The Shamokin/Coal Township Nature Trail: An Up-Close Adventure (Part 1)

Anyone who attended Shamokin Area High School (later named Shamokin Junior/Senior High School) should be MORE than familiar with our “Nature Trail.”

When I was still in Catholic grade school, we went to the Nature Trail on a field trip. Are you kidding me?

I know that the Catholic school system lacked funds, but trekking down a steep incline to walk through an unattended and overgrown path was NOT my idea of a good time.

Just some people you may find on the Nature Trail...

My friends and I also went to the Nature Trail (which was a mere 200 feet uphill) often when we became tired of swimming at the pool/local club.

The Edgewood Swim Club

Before the popular advent of pools being installed in backyards, there was Edgewood Pool (or, more formally, The Edgewood Swim Club). My parents would save up for us to have a membership every year. The club featured a normal sized pool (not Olympic measure by ANY means) and a “baby” pool which was both peed in and defecated in regularly. Kids!

These were the happiest summers of my life.

At our pool/club, they held barbecues, dances, pot-luck dinners and night swimming — all of which delighted my young, yet-to-be-nature-trail-addled mind.

The best was when the candy machine was on the “fritz” and you could press anything you desired, receive it, and not pay a dime!

But to get back on topic, let us forget about the younger years and focus on the high school years of the Nature Trail “misuse.”

Shamokin Area High School Flashback

I was always an “A” student, National Honor’s Society and all that (you better believe it) , so I FINALLY convinced my parents to let me attend public school during the second semester of my junior year of H.S.

I concocted an indisputable argument of more diverse class options at Shamokin Area High School and that fact that they were paying school taxes anyway, so why pay twice?

Right?

Being at a new school for me (with a pool and a swim team, a wrestling team, and a soccer team) was a completely new experience. I had no problem making new friends. Then, the Nature Trail was introduced to me as I had NEVER known it before.

When I finally began classes at S.A.H.S., I realized that the Nature Trail was something revered, not something to be taken lightly whilst skipping class to go smoke marijuana.

**AT THIS POINT, I BELIEVE THAT WE NEED A BRIEF INTERMISSION**

(Look for Part 2 of this post coming soon! Subscribe to our RSS feed (see bottom right of page) and never miss a story!)

Nothing to do with the Nature Trail, just a couple dumbasses