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.

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.