A Flag Bears Witness – Don’t Give Up The Ship

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on A Flag Bears Witness – Don’t Give Up The Ship A mere five words stitched on a flag in 1813 in a tiny frontier village produced one of the most enduring symbols in United States history. Two hundred years later those few words – Don’t Give Up The Ship – have become a stirring, unofficial motto of the U.S. Navy; a rallying cry; and a flag flown from masts of sailboats, yachts, tall ships, and more. The details of the War of...
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A Tall Order for a Tall Ship: Pennsylvania’s Flagship Niagara – An Interview with Captain Walter P. Rybka

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on A Tall Order for a Tall Ship: Pennsylvania’s Flagship Niagara – An Interview with Captain Walter P. Rybka Continuing his stellar career with sailing landmarks – including several vessels built specifically to train sailors – Walter P. Rybka joined the staff of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) in 1991 as master of the Flagship Niagara. It was the Brig Niagara, his relief flagship, that Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry commandeered and led the American forces to a...
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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 Winter 2009 Newsletter: New Deal Post Office Murals Exhibit Opening Signature Series Lecture: The Atom and American Life Calendar for January – March 2009 Dr. G. Terry Madonna: Pennsylvanians and Presidential Elections New Deal Post Office Murals Tour Welcome New PHS Members Environmental Heritage Summit Holiday Marketplace 2008 Annual Appeal 2008-2009  ...
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Meet Our Readers

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Meet Our Readers Pennsylvania Heritage is a unique benefit for the members of the Pennsylvania Heritage Society (PHS). The magazine has won prestigious design and editorial awards and is widely read throughout the Keystone State in libraries, schools, historical societies, and, of course, by PHS members. Many, after enjoying each issue, pass it on to relatives, friends, and neighbors. In addition to enjoying the...
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A Backward Glance at Thirty-Five Years Young

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on A Backward Glance at Thirty-Five Years Young Over the past thirty-five years, Pennsylvania Heritage has brought to readers hundreds of stories about the famous and the not-so-famous, of historic preservation struggles won and lost, and interviews with individuals who either shaped history or interpret it. Our thirty-fifth anniversary, which we’re observing with this edition, gives us a moment to pause and reflect on where we’ve been, where...
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Woo Hong Neok: A Chinese American Soldier in the Civil War

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Woo Hong Neok: A Chinese American Soldier in the Civil War In the popular imagination, the American Civil War is an extraordinary drama portraying the denouement of the exceptionally serious struggle to preserve the Union and end the institution of slavery. In the unfolding drama the actors on the battlefield, as well as on the home fronts in both the North and the South alike, are nearly always white or black Americans with a smattering of Native...
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Exploring the Pennsylvania Energy Trail of History

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Exploring the Pennsylvania Energy Trail of History Pennsylvania’s vast natural resources helped fuel the growth and development of both state and nation, spawning innumerable advances in transportation, industry, technology, and science. These resources propelled an economy that supported generations of men and women. The Pennsylvania Trails of History, a network of historic sites and museums administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and...
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A Modest Fountain on the Square

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on A Modest Fountain on the Square The modest appearance of a squat granite fountain hunkered along the curb on the south side of Philadelphia’s Washington Square belies its noble history. The fountain, which began in a much grander form on the opposite side of the square in 1869, was the first project of a sweeping movement that would adorn the city’s streets and quench the thirst of its residents, both man and beast. It was the...
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A New Way of Learning How to Preserve the Past

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on A New Way of Learning How to Preserve the Past There is one question that Carole Wilson, historic preservation specialist for the Lancaster County Planning Commission (LCPC), is repeatedly asked by historic home owners: “Where can I find someone qualified to do this work?” Many owners of historic houses and buildings throughout Pennsylvania wrestle with the same dilemma – where do they find someone who possesses the...
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When the Susquehanna River Was Pennsylvania’s Flour Highway

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on When the Susquehanna River Was Pennsylvania’s Flour Highway The flour trade industry in the Susquehanna River watershed is one of the lesser known stories in Pennsylvania’s history, but it is among its most significant sagas. Millers were among the first tradesmen to arrive in the New World to sustain the settlers. The Keystone State’s rich farmlands produced abundant flour for local and regional markets with a consistent surplus for export to foreign...
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