I don’t ever recall meeting him, but we were at the same event at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the American Wing, second floor, tucked deep inside an interior gallery.  William Penn overwhelmed the Edward Hicks painting with his outstretched, benevolent arms towards, as the commentary below the painting said, “The Indian”, the indigenous people, First Nation, Native Americans.  If you, like me, struggle weekly to ensure the who, how, and what to address people in a socially appropriate manner, simply and politely ask the person or group which term they prefer and are comfortable with. 

Storytime:  In 1682 William Penn conducted a treaty, the Treaty of Shackamaxon (Modern day Fishtown), with the Lenni Lenape Indians.  Under a majestic elm tree there was a mutual exchange of loyalty and friendship between these two powers, the present power and the arriving power that was coming.   The name of treaty Shackamaxon, called by the English, Dutch, and Swedes, comes from the Lenape term "Sakimauchheen Ing" (pronounced Sak-i-mauch-heen-ing) which means "to make a chief or king place".  Eventually by 1776, a King no longer ruled the colonies and there was a new “King”.

There is no paper trail of this event, so it cannot be confirmed, but artists have portrayed it, organizations have erected monuments to commemorate the people and the events surrounding that time, including this gathering that produced the “Great Treaty”.  But pinpointing the exact event to a time and place is a challenge.  However, there was an exchange of goods for land, declarations of good will and conflicting cultural ideals and understandings.  The European man dreamed, desired, and ached for ownership of land. This was truly freedom, liberty, wealth, status, individuality, manhood, security.  The Lenape had a communal society where individual wealth was not a great priority, security was found in cooperation.  How do you sell land?  Can you pay me for air, next week’s rain, a soft breeze rustling through trees?  The understanding, though, for the Lenape was that the sale of land would not mean the dispossession of the people.   

I didn’t have an official introduction to Tamanend in the MET museum that day.  Like I said, I remember William Penn, Pennsylvania, the Quaker who believed that people were born with certain natural rights and privileges of freedom, believed in secure private property, free enterprise, free press, trial by jury, and religious toleration in his colony. 

Tamanend, called the affable one by his people, or Tammany was considered by the other side to be the principal Lenni-Lenape leader.  With his people he was known as the sachem, or trusted spokesman, for his particular tribe, as there was no central government.  In this communal Lenape society, each village handled their affairs independently and all had part in the decisions.  Tamanend as history records, was one who wanted peace and thought that Europeans and Indians could “live together in peace as long as the creeks and rivers run and while the sun, moon, and stars endure.”

Mt. Tammany

One hundred miles southwest outside of New York City, past the Belt Parkway, The Verrazzano Bridge, Staten Island and traffic, Mt. Tammany rises to 1,526 feet (465 meters) as the southernmost peak of the Kittatinny Mountains in Knowlton Township, Warren County, New Jersey, forming the east side of the Delaware Water Gap.  Mt. Tammany lies in the wind and curve of the Delaware river and is part of the heart of the 70,000 acres that encompasses the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.    

Click here for a map and more information

The Red Dot trail that leads to the top of the mountain looking down on creation gets a black diamond for difficult on the park Trail rating in the Worthington State Forest.  The hike is like relationships in the 17th century, setting a pace, scaling, crawling, scrambling, pausing, breathing.  It’s not a walk, a stroll, or a meander; it’s an effort, and you get worked.  After the effort and struggle, admiration blooms, muscles strengthen, the look back brings a smile, and the vista forward is awesome.

About the Hike

·       Length: 3.5 miles

·       Hike time:  2.0 + hours

·       Description: Rocky, steep, short in length but strenuous stair climbing and rock scrambling.

·       I will see:  Tremendous, sweeping views of the Delaware water gap, Delaware River, Mt. Tammany Waterfall, Wooden Bridge over creek, Mount Minsi.

·       Route:  Take the loop up the RED DOT trail and return down the Blue Trail.

·       For more details and variations

How to Get There

From New Jersey: Take I-80 W and get off 2 exits before the toll bridge.  Look for signs to the Dunnfield Parking area.  Walk out the parking lot, down the little hill, make a left under the bridge, walk to the end of the road, make a right.  Keep bearing right until you see the sign for the Red Dot Trail.

