Changing Values: The Whitetail’s Challenging Existence

  Deer have lost some of the cachet they once held in Pennsylvania. Their values — ranging from ecological, aesthetical and recreational to nutritional, financial and, of course, personal — have endeared many Pennsylvanians to whitetails throughout the state’s existence, but probably never more so than during European colonization and the Great Depression — when venison helped many families...
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Editor’s Letter

What comes to mind when you think of Pennsylvania? The features in this edition spotlight perspectives on commonwealth culture through a painter’s scenic landscapes, a sculptor’s three-dimensional portraits of historical and folkloric figures, the state animal, and a popular food product. In the early 1970s, artist Nick Ruggieri was commissioned by the Harrisburg Patriot-News to select a...
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Windows on Pennsylvania’s Natural Places: Restoring Mammal Hall at The State Museum

At The State Museum of Pennsylvania, the beavers are busier than ever repairing their dam. The mountain lion gazes more intently at its prey, advancing stealthily upon a slanted tree trunk. And you might imagine you feel a chill as you approach the freshly fallen snow in the bison’s nighttime scene. If you haven’t visited the museum’s third-floor Mammal Hall recently, you’ll now notice that the...
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