Harold "Red" Grange, Forksville, Sullivan County

March came in rainy and chilly, which I don't especially like. It's going to be an extremely busy month for me, for multiple reasons, although the panic has not quite set in. Not yet. Probably next week, when it hits me that Zenkaikon is coming up fast and I need to be ready to present. Did you ever hear that advice about how, if you get nervous when public speaking, you should picture audience members in weird costumes? At Zenkaikon I don't have to picture anyone, because half the audience is in costume. I don't get very nervous anyway, but the costumes make it a little easier to relax.

But before I head to Lancaster and prattle about historic buildings and Japanese cherry blossoms and samurai visiting the White House (yes, those are my topics this year), we'll take a run up to lovely Sullivan County and talk about a guy who played football. That is, of course, putting it mildly.

Celestia, Laporte, Sullivan County

A week later than it should be, but we have a blog post! The weather recently in my corner of the commonwealth has had a negative impact on my health, particularly the coastal storm that threatened to dump a few inches of rain on us. (It didn't, but I still felt it coming.) So there was no way I was going to get a post up last Wednesday, and between one thing and another I just never got to it during the rest of the week either. But I'm better this week, so it's back to business as usual.

I'm sure that my contact Melly at the Sullivan County Historical Society has been waiting for a new post from her neighborhood. She was a wonderful tour guide when Kevin and I visited a few months ago for his birthday, and I think it's time I shared more of what we learned on that trip. Pennsylvania has its share of ghost towns and abandoned settlements, and Sullivan County in particular has a few, one of which has a PHMC marker. It has a pretty unique history. I don't currently have photos to share, as we weren't able to visit during our trip, but I hope to make a return journey to Sullivan County and see it then.

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!