The Sacrifices of Company C: Somerset County’s Valiant Soldiers in the Great War

Posted by on Nov 11, 2019 in | Comments Off on The Sacrifices of Company C: Somerset County’s Valiant Soldiers in the Great War In spring 2004 a resident of Somerset in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, chanced upon an aged postcard that had fallen behind a dresser many years before. Dated November 7, 1918, the postcard had been sent by the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva, Switzerland, and was addressed to “the Family of Herbert Foust,” a soldier of Company C, 110th Infantry Regiment, a Pennsylvania...
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Editor’s Letter

Posted by on Nov 5, 2019 in | Comments Off on Editor’s Letter Forty some years ago, when I was in elementary school, I took a field trip with my science class to The State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg to see the dioramas of Pennsylvania’s wildlife in Mammal Hall. Walking around the dark, circular gallery, I peered through windows into the fascinating, realistic habitats of 13 mammals, from the common to the locally extinct, and was transported to...
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From Memory to Memorial by J. William Thompson

Posted by on Jun 13, 2017 in | Comments Off on From Memory to Memorial by J. William Thompson From Memory to Memorial: Shanksville, America, and Flight 93 by J. William Thompson Penn State University Press, 200 pp., paper $19.95 The crash site and memorialization of Flight 93 near Shanksville, Somerset County, hasn’t received as much attention as the other sites touched by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. This short, thoughtful and exceptionally well-written book brings...
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The Ship Hotel: Afloat with the Lincoln Highway’s Most Unusual Landmark

Posted by on May 8, 2015 in | Comments Off on The Ship Hotel: Afloat with the Lincoln Highway’s Most Unusual Landmark In 1931 the first and only baby was born at the Grand View Point Hotel, 18 miles west of Bedford, Bedford County. Little Clara was the pride of her grandfather Herbert J. Paulson (1874–1973), a Dutch immigrant who had built the hotel on the side of a mountain along the winding, two-lane Lincoln Highway. Clara grew up in the hotel, which “Captain” Paulson turned into the ship-shaped...
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Somerset County: Paths through the Roof Garden

Posted by on Nov 30, 2013 in | Comments Off on Somerset County: Paths through the Roof Garden Referring to the high elevation and the scenic quality of the region, Gov. Martin G. Brumbaugh called Somerset County “the Roof Garden of Pennsylvania” at an annual Farmers’ Day picnic in 1916. Since then. the description has become a familiar and respected title; the words “Roof Garden” have been in­corporated in the names of various businesses, and the complete...
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Fayette at the Crossroads

Posted by on Nov 30, 2013 in | Comments Off on Fayette at the Crossroads Fayette County has always been at the crossroads, both literally and figuratively, its destiny shaped by its location, the incredible riches of its natural resources and the vi­tality of a people descended from al­most every nation of Europe. It has a son of dual personality, geo­graphically divided between mountains and lowlands, historically divided into two almost equal eras of economic...
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Siegmund Lubin: The Forgotten Filmmaker

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on Siegmund Lubin: The Forgotten Filmmaker   In Philipsburg, the summer of 1914 ended with a crash that could be heard for miles and seen around the world. On the slopes of Centre County’s Collision Field, a stadium formed by nature, five thousand festive, flag-waving spectators gathered to watch the wrecking of two great Pittsburgh & Susquehanna Railroad locomotives. Bands entertained the Labor Day celebrants with musical...
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Bookshelf

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on Bookshelf The Venango County Historical Society is republishing in its original size the 700-page History of Venango County. The book was originally published by Caldwell in 1879. If ordered prior to December 31 [1975], the price is $32.50. The after-publication price will be $37.50. Checks or money orders can be sent to Venango County Historical Society, Box 101, Franklin 16323.   The George Dallas...
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The Whiskey Boys Versus the Watermelon Army

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on The Whiskey Boys Versus the Watermelon Army When the issue of balancing the budget by raising taxes reared its ugly head recently, the nation once again saw the contro­versy and bitterness the sub­ject ignites. On Capitol Hill familiar questions were fiercely debated. Who should close the revenue gap, the wealthy or the working class? Should taxes be increased on ciga­rettes, gasoline, or liquor? Nearly two hundred years ago the Congress...
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That Magnificent Fight for Unionism: The Somerset County Strike of 1922

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on That Magnificent Fight for Unionism: The Somerset County Strike of 1922 During 1920 and 1921, western Pennsylvania’s coal mine operators campaigned vigorously to slash wages of the miners they employed. Because demand for coal declined after World War One the operators were forced to reduce production, resulting in stack, or in some cases, the complete shutdown of operations. Many miners drifted to factory jobs in nearby cities, or simply clung to hope -and...
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