Whistler's Mother Monument

"A Mother is the holiest thing alive," Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote. The folks of Ashland, Pennsylvania agree. They have an 8 feet tall bronze statue to prove it. During FDR's presidency, there was a movement by the government to help small towns build an identity for themselves, and Ashland wanted a part of this. In 1937 the Ashland Boys association wanted a way to honor their mothers. They'd get that help from the federal government. After planning and voting, they agreed it should be a bronze statue of James McNeil's famous 1871 painting, "Arrangement in Grey and Black: Portrait of the Painter's Mother," also known as Whistler's Mother. If you've seen the painting with the artist's mother, Anna Matilda McNeil Whistler, her blank, humorless expression doesn't exactly exuberate "mother of the year." Unfortunately for McNeil's mother she never realized how infamous she would become, she died in 1881, before her son ever became famous. I bet she never thought there would be a monument made in her likeness, either.

Needless to say I guess this was the boy's epitome of motherhood. On September 4, 1938, two local mothers- the oldest in the town at the time, 88 and 91 years old- unveiled the eight-foot statue seated on a three ton slab of granite. The monument is recognized as the only one of it's kind in the country. If you're in the mood for a salute to motherhood unlike anything else, this is the monument for you.

Those Ashland boys sure are show-offs, this pales in comparison to the card I got my mother last year. By the way the Boy's Association is still very active in Ashland and every year they host a parade that attracts thousands!
For other nearby Outta the Way spots!

Twin Covered Bridges

If you're looking for one of the most unique covered bridges in the world, you can find it in the county of Columbia in Pennsylvania.

The county boasts 23 covered bridges, the third most of any county in Pennsylvania, which has more than any other state. However none of the bridges are as exquisite as the East and West Paden covered bridges. These two unmatched bridges were built in 1850 by W.C. Pennington. Both of these magnificent marvels are the Burr-Arch design, a very popular design used on numerous covered bridges in Pennsylvania. The twin bridges were named for a local sawmill operator named John Paden. The two bridges cross over the Huntington creek. The smaller East Paden bridge, measures only 79 feet long, while the larger West Paden bridge measures 103 feet long. Both bridges were built for a paltry $720.00. The bridges were used for transportation purposes for a little over a century.

In 1962 the county began preservation efforts after the bridges began to weather away. By 1963, they were left open only for foot traffic.

The original bridges were restored and left intact until 45 years later when in 2006 a torrential flood washed away the original West Paden covered bridge. The county struck back as hard as the storm that washed away their history. In 2008 the West Paden bridge was finished and re-opened. Thanks to the hard work of the county these engineering marvels are still standing for all to enjoy. The twin bridges are now a part of a county park and have the distinction of being the only twin covered bridges in the United States.

The park is quite peaceful and serene, allowing you to emancipate yourself in all the surrounding beauty, both natural and man made!

Zine featuring Twin Bridges and other local Outta the Way spots.
Video of Twin Bridges