Letters

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Letters Aiming for the Stars A friend recently lent me a copy of your very fine magazine with the article on the astronuclear lab [“Aiming for the Stars: the Forgotten Legacy of the Westinghouse Astronuclear Laboratory” by Willis L. Shirk Jr., Summer 2011]. What a fascinating history! I bet very few Pennsylvanians know about the state’s involvement in the NERVA [Nuclear Energy for...
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From the Editor

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on From the Editor Most, if not all, contributors to Pennsylvania Heritagewrite for the sheer fascination of – and, in some cases, love for – their subjects. Although many enjoy careers in the history and museum communities as curators, researchers, historians, and educators, others are accountants, lawyers, even elected officials. Still others are retirees and homemakers who have compelling stories to...
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Jimmy Stewart’s Wonderful Life Began in Pennsylvania

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Jimmy Stewart’s Wonderful Life Began in Pennsylvania It’s Christmas Eve 1945 in the small town of Bedford Falls. George Bailey, president of the Bailey Building and Loan Association, stands in despair at the edge of a bridge wishing he had never been born. An unscrupulous competitor, Henry F. Potter, has threatened to shut down the financial institution and see Bailey thrown into prison on the pretense of stealing the townspeople’s money. In fact,...
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Saving Documents Today for Future Generations

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Saving Documents Today for Future Generations For three years, from 2008 through part of 2011, the archival staff of the Pennsylvania State Archives in Harrisburg, administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC), has been involved in an initiative to improve the management of the Commonwealth’s historical records maintained by its sixty-seven county governments. Known as the Itinerant Archivist Project, the program...
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