Thousands rally in D.C. for George Floyd, Black Lives Matter

At the corner of I Street and 16th Ave. NW., Washington, D.C., June 6, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

You could register to vote at this tent set up at I and 16th to cast your ballot in November, Washington, D.C., June 6, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At the corner of I and 16th streets, this building owner joined the message.Washington, D.C., June 6, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Recyclers will have this all picked up by tomorrow morning. This was at the new Black Lives Matter Plaza but there were too many people to see the new mural Mayor Muriel Bowser commissioned for the street. Thank you, Mayor! Washington, D.C., June 6, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

In front of St. John's Episcopal Church at Black Lives Matter Plaza, the Revs. Joshua Daniel from St. Columba's Episcopal Church, left, and Patrick Keyser from the Washington National Cathedral dispensed water.  They said they didn't know who brought the water which constantly re-appeared. They thought (were hoping? It was hot!) they were on shift patrol. Washington, D.C., June 6, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

From the portico at St. John's Episcopal Church, looking out on Black Lives Matter Plaza and the Hay-Adams Hotel. Washington, D.C., June 6, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

From St. John's portico. Washington, D.C., June 6, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

St. John's portico offered shade, a place to sit, and excellent viewing. Washington, D.C., June 6, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

This is the place at St. John's where President Trump stood on June 1, 2020, waving the Bible, and (no doubt)  to become the site of an historical marker. Washington, D.C., June 6, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

This stairwell at St. John's leads to the nursery where an arsonist set fire May 31, 2020. Washington, D.C., June 6, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

A della Robbia at St. John's Episcopal Church.  Washington, D.C., June 6, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At St. John's Episcopal Church. Washington, D.C., June 6, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The St. John's building housing parish offices and classrooms on H Street N.W.
Washington, D.C., June 6, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Next door to St. John's on H Street is the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Washington, D.C., June 6, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

June 6, 2020, Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., June 6, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The fence borders Lafayette Square Park, the "people's park," which Google estimates is 1.7 miles long, and surrounds the White House and its grounds. Washington, D.C., June 6, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Washington, D.C., June 6, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

On H Street, protesters knelt and shouted "I can't breathe," the last words of George Floyd .The yellow building is St. John's Episcopal Church and next to it, the Veterans Administration building. To the right (unseen here) is Lafayette Square. Washington, D.C., June 6, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

A new plaza is born at the corner of H St., NW at St. John's Episcopal Church at Lafayette Square. Washington, D.C., June 6, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

On the fence, Washington, D.C., June 6, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

On H Street in front of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce building across from Lafayette Square.
Washington, D.C., June 6, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

A helicopter flies back and forth above Lafayette Square.  The absence of the police matched the absence of violence which must be the subject of a dissertation somewhere. Washington, D.C., June 6, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

What? Who? Had the New York Times Square cowboy come to D.C.? Here, "a figure" makes "adjustments" at the corner of Lafayette Square at Decatur House, Connecticut and H streets. Washington, D.C., June 6, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie.

Do these boarded-up windows at the Renwick Gallery mean they were broken?  I hope not! At the corner of 17th and Pennsylvania Avenue. Washington, D.C., June 6, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

American University students gave out water and snacks on 17th. Washington, D.C., June 6, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Former Washington Nationals star Jayson Werth came, too! Washington, D.C., June 6, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

I believe this throng on 17th came from the Lincoln Memorial. Washington, D.C., June 6, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

17th Street, Washington, D.C., June 6, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

On 17th, Washington, D.C., June 6, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Her sign says: "When justice becomes law, resistance become duty." Washington, D.C., June 6, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

On 17th with the Washington Monument in the background.  Washington, D.C., June 6, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

On 17th. Washington, D.C., June 6, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Resting on the grounds of the Lincoln Memorial. Washington, D.C., June 6, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

What would Abe say? Washington, D.C., June 6, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The Lincoln Memorial

The Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C., June 6, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At  Mamadouba's food truck at the corner of 23rd and Constitution, a single mango slushie ranged in price from $7.70 to $23.90 (if you didn't pay attention). Does D.C. have an Office of Consumer Affairs? Washington, D.C., June 6, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Protestors kept their signs and this one at the Lafayette Square fence was the only unclaimed one I could find. Washington, D.C., June 6, 2020/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Casual observation revealed more whites than blacks showed up at the rallies which popped up all over downtown Washington June 6 on a day when the temperature climbed into the 90s.  

Washington's beautiful shade trees offered protection from the sun, while volunteers of various organizations stood behind loaded tables of free fruit, snacks and coolers of iced bottles of water to offer them to protesters. 

Dogs on leashes likely outnumbered the small number of children who came with their families.

