John F. Hartranft, Fagleysville, Montgomery County

I ended up skipping last week, and as my Facebook followers may have seen, I blamed it on the holiday. That was only partly the reason. It had more to do with the fact that my beloved great-aunt Gene, the last surviving sibling of either of my maternal grandparents, was in her final days. A true patriot who loved her country, she was born on Memorial Day and died on the Fourth of July, one hundred years old (plus a few weeks) and feisty to the end. She was also a great reader and fond of history, so while she didn't read this blog, she enjoyed my book about Laury's Island and loved to hear about my adventures when I would be out doing research for my posts. I visited her often and I already miss her.

I would have liked to tell her about my little adventure from this past weekend, when I collected the marker of today's post. I was able to get three in all, but they were actually a side quest for a change, because I was in Montgomery County for a completely different reason. Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, I attended Kutztown University, and during that time I was a member of the (now defunct) Medieval & Renaissance Club. It's been several years since I had seen most of them, literal decades in some cases, but on Sunday there was an enormous reunion party and that was what lured me down that way. It was a truly extraordinary gathering, and in some respects it was as though no time had passed at all. There was a universal agreement that we can't let so much time pass again, and I think we'll be holding reunions a few times a year going forward. Thanks, everyone, I don't think I realized how much I had missed the club until you were all in front of me like that.

But before the party got started, I picked up this marker about one of our governors. The location mentioned on the marker is a bit of a mystery, though, which is interesting.

Old Woolen Factory, Forksville, Sullivan County

Six years in and this blog manages to surprise me sometimes.

A few days ago I received an email from Jolene Dodge, who lives in Utah. She complimented my work here at MQ and sent the gift of a marker from a county I have yet to visit, so it was very exciting. She is a descendant of the gentleman mentioned in the marker text, so it's of particular interest to her. She's the reason that Sullivan County is making its debut on the blog this week, and once again, thank you, Jolene!

Tulpehocken Evangelical and Reformed Church, Richland, Lebanon County

How would you like to be able to pay your rent in flowers? 

'Red rose rent' is specified as being a type of "quit-rent," which is not a commonly used term nowadays. It has its roots in feudal Europe, in which a tenant either worked the land or provided military services for his liege lord (either the king or a lesser noble) in lieu of paying rent or taxes on the property he occupied. In essence, the quit-rent took the place of feudal services. The practice continued all the way into colonial America, where the quit-rent was more or less a kind of land tax. In the case of 'red rose rent,' though, it's a merely symbolic gesture, usually because the person creating the rental agreement was being generous for one reason or another. For the princely sum of one red rose every year, the renter continues to have the full use of a specified building or tract of land.

I don't think there are too many modern examples of 'red rose rent' being used anymore, the economy being what it is. But here in Pennsylvania, there are a number of historic locations which still pay homage to the tradition, and one of these is a church in Lebanon County.

Catherine Drinker Bowen, Bethlehem, Northampton County

I'm writing this week's post in the company of my parents' cat, Edgar Winter. My friend Ed is technically a cat, but we like to call him "the cog" because he acts like a dog in many ways. He wags his tail when he's happy, which combines very oddly with the purring. I also maintain that he's part Klingon, because when he wants attention he is very hard to deter. (He clings on. Therefore, a Klingon.) He also really dislikes to be home alone for extended periods of time, so here I am.

Anyway, he's supervising this post, in between monitoring squirrel activity in the side yard and taking his fifteenth nap of the day. My subject has nothing to do with cats, so he's not overly enthused. I, on the other hand, am delighted with it. Today we're talking about a woman born and raised in Pennsylvania, who spent part of her life in Northampton County, and who lacked much in the way of formal training yet nevertheless emerged as a prolific, talented, and acclaimed writer of history. You know, kind of like I'm trying to do.

The Mills Brothers, Bellefonte, Centre County

It's not a very comfortable day here in the beloved commonwealth. As of this writing, our air quality is in code orange status, meaning that I'm not looking forward to going outside. Just as it was two years ago this week, our air is again being a bit clogged by smoke drifting down from the Canadian wildfires.

