History
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This Old Haunted House (A Look Back at My Halloween Adventures: Part II)
One October, my sister Elizabeth and I took a candlelit ghost tour in Gettysburg. Our guide started by passing around several black-and-white photos that included clusters of light spots – orbs. The orbs…
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Brains! (A Look Back at My Halloween Adventures: Part 1)
As much as I hate January and February, I concede that these months are slightly useful. The “deep mid-winter” is when I make most of my jewelry, attempt to finish all of the…
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Review: Adirondacks Region – Lake George and Fort Ticonderoga
I admit that I was a little bit spoiled by living in Pennsylvania my entire life. I take for granted the availability of inexpensive, non-commerical, family-friendly places to visit where I can picnic,…
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Revisiting Somerset and Bedord Counties: The Whiskey Rebellion
Back in 1994 when I was still in high school, my hometown of Berlin, PA decided to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Whiskey Rebellion. Plans were made for a big festival. The…
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Revisiting Bedford County: Shawnee State Park and the Ship Hotel
Bedford County, PA still looks pretty much the way I see it in old pictures and in my mind. At Shawnee State Park, the little swing still sits in its secluded picnic area…
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The Lighthouse Keeper’s Wife; Absorbing Lighthouse Website; Shipwrecks
Jonathan's Facebook entry about lighthouses today reminded me of this website that I found on Lighthouses of Australia Project. True to its title, it contains some decent photos of Australian lighthouses. Scroll down…
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The Oregon Trail
My sisters and I spent entire summers when we were kids playing with an Apple PC. The computer was from my dad's classroom (he is a retired teacher), and in the summers he…
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Ghosts of Fourths of July Past, Part 2: State College, 2003
My Grandma Gaffron and my Aunt Sue had a prime piece of real estate. At least, they had use of it for 24 hours, time enough to watch of the State College Fireworks…
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The Ghosts of Fourths of July Past, Part 1: Pittsburgh, 1987
I was about ten years old the first time that I celebrated the Fourth of July in Pittsburgh. Back then, my late maternal grandfather was still a city motorcycle patrolman. My sister Katie…