Pococabana Lodge destroyed by fire

(All that's left of Pococabana - photo: Chris Francz)

Posted Oct 28, 2008 at 12:01 AM

Pocono Record

Q: What ever happened to the Pococabana Lodge? I worked there one summer during high school.

T.S.

Dewey, Ariz.

A: The Pococabana Lodge's main building, which had been the hub of the 28-acre resort in Smithfield Township, burned in April 1973, leaving only the out-buildings standing but operational.

After the fire, the owner of the summer resort had planned to rebuild, but he was unable to reclaim the clientele that the lodge had once served, and business went downhill.

In 1976, the Pococabana became the first motel in the area to show X-rated movies via closed-circuit television. Less than a year later, the movies were abandoned for one of the latest fads — the all-water diet.

The Pococabana name remained listed in telephone books through 1982.

************************************************

Note from Chris:

(When my family first moved to the Poconos in 1978 my mother drove me and my brother and sister around a lot to check out things. Pococabana, or what's left of it, looked as it does today. Though no one would call it a "fat farm" today, that's what my mom told me it was in 1978.) 

Minisink Hotel and Pococabana

I am always doing online searches for photos related to Minisink Hills, PA. The top photo is the largest image I could find  of this postcard for the Minisink Hotel. The matchbook cover is an amazing find! The lower photos are postcards for Pococabana. See earlier posts about that once amazing and huge resort. All that remains are a few buildings used for apartments. Pococabana...its remains were / are located along side Route 209 between Eilenberger Drive and Buttermilk Falls Road. Note: The matchbook cover lists the address as Route 402 / Shawnee Road. I'm not sure why. Route 402 is miles away and there is no longer a Shawnee Road. The times sure have changed!

Archeological dig in Minisink Hills, PA

The Dedication of the Shawnee Minisink Site Historical Marker

July 9, 2010

On Friday, July 2nd, a ceremony was held along River Road in Smithfield Township, Monroe County. The purpose was to celebrate a new Pennsylvania state historical marker. The marker was dedicated to the Shawnee Minisink archaeological site (36Mr43). The site has had a major impact on our understanding of past cultural behavior at both the national and international level. However, the marker ceremony is also about the archaeologists who worked at the site and just as importantly, about the local government who is preserving the site.

Don Kline, avocational archaeologist, discovered the site in 1972 and Dr. Charles McNett of American University excavated the site between 1974 and 1977. During that period, over 3900 square feet was excavated to a depth averaging eight feet, producing over 55,000 artifacts. Other than the Meadowcroft Rockshelter, it has yielded the earliest carbon 14 dates for human occupation in the Commonwealth and some of the earliest in the eastern United States. The site is stratified and encapsulates nearly 11,000 years of Pennsylvania prehistory. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.

The ceremony was very well attended with between 50 and 75 people at the site. Brian Barrett, Smithfield Township Manager, Joe Gingrich, graduate student at the University of Wyoming, R. Michael Stewart, Temple University professor and Kurt W. Carr, State Museum archaeologist, gave brief presentations. About 50 people returned for lunch at the township building where they were given PowerPoint presentations on the significance of the site. Smithfield Township did a great job in organizing the event and they seemed very pleased with the turnout. At least one TV station filmed the event. Historic marker dedication ceremonies vary greatly in their content but this was one of the best. These events really do get people excited about their heritage.

Full article:

http://twipa.blogspot.com/2010_07_01_archive.html?m=1

The last post office in Minisink Hills, PA...ever.

Now the site of Popcorn Buddha...

http://blog.evankalish.com/2011/03/postal-mortem-minisink-hills-pa.html?m=1

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Postal Mortem: Minisink Hills, PA

Welcome to the first in a series of Going Postal entries about my experiences in eastern Pennsylvania.

My entries in this blog have focused on post offices that were open at the time of my visitation. While planning a route for my present eastern Pennsylvania trip (which also took me to 18 active post offices today), I discovered an office that was discontinued back in 2009: Minisink Hills, PA.

