Fort Henry, Bethel Township, Berks County

I don't get asked questions often enough to have anything like a Frequently Asked Questions list. But one of the few that I have been asked more than once is "What do you do if a marker is missing when you go to collect it?"

This does happen from time to time. Markers become damaged when struck by a vehicle or a very large animal and need to be replaced, or they get removed for refurbishment and then put back later. On very rare occasions they can even be stolen, although how (or why) anyone would steal a marker is beyond my comprehension. Those things are pretty big and not exactly easy to carry around.

Usually the PHMC is aware of the situation, since they of course are the ones who repair or replace the markers in question. But if you ever notice that one is missing, you can make sure that they know about it. Just follow the steps outlined on this page to first confirm that they don't already know and then, if needed, to bring it to their attention. They'll appreciate the help!

But to answer the actual question, what do I do when a marker is missing? Apart from what I've just stated here, I take pictures of whatever is available in the area, if it's related to the marker subject. You know, all the things that I would normally photograph for a post anyway. Usually, I will then wait and hope that the marker returns soon. I absolutely will not take a picture from another source, unless the photographer gives me explicit permission. But I thought it would be funny to do something a little different, so we're going to visit a missing marker this week.

Burnt Cabins, Fulton County

Sorry for having missed last week! The weather has been quite ungovernable lately, and I'm at the mercy of it more often than not, so I ended up not feeling well enough to complete research on a post. Toss in my work getting busy, and all that kind of fun stuff, and you get the idea. But we're here this time.

I know (or at least am acquainted with) a lot of very cool people who do a lot of very cool things. For example, I recently met up with Jonathan Edward Durham, a fellow Lehigh Valley author, for a signing of his book Winterset Hollow. If you're into horror-fantasy types of stories, you're going to want to check it out. The signing was in Lititz, at the absolutely delightful Aaron's Books, and I got to interact with a bunch of other lovely people besides the author himself. This event also gave me a terrific excuse to go collect some more markers for the upcoming winter months and handle a bit of prep work for the second MQ book, since I'm (finally) nearly finished with the first one. Also, Jonathan is very tall, or I'm very short, take your pick.

In similar news, congrats to another Lehigh Valley author (and longtime friend of this blog) - Scott Morro will be releasing his latest novel, Cooped Up, next week. It looks like it's going to be a fun read and, like much of his work, is set in our beloved Valley region, so I'm looking forward to it.

Speaking of cool people who do cool things, longtime MQ contributor Kaylee Lindenmuth once again went gallivanting on the far side of the state from where I am and sent me some images from Fulton County, allowing me to debut it on the blog! Join me for a look at the unincorporated community of Burnt Cabins, and find out why it has such a peculiar name.

Thomas B. Read, Downingtown, Chester County

First - if you read last week's post, you may recall that I was unable to include several photos because the Blogger photo uploader was being uncooperative. This has been corrected and the post has been updated, so if you'd like to see my pictures of things like George Washington's real hair, check it out.

As new as the month is, it's already been a busy one. I'm almost finished with the first MQ book and hope to have an announcement about that fairly soon, which is of course very exciting for me. And somehow, people keep finding this blog and seem to be taking an interest, because I'm now averaging more than 2,000 visits per day - September, with just shy of 50k hits, was my all-time biggest month, but October is on track to beat it.

It's a little daunting. I know that the blog is a bit niche, so I didn't exactly expect it to ever become incredibly popular, but it's starting to genuinely surpass even my wildest hopes.

That being the case, I have some work to do. If people are going to come and read what I'm writing, I'd better deliver, yes? So without further ado, let's dive into a fresh Chester County quest and learn about one of Pennsylvania's more obscure writers. I don't know if you could say he's even more obscure than I am, but on the other hand, he didn't have the advantage of the internet, so maybe he is. I had certainly never heard of him until I collected his marker.

She's Back! Another Markerless (Almost) Quest

I'm back in the saddle! This most recent vacation did me a world of good - I came home eager to turn my attention to Pennsylvania history once more. Of course, almost as soon as I came home things started happening full tilt again, but I feel better about tackling them.

As this post went live, I was in the midst of recording two more podcast episodes with America250PA. Sydney, the lovely host of Start Here, America Did, invited me back to talk about the stories behind some of the markers, and so that's what I was doing on a Wednesday morning when I would normally be blogging. (Look at me, preparing ahead of time. Don't get used to it.) If you didn't catch my first guest stint on the podcast, you can listen to it for free by clicking here and scrolling down to episode 71. I'll be sure to let you all know when these new episodes drop!

Meanwhile, I've been longing to share some of the wonderful things Kevin and I learned while we were sailing on the Independence of the Seas. The trip was a gift from my parents, a combination celebration of our 25th wedding anniversary back in March and my 50th birthday earlier this month. Yes, we have been married for literally half my life. No, I'm not sure where the time went. But I do know where we went, and in lieu of a regular quest, let me tell you about it. Hello to everyone who's visiting the blog as a result of having met me during the nine days of adventure!

Hiatus Announcement

There was supposed to be a post last week and I had to postpone it because I had too much going on, with work and preparing for my birthday celebration this past weekend. (I can no longer describe myself as "forty-mumble," let's put it that way. But it was a great celebration.) 

Pennsylvania State Police, Hershey, Dauphin County

I don't have a date yet for the America250PA podcast episode for which I was interviewed a few weeks ago, but I have other exciting news. I've been invited back to record two more episodes! The one which will be airing in September is about the blog itself, but for these other two episodes, I'll actually be sharing the stories behind some of the markers. They're topics I've already covered here in the blog, but I'll be going into more detail and answering questions and, hopefully, encouraging even more people to get out and look for the history that's all around us. I'll share dates when I have some.

Meanwhile, this week we're taking a look at the history of the Pennsylvania State Police. I had positive experiences with two of our "state troopers," as we call them, when I was growing up. One was my great-uncle Bob, the husband of my grandmother's oldest sister, who was a sergeant in the PSP; he had retired by the time I was born. His funeral included a state trooper honor guard by his coffin, a state police escort to the cemetery, and a 21-gun salute. The other was a man known throughout the Lehigh Valley as Trooper Rossi, and he visited all the elementary schools every year to talk about things like safety. It was always a fun day when Trooper Rossi came to school. He had that grandfatherly sort of presence that made every child feel like he was their personal friend. So as I visit the topic this week, I'm remembering both of those gentlemen.

Isaac Long Barn, Manheim Township, Lancaster County

I was sorry to skip last week's blog post, but things just got too hectic around here. My kids have four paws and a tail each, and they're in no way getting ready to go back to school, but the end of summer seems to afflict my household with an uptick of activity nevertheless. Throw in the unsettled weather patterns we've been having lately, and your friendly neighborhood walking barometer finds herself down for the count more often than she'd like.

Fortunately for me, one good thing about history is that it happened in the past, so it doesn't seem to mind waiting around for me to catch up with it.