Our New Geography: Johnstown, Pennsylvania

In which Teófilo remembers his departure from Texas and arrival to Pennsylvania

Thus, in mid-December 1993 we packed Kristy the poodle, the boys, and everything we could take with us in the Sentra and left for Johnstown, Pennsylvania. We said goodbye to all our friends the week before. When saying goodbye to Randy and his family, I was overwhelmed by emotion, and cried. I didn’t know when I would see them again, along with Robert and Doug.

We left San Antonio behind we great sadness but were looking forward to our new future in Pennsylvania. I flipped a Carpenter’s tape into the cassette player, and played We’ve Only Just Begun as we left. Yes, I’m a romantic and like to mark occasions with suitable music.

We cruised through east Texas and then on to Louisiana. We stopped in Slidell to visit Walter Copes, a Oneness Pentecostal scholar with whom I have crossed friendly swords online. He was a meteorologist by trade. We also paid a quick visit to New Orleans before continuing.  

We crossed Georgia and entered Tennessee. We drove its length until we got to Bristol to visit yet another online friend. His name escapes me right now, but he was a dentist and a Seventh-day Adventist. We then left Bristol, Tennessee and crossing the road, entered Bristol, Virginia.

I don’t exactly remember what I did next, but we should’ve stayed on I-81 for a while, and then veered into West Virginia. I remember we drove over the New River Gorge Bridge, America’s tallest bridge.  Somehow, we made it to I-68 and from it took Rt. 219 northwards through Maryland and into Pennsylvania. I’ll spare you a couple of driving blunders that delayed our arrival in Johstown.

Firmly on Rt. 219, we took the Rt. 56 “Johnstown Expressway” and saw for the first time the lights illuminating its Incline Plane as we approached the city nestled in the valley. It’s “the tallest vehicular inclined plane in the world,” as they say.

Johnstown’s Inclined Plane during the summertime. (Source).

It was December, it was cold, a climate we thought we’d left behind in South Dakota. The town was gloomy, with little traffic. We’ve left a hot, crowded metropolitan area to live and work in a mountain town!

And just like that, our geography transformed around us once again. Since I didn’t have my appointment letter yet, our future was uncertain. But we had faith in Our Lord and were confident that we would prevail and blossom in Pennsylvania. This we did, as you shall see.

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