Harnessing the Power of the Wind: A Contemporary Use for a Historic Energy Source

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on 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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The 54th Mass. Infantry Regiment, US Colored Troops

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on The 54th Mass. Infantry Regiment, US Colored Troops Although its name might lead many to believe that the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, United States Colored Troops (USCT), was made up of African American soldiers from New England, the unit included a number of Pennsylvanians. In fact, forty-five of the recruits lived in Franklin County, and an additional thirteen joined the 55th Massachusetts, organized for the overflow from the 54th....
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Rising from the Muck: The Marshalls Creek Mastodon

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Rising from the Muck: The Marshalls Creek Mastodon For as long as I can remember, I have known of the little village of Marshalls Creek, near East Stroudsburg, in northeastern Pennsylvania’s Monroe County. My maternal grandparents, Bertha and Arthur Pflieger, rented a cottage each summer in the Poconos at the Cottage Colony, part of the Mountain Lake House, a popular resort for many New Yorkers and city dwellers during the 1940s and the...
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General Meade’s Press Warfare!

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on General Meade’s Press Warfare! Not all the skirmishes and engagements of the American Civil War were fought on the battlefield. Many were waged in popular publications of the day, pitting war correspondents against high-ranking officers in a war of words. One Union commander who waged his own intensely bitter war with the established press and held the Fourth Estate in contempt throughout the entire rebellion was Major...
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Peter Kalm in Pennsylvania

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Peter Kalm in Pennsylvania The territory now recognized as Pennsylvania was once part of a Swedish colony stretching from Delaware to New York. Swedish farmers settled in small villages along the Delaware River, in southern New Jersey, and in the Hudson Valley. Established by the New Sweden Company in March 1638, it was administered from Fort Christina (Wilmington) in what is now Delaware. In 1655, a band of Dutch...
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Aiming for the Stars: The Forgotten Legacy of the Westinghouse Astronuclear Laboratory

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Aiming for the Stars: The Forgotten Legacy of the Westinghouse Astronuclear Laboratory Before his death, renowned science fiction writer, inventor, and futurist Arthur C. Clarke (1917–2008) confidently declared the space age had not yet begun, and would only commence when reliable nuclear-powered space vehicles become available to drastically reduce the cost of moving humans and heavy payloads from the surface of the earth to the farthest reaches of the solar system. It is a...
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Heinz – Much More than 57 Varieties

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Heinz – Much More than 57 Varieties The World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago captivated spectators with dazzling sights and sounds. Among the innovators showcasing their celebrated products was a trio of Pittsburghers: George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. (1859-1896), George Westinghouse Jr. (1846-1914), and Henry John Heinz (1844-1919). A bridge engineer, Ferris built his famous wheel-shaped ride, this first one...
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