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“Down by the Riverside”
This is what the Allegheny River looked like today, on one of the coldest days of this century. I had Jonathan stop at Firemen’s Park in Arnold when we were out so that…
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Fort Pitt Had A Moat
January is the perfect month to . . . catch up on past seasons of Downton Abbey and read. After I finished “The Day Must Dawn,” I read another historical fiction novel by Agnes…
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A Local Novel by a Local Author: “The Day Must Dawn”
One of the main characters in “The Day Must Dawn” by Agnes Sligh Turnbull watches Colonel William Crawford burn at the stake while Simon Girty laughs. That scene isn’t the only dramatic one in…
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The “Ghost” of Simon Girty
My Grandma Gaffron often joked that the ghost of Simon Girty hung around the Gaffron family property in North Huntingdon, Westmoreland County. “Simon Girty took my glasses,” she said when she couldn’t find…
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Great Expectations
Last night, we and several family members walked for two and a half hours on the Old Allegheny Victorian Christmas House Tour. Jonathan believes that he and I have gone on the tour…
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Credit Where Credit is Due
I want to clarify that my father-in-law, Dr. Dennis Woytek, took photo #4 and photo #5 in my prior blog entry of December 6. My husband, Jonathan Woytek, took the rest of the…
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Christmas Past in My Parnassus
Ten years ago this month, I drove into Parnassus (and New Kensington) for the very first time. On that bright, warm December Saturday I followed Jonathan’s directions from the Pennsylvania Turnpike. I drove…
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Parnassus is Not Gone: A Non-Review of “American Elegy” by Jeffrey Simpson
When I found Jeffrey Simpson’s 1996 New York Times article about Parnassus two weeks ago, I was so excited that I posted a link to it on a Facebook page for local historical…
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Parnassus Mentioned in the New York Times / Chicago Tribune News
I want to share this article by Jeffrey Simpson dated August 31, 1996 titled, “When You Inherit the Family Farm, You Own the Memories, Too.” The byline identifies it as a New York Times story; however,…
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Nikolaj Christensen Rocks (And So Do His Snails)
Yesterday we went with my mom and my sister Elizabeth to Phipps Conservatory. My mom celebrated her birthday this past week and she wanted to see the Fall Flower Show before her membership expired…