. Volume 2 Jump to Page Number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Go Back to Index TOGA NEWS Issue 9, September, 2002

      The first annual TOGA-Xpedition began in earnest on Friday, July 26th at about noon, when TOGA Members and cousins, Bev Crowe from Illinois, Kenneth O'Neal from Pennsylvania and my wife, Dorothy & I, from Ohio met in a small restaurant behind the Melody Motor Lodge on Route 119 in Connellsville, Pennsylvania. By the time we finished our lunch we all felt as if we had known each other for a lifetime. In typical O'Neal fashion, the stories and tall tales were flying and comments were being made about the need for hip boots.

      After lunch we talked Bev into leaving her Taurus at the motel. Then Ken & I topped off the tanks in our 4x4's and off into the wilderness we headed. Our first stop was Emanuel O'Neal's Homestead. We snaked our way through the narrow, twisting roads of South Connellsville, past the Glass Factory, and soon enough saw the little gravel lane that leads to Emanuel's house looming in our windshields. The gravel road was not quite as nice as I remember it a few years ago, so I dropped Ole' Bessy into 4x4 mode and advised Dorothy to "Hold on!"
As we proceeded down the lane, I could feel the tires slipping as they climbed over huge rocks in the road, then sliding down into good sized ruts. At one point we had to cross a stream and the water level was up over the bumper.  I, for one, was really enjoying the ride!
  Soon enough we arrived at Emanuel's and began unloading our gear. And, boy, what gear we had. Bev brought her metal detectors and trusty machete. We had digital cameras, 35mm cameras, video cameras, mini recorders, hats, gloves, jackets, bug spray and too much more to mention it all. We carried the gear to the front entrance of the house and heaped it into a pile and began to unpack.....

The area where the house once stood is located on a small plateau on a hillside. To the north is the old springhouse. (For more information on the springhouse see <http://www.onealwebsite.com/eman.htm>) To the north & East of the springhouse is the area where Emanuel and his family planted their crops. It's hard to imagine now, since the entire area has been reclaimed by the encroaching forest surrounding the area. To the east of the house is what's left of the yard. It's mostly wooded now, as well, and there is about a hundred year old tree growing right up out of the middle of the yard. To the south of the house is a small orchard. Someone has purchased the property to the south west of the house and built a hunting lodge. And to complete the picture, there is a beautiful lake to the west, which Ken says was not there in Emanuel's day, but is a recent addition.

The area where the house used to stand is filled with sumac's, which are about 6 feet tall. Using Bev's trusty machete we cut away some of them. Soon we had cleared an area large enough to be able to see inside the foundation. We could see the fallen timbers inside, which exist as a result of the house burning down many years ago. As a result of the ravages of time and decay we were able to discern how the foundation was formed. Fieldstones were stacked horizontally atop one another to make the supporting wall. Then more stones were placed in a vertical position on the inside and outside of the horizontally placed fieldstones. Some sort of mortar or concrete was then mixed and poured over top of these stones, thus sealing them to the elements, varmints, insects, etc. The fact that the foundation is still standing  is a testament to it's builders. It's survived 140 years, a fire, and being exposed to the elements for about the last hundred years.