Eighteenth Century Views of Bethlehem

Posted by Salvatore Cilella on Nov 30, 2013 in | Comments Off on Eighteenth Century Views of Bethlehem Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was founded in 1741 by a group of German Protestants known as the Unitas Fratrum – The Unity of the Brethren. Original­ly from Bohemia and Moravia, in what is modern eastern Czechoslovakia, they became known simply as Moravians. They emigrated to Saxony, Germany, where, on the estates of Count Nicholas Ludwig Von Zinzendorf, they estab­lished the community of...
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Somerset County: Paths through the Roof Garden

Posted by William Gross on Nov 30, 2013 in | Comments Off on Somerset County: Paths through the Roof Garden Referring to the high elevation and the scenic quality of the region, Gov. Martin G. Brumbaugh called Somerset County “the Roof Garden of Pennsylvania” at an annual Farmers’ Day picnic in 1916. Since then. the description has become a familiar and respected title; the words “Roof Garden” have been in­corporated in the names of various businesses, and the complete...
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The Magic of Pennsylvania Travel Narratives, Part I

Posted by John Stilgoe on Nov 30, 2013 in | Comments Off on The Magic of Pennsylvania Travel Narratives, Part I Old travel narratives are like old love letters. Consider the young woman who finds a stack of yellowed notes buried in an attic trunk, who sits down upon the floor, opens the first, and reads the endearments of another century. Once again the passionate words find an attentive reader, and once again the issue is in doubt. Will love triumph? Or will war or sickness or jealousy intervene? Between...
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