A Rainy Day in the Poconos

Following our relaxing and enjoyable visit to the Quiet Valley Living Historical Park, we still had a little less than half a day for exploration in and around Stroudsburg Pennsylvania. 

So…what to do?

We started our afternoon adventure by visiting these antique shops in Stroudsburg… The main building here contains 22,000 square feet of antiques and collectables representing 50 – 60 different dealers. 

The Olde Engine Works Antiques Marketplace is located at 63 North 3^rd Street.  Beginning in 1903, this building served as a machine shop.  Early on, they built large steam hoists used for bridge building, quarrying and similar heavy duty operations.  During WWII, they produced hoists that were used to load and unload Liberty Ships.  Following the war, the primary business was building winches for shrimp boats.  The building continued to operate as a machine shop until 1992.

 

In any case, we didn’t spend much time here.  Although there was a lot of variety for shoppers, we’ve been in so many antique malls and we have so much ‘stuff’ already, we’re easily bored in these types of shops and we decided to find something else to do…

It you love browsing through antique malls, the Olde Engine Works would be right up your alley.  You can check out their website at: https://www.oldeengineworks.com/antiques-and-collectibles-in-the-poconos/.

So we got back in our car, I looked at a map of the area, picked a route and we headed into the Poconos in the rain… Since it was raining, we didn’t try to take photos of the scenery, but we focused on any attractions that grabbed our attention.

As we drove north on PA Hwy. 390, we came to Callie’s Pretzel Factory in Cresco Pennsylvania.  We both love pretzels, especially imaginative versions of hard pretzels and we regard soft pretzels as ‘comfort food’!  We ‘had to’ stop and shop…

This is indeed a pretzel factory!  Note the hot dogs wrapped with pretzel dough on the conveyor belt about to go into the oven… The website states that mornings are the best time to see the factory in production. 

In this instance, big soft pretzel twists were being fed into an oven…

It was early in the afternoon and there were several pretzel related items that were already gone from the display cases.  This was just one of the showcases.  Poppy seed, garlic Parmesan butter braid, pretzel hot dog, pretzel braid, no salt, chocolate and “everything” varieties were temporarily sold out.

We didn’t want to spoil our dinner so we just had a couple of big soft salt pretzels. ($2.00 each) Left to my own devices, I would have opted for this bacon topped cheddar pretzel ($4.00)…but then I would have regretted it later in the day!

Callie’s Pretzel Factory was quite busy… When the cashier had a moment to catch her breath she told me that rain is almost a guarantee that more customers will flock to the store!

FYI, if you love pretzels as well as variety, Callie’s Pretzel Factory has an on-line store.  Just go to https://www.calliescandy.com/pretzel-factory/.

I had to take a photo of this old 1930 Ford open wood paneled delivery truck!  The sign on the windshield states “Be gentle with me.  I’m old”.  Apparently visitors can sit in it and have their photos taken.  Personally, I wouldn’t have left it out in the rain…but thanks for the photo op!

Just a short way up the road we passed over a bridge taking the highway over a railroad track and I caught a quick glimpse of this depot.  So of course, I turned on the next street and discovered the Cresco Station Museum.  It’s a very attractive station in a quiet out-of-the-way location.

A large passenger boarding area and this faux railroad crossing with a crossing guard shack are adjacent to the depot/museum.In 1851, the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad came through the town.  

Originally, the town was named Oakford, then it was changed to Oakland…and finally to Cresco.  The original makeshift depot was constructed with railroad ties and it had a canvas roof.  The current station was built sometime in the mid-1880s.  It wasn't closed until 1967.  At its peak, the Cresco station handled up to 1,000 passengers per day!   

A local factory owner’s family trust made the depot and its property available to the Barrett Township Historical Society.  The family trust spent $80,000 in maintenance and renovation.  The Historical society maintains and operates the museum.

The museum has a little bit of everything for visitors to peruse… Among other things, there is a diorama, displays about early area schools, local churches and cemeteries, a Civil War Roster and artifacts, a barber shop, general store…and yes, a gift shop.  The last photo above shows the Station Master’s Room with railroad memorabilia.

 

The Cresco Station Museum is located at PA Hwy 191/390 and Sand Spring Road in Cresco, Monroe County Pennsylvania.  For more information, go to http://www.barretthistory.org/.  The volunteers on duty were helpful and this was a very nice stop on our rainy day journey!

I took this photo of the United Methodist Church in Mountainhome PA, just north of Cresco.  I couldn’t locate any history on this very large old wood church with a stone foundation…but it is an impressive structure, especially for a town of about 1,200 inhabitants.

This is a major attraction is Mountainhome!  It’s Callie’s Candy Kitchen… Yes it is operated by the same family that owns Callie’s Pretzel Factory.  Love the outdoor décor, don’t you?!

The Candy Kitchen has been around since 1952, however it was originally located in Bangor PA.  The Candy Kitchen’s founders were just 19 year old newlyweds when they started the business.  Then, in 1972, the family moved the Candy Kitchen to Mountainhome in the Pocono Mountains. 

This isn’t just a candy store.  In 2015, the store also became a candy museum!  There are various interesting displays of candy making equipment in one area of the building with an emphasis on the art and history of the candy making process.  For those that love old metal candy molds, the last photo with the Callie’s mold collection will certainly get your attention!

The candy choices were almost endless!  Basically, beyond the ‘usual’ items, Callie’s Candy Kitchen will cover almost anything in chocolate.  Beyond chocolate, the options for your sweet tooth are almost endless.  Our heads were spinning…too many choices! 

As with the Pretzel Factory, the rain certainly wasn’t hurting business at Callie’s Candy Kitchen either!  It was a busy place…

To shop at Callie’s Candy Kitchen and an endless variety of sweets on-line, just go to https://www.calliescandy.com/shop/.

After leaving the candy store it was still raining.  As we pulled out of the parking lot on our way back to Stroudsburg and dinner, I spotted a ‘line-up’ of antique/collectable cars.  From the top there was a 1941 Cadillac, a 1954 Studebaker, 2 nice old Fords and an Edsel.  A nice little collection!

If you didn’t know what an Edsel was, it was developed and manufactured by the Ford Motor Company between 1958 and 1960.  It was supposed to be the ‘car of the future’.  However the public thought it was unattractive, overpriced and overhyped!  Only 116,000 Edsels were produced, about half of what was needed just to break even.  The car’s failure at the time actually became a popular symbol or term for a commercial failure.  Today however, the remaining 10,000 or so are considered to be valuable collector’s cars…

That’s it for now… Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by for a short rainy day tour!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave