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.

George Wolf, Bath, Northampton County

Well, friends, August is off to one heck of a start. Not only did this blog recently surpass 500,000 all-time views, which I still can't fathom, but the numbers rolling in are increasing by the day. I don't know how you're all finding me, but I'm glad you're here!

In last week's puzzle-y post, I promised that this week I would explain the big event for which I was preparing. It was another interview, but it was a way bigger deal than any interview I've given yet. I spent a very pleasant hour speaking with Sydney Harris-White of America250PA, our commonwealth's celebration of the sesquicentennial, for an episode of their podcast series! My guest appearance will be featured in an episode going live in a few weeks, and I had a great time telling some of my favorite marker stories and explaining how all of this got started. (I even got to plug my beloved Zenkaikon a little bit.) The podcast episodes have been airing all year and have covered a wide variety of topics; I learned about it when Jim, of UncoveringPA, was the guest in two episodes back in the spring. Definitely check out what they've done so far - you can either listen to the episodes or download the transcripts by visiting "Start Here, America Did" and browsing the extensive listings. And as soon as I have a link for my own episode, I'll share it.

Meanwhile, it's back to the usual this week, so let's take a look at the life of another one of Pennsylvania's 48 governors to date. This one left a legacy that has impacted every child in the commonwealth, even if they don't know it.

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.