The Roots of Bird Conservation in Penn’s Woods

Posted by on Apr 17, 2026 in | Comments Off on The Roots of Bird Conservation in Penn’s Woods   Native naturalists and immigrant ornithologists who began their celebrated careers in Penn’s Woods played a pivotal role in establishing America’s enduring romance with the continent’s fabled feathered tribes. Their fieldwork and studies also helped assemble and strengthen the natural science from which bird conservation emerged in the United States. Birdsong, species diversity and the...
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Susanna Wright: Poet and Polymath on the Susquehanna

Posted by on Apr 17, 2026 in | Comments Off on Susanna Wright: Poet and Polymath on the Susquehanna   No right has man his equal to control, Since, all agree, there is no sex in soul; Weak woman, thus in agreement grown strong, Shakes off the yoke her parents wore too long. Those lines of poetry, written in a rigidly paternalistic 18th-century America, establish Susanna Wright (1697–1784) as one of America’s early supporters of women’s equality. More subtly, the poem, entitled “To Eliza...
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German Founders: The Muhlenberg Family and the War for Independence

Posted by on Apr 17, 2026 in | Comments Off on German Founders: The Muhlenberg Family and the War for Independence On July 2, 1776, Philadelphians were living on a razor’s edge. At the State House, the Continental Congress gathered to decide the colonists’ collective fate. Lutheran pastor Henry Muhlenberg (1711–87) recorded in his diary, “It is said that the Continental Congress resolved to declare the thirteen united colonies free and independent.” Two days later, on July 4, he wrote, “Today the Continental...
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Forgotten Founder: Thomas Paine and American Independence

Posted by on Apr 17, 2026 in | Comments Off on Forgotten Founder: Thomas Paine and American Independence Philadelphia was the largest, wealthiest and most cosmopolitan city in all the colonies on the eve of the American Revolution. As the major commercial hub for British North America, the city’s economy was based on trade and commerce and bolstered by shipbuilding, textiles and other industries. Philadelphia was also a hub for political activism, with town meetings and pamphlets disseminating...
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Welcome Aboard the Party Train: The Pennsylvania–Texas Power Nexus

Posted by on Jan 14, 2026 in | Comments Off on Welcome Aboard the Party Train: The Pennsylvania–Texas Power Nexus As U.S. House Speaker and Vice President John Nance “Cactus Jack” Garner (1868–1967) of Texas could attest, no congressional outing in the 1930s was complete without Pittsburgh’s Joe Guffey (1870–1959). In 1901, Guffey’s uncle, James, with money borrowed from the Mellon family, brought in Spindletop on the Gulf Coast. James Guffey midwifed the Texas petroleum industry — and provided the Mellons...
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“Only the Lord Saves More Than Bernie!” An Interview with Philadelphia Flyers Hall of Fame Goaltender Bernie Parent

Posted by on Jan 14, 2026 in | Comments Off on “Only the Lord Saves More Than Bernie!” An Interview with Philadelphia Flyers Hall of Fame Goaltender Bernie Parent On Tuesday evening, May 27, 1975, the Philadelphia Flyers, defending National Hockey League (NHL) Champions, faced the Buffalo Sabres in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals at Buffalo’s Memorial Stadium. Philadelphia enjoyed a three-games-to-two lead in the best-of-seven series and they were determined to clinch their second straight championship that night. The Flyers, better known as the “Broad...
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Revolutionary Things: Objects from the Collection

Posted by on Jan 14, 2026 in | Comments Off on Revolutionary Things: Objects from the Collection Massachusetts has the Boston Tea Party, Bunker Hill and the Shot Heard Round the World; Virginia can lay claim to Mount Vernon, Monticello and Yorktown; and New Jersey and New York bore the brunt of the fighting in the conflict. But few if any of the original 13 colonies can compete with Pennsylvania in terms of the sheer concentration of people, places and things associated with the nation’s...
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Philadelphia Cream Cheese: The Pennsylvania Story

Posted by on Dec 1, 2025 in | Comments Off on Philadelphia Cream Cheese: The Pennsylvania Story Whether smeared on a bagel, baked into cheesecake, or stuffed in peppers, Philadelphia Cream Cheese is a popular dairy product found in kitchens across the United States and throughout the world. Various sources note that the origin of cream cheese is not in Philadelphia but in New York State. Yet, its history is more nuanced than those common fast facts. The product has a complex history that...
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Changing Values: The Whitetail’s Challenging Existence

Posted by on Dec 1, 2025 in | Comments Off on Changing Values: The Whitetail’s Challenging Existence   Deer have lost some of the cachet they once held in Pennsylvania. Their values — ranging from ecological, aesthetical and recreational to nutritional, financial and, of course, personal — have endeared many Pennsylvanians to whitetails throughout the state’s existence, but probably never more so than during European colonization and the Great Depression — when venison helped many families...
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Carved from Our Roots: The Folk Art Sculptures of Marshall D. Rumbaugh

Posted by on Dec 1, 2025 in | Comments Off on Carved from Our Roots: The Folk Art Sculptures of Marshall D. Rumbaugh   A steel mallet rings like the chiming of a bell, as the delicate petal of a tulip unfolds under the sculptor’s chisel from the surface of the limestone. The fluidity of his hands, the tempo of the mallet, the precision of the chisel — all seemed effortless, as a visitor to the museum asked Marshall Rumbaugh how he learned to carve stone. “Well,” he said modestly with a broad smile, “I’ve...
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