About the Blogger

Hello internet, here I am.

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I've lived in eastern Pennsylvania for over forty years, which is the closest I'm going to get to telling you how old I am. My maternal grandfather's family has lived in Lehigh and Northampton Counties since before the American Revolution, and the various branches of my family tree are tied to the commonwealth's history in a lot of different ways. I'm directly descended from or confirmed to be related to:

• the family for whom Fort Everett (in Lynnport) is named;
• Nicholas Kern, the original founding resident of what is now Slatington; 
• the original residents of the Shelter House (in Emmaus); and 
• Johannes Kratzer, who gave up a bit of the family farm in order to build what today is known as Kratzer Elementary School in the Parkland school district of Lehigh County 

On my maternal grandmother's side, I'm descended from the Evans family, which immigrated to Slatington from Wales and has been there for several generations; I wrote the history of the family for the 150th anniversary book published by the borough. As I put it in my initial email proposing this blog to the PHMC, Pennsylvania is in my blood.

I've been fascinated with these blue and gold markers since I was a kid, but when you're driving past them, you don't often really have the chance to read what they say. I always thought that was unfortunate since they seemed interesting, and as an adult, I've occasionally wondered if most people pay attention to them at all. I decided that this project would be a fun way to make sure that at least a few more people get to know about them and the information they contain. So, with the blessing of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (the people who have been putting the signs up for over a hundred years), I launched this blog. Because I'm a very well-rounded sort of nerd, I decided to treat it like one of the collection quests in my video games, and this is my quest log.

I have an extremely unusual and varied resume... highlights include:

• I spent ten years working for the Internal Revenue Service
• I used to serve on the staff of Indie Game Magazine, which was about independent video game producers and their games (it no longer exists, but I had about fifty or so articles published through them)
• I occasionally volunteer my time with FindAGrave.com, photographing headstones in local cemeteries and attaching them to the appropriate files to make research a bit easier for people tracing their family histories

In addition to this blog, here's a list of things you can find that I've written. I unfortunately can't include the IGM articles because they were apparently deleted when the magazine closed its doors.

• I'm a coauthor of Pip the Mouse and His Magical Christmas, a children's Christmas book set in my native Lehigh Valley. It's based, loosely, on the puppet shows which were performed every holiday season at Hess's department store in downtown Allentown, and which have been revived by the Liberty Bell Church.
• More recently, I'm the author of Laury's Island: The Lehigh Valley's Forgotten Park, which is my first history book. I talk plenty about it here.
• I've also, even more recently, joined the staff of The Home News in my local area; I cover monthly board meetings for one of the regional municipalities, and may also be contributing other pieces as opportunities arise.
• As a frequent attendee of Zenkaikon in Lancaster, I was tickled to be invited to author About Lancaster City, a history primer for those visiting the Red Rose City for the convention.

If there's something else you'd like to know, check out my list of questions and answers, or leave a comment. I might even answer! ;)

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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.