Thursday, December 31, 2009

How I finished 2009.

Today my wife and I braved the ice and snow and traveled down to the Hagley Museum in Wilmington, DE. They have in their possession the entire business collection of Mr. Louis Forman, creator and owner of Michter's until 1979. What I found was amazing. We took some photos and scans of selected documents (I managed to screw up a bunch and only got parts of the pages.) for me to read and analyze later. But what I quickly discovered was the Mr. Forman, though he was a businessman, loved his product and really put everything he had into it. He had heavily researched not only the PA Dutch way of life, but the history of the distillery and the surrounding area. Through his research, he was able to develop Michter's into a truly unique stand out in the whiskey world. He believed his product was the best out there. To see how much time and money Mr. Forman put into his beloved product makes me appreciate Michter's even more. There will never be anything like it again. I plan on going back down again sometime to make better scans and copies of these historic documents. I can't post them up on here as I have signed a paper saying that I would not share them with anyone. If you would like more information, shoot me a message and I would be glad to share what I do know. For now, HAPPY NEW YEAR! Be safe and know your limits!

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

My Michter's research.

I mentioned a few minutes ago in my inaugural entry that I do and am doing research on the famous, but abandoned Michter's Distillery in Schaefferstown, PA. To get everyone up to speed and informed, I'll do a real quick history and rundown of the place. It was until it closed the oldest operating distillery in the USA, starting in 1753.

This PDF from the government should give you all a great idea about it's history into the 1970's:

http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/75001649.pdf

It is still listed as a National Historic Landmark and National Historic Place.

There's much more to it than this and I will post it up over time. There is a lot of misinformation out there about the history and current status of the distillery and as I "connect the dots" I will post up more information.

For an idea of its current state, see:

http://forgottenpa.blogspot.com/2009/11/inside-michters.html

These are a sampling of my pictures I took back in November. I have several more and am always taking more.

The First Post.

Oh Great! Another blog from some goober out there in la-la land ranting about how much he hates squirrels and that weird guy with excessive back hair at the supermarket deli. But wait! This one is different! I promise or your money back. This blog will be a real smattering of stuff. Not just angry rants! Oh so much more! I have been doing significant research on the Michter's Distillery in Schaefferstown, Pa and also some physical work there. I will be posting up my findings and my work on here. I will also have other postings about my view on politics (remember they are just my opinions so try not to flame me to death!), views on society in general, automotive topics (I love Fords- just to give you an idea how strange I am), and other random tidbits. So enjoy and welcome to the best blog ever*.








*actual results may vary.