It did seem like there was "a party going on" outside the fence at Lafayette Square when thousands joined their brothers and sisters to march for racial affirmation and to honor the memories of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and many others.  

Music occasionally wafted over the streets where the protesters shared a spirit of unity and a common goal. A grassroots day of memorials, sponsored by the people who long for new leadership, direction, and recognition.

patricialesli@gmail.com 

The towns drown May 31, 1889

The president of the South Fork Hunting and Fishing Club near Johnstown, Pennsylvania was Col. Elias J. Unger who lived in this house and took care of the property.  He and his team tried frantically to build and hold the dam as the water crept higher and higher, but to no avail and the dam gave way flooding villages and killing thousands of people downstream

Does this picture remind you of Auntie Em's house in The Wizard of Oz? Would that the Johnstown Flood was a mere dream likeThe Wizard of Oz!/Photo by Patricia Leslie



It was rich vs. poor in Pennsylvania in the 1880s when wealthy industrialists fled Pittsburgh and its high summertime temperatures to Lake Conemaugh 67 miles east. At the lake and the surrounding community, the visitors enjoyed cooler weather and the luxuries of a manmade lake with fishing, boating, and nearby lodging in "cottages" or a clubhouse.

They were members of the South Fork Hunting and Fishing Club which owned the dam which broke on May 31, 1889 flooding four villages before engulfing Johnstown and killing 2,209 people, many never identified, many, Welsh and German immigrants who worked in the city's steel mills.

The dam needed repairs but who had the money? Or wanted to spend it on a dam structure? 

Improvements were ignored, and so on a day which saw six to ten inches of rain fall, the most ever recorded for that time period, according to the U.S. Army Signal Corps, the water from Lake Conemaugh breeched the dam and sped down the valley at 40 mph before destroying Johnstown 14 miles away.

Today marks the 131st anniversary of the Johnstown Flood.
Many residents never received warning. The lake's owners and the failed maintenance were never found guilty of anything.

The site lies about four hours from Washington, D.C., now a national park, where I was driven by a book, The Johnstown Flood (1968) by David McCullough which makes visiting the scene much more rewarding if you read it ahead of time. (Johnstown is also about 30 minutes from the September 11, 2001 Flight 93 crash site.)  Although the visitor center is still closed at Johnstown for covid-19, the grounds are open and well worth a visit for the love of history and learning about another chapter in our nation's past.

An engraving from Harper's Weekly June 15, 1889 depicting the tragedy at Johnstown/Wikimedia Commons

The entrance to the park with a path on the left leading to the north fork overlook of the dam's remains, now overgrown/Photo by Patricia Leslie

A view from the north fork overlook trail up the hill at the former location of Lake Conemaugh on the far right, Col. Unger's home, center, and his barn, now the Visitor Center, on the left/Photo by Patricia Leslie

On top of the hill is Col. Unger's home and in the distance on the left is the town of Saint Michael with cottages and the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club. Lake Conemaugh was below Col. Unger's house/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Col. Unger's home with Highway 219 in the distance, near the dam's former site in the center/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The Visitor Center on top of the hill, formerly Col. Unger's barn/Photo by Patricia Leslie

A view from the north fork overlook and the water's path/Photo by Patricia Leslie

A trail to the north fork overlook/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Across Lake Conemaugh in Saint Michael's is the South Fork Hunting and Fishing Clubhouse  at 186 Main Street. The three-story building had.47 rooms and lodged club members and their families who did not own "cottages." Now, you can drive up, park onsite, and peer in the windows of the clubhouse where repairs are underway/Photo by Patricia Leslie

From the porch of the South Fork Hunting and Fishing Clubhouse/Photo by Patricia Leslie

One of the "cottages" in Saint Michael's which belonged to a member of the South Fork Hunting and Fishing Club, now under renovation. The sign says this style of house is :Victorian Queen Anne "shingle."/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Another view of the "cottage" undergoing renovation, formerly owned by a member of the South Fork Hunting and Fishing Club/Photo by Patricia Leslie

A restored "cottage" in Saint Michael's, privately owned/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Looter then, looters now. Francis Schell and Thomas Hogan made this wood engraving of the flood's aftermath including looters, pictured in Harper's Weekly, June 15, 1889/Wikimedia Commons


What:  Johnstown Flood National Memorial.

When:  The park's grounds are open from sunrise to sunset, but covid-19 has closed the Visitor Center. If summertime hours resume (June - September) and the visitor center opens, reservations presumably may be made to take a ranger-led hike (of four-five or eight miles) or a four-hour van tour which includes access to the South Fork Hunting and Fishing Club and a ride by "cottages" owned by club members (which may be done in your own vehicle). 

Reservations for the tours are important but I found neither their cost nor how to make them on the NPS website.

Nine of the 16 original "cottages" are still standing; three are owned by the National Park Service and six are private. 


