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.

Harrisburg State Hospital, Harrisburg, Dauphin County

I'm eager for the weather to improve so that I can start going out again in search of markers (and other adventures - I have some ideas up my sleeve). I'm also looking forward to throwing off the last of this lingering cough and getting my voice back to normal, as that's kind of necessary for a project I've been contemplating for a while. In the meantime, I'm trying to devote my energies to tackling a number of other things, which of course includes blog posts. 

For this week's quest, we're going to venture out to lovely Harrisburg and take a look at one of the many beautiful buildings found there. This one isn't like most of the others, though; it sits on a lonely hillside, somewhat removed from the bustle of the city, and no - you can't go inside.

Valley Forge General Hospital, Phoenixville, Chester County

Last Wednesday was my [insert number here]th birthday, and I intended to do a special blog post; but between the various acts of celebration (I basically had a birthday week, because what's the point of getting older if you don't have fun with it) and some really bad weather, it didn't get posted in time. But it did get posted! So if you'd like to have couple of chuckles vaguely related to the content of this blog, you'll find it here.

Speaking of my birthday, in the September newsletter I put out a request for a birthday gift from my readers - I asked everyone to help me bridge the final gap standing between this blog and reaching the 100,000 page view mark. Well, you all delivered way faster than I expected, and the milestone was reached within 36 hours of the newsletter being sent! Thank you! Even more incredibly, the blog received a little over 10,000 hits just during the month of August, and with September not quite half over we're on track to double that. Honestly, I don't know how so many people are finding me but I'm beyond grateful.

For today's quest, we're going to head back down to scenic Chester County and learn about Valley Forge General Hospital. Despite the obvious implications of the name, this actually doesn't have anything to do with the America Revolution. It does, however, have an unexpected connection to - of all things - Saturday Night Live.

The Unknown Soldier, Bethlehem, Northampton County

It's been a while since MarkerQuest went to Bethlehem, and I find myself missing it a little bit, so I thought that we'd welcome September (and celebrate my birthday) by heading back there. This is sort of a sequel to a previous post, which is always fun for me.

Last December, I talked about visiting the replica of the first house in Bethlehem, and how it was the place where the city received its name. In that post, I mentioned that the replica house includes a plaque related to soldiers buried on a nearby hillside, and how that's related to Bethlehem's very own Unknown Soldier, which is what I thought I would cover today.

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia County

Today's blog post once again makes use of photos sent by my friend and former coworker, Sheila Clever, who works at the subject location. Thank you, Sheila! I also want to say thank you to my mother's dear friend, Mitzi Smith, who recently provided me with the 1991 edition of the Guide to the State Historical Markers of Pennsylvania as well as a pile of information regarding George Taylor, which will all be of use to me in publishing this blog. So thank you very much!

I admit I was slightly surprised to receive these photos, because it managed to escape my notice that the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has its own historical marker, which it received in 2007. However, I haven't been there in - well, more years than I want to admit. I was a patient, a long time ago, and I know they do great things there.