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.