Pondering an M&D road trip...

[kelber at mindspring.com]

It sounds like a fun thing to do.  Before I started lurking on this list (back in 2003?) I think that a couple of p-listers actually made a pilgrimage to some of the stone markers (maybe during the group read of M&D?).  My own experience was more modest, but certainly unforgettable.  I had just finished reading M&D and we (me, my husband and our three kids) were visiting friends in Maryland, from whence we were going to visit friends in Harrisburg, PA.  So naturally, I suggested we look for the Mason-Dixon line.  We found a website http://www.mdlpp.org/ (unfortunately it's under construction at the moment, but there must be others) which gave us the locations of the stone markers that were still there and instructions for finding them.

We headed for one that was in the general area where we'd be crossing the border.  It was located in a privately owned field, but the website said the owners didn't mind people stopping to look.  We were a little uncertain about the whole thing but stopped in at a local historical society, about a mile from the Maryland-Pennsylvania border.  The nice people there had heard of the Mason-Dixon line but were pretty sure it was located somewhere in the Deep South.  We drove a mile to the border, located the field, hopped out of the car and found ourselves (all 5 of us) shin deep in freshly spread cow manure.  With little option, we pressed on and found the marker.  It was actually really exciting to find as it was in good condition and the M and P were very legible.

After that, it was a sad story.  We had to discard our shoes and socks.  We drove around the Gettysburg area desperately looking
for a shoe store.  People kept directing us to stores that sold antique boots for Civil War reenactments.  Finally, we found a soulless, suburban shoe emporium that was understaffed enough so that no one threw us out when we all walked in barefoot.  It's a history lesson my kids will never forget.

Have fun and tell us all about it!

Laura

-----Original Message-----
>From: David Payne <dpayne1912 at hotmail.com>
>Sent: Jul 13, 2008 3:31 AM
>To: kipend at arts.gov, P-list <pynchon-l at waste.org>
>Subject: RE: Pondering an M&D road trip...
>
>
>On Sat, 12 Jul 2008 (14:47:49 -0400), David Kipend (kipend at gmail.com) wrote:
>
>> Any of you ever try to trace Charles and Jeremiah's footsteps? Besides Himself, natch...
>
>There are two different trips that you could plan: tracing C & J, or tracing TRP tracing C & J. 
>
>If you are interested in tracing TRP tracing C & J (in the US), I'd recommend stopping in at these libraries, which I have, unfortunately, only been able to visit on the web:
>
>* The Historical Society of Pennsylvania: http://www.hsp.org/default.aspx?id=557
>
>* The Library of the American Philosophical Society: http://www.amphilsoc.org/search/
>
>* Maryland State Archives and the Archives of Maryland Online: http://www.msa.md.gov/ 
>
>I feel quite certain that TRP hit all three of these libraries while researching M&D. Their relevant collections are absolutely stunning. You can find first-hand materials in these libraries that are (nearly?) quoted word-for-word in M&D.
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