Well, here we are again for another end-of-year wrap-up post! As those of you who have been with me for a while know, I like to end the blogging year with a final post which shares some facts and figures related to the blog, acknowledges certain persons, and talks about what I have in mind for the coming year. Also, because I work in retail, I've developed the habit of doing this at the end of November so that I can take the month of December off from blogging. I do miss it and look forward to getting back to it in January, but at this time of year - between helping frantic customers (and coworkers), doing my own holiday preparations, and dealing with unpredictable Pennsylvania weather - I need all the extra sleep I can get.
In last year's post I made the comment that 2022 didn't even sound like a real year. I think 2023 sounds even less like one.
Anyway, let's wrap up the year together!
What are some facts about MarkerQuest™?
It was a bit of a banner year for travel, since husband Kevin and I made the trek to western Pennsylvania for his birthday back in July. Between that trip and a few others, I was able to add some more counties to the roster - Centre, Columbia, Montour, Blair, and Montgomery.
It was also a banner year for making new friends for the blog! My work came to the attention of the Columbia-Montour Visitors Bureau, whose generous support has provided me with quite a bit of traffic, as well as the historical societies of a number of counties. I connected with my fellow Pennsylvania historians Jake Wynn, of Wynning History, and Jon Miller, the Hometown Historian. Jon and I have done some planning for collaborations; he'll also be a guest photographer on the blog in the coming year. I'm hoping to likewise do some kind of collaboration with Elyse of Second Glance History, whose work is really fascinating on a broader scale. I also want to shout out Jim Cheney, of the popular Uncovering PA site, who very kindly shared one of my posts with his thousands of Facebook followers.
On Facebook I'm still involved with the Berks History Buffs and the Bucks County History Group, who always show a gracious interest in posts for those counties, and I've likewise gotten a warm welcome from the Coal Region History and Retro York groups. And as always, I continue to appreciate the support of the Historical Marker Database and the PHMC itself.
As is my tradition, let's see what the most popular posts of this past year have been. In easily the most shocking upset, the the post about William G. McGowan was picked up by several coal-region Facebook groups and went viral, resulting in it garnering almost a thousand more hits than the next-highest rated post on the blog. I was, and still am, quite floored by the development.
I actually have a slightly longer list than usual, because there was an exact tie! In reverse order, the eleven most popular posts written in 2022 are:
10) Anthony Sadowski, Douglassville, Berks County
9) Thaddeus Stevens, Lancaster, Lancaster County
8) Thaddeus Stevens, Gettysburg, Adams County
7) Montgomery House, Danville, Montour County
6) George Nakashima, New Hope, Bucks County (tie)
6) Fort McClure, Bloomsburg, Columbia County (tie)
5) Fort Wheeler, Bloomsburg, Columbia County
4) Fisher House, Oley Township, Berks County
3) Anna Morris Holstein, King of Prussia, Montgomery County
2) Fleetwood Metal Body Company, Fleetwood, Berks County
1) William G. McGowan, Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County
In total, the blog has received upwards of 65,000 hits. The Facebook page has 224 followers as of this writing, which is not many more than I had at this time last year, but rest assured that I treasure each and every reader and follower I have.
What's coming up for MarkerQuest™?
I'll be returning to my beloved Zenkaikon in March of next year, so I'm once again looking forward to my long weekend of complete relaxation in beautiful Lancaster. I'm actually going to be contributing some of my history knowledge to the convention itself, and I'll have more details about that closer to the event.
When I posted last year I said there was another book in the works, which was true. Unfortunately, my plan of writing a definitive biography of George Taylor didn't pan out like I'd hoped, because there are simply too few reliable sources of information about him. However, I do have the first official MarkerQuest™ book in progress! I hope to be making an announcement about that in the late spring or early summer.
The blog will be marking its fifth birthday in May 2023, which was the secret deadline I gave myself to make something of it. I decided that the first five years would be experimental, with complete freedom to make mistakes and change things and really try to find my niche, and that if after five years I wasn't satisfied with my progress, I'd give myself permission to end the whole project. Well, I'm more than satisfied! This has gone beyond what I had dared to hope, and it's growing steadily all the time, so I'll continue chasing down these markers for the foreseeable future.
Whatever you celebrate, I hope it's peaceful, warm, and full of joy. I look forward to resuming my weekly posts in January, and wish everyone a Happy New Year.
To all of my readers, my supporters, and the friends which MarkerQuest™ has gained over the last four years - thank you for joining me on this adventure. It wouldn't be nearly as much fun without you and I hope you'll continue to be a part of the MarkerQuest™ crew in the coming year.
Except where indicated, all writing and photography on this blog is the intellectual property of Laura Klotz. This blog is written with permission of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. I am not employed by the PHMC. All rights reserved.
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