History
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Someone Else’s Road Trip
This is our Christmas card photo. Shawnee State Park in Bedford County. A Gaffron family favorite. The Pennsylvania Turnpike passes Shawnee. So does Route 30 – the Lincoln Highway. And Route 31. I…
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Sic Transit Gloria Mundi!
This weekend we touristed on the Old Allegheny Victorian Christmas House Tour. Jonathan and I do so every year. Here is my previous blog entry on it. Allegheny West, the neighborhood on display,…
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This Place Could Be Haunted
3 Things about this photo: 1.) Jonathan took this in the aftermath of a severe thunderstorm in early July 2013. 2.) This is the former site of the Grandview Point Hotel. I, personally,…
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Sailing Mishap from 1779
This passage is from Chapter Five of “Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation” by Cokie Roberts. This recounts John Jay and his wife Sally’s voyage to Spain after Congress named John Jay as Minister…
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Waterloo Memoir
I just realized that the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo (June 18, 1815) is this week. Do you like history? If so, I highly recommend the following: “The Autobiography of Lieutenant-General…
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When the Johnstown Flood Came to the Alle-Kiski Valley
Here’s something that I learned this winter: Shortly after the Johnstown Flood of 1889 (the flood that killed 2,209 people), tourists took picnic lunches to Johnstown, Pennsylvania so they could sight-see the damage.…
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They Saw the Bloody Handprint – and Orbs
My sister Katie and her husband Brendan visited two different places this summer that made me envious: 1.) The Ernest Hemingway House in Key West, Florida (and they saw the six-toed cats that…
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5 Spooky Places for New Ken Ghost Stories
I love ghost walks and ghost stories based on local history. The last time that I Googled “PA Ghost Walks,” I found several dozen cities in the results. Gettysburg. Pittsburgh. Philadephia. Erie. Harrisburg.…
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So Many Questions . . .
What ghost stories exist for Elliott’s, the Old Stone Tavern in Pittsburgh’s West End Village? I read about Elliott’s in two historical novels: “The King’s Orchard” and “The Day Must Dawn” by (Western PA…
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5 Ways That Mackinac Island Reminds Me of Home
Once a year we ride a ferry on Lake Huron for our day trip to Mackinac Island, Michigan. People come here to see: The Grand Hotel. Tourists everywhere on bicycles. Tourists everywhere in…