Popular Science Monthly 



247 



Charles M. Schwab Lifts a House 

 over Trees: Sentiment vs. Cost 



THERE is real sentiment in trees to 

 Charles ]M. Schwab, especially those 

 trees which have sheltered his fine old 

 homestead called "Immergrun" near Lo- 

 retto, Pa. 



■ Recently ]\Ir. Schwab decided to build 

 a new palatial summer residence on the 

 site of the old home, but he did not want 

 to destroy the beautiful frame house 



ent location and will crown a little hill. 

 The steel king intends to build a mil- 

 lion dollar summer home in the heart of 

 the cluster of trees that this jacking op- 

 eration has saved. 



A Queer Adventure in War 



MAXY aeroplanes are captured dur- 

 ing the fighting in Europe ; seldom 

 does an aeroplane land on an enemy's 

 a\iation field without a fight. At an im- 

 portant British aviation 

 station in northern France 

 a great German biplane 

 was seen recently to emerge 

 from the fog. As the anti- 

 aircraft guns were about 

 to fire upon it, the ma- 

 chine circled several times 

 around the field and final- 

 ly alighted. 



.Surprise changed to 



which has been more home to 

 him than even his mansion on 

 Riverside Drive, New York. 

 The house is entirely sur- 

 rounded by trees. To move it 

 and not destroy the trees was 

 no unsurmountable obstacle 

 to the man who is furnishing 

 guns and fighting ships for 

 the Allies of Europe. 



When Schwab first spoke 

 to his engineers about mov- 

 ing the Loretto homestead, 

 they mapped out for him a 

 plan which sacrificed only 

 three trees. But that was 

 too much for Schwab. 



So the engineers attacked 

 the problem again. The 

 photographs herewith show 

 them in the act of mov- 

 ing the fine old Schwab residence over 

 the trees. By the route that is being 

 taken, the house goes over 23 trees be- 

 fore it will reach the road where it will 

 have clear sailing. The maximum height 

 the house will be jacked over is thirty- 

 four feet. It then starts on its journey 

 across a deep valley on the Schwab farm 

 where it will find a new resting place. It 

 will travel a thousand feet from its pres- 



In order to move his old homestead without destroy- 

 ing it and without killing the beautiful trees which 

 surround it, Charles M. Schwab, President of the 

 Bethlehem Steel Co., told the engineers to spare no 

 expense. Accordingly they proceeded to jack the 

 frame house up to a height of thirty-four feet. It 

 will be necessary to lift the residence over twenty- 

 three trees before it can be lowered 



amazement when the English aviators, 

 mechanics and officers saw the German 

 warplane drive quietly across the field 

 and enter an empty hangar. The Ger- 

 man aviators calmly said they had lost 

 their way in the fog, and that on becom- 

 ing short of fuel they decided to alight. 

 Jokingly, one of the Germans remarked. 

 "If you will kindly give us a little petrol 

 we should be able to return home." 



