PHMC Highlights

Old Economy Village volunteer Grant Stewart, portrays the traditional Pennsylvania German figure “Belsnickel,” and talks with young visitors to an Old Economy Village Christmas program in Ambridge, Beaver County. Belsnickel is checking his book to see who’s been naughty and who’s been nice. The Belsnickel is a Santa-like figure but not as jolly; he cautions children to behave well or receive...
read more

Bookshelf

Archbishop Patrick John Ryan: His Life and Times: Ireland — St. Louis — Philadelphia, 1831–1911 by Patrick Ryan published by AuthorHouse Press, 2010; 357 pages, paper, $11.60 Upon the death of Patrick John Ryan (1831– 1911), Archbishop of Philadelphia for more than a quarter century, church bells throughout the city solemnly tolled to mark the passing of the remarkable Irish-born prelate. Ryan...
read more

Pennsylvania’s First State Geologist: Henry Darwin Rogers

Geology made Pennsylvania what it is today. The mining of anthracite and bituminous coal, the drilling for petroleum, and the production of iron and steel in the Commonwealth long drove the economy of the United States. Elucidating the history of the geological study of Pennsylvania is an integral part of comprehending its history. Henry Darwin Rogers (1808–1866), the first State Geologist of...
read more