The Little Cub That Roared

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on The Little Cub That Roared The Piper Cub is a very small airplane, especially by today’s standards. When parked on an airport tarmac, a person of average height standing beside it can easily see over its wing, which forms the roof of the cockpit. It accommodates a pilot and one passenger. No space is wasted. The forward, or pilot’s seat, is narrow and cramped. The passenger seat directly behind the...
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Pennsylvania Places through the Bird’s-Eye Views of T.M. Fowler

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Pennsylvania Places through the Bird’s-Eye Views of T.M. Fowler During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, America indulged in a love affair with panoramic drawings of urban areas, known – aptly but simply­ – as town views. Some were drawn at ground level, or from a modest elevation (such as a hill or tall building) and often depicted a skyline. Others, made from an aerial perspective, were known as bal­loon views, aero views and,...
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Shorts

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Shorts The Johnstown Area Heritage Association will host “Johnstown FolkFest ’95” from Friday through Sunday, September 1-3 [1995], in the community’s historic district of Cambria City. The Labor Day weekend event will fea­ture ethnic entertainment, tours of historic buildings, and cultural crafts. For more information, write: Johnstown Area Heritage Association, P. O. Box 1889,...
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Bookshelf

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Bookshelf Vietnam Zippos: American Soldiers’ Engravings and Stories, 1965–1973 by Sherry Buchanan published by the University of Chicago Press, 2007; 180 pages, cloth, $25.00 For generations of Americans, it was an icon with the decidedly distinctive click. Invented by George G. Blaisdell, the first Zippo® lighter was manufactured by the Zippo Manufacturing Company, Bradford, Bradford County, seventy-five...
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The Shooting Stars of Drake Well

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on The Shooting Stars of Drake Well Much like other important industries in the Commonwealth – coal, iron, steel, timber, and railroading – the production of oil in northwestern Pennsylvania was fraught with danger. Among the perils petroleum speculators and drillers faced were fires, explosions, and fatal jams while shipping crude oil to market on waterways. One of the most dangerous tasks in extruding oil from the...
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