Casimir A. Sienkiewicz, Doylestown, Bucks County

I intended to go to Lehigh County in this week's post, but while setting up my research I made a mildly embarrassing discovery. The marker I planned to cover is actually one of a pair, and I haven't 'caught' the second one yet. This will require another dual-county post to talk about them both, which is great - I love hitting two at once - but since I don't have that second one yet, it'll have to wait. It may have to wait until the new year; we shall see.

So instead, we'll take a trip back to scenic Doylestown, in Bucks County, and learn about a local Renaissance man. He had his fingers in a lot of pies - finance, military, transportation, and art.

Ingram-Richardson Manufacturing Co., Beaver Falls, Beaver County

As of this writing, there's a distinct possibility that we could see our first snowfall in the next several days. Other parts of the state have already seen snow. (Ever notice that snow is a four-letter word? I kind of want to censor it.) I'm not a Game of Thrones fan, but even I know that winter is coming, and I'm trying to prepare - in between retail shifts, of course.

This week's quest was supposed to have been Lehigh County, but I realized as I was preparing it that I was missing a necessary component. So I'm jumping ahead to the next one on my schedule.

John Nelson, Lawrence Park, Erie County

This week is Veterans' Day, so I just want to briefly express my appreciation for all the members of our Armed Forces, past and present! Thank you for your service and courage.

This week's quest is brought to us thanks to another contribution from my distant cousin, Ron Bauerle, who kindly sent me the marker we're examining. Thanks once again, Ron! We're going to take a look at a union struggle in the McCarthy era and the way it impacted one man in particular.

Wilkes-Barre Fort, Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County

I can't believe it's already November! Only a handful more blog posts before I do my annual retrospective post and look ahead to 2022. Hopefully I have enough material to get me through the winter months, especially if the snow is heavy and I can't go looking for more, although it would be nice if I can manage one more marker collecting quest before the days get too cold.

This blog is sort of a cross between a hobby and a job. It's both and it's neither all at once. I take it very seriously, because much of my personal identity is bound up in being a writer; but at the same time, I can't take it too seriously or I'll never have any fun with it, and life has enough things in it that aren't fun without volunteering for more. 

(On that note, thank you for the kind remarks I received following last week's post, with regards to the passing of my dear friend Jessica. I am very appreciative of all my readers who reached out to offer their condolences; it meant a lot.)

Today's post is one of those with which I've had a bit of fun. The subject itself isn't particularly amusing or anything, but the wording of the marker kind of is. See, almost without fail, the wording of the historical markers is sensible and easy to understand; this is a good thing, because otherwise most people would ignore them more than they already do. But today's marker is a little different - I kept reading the text and just sort of blinking at it. Why would Pennsylvania have had a fort which protected the courthouse of a county in Connecticut? On what map does that make any kind of sense?

Well, as it turns out, there was once a series of minor wars between Pennsylvania and Connecticut. If this is the first you're hearing of such a thing, don't feel bad, because I never heard about it either.