Letters to the Editor

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Letters to the Editor Loved Lizzie! I just loved your article on Lizzie Stride [“A Champion for All Seasons” by Barbara Gregorich, Summer 1998]! I see Pennsylva­nia Heritage only occasionally (when I return home to visit family in Pennsylva­nia) but each time I do, I’m extremely impressed. The photographs in this article were great. It made one feel – as Walter Cronkite used to say on...
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Holland Sabbath School Banner

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Holland Sabbath School Banner Currently the subject of much interest – no doubt piqued by several popular exhibitions mounted by museums in southeastern Pennsylvania – Bucks County’s Edward Hicks (1780-1849) is known throughout the country (if not the world) for his paintings depicting The Peaceable Kingdom and Penn’s Treaty with the Indians (see “Currents” in the fall 1999 issue) Art...
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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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Franklinia Alatamaha by John and William Bartram

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Franklinia Alatamaha by John and William Bartram To commemorate the three hundredth anniversary of the birth of John Bartram (1699-1777), Historic Bartram’s Garden in Philadelphia launched a national survey of the Franklinia alatamaha, the most famous discovery made by the famous naturalist and his son, William Bartram (1739-1823). The census drew the participation of both botanical gardens and home gardeners while it recorded the...
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Letters to the Editor

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Letters to the Editor A Giant Among Men Congratulations to William C. Kashatus on his extraordinary article, “A New Birth of Freedom,” which appeared in the Fall 1999 issue. Americans, who have witnessed the downfall of so many latter-day heroes in recent years, can take heart in knowing that Abraham Lincoln was truly a giant among men. The article has enhanced my already considerable admiration for this...
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Currents

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Currents The Circle is Unbroken “Jane Piper and Her Circle: Three Gen­erations of Painters in Philadelphia” will open at The State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, on Saturday November 4 [2000]. Featuring more than one hundred and twenty-five paintings and works on paper, the exhibition expands a traveling retrospective of works by the Philadelphia painter and teacher Jane Piper...
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Currents

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Currents Railroading with Rau The Pennsylvania Railroad Company (PRR) was not yet a half-century old when it commissioned William H. Rau (1855-1920) to tackle the enormous task of photographically documenting its extensive rail lines. So extraordinarily successful was the Pennsy that by the time Rau commenced his work in 1891, the railroad was the largest corporation in the country and claimed more than...
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September 2001 Meeting of Historic Preservation Board

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on September 2001 Meeting of Historic Preservation Board In the dizzying aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, Americans realized that their lives would be forever changed. Terrorism even impacted the routine – and frequently mundane – ways in which business had been conducted. For its September 2001 meeting-held, incidentally, on Tuesday, September 11 – the Commonwealth’s Historic...
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Breaking Down Barriers

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Breaking Down Barriers In the summer of 1957, William and Daisy Myers and their three children moved from their house near Philadelphia to the post-World War II development of Levittown, some twenty miles northeast of the city. Like millions of American families in the 1950s, they were seeking the highly touted amenities of suburban living (see “Picture Window Par­adise: Welcome to Levittown!” by Curtis...
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In Franklin’s Footsteps: An Interview with Ralph Archbold

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on In Franklin’s Footsteps: An Interview with Ralph Archbold Greater hero worship may be accorded to other historical figures, but Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) has, for better or worse, been more commonly identified with the American national character. His remarkable success as a printer, as well as the popularity of his essays, aphorisms, and almanacs, allowed him to spread his notions of industry and frugality among the common people. In the process,...
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