In This Issue...

The Hemlock

"Americorps" by
Volume 2, Issue 4 (December 2008)
Anne-Marie Turnage
"Green Energy Fair"
"A Pennsylvania
Winter" by Zach
Fishel

"We abuse land because we regard it as a
commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a
community to which we belong, we may begin to
use it with love and respect." ~Aldo Leopold, A
Sand County Almanac (1949)

"Recipe" by Carroll
Rhodes
Hike of the Month
"Book Review:
Breaking the
Backcountry" by Bob
Myers
Past Issues

"Angle Falls" was taken by Nathan Fought (LHUP Art Major) near
Loganton on February 9, 2008
Happy Holidays!
As another semester winds down, we'd like to thank the many
contributors who have made The Hemlock possible. Recently, a friend who
edits his own journal expressed surprise that we have been able to
assemble such a diverse group of excellent writers issue after issue. It's
been a pleasure to work with such a broad spectrum of the LHUP
community, and we'd like to see even more of you involved. For future
issues, we'd welcome anything that relates to our focus on the
environment and culture of central Pennsylvania--an article about your
research; a review of a book; a discussion of your outdoor activity
(geocaching, for example); a description of a favorite hike or place;
artwork or creative writing on the outdoors; environmentally friendly tips-

-in short, anything! If you've been tempted to submit an article, please
contact Bob Myers.
Americorps
--Anne-Marie Turnage (LHUP Director of
Community Service)
Launched in 1994 under President Bill Clinton,
Americorps is a national service program that
allows U. S. citizens to make an intensive
commitment to national service. In exchange for
an educational award, Americorps members
tutor and mentor local youth, respond to natural
disasters, improve the environment, build
affordable housing, and improve public safety
and health. Those are just a few examples of the dramatic ways that
individuals can help strengthen communities “calloused hand by
calloused hand” (Barack Obama, "Presidential Acceptance Speech,"
2008). Americorps, however, is not simply a product of the Democratic
Party. In the weeks following September 11th, Republican Senator John
McCain wrote that “when Clinton initiated AmeriCorps in 1994, most
Republicans in Congress, myself included, opposed it. We feared it would
be another ‘big government program’ that would undermine true
volunteerism, waste money in ‘make-work’ projects, or be diverted into
political activism. We were wrong” ("Putting the National in National
Service,"Washington Monthly, October 2001). Through Americorps,
Americans are changing America and members from both sides of the
political aisle understand that.
Since 1999, LHUP students have had the opportunity to serve as an
Americorps volunteer through the MountainServe Center for Global
Citizenship. Those students earn an Education Award and gain
leadership skills through engagement in service. Student Americorps
members have tutored and mentored thousands of local youth, built and
restored miles of hiking trails, cleaned up tons of debris from roadways
and streams, built houses with Habitat for Humanity, responded to
Hurricane Ivan and Katrina, built playgrounds and much, much more.
Beginning in 2007-08, MountainServe launched its Engaged Department
Initiative. Individual academic departments can now apply to
MountainServe for a Scholars in Service to Pennsylvania/ Americorps
position(s) for the academic year. The purpose of this program is to
deepen university/community partnerships through the strengths and
talents of individual academic disciplines and multi- disciplinary

departments. Faculty are asked to work collaboratively within their
department to design a plan of action for their Americorps Service
Scholar. MountainServe is responsible for coordinating the training of
those members and all monitoring that is required of the Scholars in
Service to Pennsylvania/Americorps program.
Departments that currently participate in the Engaged Department
Initiative include the Honors program, Health Sciences, Biology,
Elementary Education, Academic Development and Counseling, and
Recreation. These Americorps members are facilitating service- learning
placements for students in their major and department, working closely
with public officials to coordinate local events and festivals, tutoring
Upward Bound students, tutoring Math at local elementary schools,
creating and maintaining a database of human, health and social service
opportunities for Clinton County, and assisting nonprofit communitybased health organizations meet their needs and serve their
socioeconomically disadvantaged population. The possibilities are
endless.
A request for proposals is circulated in March for the 2009-10 academic
year. Please consider applying. You may contact Anne-Marie Turnage
with any questions that you may have at x2498 or Aturnage@lhup.edu.
Green Energy Fair
On Sunday, December 7th, State Representative Mike
Hanna and State Senator John Wozniak will be
presenting the Green Energy Fair at the Central
Mountain Middle School Gymnasium. The fair is free
and open to the public, and will feature over 20
exhibitors as well as brief seminars on different types
of alternative and renewable energy resources. You
can obtain information on the state's energy programs,
register for free product giveaways, and learn how to save on your utility
bills. For more information
contact Julie Brennan at 7481383 or at
jbrennan@pasenate.com.
A Pennsylvania Winter
--Zach Fishel (LHUP English
major)
Usually when the realization
that it's December hits people,

