As we entered the town of Jim Thorpe, I was not sure the bus would be able to get down the narrow streets, but our driver was good. Jim Thorpe, formerly Mauch Chunk, is nestled in a spectacular valley along the Lehigh River Gorge. We were met by Jack Sterling’s wife, Susan, and split up into two groups for a walking tour. As we leave the historic Lehigh Valley Railroad Station, you are transported back in time. The lanes are narrow, with the houses built right up to the street, a scene right out of a Swiss Village, if it were not for the cars. All the buildings are unique in their Victorian architecture. During the heyday of Mauch Chunk there were 13 millionaires and seven grand hotels. At this time only one hotel remains, now called the Inn at Jim Thorpe, it was once the American Hotel. There are beautiful mansions on the hills that are open for tourists. Fortunes were made from the coal, transportation of the coal and tourism.
The owner of the Dreisbach House gave us a tour of her house. Her store, in the lower front half, offers an eclectic mix of dishware, books, vintage apparel and jewelry, along with new costume jewelry. It is open year-round on the weekends. She is in the process of remodeling the rest of the house and what she had finished was beautiful. It is nice to see that the Dreisbach House is being lovingly care for.
We continued down the street on our tour, the next stop was at the Dimmick Memorial Library. Milton Dimmick, son of Milo Dimmick a local lawyer and congressman, died in 1884 at the age of 36 and left money to establish a library in the name of his family. The library was built in the Jacobean style and was opened to the public on October 1st, 1890. In 1979, a fire gutted the library. The Dimmick Memorial Library was restored and rededicated June 19, 1982.
The tour stopped at Jim Thorpe’s memorial built by the townspeople on a hill on the east side of town. There is a seven foot bronze statue of Jim Thorpe and display cases that tell about his life and achievements. Jim Thorpe is considered the greatest athlete of the 20th Century. A man that exempliflied the pure joy to be gained through the spirit of competition.
The end of a perfect day was capped off by a formal outdoor Bar-b-que. We started with a game of Get Acquainted Bingo. Who has baked a “funny cake”? It gave us all a chance to meet new cousins. There was lots of food. Plus two kegs of beer, one birch beer (non-alcoholic) and one of real beer.