Things are busy here. Last week, my mother's last surviving aunt, my very dear Great-Aunt Gene, celebrated her 100th birthday! Naturally, we've been very caught up in preparing for that. One of her sons even arranged for her picture to appear on the Jumbotron at a Phillies game (she loves the Phillies). She's not a reader of the blog, but she's always been interested in hearing about the things I learn while researching my posts, so I thought it was fitting to mention her here.

This week's post is a bit of an odd one, because the Pennsylvania connection feels to me like a little bit of a stretch. The subject itself, however, is quite interesting.

Gen. John Armstrong, Carlisle, Cumberland County

Happy Memorial Day! Take that however you like - either belated (for Memorial Day observed) or early (for the actual holiday).

This past weekend, husband Kevin and I went to Cumberland County for a meeting of the White Rose Irregulars of York. The weather throughout May has been rather hit or miss this year, but we had a beautiful day on Saturday, so after the literary gathering we wandered off in search of history. After studying my list of which markers are where, we decided to travel just a bit more westward and visit the community of Carlisle.

I mostly know Carlisle as being the home of Jim Cheney, my fellow Keystone State enthusiast who runs UncoveringPA.com. I'm pretty sure I've passed through the outskirts at least once or twice, but I have never (as far as I can remember) actually gone there until now. Carlisle dates its founding to 1751, so it's not surprising that it's home to a fairly large number of PHMC markers, most of which are related to the American Revolution. I believe we collected about half of the markers to be found there, and only gave up the hunt because we wanted to be home for supper. 

I have since been pondering the question of which one I wanted to use for this week's post, and it hasn't been an easy decision. Literally every marker we collected is fascinating. I finally settled on today's subject because it answered a question I didn't realize I had never asked, which is this: who is the eponym of Pennsylvania's Armstrong County?

Special Edition: Your Favorite Markers

Well, friends, today the blog is seven years old exactly! Time flies when you're having fun. Fruit flies like a banana. Anyway, I had seven responses to my inquiry about your favorite historical markers on the PHMC Trails of History, so that's what we're going to discuss in this week's post. Thanks once again to longtime reader (and retired PHMC employee) John Robinson for suggesting this.

The split is roughly even between markers I've already covered and markers that I haven't. So this will be an image-free post (that should be pleasant for those of you on mobile) - if I've already covered the marker, I'll link to my post, and if I haven't, I'll link to my friends at the Historical Marker Database. Either way, you can see the markers and learn a little more about them by following the relevant link.

What I had asked, if anyone missed it, was for my readers to tell me which of the historical markers is their particular favorite and why. I got some very interesting and varied answers. Possibly my favorite submission came from Debbie Shankar, who championed the marker for the founding of Mother's Day. The marker is in Philadelphia, since the holiday was originated by Philadelphia resident Anna Jarvis. This submission didn't come with an explanation for why the marker is her favorite - but seeing as how Debbie happens to be my mother, I think we can call it self-explanatory.

Shawnee-Minisink Archaeological Site, Smithfield Township, Monroe County

One last reminder - you've got a few more days to email me (markerquestblog@gmail.com) and tell me about your favorite PHMC historical marker! Next week I'll be sharing the submissions I've received. 

This week's subject took me by surprise. I collected the marker quite some time ago - I'm not even sure how long it's been, but it was the last time my bff Andrea and I went on a drive through Monroe County. The part that surprised me was the fact that I hadn't written about it yet, because for some reason I thought I had. Don't ask me why. As I've become fond of saying, my brain has too many tabs open at any given moment. 

So we'll take a look at the subject today, and it's the first time this blog is going back to prehistoric days. I don't mean back when I was walking my pet dinosaur after school, either; I mean back when we actually had mastodons roaming around Pennsylvania. Everybody into the time machine, and set the dial for several thousand years ago.

Charles Sheeler, Doylestown, Bucks County

I thought the showers were supposed to be in April. Around here, it's May which has been rainy this year - and more than rainy at that. Yesterday we had a tornado confirmed about twelve miles from my house, with hail falling in other places. My longtime readers know that I'm a walking barometer, so this hasn't been exactly fun for me.

I'm doing my best to keep up with the blog, though, and I did finally get files transferred from my less cooperative laptop to the one that my husband has essentially given me. (It's his, but he prefers his desktop computer and his iPad, so he gave me unrestricted access to this one. I like to use a laptop for writing purposes, because then I can work in bed and adjust my position as needed for pain.) So with any luck, sharing Pennsylvania history with all of you will be a bit easier now, and we have some possible trips coming up that will let me collect more markers.

