Harrisburg in World War II by Rodney Ross

Posted by on Dec 1, 2021 in | Comments Off on Harrisburg in World War II by Rodney Ross Harrisburg in World War II by Rodney Ross The History Press, 192 pp., paperback $21.99 Like the rat-tat-tat of a machine gun, author Rodney Ross fires off brief declarative sentences to tell his story of how Pennsylvania’s capital city prepared for and aided the war effort between 1941 and 1945. As it became apparent that the United States would enter the war, the citizens of Harrisburg were...
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Shop Pomeroy’s First by Michael J. Lisicky

Posted by on Sep 1, 2016 in | Comments Off on Shop Pomeroy’s First by Michael J. Lisicky Shop Pomeroy’s First by Michael J. Lisicky History Press, 160 pp, paper, $19.99 Entrepreneur George Pomeroy (1853-1925) and two partners opened their first department store in Reading, Berks County, in 1876, beginning a retailing enterprise that lasted more than 100 years. Pomeroy’s stores were not flashy, not exclusive, but always offered medium-priced goods for the average family. Until 1990...
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The 100th Pennsylvania Farm Show: A Blue Ribbon State Fair

Posted by on Apr 19, 2016 in | Comments Off on The 100th Pennsylvania Farm Show: A Blue Ribbon State Fair The Pennsylvania Farm Show is the largest indoor agricultural event in the United States. Each year hundreds of thousands of people flock to the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center in Harrisburg, Dauphin County, to experience apples and alpacas, butter sculpture and blue-ribbon contests, milkshakes and mushrooms, square dancing and grape stomping, rodeos and tractor pulling, and...
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A Century of Marking History: One Hundred Years of the Pennsylvania Historical Marker Program

Posted by on May 8, 2015 in | Comments Off on A Century of Marking History: One Hundred Years of the Pennsylvania Historical Marker Program It’s a safe bet that when Susan Richard of Grantville, Dauphin County, comes across a historical marker for the first time, she’s going to stop her car, get out and read it, and then take a picture for her collection. Richard, a former museum docent, loves everything about historical markers. “Historical markers are so much fun!” she says. “This is history you will...
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On the Porch with Lester Breininger: The Pennsylvania German Pottery Tradition

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on On the Porch with Lester Breininger: The Pennsylvania German Pottery Tradition It happens every year about mid-August – the annual porch sale in Robesonia, Berks County, at the Victorian-­era mansion of Lester and Barbara Breininger. For more than thirty years, the porch show has drawn diehard pottery col­lectors – and the merely curious – from throughout the country. At 6:00 a.m. the front door of the house opens and the pot­ter, dressed comfortably and...
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Discovering Religious Diversity Along the Pennsylvania Trails of History

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Discovering Religious Diversity Along the Pennsylvania Trails of History William Penn (1644-1718) knew well the sting of discrimination and the misery of persecution for his religious beliefs. He suffered the consequences of breaking with the Church of England, leading to estrangement from his father, Admiral Sir William Penn (1621-1670). When imprisoned for attending meetings of the Society of Friends – commonly called Quakers and Friends – the younger...
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