The location, in a strip mall across the street from an elementary school, still bears the hallmarks of a standard post office: a rear door and loading platform for mail carriers, the flagpole out front, and a handicapped ramp. Here's the building as it now stands:



Located a grand total of 0.8 driving miles from the post office that absorbed its mail delivery, Shawnee on Delaware, and 1.8 miles from Delaware Water Gap, PA, it's probable that the services of this independent post office weren't considered necessary to the community. It's the author's suspicion that a leasing dispute sealed the deal for the closure of the facility. Of course, the site remains unoccupied two years after the office's closing.

Upon closer inspection of the building, one can see the wear marks from the signage lettering:



Neither I nor the Postmark Collectors Club (which maintains the most accurate Directories of post offices throughout the country) knew the date of discontinuance for this office. Fortunately, taped inside the front door was this note from the last Postmaster:



An employee in East Stroudsburg informed me yesterday over the phone that Minisink Hills had been closed for about two years. Sure enough, January 23, 2009 was a Friday!

Minisink Hotel

Photo: Chris Francz 7/21/16

Minisink Hotel: America's only 'inspiring' bar

Pocono Record

The Minisink Hotel in Minisink Hills. 

The bar's unassuming front is a facade for the tight-knit community of regulars within.

By KIETRYN ZYCHAL 

Posted Jun 15, 2007

The Minisink Hotel might be the only bar in America that can be described as "inspiring."

Perched on the banks of Marshalls Creek, just a few hundred feet from where it meets the Brodhead, and less than a mile from the Delaware River, the Minisink brings new meaning to the phrase "watering hole."

Three times in three years, the water outside has come inside the bar, up to a height of five feet during the flood of 2006.

"The insurance money didn't come near to covering the cost of rebuilding three times," said Frank Ottinger, one of the two owners.

All of the regulars gathered there on a Friday evening in March took pride in sharing stories of their favorite bar.

Wendy, who was playing pool with George, said, "It has the look of a bar you shouldn't go in if you don't know anybody, but it's not like that at all."

Briana, the bartender, agreed. "We rarely get any kind of trouble. It's a very eclectic crowd, but awesome."

Owner Rick Strunk said he prefers working with female bartenders.

"When I get off work, I don't want to get a beer from some ugly guy who wants to talk about football," Strunk said.

Michael Reiner, a union carpenter who moved to the Poconos from Teaneck, N.J., goes to the Minisink every weekend.

"Years ago, I went to a place that used to be down the road called Mimi's. They told me, 'You don't belong here. Go to the Minisink.' I did, and I've been here ever since," Reiner said.

In fact, the last time the bar flooded, Reiner was one of the people who helped construct the new cement and tile floor.

Chuck Horan, who has owned a vacation home in Bushkill for 30 years, also helped build the new floor.

"We put drains in so the water can go into the basement and be pumped out from there," Horan said.

A sense of ownership of the bar extends beyond Ottinger and Strunk to the patrons.

"Chili" Bob Melcer talked about Stump's Bridge, a $30,000 footbridge that spans the Marshalls Creek. It was built in honor of the late Howard Sten, one of the original three owners who bought the Minisink in 1990. Stump's Bridge has steel I-beams and concrete footings, and ironically, was built to withstand a hundred-year flood.

Melcer said, "During the last flood, Frank called me up and said, 'Can you get here at 6:30 a.m. to help us unload the bar?' I got here at 5:30. There were 15 guys inside the bar and 15 guys outside. We took the grills and the refrigerators out of the bar and loaded them into a truck. The furniture went upstairs. By 9:30, the water was going into my hip waders, but we got everything out."

More than one patron said the Minisink is different from the corporate restaurants popping up in the area.

Said a slightly drunk Seymour (not his real name), "The Minisink is a haven. Everything has been getting corporate since the 70s, but not here. America ain't gonna be like this much longer."

