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Old 02-01-2018, 08:20 PM
swaghauler swaghauler is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: PA
Posts: 1,481
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I'm Located in what is referred to as "The Notch" or the "North Shore" of PA. This is the little "cut out" PA makes on the shores of Lake Erie between OH and NY. It is known mostly as the "North Shore" (despite being on Erie's SOUTH Shore) because Philly sits on the borders of the state's "South Shore" (the Atlantic Ocean). Our area, along with the "Wilds" (stretching along PA's northern border with NY and encompassing the Allegheny National Forest) and "The Ridge" (the mountains in the center of the state) have coined the expression... "PA is comprised of Philly in the East, Pittsburgh in the West, and Alabama everywhere in between."

Within the 50-mile wide by 80-mile "block" of terrain that comprises the North Shore, we have I90 on the Lakefront and I80 to the South. I79 runs north from Pittsburgh (100 miles South of my house), and ALL THREE routes pass over major rivers which would channel potential invaders into a limited number of areas of transit. This would enable small parties of combatants to control the movement of enemy forces.

Crawford County (my home county) has 88,000 residents of which half are farmers and 28,000 are Amish during the late 90's (numbers have changed since 2000). We have 60 tool and die shops including large manufacturers like Channellock and PA Tool and Gauge. We have 8 Plastic Injection Molding Shops as well. We have TWO small Steel Mills and Three Foundries including US Bronze (a defense contractor for the Navy). We have Dads Pet Nutrition (now Ainsworth), the largest pet food canner in the US in the 1990's (and still is today). Most people don't realize that pet food is cooked and canned to human consumption standards. You CAN eat dog and cat food. We also have Green Leaf Industries, a leader in Metal Injection Molding for the Aerospace industry as well as the LORD Corporation (an adhesives manufacturer). We also had a glass plant for PPG industries in Cochranton PA.

We also have The Keystone Ordinance Training facility for Reserve and NG units and the neighboring AMSA (Army Maintenance, Support, & Assistance) Shop. Down in Mercer County (50 miles from my house), we have Iron Mountain which is a MAJOR COG (Continuity of Government) site.

We have TWO airports with full facilities and 5000 ft runways for smaller aircraft. Erie International Airport is a FULL COMMERCIAL HUB with 8000 ft runways capable of handling HEAVY Commercial traffic with ILS.

In the 1990's Erie also had the Shipyard (800ft drydock), Hammermill Paper, GE Transportation Systems only Locomotive Plant, an Ethanol plant, TWO Steel mills, 30 Plastic Injection Molding shops, and 40 Machine Shops. The public docks in Erie can accommodate any Lake Freighter.

Erie also has the Brig Niagra with a FULLY FUNCTIONING compliment of Cannon and Caronade. The Brig has been completely rebuilt and is Coast Guard Certified for Ocean Transit.

We are also closely tied to the Forest (Allegheny National Forest) on our NE border, which can provide both POWER (via the KINZUA Dam and Power Plant) and Natural Resources in exchange for production goods. The Forest Houses SIX refineries, 2 major paper mills, a DOZEN coal mines, and all the raw materials one needs to rebuild a nation.
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