Patrick Monaghan, St Joseph's Cemetery, Girardville The Medal of Honor symbolizes the ideals of patriotism, courage, sacrifice, and integrity and is the highest award presented for military valor in action. Those recipients have shown bravery in combat, going above and beyond the call of duty, risking – and often sacrificing – their lives for the … Continue reading Medal of Honor: Patrick Monaghan
The Pennsylvania countryside In my personal collection of books, there are numerous works of fiction involving alternative histories of the country with many of them set around a different outcome of Pennsylvania’s most famous battle – Gettysburg. What would have happened if the Confederacy would have won at Gettysburg is a subject numerous authors have … Continue reading The Pennsylvania That Could Have Been
Grave of Conrad Richter Passing through the gap in the Blue Mountain, the GPS informed me I was arriving at my exit. Happy to be off the busy interstate 81, I drove southward into the community of Pine Grove. The overwhelming feeling of small-town America filled me with a sense of pride as flags fluttered … Continue reading Conrad Richter
Marker near intersection of Marinnier Street and Lincoln Drive, Hometown I arrived in Hometown – yes, the name of the community is Hometown – in search of a simple marker telling of an event that happened there in the summer of 1938. After making a couple of wrong turns and detours, I finally saw the … Continue reading Unsolved: The Amber Lantern Massacre
Grave of James "Jimmy" Dorsey A trip through Pennsylvania’s coal country found me in the small community of Shenandoah Heights, on the northern edge the town of Shenandoah. The narrow street was lined with row houses and I definitely felt like an outsider as every person seemed to turn and watch as I passed. As … Continue reading The Big Band Sound of Jimmy Dorsey
Fog covered the mountaintops as Mike and I made our way southward towards the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in northern Berks County. Although we both knew finding any birds, raptors or otherwise, was nearly impossible due to the fog and rain, we were not about to let the bad weather keep us from our goal. Between … Continue reading Unsolved: The Ghost of Gordon Mountain
The Pennsylvania Rambler 