In the American colonies, an event called an Illumination meant lighting the insides of public buildings and sometimes private ones with candlelight to mark an important happening such as a peace treaty. Illuminations were rare and very special! In our current culture, “illuminations” are much more common. For instance, in December a great many homes InSide the Back Mountain illuminate not only inside but outside as well!
My artistic goal this month was to use black-and-white photos for reference coupled with my imagination, my “artist’s eye,” to recreate and illuminate three famous historical Back Mountain buildings.
To paint the Hotel Oneonta at Harvey’s Lake, I chose an old postcard labeled 1906. When the drawing was complete, I watercolored the scene as early evening, with reflections on the lake’s icy surface. The Oneonta was a magnificent English half timber structure with angled wings and a multitude of windows located across the inlet from where Grotto now stands. Opened in the spring of 1898, it boasted electric lights, a fire alarm, private baths, and exquisite dining. President Theodore Roosevelt dined there in the summer of 1912! Seven years later, on a cold and windy February night, fire broke out in its basement. Farmers were aroused from their warm beds for miles around to fight the conflagration with bucket brigades, but by morning nothing was left except the chimney. The cause of the fire was never found. Like the Raub Hotel in Dallas, the Oneonta was facing business challenges due to the First World War and upcoming Prohibition. It was underinsured and never rebuilt.
I chose to depict the Raub Hotel in the later evening so the snowflakes would glow against its dark form and the dark sky. The Raub Hotel was located in the center of Dallas on the north side of what is now the roundabout. Founded by Andrew Raub, a farmer and one of the original petitioners of Dallas Borough, it was truly a hub of the social and political scene of its time. The hotel became an extremely popular stop on the Lehigh Valley Railroad, just steps away from the train station which was located where the Dallas Post Office stands today. Businessmen from Wyoming Valley often gathered for meetings and entertainment, and families on train excursions enjoyed a stopping point between summertime heat in town and the picnic area at Harvey’s Lake. As the automobile became more popular, a Red Sentry gas pump was installed in front of the hotel. Business began to wane with the onset of the First World War and prohibition in 1920. With a scarcity of both help and customers, after years of struggle, the Raub hotel was razed in 1933. A gas station was built on the site which remained until the construction of the roundabout.
I painted Hayfield House at twilight in 1933, as it appeared just after its construction with only a few trees in the landscape as yet. Hayfield House was constructed in Lehman in 1932-1933. It was never a hotel but it certainly could have been! The Colonial Revival style summer home of John and Bertha Conyngham boasted 20 bedrooms and almost as many bathrooms when most of the surrounding families still used outhouses. John made his fortune in the coal mining supplies business and Bertha was a New York City socialite and heiress. Built during the Great Depression, it cost over one million dollars to build, over 23 million in today's dollars. Stained glass windows from a Paris cathedral were imported for the library. The fireplace came from a castle on the Rhine. The columns were purchased from a wealthy estate in England. It boasted a coal furnace, electricity, hot water, air conditioning supplied from cool water pushed through pipes by fans, and burglar and fire alarm systems! John and Bertha used as much local labor as possible, and were very generous with local children, neighbors, and charities. In June 1934 they welcomed several hundred guests for dinner and dancing! Bertha outlived John by many years, and when she passed, their nephew donated the home and land for education. Hayfield House, named for John’s great-grandfather David Hayfield Conyngham, is a source of great pride and beauty InSide the Back Mountain today. Bertha’s beautiful home now houses administrative office space for Penn State University’s Wilkes-Barre Campus at Lehman and John’s 19-car garage morphed into the campus student center!
It is my hope that December’s illuminations InSide the Back Mountain are a treat to your eyes and warmth to your souls. May we all be blessed with a very Merry Christmas and the Happiest Holidays ever!
This article originally appeared in the December 2024 publication of InSide the Back Mountain.