Milwaukee Iron, Pennsylvania Style

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Milwaukee Iron, Pennsylvania Style What takes two and a half hours to make, costs at least sixteen thousand dollars to purchase, is assembled in a former military and bowling equipment facility in York, Pennsylvania, and bears the nick­name “Milwaukee Iron”? “What” is a motorcycle. More precisely, a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Created in 1903 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and revered as the quintessential...
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The Value of Pennsylvania History

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on The Value of Pennsylvania History George W. Bush won the presidential election of 2000 because the fifty states cast more electoral votes for him, even though more people actually voted for his opponent, Albert A. Gore Jr. The election reminded Americans about a curious institution called the Electoral College, and an equally peculiar system known as federalism in which each state conducts elections according to distinct laws...
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Barnhart Log Loader at Pennsylvania Lumber Museum

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Barnhart Log Loader at Pennsylvania Lumber Museum The introduction, in 1885, of steam-powered log loaders to efficiently load logs on rail cars and replace tedious, back-breaking manual labor, revolutionized the country’s logging industry. Two years later, Henry Barnhart, co-founder of the Marion Power Shovel Company, Marion, Ohio, developed the Barnhart loader, which proved to be, along with the Barnhart Model 10, the most popular loader...
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Current and Coming

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Current and Coming First in the West More than fifteen organizations in western Pennsylvania are collaborating to commemorate the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with a wide array of events, activities, and programs, such as exhibitions, reenactments, lectures, workshops, living history presentations, and performances. Participants include local and regional governments, educational organizations,...
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Into the Woodlands

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Into the Woodlands Rarely does his name enjoy prominence in horticultural history, but William Hamilton (1745-1813), owner of The Woodlands, a picturesque eighteenth-century countryseat on the banks of the Schuylkill River in West Philadelphia, made sev­eral significant contributions that forever changed the landscape of North America. An avid plant collector he filled his English-style garden with as many new...
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Fred Waring (1900-1984)

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Fred Waring (1900-1984) In her 1997 book, Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians, Virginia Waring declared her late husband “The Man Who Taught America How to Sing.” In his foreword to the book, Robert Shaw (1916-1999), world-famous choral conductor known for his classical and secular repertoire, wrote, “It is certain to me that tours of the Bach B Minor Mass and the Mozart Requiem would not have been...
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Trainloads of Goodwill and Gratitude

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Trainloads of Goodwill and Gratitude Pittsburghers, on the evening of Saturday, November 15, 1947, witnessed a ceremony at the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) Station that marked the beginning of an extraordinary occurrence: the journey of a Friendship Train across the Keystone State. By the time it reached Philadelphia, three days and seven stops later, the train hauled an additional fifty-one cavernous boxcars packed to capacity with...
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The Pennsylvania Dugout Canoe Project

Posted by on Nov 24, 2013 in | Comments Off on The Pennsylvania Dugout Canoe Project Then: Imagine the sight of individuals clad only in loincloths, furiously chipping at a large felled log, slivers of wood flying high above them, and smoke curling upward from sections of the burning tree as they carve out a dugout canoe. Now: In painstakingly precise recreations, archaeologists of the Bureau for Historic Preservation (BHP) of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission...
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1876 Centennial Craze Sweeps into Philadelphia!

Posted by on Nov 24, 2013 in | Comments Off on 1876 Centennial Craze Sweeps into Philadelphia! This spring marks the one hundred and thirtieth anniversary of the opening of the International Exhibition of Art, Manufactures and Products of the Soil and Mine, better known as the Centennial International Exhibition, staged to mark the one hundredth anniversary of American independence. Opening Day, Wednesday, May 10, 1876, welcome more than one hundred thousand visitors, and by closing day,...
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Pennsylvania Heritage Society Newsletter

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Pennsylvania Heritage Society Newsletter Topics in the Fall 2007 Newsletter: Signature Series: Dr. Guion S. Bluford Jr. at the State Museum of Pennsylvania Seats Available for Two-Day Excursion to Western Pennsylvania New PHS Board of Directors Drake Well Receives Generous Gift Calendar for October – December 2007 Gift Memberships for the Holidays Summer Professional Development for Teachers 2nd Annual Holiday Marketplace  ...
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