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*all photos by Elaine A. Russell


Yesterday I had intended to do a blog post on Mitchell Park here in Coudersport. So many things were going on yesterday though... that by the time I sat down to post... I was too tired to think.

And so, today... I am trying to catch up a little.

There are 2 main parks in Coudersport. One is CARP (Coudersport Area Recreational Park)... where there is a track field, football field, picnic tables, swings, etc. It is a very nice area... and it is used alot by various organizations and such in town... as well as the general public.

The other park, is Mitchell Park. I believe it was named after Robert Mitchell and his wife Dorothy who used to live right across the street from the park. Mr. Mitchell was Mayor in Coudersport for several years... and they were an older couple when I was little... So I am assuming that it was either named for them, or for someone in their family. Unfortunately... I couldn't find any information to confirm or deny this on-line.... so... I am guessing.

At any rate... Mitchell Park is a nice smaller sized park right in town next to the town library. It has a covered pavilion with several picnic tables, and lots of vintage style rides and swings for little kids. Additionally, there are now 2 metal benches towards the back of the lot that overlook Mill Creek as it tumbles and wanders into town.

There is also a really cool bridge that runs across the river here; and connects to the back end of the property where the town pool is. This was an often used shortcut for many people in town.. myself included.





The photos for this post were all taken at Mitchell Park here in Coudersport... I hope you enjoy them...

rest well my friends.. wherever you are

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-----------------------------------a collage of photos taken at Charles Cole Memorial Hospital today



Today was one of those weirdly busy days... I ended up driving alot of people different places... to the store... to get groceries... to get movies.... out for dinner.....to the hospital and back... just different things. Kind of a "hurry up and wait" kind of thing at times.....
The hospital that dad is getting his rehab at is Charles Cole Memorial Hospital. It is the closest... and basically.. only ... hospital in the area. The next closest is about an hour away. And the one that dad had his surgery at is about 3hrs away.
CCMH is a good hospital. It has undergone sooooooooo many changes since I last worked there in 1990. But then, that is to be expected.
Dad had a bad day today. Alot of pain... still alot of swelling.... poor appetite... and generally not feeling well. He promised to take some pain meds tonight and try to rest......

........................................................................... a couple photos from one of the few alleyways in Coudersport. The mural was painted on the back of this building when I was in high school, by some fellow high school students. I think it still looks pretty cool.

I also love the brickwork on the buildings here. Alot of the downtown area features buildings built around 1880... so they are all brick... with Gothic and Victorian touches here and there. This is the backside of one of the buildings... and I just love the old iron staircase....

For dinner.... Kristin and I went down to Fox's Pizza... (formerly the Tastee Freeze when I was a kid). It still looks exactly the same as it did in the 1970's.... only the food has changed ever so slightly. You can still get pizza, burgers, fries, and soft serve ice cream and sundaes... but now they also offer Gyros and sub sandwiches, mozzarella sticks and other "fast food" items.

When I was a kid... they actually had a brown bear in a pen out back for "tourists" to gawk at... fortunately... they do not do that anymore. It's one of the few places for people to hang out at.... and the ice cream is still pretty good.....PLUS... ya gotta love that they still have gumball machines with cheesy toys in them.....

And then there was this guy... just taunting me from his perch on a porch in town. Nothing screams EASTER... like a plastic light-up bunny . My mother-in-law would've loved it... so in her honor, it became my photo for the day.....

---------------------------------------------------> all photos by Elaine A. Russell

Links:

Charles Cole Memorial Hospital: here

Fox's Pizza: here

Info on Coudersport, PA: here

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...all photos by Elaine A. Russell.

Photos were taken today at St. Eulalia Cemetery in Coudersport, PA.

I slept late again today. Between the drive, the time change, and still being in a Lupus flare... my body is just tapped. So too... are my emotions. It's an odd thing... being in my parent's house with them not here. This is not the home I grew up in though.

Between birth and about 4yrs old... I lived in the town of Bradford PA. My mother's sister; and her family, still live there as well. When I was 4; my family moved to Coudersport. We lived in a fairly old farm style house on a hill. We had a double lot of land, right next to the woods... and the woods was my playground. Trees were my friends.

When I was a little over 13, we moved to live beside my grandparents in a double-wide trailer. It was more in the middle of town.... but about as far from idyllic as you could get. Up until I went to college at age 19 ( I worked for a year to save up tuition money)... it was a living hell. The bright spot being when I went to Germany as an exchange student in 1981.

My parents continued to live in that trailer for another 10yrs or so ( my grandparents now being gone)... and then they bought the house they live in now. It is still right in town... but at least does not hold any of the bad memories that the other house did. In an ironic twist of fate... the entire neighborhood where I had spent my teen years is now under about 10 layers of asphalt.... and it is now a massive parking lot... formerly owned by Adelphia Communications.

This "new" house is pretty normal I guess. It is a one story modular home with a good sized deck out front, and a fairly good sized patio in theback. It backs up to the channel... where the mighty Alleghany river runs through the center of the town. Every wall in this house is off-white. .. save the weird flowered blue wallpaper in the bathroom. The ceilings have some sort of sparkle to them, which I can only assume is glitter that was mixed in with the ceiling paint. All the carpets are beige. All the furniture is shades of brown. It is immaculate. My mother is more than a little OCD... so, as you can imagine.... everything has a place... and is in it.

It is not the kind of home I would choose to live in; nor my lifestyle at all.... but it suits my parents just fine... and they are happy here.

The town has had it's ups and downs. Having years when John Rigas had Adelphia Communications here (Link: Adephia)... it was majorly booming... home were restored... parks built...businesses started and flourished. Since the company's demise (or at least most of it) in 2002... Coudersport has gone back to a sleepy little town.... but with expensive homes and huge buildings, now mostly empty. It's rather odd. Some townsfolk prefer it this way... others miss the hustle and bustle of a slightly bigger town.

As for me... either way; it's still my hometown.


To see more about Coudersport: link