Letters to the Editor
Written by PA Heritage Staff in the Letters category and the Summer 1994 issue Topics in this article: Allentown, Battle of Lake Erie, C. Gilbert Taylor, Capt. Walter Rybka, Chester County, George Washington, Horace Mann Bond, Julian Bond, Lincoln University, Philadelphia, Piper Cub (J-3), Pittsburgh, Pottsville, U.S. Brig Niagara, United States Navy, Valley Forge, William T. Piper, William T. Piper Jr.Up and Away!
Pennsylvania Heritage is one of the finest magazines I have ever had. The composition, literary quality, and selection of illustrations are second to none! As a historic aircraft enthusiast, I was absorbed by the rise and decline of C. G. Taylor and Bill Piper, Sr., and Bill Piper, Jr. (see “The Little Cub That Roared” by Theodore K. Thomas in the winter 1993 issue). I spent some pleasant time at the Piper airport and at the farm of Bill Edelstein, assistant chief engineer. Back then the Piper company was suffering through some crippling litigation for product liability because of a structural failure. As a member of an old Navy family (Royal and “Ours”), I found the article about the Commonwealth’s flagship quite compelling (see “Sail On, O Ship of State: An Interview with Capt. Walter Rybka of the U. S. Brig Niagara” by Diane B. Reed, summer 1993). Certainly sent me back to reading a history of the United States Navy, as well as to rereading “The Battle of Lake Erie: A Victory for Commodore Perry” by James E. Valle in your fall 1988 issue. Since my mother was a talented artist, I am also drawn to your articles on art and artists. Yours is a grand magazine.
Robert H. Wilde
Pottsville, Pa.
I just “discovered” Pennsylvania Heritage at our local library and I love it! Your article on the history of the Piper Cub really soared. Thank you for this little peek at a wonderful old family business. It’s too bad so many of these family enterprises – really the backbone of Pennsylvania – are dying out, but I’m relieved to know that your magazine is helping to record their contributions for posterity.
Gerald T. Nolan
Philadelphia, Pa.
More Questions
Eloquent! After finishing Julian Bond’s guest essay (see “Some Questions for Examining Pennsylvania’s Black History,” winter 1994), I am more impressed with your periodical than ever before. This piece was as eloquent as it was moving. I will now always remember Julian Bond’s connection to Pennsylvania. Such an association should make us all proud.
John S. Sammons
Pittsburgh, Pa.
The fact that you published feature articles on George Washington and Julian Bond in the same edition was a stroke of genius – I’d be hard pressed to choose a favorite. However, I would have liked to have seen more photographs of Julian Bond and his family when they lived in Pennsylvania. I imagine very few Pennsylvanians – real or transplanted – know of this connection.
Jack Bowers
Allentown, Pa.
I was delighted with “Some Questions for Examining Pennsylvania’s Black History” by Julian Bond in your winter 1994 issue because until I read this essay, I knew nothing of his childhood in Chester County. In fact, I knew very little about Lincoln University of which his father, Dr. Horace Mann Bond, was president for several years. I am enjoying the different types of articles you are featuring – everything from the eighteenth century to today. I know it must be difficult to balance these articles in a state with a history as deep as ours, but keep at it. It’s great!
Judy Ellis-Berger
Philadelphia, Pa.
Assignment: Washington
I very much appreciated and enjoyed “The Apotheosis of George Washington: America’s Cincinnatus and the Valley Forge Encampment” by William C. Kashatus III in the winter 1994 issue. This article would serve well as a reading assignment for class discussion in American history, at any academic level, in so many of our woefully inadequate history programs.
Arnold E. Suter
Gibbstown, N. J.
