Everyone who knows me knows I’m not a fan of the Fall season. I don’t like the rapidly shortening days or the cool temperatures and wind. But today was a Fall day that somehow felt right. Having been promised a cherry pie from Ritter’s Cider Mill, Rich was more than happy to hunt a few benchmarks with me while we were in the Mount Cobb area. The wind was fierce, and it blew heavy black clouds in literally as we watched. I had trouble standing still to take my photos, particularly while I stood on the open lawn in front of the old school building. Rain was on the way. But it was still a grand day, with some color beginning to show in the trees and still a patch of blue sky here and there. I knew it wouldn’t be long before I’d feel cozy and warm eating pie and drinking pear cider back home with Rich.
We planned to stop first at the cider mill, but I remembered that we were passing by a benchmark (42 DSW) just as we turned onto Wimmers Road. We stopped and I was able to find and document it. After buying our pie, cider, and cider donuts (and eating a few of the latter), we took a short tour of Cortez Road. We found the old school building easily; it’s now the Jefferson Township Municipal Building. The siding is new, but the old white paint is flaking severely from the columns. Fortunately the benchmark (5 HLZ) is still in place.
Our final find for the day was TT 5 J. Set into a rock outcrop at the edge of a property adjacent to the Kizer Cemetery, it is easy to find and has been well cared for. Someone even (quite carefully) painted it gold! It’s the first one I’ve seen like that, and it is rather attractive.
2 HLZ, which had been located at the Methodist Church in Cortez, was our only bummer of the day. I wasn’t able to find anything set in the only steps I could see on the property, and I searched the adjoining walk for any signs of old benchmarks as well. Nothing seemed to match the description perfectly, so perhaps the building has changed. There does appear to be an addition to the front of the church, where perhaps grand doors once stood.