Sometimes,
as
we
travel
through
life,
we
find ourselves in a place that
is special not only because of the experience it extends, but
also because of the serendipity of its discovery. Such is
the
pleasure of both the town of Boiling
Springs and its centerpiece, BOILING SPRINGS TAVERN.
The
Tavern has been the focal point of the
small Pennsylvania town since 1832, when Anheuser
Busch, also
known as “The Barons
of Beer,” opened the establishment amidst the expansion of their
brewing empire.
SEVEN
FOR DINNER IS A ROMANTIC
RENDERING OF THE TAVERN IN A PAST TIMES WINTER BY LOCAL ARTIST, ROBERT
O'CONNOR
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Boiling Springs offers a
confluence of diverse outlooks and activities
as I found out one gorgeous spring afternoon. I was
perched at the lovely old bar tended by Mike, a world class
publican. He is a former native of Philly, but has become a go-to
local
historian. I was joined by a pair of hikers coming off the Appalachian
Trail, a couple of fly fishermen who had been casting their luck into
the famous 20
mile
long Yellow Breechs Creek,
and
a group of locals from the
surrounding village. Stirred into that mix were several parents
of students from
nearby Dickinson College. This
historic institution located in Carlisle
along
with the famed Army War College has
added an academic
personality into the eclectic character of
the area. A sundry assemblage to be sure, but that is the beauty of
this
place - folks from all over, following diverse paths, but
gathering as a family, if only for the season of a single
lunch.
As I sipped my pint of ale I took notice of the old photographs of
the Carlisle Indian Industrial School
that hang throughout the tap room. Although I had been traveling to the
area for several years to visit my daughters at nearby Dickinson College, I had little
knowledge of this aspect of Carlisle’s legacy. Mike indulged my
curiosity by providing a quick history lesson. Established in 1879 on
the site of an abandoned army post, the boarding school became the
model for other institutions tasked with the education of Native
American children. Its founder Captain Richard H. Pratt, a former
cavalry officer involved in a number of western campaigns against the
Kiowa and Cheyenne, wanted a more benign solution to the “Indian
problem.” He preached assimilation over annihilation, or to use his own
words, “Kill the Indian, and save the Man.” In the course of almost 40
years over 12,000 students, including the legendary Olympian Jim Thorpe, attended
the school. In the end, like most attempts at social engineering, it
was mostly unsuccessful. In 1918 the grounds were returned to the
military. It served for a while as a hospital for returning soldiers
from Europe and eventually the Army War College
was established at the site.
Evidently, lessons of cultural and ethnic tolerance are not
readily learned. We repeated the mistakes of the Carlisle Indian
Industrial School with our interment
of
the
Japanese-Americans
during
World
War II and they are still apparent in our
present,
disparate attitudes as to certain groups of immigrants versus others.
Fear and resentment toward unfamiliar
cultures and their expressions do not dissipate easily. A little
more time spent in convivial places like BOILING
SPRINGS TAVERN could only help.
I would be remiss if I did not mention the monument directly across the
street from the tavern. Visible from the
bar stools is a beautiful body of water named Children’s
Lake, and
along its bank is a memorial clock tower built in
1956 as a
remembrance to the veterans who have perished in service to our
country. Adjacent to the clock tower, in a very distinguished
stone semi-circle hangs a memorial plaque. It honors a local man,
Sgt. Randall Shughart, who
was awarded
the Medal of Honor posthumously for his extraordinary bravery as a
member of Delta Force in the battle of Mogadishu, Somalia in
1993. My later research revealed that Sgt.
Shughart and Master Sgt. Gary Gordon of the
Special Operation Group
volunteered for an extremely dangerous rescue operation. This horrific
battle, and its hideous aftermath, was subsequently portrayed in
the film, BLACK HAWK DOWN. Heroes,
of
course,
can
be
found everywhere including small, rural towns in Central
Pennsylvania. The self sacrifice and bravery of men like Sgt.
Shughart is almost unfathomable. As I stood in front
of
his
peaceful memorial, next to the clock
tower, on the bank of Children’s Lake, I felt
proud, grateful, and profoundly humbled.
PEACEFUL
CONTEMPLATION
AND
THEN
PERHAPS A COCKTAIL
A visit to BOILING SPRINGS TAVERN offers
not
only
a delightful
pub experience, but can inspire a bit of contemplation as well .
. . not to mention the fine food and drink. It provides a
comfortable perch from which to watch soldiers, college students, their
parents, local characters, and tourists alike celebrate their
individual contributions to the recipe which combines them into a
boiling pot of the unique delicacy we call America. Sometimes it takes
just such a visit to remind us of what we have and what we are as
a people and
a nation.
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BOILING SPRINGS TAVERN IN
BOILING SPRINGS, PENNSYLVANIA
THE LOVELY BAR SERVES AS
A FOCAL POINT FOR THE INTERACTION OF SOLDIERS, STUDENTS, PARENTS,
SEEKERS OF WILDERNESS, LOCAL CHARACTERS, HISTORIANS, HEROES, AND FOLKS
WHO JUST APPRECIATE GOOD FOOD, FUN, DRINK, AND CONVERSATION.
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THE BAR CIRCA 1908
A BEAUTIFUL SUMMER STROLL
PUFFY THE DUCKY TOTEM WELCOMES
ALL TO HIS TAVERN
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