they dread that another year is about to start and they just haven't gotten
enough done. The holiday season looms over blue collar mountaintops, as
families see the “hottest toy of the year” and wonder if they can squeeze
enough sweat from their brows to afford it. Children are just ready to get
out on break, and begin the seriousness of writing to Santa. Not to
mention sledding with the neighborhood kids or trying to place flankers
on the outskirts of woods for the great snowball fights that happen every
year. But there is something deeper to a Pennsylvania winter. You can feel
it moving in your lungs, as you exhale curls of heated breath into the
morning. As the first snowflakes begin to skate across the horizon, like
young couples at Rockefeller Plaza, you remember why you come back to
these mountains every year.
Remembering home is like a treasured memory you only come across on
those cold nights where frost accumulating is the only sound. You feel the
warmth of a fire place filled with pine logs and the dizzying sap leaves
you with a buzz. The comfort of a mug full of peppermint hot chocolate
melts into the burning wax of bayberry candles and hours spent lost in
reflection. Waking up in the morning and grabbing a few cookies that
were made the night before makes work seem a little better.
Christmas lights recall many memories for me. I will never forget when
we used to decorate the house; it was a contest every year. It’s always
great to watch the little halos shine against the white backdrops of the
hills, driving through town and seeing each light like the Star of
Bethlehem. Live nativities are strung about the front lawns of every
church, and carolers harmonize melodies rehearsed over in the chapel, by
the choir who will replay the birth of the Great Counselor.
The greatest part of a winter in Pennsylvania isn’t plowing the driveway
eight times a day, or trying to be the first in line on black Friday. It comes
from the memories of years we can hardly keep track of anymore. It
sneaks up on you, just like the black ice and white outs across the
mountains. It’s slow, like the decorating of a tree or the hours dad worked
to get the newest video game system. You come back because this is
everything you know. Sometimes we look back the years and see the
winter as a closure to the things that happened. The bills we couldn’t pay,
or the friends we had to lose. Traditions are what we have to hold onto,
when things fall apart they are dependable. Times change and we as we
get older, we can go back to what we used to know. Even in all of this, we
always come back, to where we have our roots dug into the frosted soil.

Recipe
--Carroll Rhodes (Director of LHUP's Upward Bound)
To affect change
In the 200_ years
Aim for the wallet
Polar ice caps
The tears of global thermal heartache
A four dollar gallon of gas
Gets a response like no other
Limit the digital dollars at the pump
Offer shoppers similar smaller purchase options
Could be the end for Sam(‘s club) and friends
Maybe a secret, powerful economist
Is behind it all
Combine war, environmental crisis and consumerism
Flavor with predatory petroleum gluttony
And finally producers light with LED’s
Packing peanuts of cornstarch will melt in the rain
Choose from 20 hybrid or biofuel gulpers
We don’t really change our behavior
Consumerism, apparently
Has a tobacco addiction-like grip
Hike of the Month: Staying on Campus
This short hike involves absolutely no driving whatsoever, and provides
some good views of our campus. The total distance is 1.69 miles, and
since there are some moderate climbs, it takes approximately 40 minutes
to cover it. The hike begins in front of Akeley. Head towards Zimmerli,
following the fence of the lacrosse/field hockey field. Go up the stairs to
the left of Zimmerli; when you reach the parking lot at the top turn left
and climb the stairs into the woods.
The first part of the hike follows the ridge north of the lacrosse/field
hockey, softball, and football fields. Almost immediately, you'll see a
tribute to Cale Schaffer, a Recreation major who graduated in 1996 and
died in 2000 in a tragic helicopter crash while on a search-and-rescue
mission in Denali, Alaska. As the trail gradually ascends up the hill, you'll
pass the Challenge Course that is used by the Recreation Management