What is a Water Gap?

A water gap is a gap that flowing water has carved through a mountain range or mountain ridge and that still carries water today. 

Factoids about the Delaware River and the Delaware Water Gap

·       The Delaware water gap is about 1,200 feet deep (370 meters) and 1 mile wide (1.6km).

·       The Delaware Water Gap is about 300 meters across at river level and 1,400 meters wide at the top.

·       The river through the gap is 283 feet above sea level.

·       The Delaware River is an interstate boundary its entire length - 330 miles.

·       Washington Crossing the Delaware: The crossing started on Christmas Day, 1776 (not Christmas Eve). The Battle of Trenton was December 26, 1776, a significant turning point in the Revolutionary War.

·       The Delaware River Basin provides water to two major U.S. cities: Philadelphia, PA. and New York City. All of Philadelphia’s water comes from the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers, and roughly 50% of the water supply for New York City comes from the Delaware River Basin, even though NYC is not in the DRB. In fact, the NYC’s Delaware Aqueduct, the tunnel that brings Delaware River Basin water to the city, is the world's longest tunnel.

October and autumns on the United States Northeast demands a date and a celebration of life with a nature bath and a sun shower, a hike under cool fire oranges, blood reds and blushing pinks of oaks, elms, cedars, and maples.  Add a science and a history lesson with the adventure and you have a memorable event for your children and students, family and friends.

November 17, 2022 is Take a Hike Day. Take a Hike Day was established by the American Hiking Society to encourage groups of families and friends to venture into the wild and disconnect from the grid, take a nature bath, ground yourself and appreciate the earth and nature, and all things great and small. Can you tell us where your favorite hikes are? Comment below…and take a hike will ya…

QUESTIONS FOR CHILDREN AND STUDENTS WHEN YOU VISIT A HISTORICAL PLACE (WILL BE DOWNLOADABLE AS A DOCUMENT SOON

What I learned from my travel through History?

20 Questions to ask at a Historical Site.

1.           What is the name of the place we are visiting?

2.          When did this location became a historic site? (When was the marker or monument put up?)

3.          Storytime:  What story does the site relate? When did it happen? Why did it happen? Why is this event or person significant?

4.          Storytime:  Is there another side to the story that is mentioned or that is not?  Why do you think and answer this way?

5.          How is the site used today?

6.          How does this site fit in with others from that era?

7.           Can you think of some other people who lived, or events that happened, at the time this site was built/created, but are not preserved and commemorated?

8.          Do you think this site tells us more about the past or the concerns of the present?

9.          How did this person, place, or event affect the people and the time period he/she lived in?

10.     How did this person, place, or event influence people and life today?

11.        How did that time period differ from ours?

12.      What other important people, events, or places are related to that time period?

13.       If it’s not a representation of the individual, is choosing the name of this person for this park, bridge, structure, mountain appropriate?  Why or why not?  What would you choose to name this place instead?

14.      Describe the site, landmark, monument, painting so that a visually impaired person can see it clearly with your words.  

15.       Observe the context/surrounding/scenery at the site.  What parts are original to that time period or the events that occurred at that location?

16.      Opinion:  Rate the site from a scale of 1-10.  Rate the presentation!  Rate the information provided!  Rate the whole experience.  Was it worth it?   What else would you add to the rating system?  Write a two sentence review about the site and write a Google review.

17.       Picture: Take 3 pictures that sum up the essence of the experience, the history, and the site itself.  Post it on your social media.

18.      Compare seeing this site in person to looking at pictures of it online, reading about it in a textbook or travel guide, or compare it to another site you have visited that is similar.  What would you do to take the experience to the next level?

19.      Challenge:  On the way home see if you can tell the story of how important this site is in a 140 word message to your friends and text it to your parents, friends, classmate, teacher.  What evidence do you have that this place is actually the legit site and that something happened here?  List the evidence.  What more would you like to discover to prove that this was the site?

20.    Building:  What other questions do you have?  What would you like to know more about?