For today, we'll take this year's first trip down to Bucks County, and learn about an artist who used to live in Doylestown. In fact, today is the 60th anniversary of his passing. (P.S. Don't forget, you have until May 18th to send me pictures of your favorite historical markers! See my previous post for details.)

Provincial Courthouse, York, York County

I'm going to start this week's post with something special. I had an email from John Robinson, longtime reader and occasional guest photographer of the blog, and he had a wonderful idea for something fun for my readers to do. Since I presume most of you are here because you enjoy and care about the PHMC marker program, I'd love to hear about your personal favorites! 

Take a picture of your favorite marker, or one of your favorites if you just can't decide, and email it to me at markerquestblog@gmail.com along with a short explanation of why it's important to you. Maybe you had something to do with getting it added to the Pennsylvania Trails of History, or maybe it's related to your own family tree, or maybe it's a subject that's dear to your heart for some reason. Tell me about it, and for the blog's seventh birthday in May, I'll do a post sharing the stories I receive. I'll accept submissions until Sunday, May 18th (the blog's actual birthday) and put them in the post for Wednesday, May 21st. Let me hear from you! And thanks again, John, for the great idea!

Meanwhile, I have another bit of guest photography from Kaylee Lindenmuth of the Shenandoah Sentinel, since she managed to get out to York County and collect one of the markers I was missing. So let's dive in.

McCoy Home, Lewistown, Mifflin County

As promised in last week's post, this week I'll be taking my first shot at Mifflin County! It's always exciting when I get to do the first post from a county on this blog. The photos in this post all come courtesy of Kaylee Lindenmuth, the driving force behind the Shenandoah Sentinel. She's got to be one of the hardest-working young people in modern media and I genuinely do not know when she finds the time to sleep, much less send me pictures. But she had to take a road trip recently and was kind enough to provide me with some fodder for blog posts, so thank you, Kaylee!

This one's for all my readers who are fans of military history, since the family who lived in this house had not one but two generations of high-ranking soldiers. And yes, they were the real McCoys! (Probably not related to the one who started that expression though. But maybe?)

News and Notes as April Begins

Welcome to April! Hopefully the cold weather is soon behind us, but for now there's still some chill in the air. I'll be back with a regular post next week, but I wanted to cover a few pieces of news, and it just seemed to make sense to compile them all into a single post and then go back to blogging as usual. Nothing earth-shattering, but some very interesting bits and pieces all the same.

Jeremiah Sweinhart and Successors, Boyertown, Berks County

I am alive and returned from Zenkaikon! Hello to everyone who is new to the blog - I actually ran out of my business cards during the Lancaster history panel, so if any of you found your way here because of that, I'm very happy that you've joined us. 

If you read the most recent newsletter, you know that my computer is in need of a little TLC; I haven't had the chance to take care of that yet. But the main reason for a lack of posts this month is because almost every waking moment has been spent either at my actual job or preparing, in one sense or another, for my beloved convention. My panels went well, I think, and as ever I had a marvelous time. The only disappointment was that we were so busy with our friends and the many activities that I never had the chance to go marker hunting, even on the way home! But my emotional support silly man did record my panels for me, so next week (once he's had the chance to get them off of his phone) I'll be sharing the ghosts of Lancaster with all of you.

Also, for those of you who didn't see it in the newsletter or on the Facebook page, my non-convention excitement of recent weeks was being interviewed! Paula, the Keystone Wayfarer, is a fellow Pennsylvania blogger and she cites MarkerQuest as one of her inspirations, which touches me so deeply you don't even know. She really makes me sound like a big deal in her article, which can be read here, and definitely do yourself a favor and check out her other posts as well because she's awesome.

Meanwhile, trying to get back to what I do here, let's take a trip down to scenic Berks County and learn something, shall we?

