Natural Mid-Atlantic : PA Warwick-to-Ephrata Rail Trail

Saturday, September 11, 2021

PA Warwick-to-Ephrata Rail Trail

Trestle over Chickahominy Creek

It's been a very busy August-into-September with 0 opportunities to hike, bike, or paddle. Finally I was able to manage a morning on the Warwick-to-Ephrata Rail Trail before it got too busy on a Saturday. The air was tempting autumn but heat will return soon so I soaked up the cool breezes for a 20-mile circuit.

Neighbor's gate.

The BBQ is close!

Kind of reminded me of spirit houses in Alaskan Native cemeteries from this summer!

The communities along the rail trail take great pride in it and everyone seems to pile on by mid-morning, strollering, walking, jogging, admiring backyard gardens, butterfly watching at the church wildflower meadow - even a local lumber yard's back lot warehouse is painted in huge letters that spell out SMILE and LOVE IS THE ANSWER. Neat and proper Amish farms fill the valley. Pumpkins and apples are starting to appear at road-side stands. Blue Mountain runs the across the northern horizon. Everyone says "Hello!" and "Good Morning!" I can't help but heed the lumber yard's advice and smile all 20 miles.

The Memorial to Major Dick Winter and his Band of Brothers.

I visited the memorial dedicated to Major Dick Winters, who commanded Easy Company of the 101st Airborne Division in the Normandy Invasion, June 6, 1944. His story was made famous by Stephen Ambrose's 1992 book, Band of Brothers, which later became a smash hit HBO series of the same name. A Lancaster County native, Dick lived into his 90s and passed away in 2011. I remember well the sense of loss for our Southern PA communities and the weeks of memorial services and remembrances. His legacy, however, was far more than his years in the military. He was a kind, humble man, industrious - the earth, and devoted to his family and community, a good Christian. He was a local who everyone from around here, sooner or later, met up with at the Goods Store or on a walk through Hershey. His boyhood was spent in Ephrata, where the memorials are placed along the rail trail.

New York Aster

Hope Methodist Wildflower Meadow

Pennsylvania is blessed with so many excellent rail-trails and though this line of the former Reading & Columbia RR is short and does not pass through spectacular mountain scenery like its longer cousins north and west of here, it is beautiful enough to really get a sense for the peaceful Lancaster countryside and small towns, some settled in the 1700s, and welcoming communities. I cycled through Ephrata, left the rail-trail at its terminus, and decided to bike along backroads to visit Winter's grave at Bergstrasse Evangelical Lutheran Church, another 3 miles further on. It was a great ride that totaled 20 miles out-and-back.

German gravestone art is both somber and beautiful - there's a lot!

The oldest section of the cemetery holds graves from the Revolutionary War Era.

After roaming the vast hillside of grave stones and markers dating back to the 1750s - all in German - I sat on the hillside before walking down to Winter's grave and took in the view of the long spine of Blue Mountain. Hawks are beginning to move south along its ridge, beginning their autumn migration season out of Canada and the Northeast U.S. I wanted to be with them and just float to Mexico with the Monarchs and Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds, all now on their way. Moved by the beauty and the day, September 11, I read aloud Winter's "Leadership Principals" from a photo I took of a plaque at the memorial:

1. Strive to be a leader of character, competence, and courage

2. Lead from the front. Say "Follow Me!" and then lead the way.

3. Stay in top physical shape - physical stamina is the root of mental toughness.

4. Develop your team: If you know your people, are fair setting realistic goals and expectations, and lead by example - you will develop teamwork.

5. Delegate responsibility to your subordinates and let them do their job. You can't do a good job if you can't use your imagination and creativity.

6. Anticipate problems and prepare to overcome obstacles. Don't wait until you get to the top of the ridge then decide to make up your mind.

7. Remain humble. Don't worry about who receives the credit.

Never let power or authority go to your head.

8. Take a moment of self-reflection.

Look at yourself in the mirror ever night and ask if you did your best.

9. True satisfaction comes from getting the job done. The key to the successful leader is to earn respect - not because of rank or position, but because you are a leader of character.

10. Hang tough - Never, ever, give up.

(Originally from Dick Winter's Beyond Band of Brothers: War Memoir of Major Dick Winters. With Cole Kingseed, Berkley Trade, 2006)