Department (stay off the equipment). Keep following the trail until you
reach stairs that descend to the football stadium. Follow the fence of the
stadium and go to the right of the Tomlinson Center. Directly behind this
building is a trail that cuts through the woods to the left (it's just behind a
small mulch pile).
The next
section of the
hike circles
around the
large hill on the
south side of
the playing
fields. Follow
the trail as it
ascends the
hill. After a
few minutes,
you'll pass a
trail that heads
downhill to the
football field--stay on the trail you've been following until you reach its
intersection with a trail that goes both right and left. Go right on the trail
and follow it as it curves around the hill. After a short time, you'll see the
chimney of an old foundation to your left, and the ramps of an unofficial
bicycle motocross course to the right. Go to the left, on the trail that runs
behind the chimney. The trail then climbs to the top of the hill (940 feet
above sea level, about 350 feet higher than the start of the hike). To your
right, in the valley below, is Glenn Road.
Enjoy the view (best at this time of year) as you follow the trail along the
ridge. When you reach the end of the ridge, you'll begin descending to the
left. Note the excellent view of Highland Cemetery, and above it the
power line on Bald Eagle Mountain (November's Hike of the
Month). Keep descending towards the green water tower, following the
trail to the left of the tower. As you go down the trail, to your left you can
see the green lacrosse/field hockey field, and the red roof of Thomas Field
House. When you reach a fairly well-established trail, go right towards
McEntire Hall; if you follow the steps down the hill to the left, you'll end
up back where you started.
It seems to me that this trail could be turned into a nature/culture trail for
the campus without much expense. A few blazes and well-placed plaques
that discussed the natural and cultural history of the area would make this

hike an excellent introduction to the campus. Also, it would be great if a
student group would "adopt" this trail--there is a good bit of litter,
especially as you get close to McEntire Hall.
All previous Hikes of the Month can be found at Hemlock Hikes.
Book Review: Matthew C. Ward's Breaking the Backcountry: The Seven
Years' War in Virginia and Pennsylvania, 1754-1765 (Pittsburgh: Univ. of
Pittsburgh Press, 2003).
--Bob Myers
Growing up in Pennsylvania, it's hard to ignore
the many levels of American history that are
represented here. Few Pennsylvania school
children have escaped being dragged by their
parents to visit to the Liberty Bell and Valley
Forge, and most of us have made the obligatory
fifth-grade class trip to Gettysburg (who can forget
scrambling among the rocks of "Devil's Den" or the
thrill of seeing "The Electric Map"). These
childhood experiences hooked me on
Pennsylvania's Civil War history, but until
recently, I've ignored the earlier conflicts that took
place in the state. To correct that blind spot, I recently read Matthew
Ward's Breaking the Backcountry, which deals with what occurred in
Pennsylvania during what is variously termed "The French and Indian
War," "The North American Theatre of the Seven Years' War," or, if you're
Canadian, "The War of the Conquest."
In 1753-54 the French built several forts in the Ohio Valley, including Fort
Duquesne (Pittsburgh) and Fort Presque Isle (Erie). In response, the
British sent 21-year-old Major George Washington to encourage the
French to abandon the forts. The French refused, and fighting broke out,
which lasted until the war ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763. Native
Americans, alarmed by European territorial expansion, fought for both
sides.
The focus of Ward's book is the Native American raids that were
conducted against European settlements in Pennsylvania and Virginia
after the 1755 defeat of Braddock's expedition against Fort Duquesne. The
withdrawal of the British army left the frontier undefended, and to
increase discontent about the war, the French encouraged the Shawnee
and Delawares to attack the settlements. Ward argues that the success of
these raids ultimately led to a breakdown of backcountry society.

I was interested by Ward's description of the early settlers of the
Pennsylvania backcountry, which in the mid-18th century meant just
about anything west of Philadelphia. Evidence suggests that the settlers
had an intense individualism and a strong desire for economic selfimprovement. Backcountry society was fragmented by religious and
ethnic differences; indeed, Ward argues that "the only real place where
community ties within the backcountry were developed, where neighbors
of different ethnic and religious backgrounds could be found together,
were the taverns that dotted the region with amazing frequency" (15). The
area around Lock Haven is mentioned: in 1755 the Susquehanna
Delawares called Andrew Montour to Great Island to warn him that they
were preparing for war against the British.
Although Breaking the Backcountry is a serious historical study, it is
accessible to the non-expert. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in
learning more about the rich past of Pennsylvania.
Environmental Focus Group
Bob Myers (chair), Md. Khalequzzaman, Lenny Long, Jeff Walsh, Danielle
Tolton, John Crossen, Sandra Barney, David White, Tom Ormond, and
Ralph Harnishfeger. The committee is charged with promoting and
supporting activities, experiences, and structures that encourage students,
faculty, and staff to develop a stronger sense of place for Lock Haven
University and central Pennsylvania. Such a sense of place involves a
stewardship of natural resources (environmentalism), meaningful outdoor
experiences, and appreciation for the heritage of the region.