John W. Coltrane, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County

I'm back! It was a very lovely vacation - I can say now that we were on a cruise to Bermuda, thanks to the generosity of my parents, and it was exactly what the doctor ordered. I've been feeling kind of run-down and burned out in recent weeks, so this did me a world of good. It was my fourth time on that beautiful island, but we've already picked out one or two new things to do if there's another visit in our future. 

I hadn't decided what my topic would be when I returned to the blog, but I sort of had the decision made for me thanks to a new addition to the list of guest photographers. Kevin's brother Darren sent me a photo of a marker I didn't have in Philadelphia. (I considered saving it until September, for the 100th birthday of the gentleman in question, but knowing me I'd forget.) My prior knowledge of John Coltrane was extremely limited; it mostly stemmed from having seen the movie Mr. Holland's Opus in my late teens, in which the title character names his son Coltrane after the musician. While researching this quest, though, I learned a lot of things, some of which surprised me. For one, this is the first time I'm writing about a canonized saint, although it won't be the last.

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.

Allentown State Hospital, Allentown, Lehigh County

As I mentioned last week, husband Kevin and I attended the marker dedication ceremony for Allentown State Hospital this past Friday. My longtime readers know that I usually do separate posts for the ceremonies and the markers themselves; however, this event was probably the shortest of its kind that I've ever attended, and it just made more sense for me to combine it with the history behind the marker. So as a result, this post may be a little longer than usual.

Daniel Alexander Payne, Gettysburg, Adams County

Don't forget that this coming Saturday, September 24th, is Free Admission Day at all participating Pennsylvania Trails of History sites! I'm hoping to head up to Eckley's Miners Village, because every other time I've planned to go there I've had to cancel. Check out this page for a list of participating sites, and indulge yourself in some free history near you.

Meanwhile, my new friend the Hometown Historian has produced the start of a new playlist, in which he features YouTube channels and other sites which provide him with information and inspiration. I am extremely touched to be featured in this first video, which can be found here; I'm "last but not least" in quite a bit of illustrious company, so definitely check out some of the other recommendations he makes too!

As for today, we'll take a look at a gentleman who spent an important chunk of his life in Gettysburg, but isn't famous for being connected to the battlefield.

Abolition Hall, Plymouth Meeting, Montgomery County

As you may have seen in the latest newsletter (please forgive the typos I only noticed after it went out, it was an emotional one for me), I'm spending this week in the company of one of my dearest friends. Rachel, who has contributed to a number of the Bethlehem posts on the blog, is back with us for the occasion of my birthday week, and it takes some of the sting out of getting older. We're having plenty of good nerdy fun with my usual wrecking crew, including having spent Labor Day at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire. There's nothing quite like having random strangers in funny costumes walk up to you and start singing birthday songs.

I wanted to give a quick plug here for the upcoming Museum Day, which will be all day long on Saturday, September 17th. Anyone carrying a Museum Day ticket will be granted free admission to participating museums throughout the country! You can download one free ticket per email address, so to get instructions and find out which Pennsylvania museums are taking part in the event, click here. (Not going to be in Pennsylvania? Just uncheck it from the box on the left to see participating museums across the United States.) 

As for today, we're going to meander back down to Montgomery County and pay a visit to a beautiful still-standing structure from the anti-slavery movement. Many thanks to my new contacts at the Historical Society of Montgomery County for their kind remarks and helpful information!

Harriet A. Baker, Allentown, Lehigh County

I've done quite a bit of traveling lately in this blog, so it's nice to return to my home county for a bit of a breather. This is one of the markers I collected on my last birthday, and the subject is an interesting one. I could wish that slavery wasn't part of our country's history, but it's one of those chapters that we have to acknowledge. The woman at the heart of today's quest was never a slave herself, but the reality of slavery impacted her for most of her life and shaped who she was and who she became.

Underground Railroad, Harrisburg, Dauphin County

As I write this, my region is feeling the effects of Winter Storm Gail. Jim Cantore, famous fan of "thunder snow" from The Weather Channel, has traveled over to Bethlehem to experience the storm firsthand. When he shows up, you know it's serious. I've got chili in the slow cooker and we're planning to basically just graze and try to relax. I hope everyone affected by the storm is warm and safe.

Before I get into today's quest, a quick word of thanks to everyone who has sent congratulatory messages on the publication of Laury's Island. The response has been more than slightly overwhelming - I was even interviewed by my local TV news station! (It will air next Monday, December 21st. Details are on this page down at the bottom.)

I had planned, as my last quest for 2020, to talk about the two historical markers dedicated to George Taylor. However, I seem to be missing a couple of the photographs I need for the post; I know I took them, but for the life of me I cannot find them. So we'll leave Mr. Taylor until the new year, by which time I should have either found or replaced the pictures, and today I'll add one more new guest photographer to this blog. My parents were in Harrisburg some weeks back, and while they were in the vicinity, they were kind enough to send me a few pictures of markers they encountered.

Old Jail and Fulton Opera House, Lancaster, Lancaster County

Hello, and welcome to the end of August. There should have been an update two weeks ago, but I ran into a lot of trouble following a visit from Tropical Storm Isaias, and I was too busy dealing with the fallout of a flooded basement to be able to give the blog the attention it deserves. In the meantime, Blogger changed its format, so I've also had to spend some time learning how to use the new tools; if anything looks 'off' as you read this post, please let me know so I can try to fix it.

To somewhat make up for the skip, I'm pulling out my folder of markers in Lancaster and giving you a double entry. The Old Jail of Lancaster once sat on the property now occupied by the Fulton Opera House, and there's a marker dedicated to each building, so it makes sense to write about them together. It's not always a pretty history, but the truth is that so much of history really isn't pretty, and it's not my job to make it look nice. It's definitely interesting, though, and it's a long one too, so let's get started.

Richard Moore, Quakertown, Bucks County

Before I sink my teeth into this week's post, let me draw your attention to the snazzy new header image, designed by my friend Rachel - I love it so much! Check out the quest links page if you'd like to contact her about her graphic designs. Thank you, Rach!

Last week, I told you about the fun I had watching this marker be unveiled and dedicated. This week, we'll actually talk about what's on the marker, and the history which led to it.

I recently had a conversation with my mother about history. Apparently, some public school students we know were never taught about the Underground Railroad in school, and neither of us can figure out why. Part of the reason it's so important for us to learn about our history is so that we can learn from our history, or else mankind is just doomed to keep making the same mistakes. I don't generally get political on this blog, for what I would imagine are fairly obvious reasons, but I also don't think it's exactly a major political statement when I say that slavery is wrong, and is one of the big mistakes that we need to learn not to repeat. 

Richard Moore marker dedication, Quakertown, Bucks County

So if you're paying attention to my usual update schedule, you might be thinking, "Hey, aren't you supposed to be posting next week instead of this week?" And you would be correct, because this is one of the in-between weeks in which I don't tell you about the history behind a marker.

Instead, I thought I'd do a sort of 'special edition' for the blog, and share my experiences from this past weekend when a marker was dedicated. I don't know how often I'll be able to attend a marker dedication ceremony, but I'm going to get to them when I can because I'm interested to see how the different communities handle the events. This was the first one I ever attended, and I had a wonderful time. The actual history behind the Richard Moore marker will be covered in next week's regularly scheduled blog post; but here's how it went seeing it unveiled.