Where:  Johnstown Flood National Memorial, 733 Lake Road
South Fork, PA 15956 

Cell phone tour:  Available at no charge


How much: No charge to visit the park


For more information:  (814) 886-6170 and visit the website


patricialesli@gmail.com

In memoriam Flight 93 Sept. 11, 2001

The name of one of the passengers and her unborn child listed on the Wall of Names at the crash site  of United Flight 93 in Stoystown, Pennsylvania September 11, 2001/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At the entrance to the Flight 93 National Memorial and visible from Highway 30 is the unfinished Tower of Voices, 93 feet high with 40 wind chimes, a "living memorial," the National Park Service writes in its brochure, dedicated on Sept. 9, 2018, a musical monument unique to the world.  About 10 of the wind chimes have been installed (there is presently no sound at the Tower) with the rest to be added at irregular times, according to Wikipedia. (A simulated sound may be heard at the NPS website.)/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The Tower of Voices at the Flight 93 National Memorial/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The Tower of Voices at the Flight 93 National Memorial/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Inside the Tower of Voices at the Flight 93 National Memorial/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At the visitor center about 1.5 miles away from the Tower of Voices is this walkway which leads to the Western Overlook of the site, following the plane's path before it went down/Photo
At the Visitor Center, the times and locations of the other three plane crashes are carved in stone on the walkway to the Western Overlook. This says: "9:37:46 AM   Pentagon   American Airlines Flight 77"  /Photo by Patricia Leslie

The Western Overlook at the Visitor Center/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At the Memorial Plaza below the Western Overlook and Visitor Center, the victims' pictures and names are shown with other displays. A cell phone tour  is available at no charge. Victims' names are also listed in the memorial brochure and on the Wall of Names/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The Wall of Names looking towards the Visitor Center on the top of the hill. The locations of the Wall and the Visitor Center follow the trajectory of the plane as it crashed. Paul Murdoch Architects conceived the site with victims' names carved in separate white marble slabs, in a design reminiscent of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. For any memorial of this magnitude, of course there was controversy, and the architect changed the design/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Looking in the opposite direction at the Wall of Names towards the locked gate (in the distance) which leads to the crash site, a holy place where victims' families are permitted to enter. To the left in the distance beyond the black wall border is the crash site/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Beyond the black granite border at Memorial Plaza on the right is the crash site. Places for visitors to leave tributes are fashioned into the wall and collected. Visitors may also leave cards at the Visitor Center/Photo by Patricia Leslie

This direction is opposite the picture two above, with the black granite border on the left defining the crash site. Beyond is the Wall of Names/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 At Memorial Plaza/Photo by Patricia Leslie

/Photo by Patricia Leslie

On this Memorial Day we also remember and pay tribute to the victims of United Airlines Flight 93, the 33 passengers and seven crew members who ended terrorists' efforts on September 11, 2001 before the plane could strike Washington, D.C.*

Only 20 minutes from Washington, the heroism, strength, and bravery of the crew and passengers prevented another tragedy of an aircraft, intending to destroy a national monument.

Flight 93 was the only one of four planes hijacked that awful day which missed its target.

Rather, this plane barreled upside down into the ground at 593 mph in a Pennsylvania field leaving a crater measuring 30 feet by 15 feet deep which the coroner ordered covered. Remains of every victim were found and returned to families and also, left here.


Now a 17-ton sandstone marks the point of the impact with a cluster of hemlock trees nearby.

Flight 93's grave is one of solemnity and peace whose design and place are marked by a sense of guilt and pride that passengers and crew members on a plane took over with nothing more than sheer determination, mission, and force on their side.

Although it is a sad place, still I was left with astonishment over the bravery and charge of strong men and women who did not hesitate to seize control from the perpetrators and save our nation from more terror. The victims made deadly life-changing decisions in seconds. They are forever heroes whose legacy remind us of what we can do on a moment's notice when called to stand and serve.

I wondered what I would do on a plane like this. How about you?
  
American heroism grows stronger, never ceasing to overcome adversity and challenge like that we face today.  We, too, can stand and serve our nation and do the right thing.

* The exact target, the U.S. Capitol or the White House, has never been determined.

What: Flight 93 National Memorial


When:  The park is open seven days a week from sunup to sundown, however, the Visitor Center is still closed for covid-19 reasons. When open, the Visitor Center is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. all week with the exception of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day.

Where:  6424 Lincoln Highway, Stoystown, PA 15567. (Searching for the park's name will take you to the wrong entrance.) It is a trash-free park.


How much: No charge but donations are welcome!

Getting there: Directions are found on the NPS website. From D.C. it's about 3.5 driving hours away.

For more information:  (814) 893-6322 or the NPS website 

patricialesli@gmail.com