  Another leg of this trip is posted under Crossing Over and another under Buffalo. 

2007 Massanutten Antique Tractor Show

Special Note: This is an artistic interpretation of the show...by no means does it reflect the many finely restored and kept tractors shown here.

Tools & Equipment

Various machinery and tools.

Comments

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His and Hearses

Car Shows

Jaunts to various car shows.