Holtwood Dam

  In October 1905 McCall’s Ferry Power Co. began construction in Martic Township, Lancaster County, on what would be the second of four hydroelectric dams built to harness the power of the Susquehanna River below Harrisburg, Dauphin County. Twenty miles from the tidewater of the Chesapeake Bay, it was then the third longest dam in the world, built of solid concrete, 55 feet high. The...
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Max Hess Jr. Puts Allentown on the Map

When Diane Stoneback, food editor of The Morning Call, the daily newspaper published in the Lehigh County seat of Allentown, challenged readers to a concoct a strawberry pie as scrumptious as the trademark dessert once served at the popular Patio Restaurant in Hess Brothers, a beloved department store, she found more than a flood of recipes overflowing her inbox. Hopeful contestants who...
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Harnessing the Power of the Wind: A Contemporary Use for a Historic Energy Source

Much like the oil farms of the last century were for drillers and riggers, Pennsylvania’s wind farms are proving grounds for engineers and technicians as they harness wind power. The long-standing use of wind power that for centuries propelled sailing vessels has been transformed throughout the world to produce electricity. Farmers used wind power in the late nineteenth and early twentieth...
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