Perhaps that bridge outside is more than a monument to Sten. It's also a symbol of the spirit of the Minisink Hotel: Built to last and a link between the old Pocono residents and the new ones.

Pierce's Landing used to be Schmitt's Mountain Resort...

I remember seeing a big box of these postcards back in the spring of 1995 before they renovated one of the buildings. A lot of the cards were damaged by water but I snagged one of them and still have it. I think this photo was taken in the early or mid-mid 1970's.

Roller Rink in Minisink Hills!

Oh, how I wish I could find my photos of the rollerskating rink that used to be right here in Minisink Hills, PA! Known as Carmen Roller Rink from the 1950's until the mid-1980's when it was purchased by Shawnee Resort. When I workef at Shawnee Inn from 1987 until 1994 I had been in the rink a number of times to deliver tables and chairs for events. It had  beautiful hardwood floors and a very old-time feel. In 2001 (I think) when I worked in the security department I had to do security for a rave. The rink was closed down within a year or two. In the winter of 2005 or 2006 the roof collapsed under the weight of ice. Now there is nothing left except the foundation pillars (top photo). The following text is from a Pocono Record story:

The 'Grand March' of memories at Carmen

Pocono Record file photo

In 2007, the snow-covered roof of the former Carmen Roller Rink collapsed.

Posted Aug 6, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Updated Aug 8, 2013 at 7:16 AM

For P.A. of Stroudsburg, who was interested in the Carmen Roller Rink:

As a teenager in the late 1960s and early '70s, J.Y. of Effort spent nearly every Friday and Sunday evening at Carmen Roller Rink off River Road in Minisink Hills. "It was a great meeting place for friends. I especially liked it when Gene (the owner) would lead us all in the 'Grand March,' a special skating routine with partners," she wrote.

"Gene" was Eugene Rohlfing of Minisink Hills, who along with his wife, Kathryn, owned and operated the rink, a second-generation family business, for about 50 years. Rohlfing died in 1997, preceded in death by his wife in 1989.

"The Carmen was a regular stop for our gang every week," another longtime Monroe County resident wrote. "And who can forget those kids taking a walk up the hill across the street to get a better look at the stars," he added with a laugh.

"I also remember skating to 'Winchester Cathedral,' and to this day, whenever I hear that song, I think of the rink. ... Those were the days," J.Y. added.

Those who skated at the Carmen may also remember Edwin Hoagland of Middle Smithfield Township, who was for 40 years the evening floor master. Hoagland died in 2003.

After years of serving the skating public as the Carmen, the rink, under new ownership, was known for a time as Shawnee Recreational Rink.

In 2007, the roof of the building caved in from heavy snow. It was believed to be unoccupied at the time of the collapse. The building was razed a year later.

Those who miss the Carmen can still find the roller rink's skating decals popping up for sale on a number of online auction sites.

The Inez Schmidling House

This house is on Hillside Drive. It has not been lived in since 1996 when the owner, Inez (neighbors called her Ina) Schmidling died. Story has it that her family is to keep the house as it is because she will come back to live in it whe she is reincarnated. I am not writing this to be disrespectul at all; it's just the talk in the neighborhood. This is her tombstone in Laurel Hill Cemetary. May she rest in peace. Note: see earlier posts for more photos of this house.

July 1, 2016 Laurel Hill Cemetery behind St. Mark's

Took a walk down to Laurel Hill Cemetary  behind St. Mark's today and noticed this headstone with a backwards and upside down engraving of a quote from Juilius Caesar by Shakespear. I flipped it 

around. Why was it put it on the tombstone backwards as well as upside down? Was it simply a mistake too costly to correct?

"Brutus, you were wrong, it is the good things that live after death..."

This is the entrance of Laurel Hill. There's a barely-there path that goes into it. There are some tombstones that are broken and at least one very old tombstone in the back that is lying on the ground.