York County

Last week's playful foray into the roasting of this blog by ChatGPT seems to have amused many of you as much as it amused me, and I'm glad. It helps me stretch out my dwindling list of markers that much farther. There are, of course, more than two thousand of 'my' markers here in Pennsylvania, so I still have plenty more to cover - I'm just running out of my supply of markers I've collected. I haven't had opportunities to go marker-hunting since October or so. But Zenkaikon is now only a month away, so I'll be able to grab markers between my home and Lancaster, and since we were able to get our hotel room for an extra night, we can take a leisurely route home afterward and get some that are a bit more out of the way.

In the meantime, though, there are still a few weeks in which blog posts need to be made. So without further ado, let's take a look at the circumstances which ultimately gave us scenic York County.

Chat GPT Meets MarkerQuest

I missed last week's post for the same reason I literally forgot to send out a newsletter for February - I was hit hard with a stomach bug (not Norovirus, thankfully, but still not fun) and just didn't have the spoons. 

It's been a very topsy-turvy February, not least because this weather is driving me crazy. My longtime readers know that snow and similar conditions are not kind to me, and there's been quite a bit of that. On the bright side, the Eagles won the Super Bowl, and on the even brighter side, my sister got married. Congratulations, Liza and Taylor!

I'm working on a real post for this week, which should be going up by tomorrow morning - I'm juggling a lot of things this week, more than usual. But to make up for last week's absence, I've got something very unusual for you today. I'm no great lover of artificial intelligence; I'm one of those people who says thank you to her Amazon Echo, because when the machines finally take over I want them to remember that I was polite to them. However, this morning I saw that one of the content creators I follow on Facebook had invited ChatGPT to roast her social media accounts, and the results were hilarious. I didn't know this was a thing, but it is.

You see where this is going. I had to ask it to roast my blog. I put it under a jump cut for those who would rather wait for actual MQ content, but if you'd like to see what gave me a good chuckle, I hope you enjoy it.

Silver Spring Presbyterian Church, Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County

The temperatures are above freezing. I even heard a rumor that we could exceed 40 degrees tomorrow, which after last week feels like a prospective heat wave.

This is one of those blog posts that I have sincerely looked forward to writing ever since I collected the marker. But I knew it was going to be one that required a lot of attention and care, because of the sheer amount of information that was available just at the site alone, and I've been saving it for a week when I could devote myself to it properly. 

It seems that this is the week. So join me for a trip back in time almost three hundred years, to meet some of the Cumberland Valley's earliest European transplants and to visit what must be one of the loveliest and most historic churches in the commonwealth. My apologies to my mobile readers, because this one will be a little heavy on the images. As always, you can click on any image to see a bigger version of it.

Shippen House, Lancaster, Lancaster County

The polar vortex continues to plague me. But in just under two months I'll be making my annual return to Lancaster, one of my favorite cities, to participate in my beloved Zenkaikon. For four days (well, three and a half) I'll be regaling my fellow nerds with tales of Lancaster's historic past and spooky legends. I'm also going to be involved with this year's charity auction - there's a slight chance I'll be the one with the microphone, but more likely I'll be walking around showing off the items up for bid like a less glamorous Vanna White.

Well, as you can probably guess, my mind is wandering the streets of Lancaster as I continue with my preparations. I'm not particularly nervous, since for some weird reason I enjoy public speaking, but I am anxious that everything is ready and as good as I can make it. My to-do list before the convention is even more extensive than at other times of the year. So as long as I've got the Red Rose City on the brain anyway, I figure we might as well talk a bit more about the history in this week's blog post. Today's subject has a connection with some of the most famous - and one of the most infamous - names from the American Revolution.

Hummelstown Brownstone Quarries, Hummelstown, Dauphin County

Happy New Year! This post was meant to go up much sooner, but the year has been off to a bit of a wonky start for multiple reasons, including my husband being sick and me struggling with pain issues due to the polar vortex temperatures. (Danged arthritis and sinus headaches.) But I made it through another holiday season in retail with my sanity mostly intact and my hair only a little more gray than it already was, so I'm taking the wins where I can find them. And given how truly awful January has already been for some parts of the country and the world, that's really all any of us can do. 

Meanwhile, we've still got plenty of Pennsylvania history to uncover in the coming year, so we might as well get started. As you may remember, I had a marvelous day exploring in Dauphin County last summer with my college friend AmyBeth, and this is the second of the two Hummelstown markers. Besides, it's so bitterly cold and windy here lately that it does me a bit of good to remember that hot July afternoon.