Three River Arts Festival (or PGH's train!)

We went to PGH today to the 3 River Arts Festival.  Rather than drive right to the festival and try to find parking there, we went to the Rivers Casino on the the North Side and took the newly opened train under the Genesee River and over to Points Park for the Festival.  Public transportation makes me very happy.  And riding on this branch of the transit will be free for 3 years!  We started at Allegheny Station, which is right at the one of the ball parks and the Carnegie Science Center ...

 Only 2 stops away and here we are in downtown Pittsburgh ...

 ... at the 3 River Arts Festival ...

 Lots of things to look at.  So much so that I get overwhelmed, and don't buy a thing ...

... but I was very impressed with this gallery of weed photography!  (I'm going to put together something like this with my own weeds, I think.)

 Some recycling art, like this "catch of the day" made from soda cans.

 and other stuff ...

 I found the building reflections impressive ...

 ... and this fake lady ...

 We broke away from the festival and had lunch at Jimmy John's across the street ...

 ... we went in despite the sign ...

 ... Looked around for some live music ... and thought we were hearing a Bluegrass Band, "Well Strung" ...

 but they said that they were just the "Roadies" who were setting up for "Well Strung".  They were good.

... another fake man ...

 ... the Calligraphy Guild of PGH doing free names ...

 ...  and then this fun little parade came along.  I think that they must be the Public Safety Crew or something ...

 ... back down the subway ...

 ... everything is brand new ...

 ... and back to the Casino where we were parked ...

 ... we walked through the huge, very air-conditioned (and very many people smoking), and almost packed casino.  There was a poker tournament going on, and a high stakes room where trays of (free?) drinks were being served. 

 So many people absorbed in the slot machines ...

... dunno, but I don't get it ...

Anyway, we felt like we had been to the city and seen many sites!

Recycled Dreams

From a shop on the Soap Derby street in Ambridge PA ...

 John almost bought this for me ...

And then this building, that attests to the rich and diverse ethnic character of this area ...

The Western PA Soap Box Derby

While we were in Ambridge we found ourselves right on the street of a Soap Box Derby!  John had never been to one of these (neither had I), only seen them on TV.  Quite exciting, watching the little kids in the carts come rolling down the hill.

 Check out the bumpers on the sides of the street.

"Oekonomie"

Today we went down to Old Economy Village, the Harmonist community that thrived here during the 1800s.  Located in the Ohio River town of Ambridge just north of Pittsburgh, it is about 20 minutes from Cranberry.

Economy was the third and final home of the Harmony Society, one of the most successful Christian communal groups of the 19th century.

Seeking religious and economic freedom, in 1804 nearly 600 Society members traveled to Pennsylvania from the southwestern corner of modern day Germany.   The Harmonists first settled in Butler county, then moved to the Indiana territory in 1814.  They returned to Pennsylvania in 1924 and built Oekonomie (Economy) on the Ohio River.  Within 5 years they had erected brick houses, a church, mills, factories, shops, a natural history museum, and a community feast hall.

It was essentially a commune whose members were religiously pious and economically prosperous.  Despite their prosperity, because they were celibate, only a handful of the Harmonists survived to the 1890s, and the Society was legally dissolved in 1905.

George Rapp, the founder of the Harmony Society, thought himself a prophet.  At least, he was a visionary.  

 Me and a Harmonite look alike before George's home.

Other than the celibacy thing, the Harmonites lived well compared to the pioneers around them.  When you joined the group you gave them all of your money and were guaranteed food, shelter, education and medical care for the rest of your life.  Everyone worked and women were treated the same as men.  You could leave the group but were given only $20 on your departure.  Considering the extraordinary wealth of the Harmonites, some ex-Harmonites often tried rob the vaults of money stored in the basement of George Rapp's home.

 They liked music!

 And gardens ...

 Found a sour cherry tree out there.

 A rain barrel ...

 Spinning ...

 A communal kitchen with several huge vats for cooking stews ...

 A blacksmith ...

 Note the vents that can be raised from the roof of the communal kitchen ...

 John was impressed with the rain gutter cut right into the stone ...

 A big feast hall ...

 At least they were not teetotalers.  This is the impressive wine cellar ...

 Spinning silk from cocoons of silk worms.

 John trying out the stilts ...

 More toys from the era though there were very few children.  Despite the celibacy, they said that "things happened" and every year or so a child was born.  No one was kicked out for breaking the rule.

 A bath tub!

There were more tour guides there than tourists.   We had the place to ourselves with personal demonstrations and explanations.  It seems that the Harmonites were similar to the Shakers communities, and had conversations with them about the right way to live.  The Harmonites believed that the 2nd Coming was imminent and were trying to live as "perfect" of a life as they could.  The lived simply and worked hard.  If not for the celibacy thing, they would surely have continued to thrive to this day.