Oliver Pollock, Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County

I've decided to do something a little different for a future blog post. On reddit they sometimes host "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) sessions with various individuals based on their occupations or other life experiences, and I thought it might be interesting to do something like this here. So leave a comment - anonymous if you prefer - asking me anything you've ever wondered about what I do regarding this blog. The questions can be about the markers themselves, about my so-called adventures collecting them, people I've met, things I do or do not do, my cats, my books, and so on. As long as it's a reasonable inquiry, I'll most likely answer it. I'm not sure when I'll post all the answers, it'll depend on how many questions I get and how soon.

Meanwhile, for this week's quest, we're going over a marker I collected two and half years ago. When time permits, Kevin and I like to go marker-hunting in Cumberland County after a meeting of our Sherlock Holmes club, the White Rose Irregulars, and this was one of the results of such a hunt. I will admit that part of the reason it's taken me so long to write about this one is that there's a insignificant portion of the gentleman's history that makes me decidedly uncomfortable.

However, what I didn't learn until much later was that this largely-forgotten figure of the American Revolution has a much bigger claim to fame than anything mentioned on his historical marker, and I'm genuinely surprised that it's not included. He devised a little something that we here in the United States use pretty much every day, but I think it's fair to say that most of us barely give it any thought. It's just something we're taught when we're young and use for the rest of our lives and we rarely, if ever, question its origins.

I'm about to introduce to you the man who invented the dollar sign.

Jenkins' Fort, West Pittston, Luzerne County

I ended up taking last week off from blogging, due to chronic medical nonsense. It's annoying, but sometimes I have to concede defeat for a day or so. On the bright side, I'm in the home stretch on the new book. I had hoped to be finished in time for my birthday, but now it's looking more like the end of September or very early October. I found some cool stuff (or at least I think so) that ended up causing a handful of updates and edits and rewrites, so I'm still plugging away when time and energy permit.

Speaking of history books, I will once again be signing copies of Laury's Island at the Laurys Station Community Day festivities this coming Saturday, September 20th. There will be food trucks, local wineries, craft vendors, a big raffle, live music, fun stuff for kids, community programs and nonprofits (including a camper full of kitties!), and, well, me. Everything kicks off at noon at the Laurys Station fire company headquarters; you can get the details here.

Meanwhile, this week the quest map leads us back to Luzerne County for the first time in a while. Like nearly all of the colonial forts, this one is long gone, but not forgotten.

Carl A. Spaatz, Boyertown, Berks County

Before diving into the heart of this week's post, I wanted to share some fascinating news that's been released by the PHMC (you know, the folks who put up these markers I chase). As part of the celebrations for America's 250th anniversary in 2026, they're going to be organizing some of the historical markers into "trails" according to certain themes. These include We the People, for "stories of identity, belonging, and community," and Unfinished Revolutions, for "ongoing struggles for justice, equity, and freedom." The trails will be announced quarterly, starting this fall, and will be a significant reminder of Pennsylvania's place in our country's history. Check out all the details here!

In other, arguably less exciting news, my longtime readers might remember that this is my birthday week. I am a lot older than I like to think and a lot younger than my body sometimes feels. I was hoping to finish the first marker book in time for the occasion, as a gift to myself, but I've still got a couple chapters to go so I probably won't quite make it. But we're celebrating by going to Knoebels and probably grabbing a few more markers along the way. I hope that you'll celebrate the occasion by doing something nice for yourself. (If you want to do something nice for me as well, consider going back and reading older posts to bump up my hit count for the month!)

As for this week's quest, we're heading to beautiful Berks County, where Boyertown was the birthplace of one of the country's foremost Air Force personnel. You might have heard of him; I'll admit that I never did until I found his marker.