Pottsville Maroons, Pottsville, Schuylkill County

Before we get into today's quest, I wanted to acknowledge something interesting from the last one. When I wrote about the Bryden Horse Shoe Works in my native Catasauqua, I mentioned that there are six PHMC markers in the borough - and this is, at present, accurate. However, both Karen Galle of the PHMC and borough resident Ben Ferenchak reached out to let me know about the seventh marker, which was news to me. The Davies and Thomas Company has been approved for a marker, but it hasn't been installed yet due to the road construction which has been going on for some time. Hopefully that project will be wrapped up sometime this year and I'll be able to attend the marker dedication ceremony. Thank you, Karen and Ben!

Meanwhile, today we're going to be looking at a subject that doesn't usually interest me: football. After all, this is Super Bowl weekend coming up! Sure, I cheered as much as anybody else when the Eagles won the 2016 Super Bowl, because I live in Eagles Country after all; but I'm really not a big sports enthusiast as a general rule, although I did spend my final two years of high school as a member of the varsity football team. (No, really, I did. I was the equipment manager.) However, today's story is one that I find pretty intriguing despite my usual apathy for the topic, because the controversy has endured for nearly a century. Who really won the NFL championship of 1925?

Bryden Horse Shoe Works, Catasauqua, Lehigh County

Before I get started on today's post, I wanted to share something from the PHMC - today, January 15th, is Museum Selfie Day! Do you have a picture of yourself visiting one of Pennsylvania's museums or historic sites? Share it on social media and use the hashtag #MuseumSelfie so they see it! (Somewhat ironically, I do not have any such selfies.)

Growing up in Catasauqua, two things in particular stuck with me in terms of my education. One, I became an excellent speller, mostly in self-defense. Two, the town has a peculiar place in Pennsylvania's history. I mean, it's literally the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution, thanks in part to founding father David Thomas. It has, as of this writing, six different PHMC markers, which is kind of impressive when you remember that the town is roughly a mile square in size. Most of the subjects of those markers are fairly well known to me, and indeed I've already covered Father Thomas and George Dery. However, today's subject was one that had me scratching my head a little bit, because what's so special about horseshoes?

Ole Bull's Colony, Coudersport, Potter County

Happy New Year, everybody! I heard from quite a few of you since the last post, and I really appreciate all the kind wishes for my recovery. Doc says it will take a while for my lungs to get back to normal, but I'm a little better every day and it's good to be back on the computer.

To kick off 2020, we're going to take our first trek up to Potter County. By 'we' I really don't mean myself, though, because to be perfectly honest, I've never been there. But my sister Liza, who has contributed photos to this blog in the past, went up to Cherry Springs State Park in Coudersport, and sent me pictures of today's subject while she was there.