Currents

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Currents It’s a Zoo! When the Zoological Society of Philadelphia was organized at the home of Dr. William Camac (its first presi­dent) on March 21, 1859, it was the first of its kind in North America. In spite of its auspicious beginnings, the early years of the Philadelphia Zoo – now touted as “America’s First Zoo”­ – were dampened by the Civil War, which not only...
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Shorts

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Shorts The Johnstown Area Heritage Association will host “Johnstown FolkFest ’95” from Friday through Sunday, September 1-3 [1995], in the community’s historic district of Cambria City. The Labor Day weekend event will fea­ture ethnic entertainment, tours of historic buildings, and cultural crafts. For more information, write: Johnstown Area Heritage Association, P. O. Box 1889,...
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Keeping the Torch of Justice Burning Brightly: William P. Young

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Keeping the Torch of Justice Burning Brightly: William P. Young He faced criticism at his appointment, confronted adversity in his duties, and battled poor health in his later years, but he kept the torch of justice burning brightly for all to see, maintaining his dignity and poise at every turn. He was William Pennington Young (1895-1968), the Keystone State’s fifteenth secretary of labor and industry, from 1963 to 1967, during the administration of...
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Exhibit: Pennsylvania’s Civil War

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Exhibit: Pennsylvania’s Civil War Recently opened by the Senator John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh is a major exhibit providing visitors with an in-depth look at Pennsylvania’s significant contributions to the Union during the American Civil War. In addition to highlighting these efforts and important conflicts such as the Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania’s Civil War showcases Pittsburgh’s role as the “Arsenal of the...
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Making Peace on the Gettysburg Battlefield, Fifty Years Later

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Making Peace on the Gettysburg Battlefield, Fifty Years Later For six frenetic days in 1913, from Sunday, June 29, through Saturday, July 4, two armies – fifty-four thousand strong combined – invaded Gettysburg for a second time. They fought the first time a half century earlier, July 1-3, 1863, and were looking forward, admittedly many anxiously, to facing each other again. It wasn’t a fight they anticipated at the second meeting,...
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From Erie to Antarctica

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on From Erie to Antarctica For nineteen-year-old Eagle Scout Paul Allman Siple (1908–1968) of Erie, wintering over in Antarctica was perhaps the ultimate, yet seemingly unlikely, merit badge. He had completed his first year at Allegheny College, founded in 1815 in Meadville, Crawford County, when a fellow Boy Scout asked him if he was entering the contest to be the Scout who would accompany Commander Richard E. Byrd...
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Desegregation of Pennsylvania Schools

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Desegregation of Pennsylvania Schools Twenty-six years after Governor William Bigler (1814-1880) signed Pennsylvania’s common school law on May 8, 1854, creating “separate schools for the tuition of negro and mulatto children,” an African American in Meadville, Crawford County, challenged the legislation. In September 1880, Elias H. Allen unsuccessfully attempted to enroll his two children in the community’s...
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Black History in Pennsylvania: An Overview

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Black History in Pennsylvania: An Overview One of the more enduring outcomes of “Black History in Pennsylvania: Communities in Common,” the annual theme adopted by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) for 2010, is a history study that examines more than three centuries of African American life, culture, and experience in the Keystone State. This expansive document explores, in detail, the daily life, work, struggles,...
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The Indefatigable Daniel Hartman Hastings

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on The Indefatigable Daniel Hartman Hastings Despite the fact that he unsuccessfully attempted — not once, but three times — to enlist in the Union Army in the early days of the American Civil War, the underage Daniel Hartman Hastings (1849–1903) eventually did find several causes for which to fight. And his courage and persistence brought him many accolades and honors, including the title “Hero of the Johnstown Flood.” Hastings, who grew...
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