Letters to the Editor

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Letters to the Editor A Little Math In case no one else noticed, in “Letters to the Editor” appearing in the Winter 1999 edition, letter writer Jack Bitner of Mt. Gretna states that $68,000 in 1880 would be worth three to four million dollars today. The editorial response to Eric G. Blumenthal’s question about Asa Packer’s worth in the same column states it was valued at twenty million dollars...
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Heritage Highlights

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Heritage Highlights Brandywine Battlefield Park, Chadds Ford A Candlelight Christmas, December 2, 2000 Colonial Winter Solstice Celebration, December 17, 2000 Cornwall Iron Furnace, Cornwall Christmas at Cornwall, December 2, 2000 Eckley Miners’ Village, Weatherly A Children’s Christmas, December 2-3, 2000 Christmas at Eckley Miners’ Village, December 10, 2000 Graeme Park, Horsham Ghostly...
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Two Gentlemen of the China Trade

Posted by on Nov 24, 2013 in | Comments Off on Two Gentlemen of the China Trade The American Revolution ended with the surrender of the British at the Virginia tobacco port of Yorktown on October 19,1781. For merchant traders eager to engage in commerce with China, the war would not be over until a treaty with Great Britain recognizing American independence was signed. The British Acts of Trade had forbidden the import of any goods into the colonies that had not passed...
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PHMC Highlights

Posted by on Nov 24, 2013 in | Comments Off on PHMC Highlights A popular exhibit at the ninetieth annual Pennsylvania Farm Show, “An Agricultural Tradition for Generations,” held in Harrisburg in January, was the PHMC’s display featuring a dugout canoe – most likely the earliest form of constructed watercraft in the world. While children are encouraged to explore the dugout – essentially a hollowed-out log – ­historic...
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The Man Behind the Curtain: “Doc” Mishler and His Legacy

Posted by on Nov 24, 2013 in | Comments Off on The Man Behind the Curtain: “Doc” Mishler and His Legacy Isaac Charles Mishler (1862-1944) stepped off the train in Altoona, Blair County, on August 6, 1881, just before his nine­teenth birthday, with a suitcase crammed full of ambition. Like thousands of men from across America and throughout Europe, Mishler was drawn to the booming city founded and sustained by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company (PRR). Mishler spent the next year or two laboring as a...
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Out and About

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Out and About Canis Major “I never met a pet I didn’t like,” pop icon Andy Warhol (1928–1987) — born Andrew Warhola in Pittsburgh — once wrote. The artist had many pets throughout his life, including his childhood dog, a lovable mutt named Lucy, more than a dozen Siamese cats, and his dachshunds Amos and Archie. His New York studio, the Silver Factory, had two resident felines, Black Lace and White Pussy, and...
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Letters

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Letters Beloved Meeting House Thank you for giving our beloved Forty Fort Meeting House such prominence in Pennsylvania Heritage [“Forty Fort Meeting House: The Architecture of a Union” by Vance Packard, Winter 2008]! The author’s text, the stunning photographs, and the sidebar featuring PHMC’s grant program was beautifully topped by remarks by Scott Doyle, PHMC grants manager....
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Celebrating Volunteers on the Pennsylvania Trails of History

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Celebrating Volunteers on the Pennsylvania Trails of History Every spring we honor those who contribute their experience and expertise to support the mission and work of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC). In 2011–2012 volunteers donated approximately 117,000 hours at historic sites and museums along the Pennsylvania Trails of History®. This impressive collective donation is valued at nearly $2.5 million, based on data provided by...
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The “War History” of Corporal Funk

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on The “War History” of Corporal Funk Share...
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… and we do history, too!

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on … and we do history, too! As the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) and its Bureau of Historic Sites and Museums have recently engaged in strategic planning, one of several issues identified has been the challenge of articulating our value to the public. When one thinks of a favorite destination on the Pennsylvania Trails of History, what comes to mind first? Readers of this magazine love history and...
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