Special Edition: Summer Puzzle Fun

As I implied in last week's post, I have something big happening tomorrow. Really big. Probably the biggest thing that's happened in the blog so far, or at the very least, the biggest thing since Laury's Island went to press. So I'm having trouble focusing on anything except preparing.

I could have just skipped this week's post, but where's the fun in that?

About once a year for the last couple of years, I've had a special edition post where I create and provide a puzzle for my readers. This is that post. If you like jigsaw puzzles but don't like having to put them away when the puzzle is finished, this is perfect for you because the entire thing is online and there's no mess. (My parents have become big jigsaw enthusiasts in the last several months, and I decided to do this partly for them.) And I don't have to worry that I'll forget to provide a solution later, because obviously, you won't need that. So if this sounds like something you'd like to try, read on.

George Croghan, Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County

I'm having one of those times where it feels like everything is happening all at once. I've been granted a new role at my beloved Zenkaikon (meaning that I'll be doing more than just babbling about history next year), I'm trying to start stockpiling markers for the winter blog posts, and I've still got a lot of work to do on books. I've also got something really exciting coming up next week, but I'm waiting to announce it until the time is right. Here's a hint, though - see that link I added to the masthead for "MQ in Other Media"? It's going to make a huge addition to the list on that page. I'm trying not to think about it too much so I don't make myself nervous, honestly.

To that end, let's head back in time to the colonial era and talk about an often-forgotten figure. This gentleman started out well, but the American Revolution led to him being caught between the opposing sides, and his reputation took a blow from which it could never fully recover.

Manor of Maske, Gettysburg and Seven Stars, Adams County

We're once again having heat wave temperatures here in my part of the commonwealth, not helped by smoke from Canadian wildfires. As I said last time, keep your pets inside, check on your elderly neighbors, and maybe put out some bowls of water for the local wildlife if you don't live near a stream or something.

Next week's blog post will be a day early or (more likely) a day late. That's because next Wednesday is my husband Kevin's birthday, and barring any unforeseen difficulties, we will be doing... well, something. We haven't decided exactly what just yet. Last year we did a tour of Sullivan County and collected all of their markers, but this year's activity will likely be on a smaller scale for multiple reasons. Knowing Kevin, however, it'll almost certainly include collecting a marker or two while we're out and about. 

Speaking of 'a marker or two', this week's quest is technically a double-marker post. I'm cheating, however, because I only found one of them when we were in Adams County for my own birthday a few years ago. That's because we didn't have time to venture beyond Gettysburg, what with all the stuff we wanted to explore there, so I have yet to visit the charmingly-named community of Seven Stars. Once I do, I'll come back and add the second marker. The wording on them is basically the same, however, so it works well enough. The only real difference is that the Gettysburg marker indicates the eastern boundary of the property in question, and the Seven Stars marker is for the western boundary.

Lincoln Biography, West Chester, Chester County

Well, it happened again. ABC 27 in Harrisburg called on me to assist with another historical piece for the country's 250th anniversary. This time, my pal Kaylee Lindenmuth (the only reason ABC 27 has even heard of me, really) was doing a piece about Pennsylvania's first governor, Thomas Mifflin, and why so many things in the commonwealth are named after him. They actually put me on television this time, which I hadn't quite expected. So if you found your way here via that broadcast or article, hi! And if you haven't seen it, here it is.

And just today I also got featured in a more local newspaper. Patty and I cover a couple of the same meetings for our respective local papers, so we sit together and chitchat. I told her about the Harrisburg gigs and she asked if it would be okay to do a piece on me for her paper; I said sure, and today it happened. Interesting month so far, and I'm very honored to have had this little blog of mine featured so much!

Meanwhile, in preparation for a possible small influx of new readers, I should probably get to this week's quest, yes? We're wandering down to Chester County today, specifically to the historic borough of West Chester, where yet another local paper once did something rather remarkable that impacted the Presidential election of 1860.

Augustus Lutheran Church, Trappe, Montgomery County

First of all, it's July. I did not sign off on that. Also, we're in the midst of a dangerous heat wave, and I really didn't sign off on that. Most importantly, I'm sending best wishes to my pal The Hometown Historian, who is currently out of commission due to health concerns but will hopefully be back to pursuing his love of history before long.

Last week, before all this disgusting heat showed up, I had a reunion with my two closest friends from the brief Kutztown University era of my life. AmyBeth, Christine, and I all live roughly an hour's drive away from one another, so we don't get together terribly often, but we try to do it every several months. We spent the morning at the Elmwood Park Zoo, which I had never seen, and then it was proposed that they take me marker hunting. (I have such wonderfully supportive friends!)

We ended up in the historic little community of Trappe, which is home to three markers all related to the Muhlenberg family. Two of them are located at houses, and one at a church, which is what we're discussing this week. Apologies to my mobile readers, this one has a few more pictures than usual. We were wandering around the church property, examining things and taking these pictures, when we came across something I don't usually encounter when I'm on the hunt - an actual human being.

John Durang, Lancaster, Lancaster County

This week's post is brought to you by Edgar Winter. No, not the musician; I'm hanging out with my parents' cat this afternoon. He is a very unusual cat, who wags his tail when he's happy and loves to be vacuumed. I'm supposed to also say that he is exceptionally handsome and intelligent. He wants you all to know that he actually has his own Facebook account now, so if you'd like to enjoy his antics, you can find him at Edgar Winter the Cat. (Yes, I am his social media manager. The price of being one of his favorite humans is feeding his ego.)

Of course, this post is not about the cat. I'll let him think it is, since one thing he can't do is read - at least as far as I know - but in fact we're going to talk about someone who was born a couple centuries before him. This Lancaster native has the very interesting distinction of being remembered as George Washington's favorite entertainer, and his performances were as varied as they were memorable.

John W. Coltrane, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County

I'm back! It was a very lovely vacation - I can say now that we were on a cruise to Bermuda, thanks to the generosity of my parents, and it was exactly what the doctor ordered. I've been feeling kind of run-down and burned out in recent weeks, so this did me a world of good. It was my fourth time on that beautiful island, but we've already picked out one or two new things to do if there's another visit in our future. 

I hadn't decided what my topic would be when I returned to the blog, but I sort of had the decision made for me thanks to a new addition to the list of guest photographers. Kevin's brother Darren sent me a photo of a marker I didn't have in Philadelphia. (I considered saving it until September, for the 100th birthday of the gentleman in question, but knowing me I'd forget.) My prior knowledge of John Coltrane was extremely limited; it mostly stemmed from having seen the movie Mr. Holland's Opus in my late teens, in which the title character names his son Coltrane after the musician. While researching this quest, though, I learned a lot of things, some of which surprised me. For one, this is the first time I'm writing about a canonized saint, although it won't be the last.