Joseph Priestley and Joseph Priestley House, Northumberland, Northumberland County

As I mentioned last month, my bff Andrea and I took a day trip through some of the more northeastern counties to collect a few markers, and this post is a result of that. After this there's just one more quest remaining for 2023 before I do my annual wrap-up for the year. My longtime readers may recall that, because I work in retail, I take the month of December off from blogging in order to have more time for little things like sleep.

This is only my second jaunt to Northumberland County with the blog; I hadn't managed to get there since I wrote about "Jumpin' Jim" Gavin some time ago. He had one thing in common with the subject of today's post - they both had insanely long lists of achievements, just in very different fields. In the case of today's subject, it was in a lot of different fields.

Gettys Crossroads and Tavern, Gettysburg, Adams County

I'll admit I was partly inspired to return to Adams County by recent events. Like many people across the commonwealth and the country, I've been fascinated by the exploits of Kevin Bacon the pig, who escaped from his enclosure a few weeks ago and was on the run. Kevin, who is a beloved pet, never went very far from his Cumberland Township farm home; he would come and eat and then leave again, and it was only last week that his 'mom' managed to catch him at last. He gained national fame as various news outlets picked up his story, and even the human Kevin Bacon took an interest in his namesake's antics. If you somehow managed to miss the nonsense and want to see what all went on, just look for the hashtag #GettysburgKevin on social media.

Happy to have their mischievous porker back where he belongs, Kevin's human parents changed the name of their Facebook page from "Bring Kevin Bacon Home" to "Kevin's Home Adventures" and revealed their plans for the farm, which is chiefly occupied by various rescue animals - they plan on opening their gates to the public, offering programs especially for children and adults with neurodivergence or mental health needs. They're also looking into writing a series of children's books about Kevin! To that end, the Rumbaughs have started a GoFundMe to bring in enough capital to improve the fencing on the farm and purchase some heaters, which will allow them to host hot cocoa events in the winter. If you'd like to help these incredibly nice people achieve their dream of sharing Kevin and his friends with the world, please check out the fundraiser by clicking here.

Well, since Gettysburg Kevin is all the rage, I thought I'd return to the time when my own Kevin and I were in that beautiful little community. Here is the story of how it all began, how an immigrant's tavern at a significant crossroads turned into a bustling borough, long before the battle which gave the community its biggest claim to fame.

Sheppton Mine Disaster and Rescue, Sheppton, Schuylkill County

I really, really don't understand how it is November already. We turn the clocks back in a few days, and vote next week, and it just doesn't seem real. On the other hand, the store where I work has been selling Christmas decorations for the last few weeks already, so you could argue that my sense of time is a bit muddled. (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and Christmas stuff all crowds together. It's organized chaos at its most festive.)

But it is most certainly the start of November. If you don't already subscribe, you can find the latest issue of my monthly newsletter by clicking here.

Near the end of October, the bff Andrea and I had a day where we were both completely free, so we hopped in my car and took a very pleasant tour of some of our northern counties, enjoying the fine weather and glorious fall foliage. I don't care what anyone else says, for my money it's hard to beat Pennsylvania for sheer beauty in autumn. Of course, the real objective was to collect markers, and I came home with a very satisfying bundle. So we'll kick off the penultimate month of the year by visiting Schuylkill County, and learning an emotionally complex story of both tragedy and triumph.

Old Log Church, Schellsburg, Bedford County

Happy Halloween! Well, almost. 

This time tomorrow I'll be heading north with the BFF Andrea, to collect as many of the remaining markers as I can in Columbia and Montour Counties. We'll be stopping in Bloomsburg at the Columbia-Montour Visitors Center, to say hello to my contact Shane (the one who very carefully reproduces my posts about their counties in their quarterly newsletter).

Meanwhile, my most recent contribution to the Mainly Museums collective went live early this morning. Kevin and I visited the famous Horseshoe Curve when we were in Altoona last year, and I enjoyed having the chance to tell readers all about it. You can find my piece here.

We're closing out October here on the blog with another county debut. On our way to Latrobe last week, my sister Liza very patiently pulled over whenever possible to allow me to collect other markers, and I came home with a total of nine, including this - my first for Bedford County. We couldn't stop to view this wonderful old church building up close, but I admired it from a distance and I've been looking forward to telling you all about it.

Fred McFeely Rogers, Latrobe, Westmoreland County

I'm very pleased to report that yesterday's mission was a complete success - thanks to my 'baby' sister Liza, I was able to collect nine markers, including all three of those in Latrobe. So hello to the good people of Westmoreland County, and welcome to the blog! And a particular hello to David Newell, aka Mr. McFeely (Speedy delivery!), my mutual on Twitter and a truly lovely gentleman.

This has actually turned out to be a somewhat difficult post to write. Not because of a lack of source material - goodness knows, there's an abundance! No, it's a little difficult because there is so much information about the beloved topic that it's been a challenge to cut it down so the blog post doesn't go on forever. But I'm doing my best. 

Rhoads Opera House Fire, Boyertown, Berks County

Next week, if all goes according to plan, I'll have something really special for my readers. My sister Liza and I are finally following through with something we had discussed before the 2020 lockdown. On Tuesday I'll be getting up way earlier than my body normally likes to do, getting into her Jeep, and traveling four hours to Westmoreland County. We're going to pay our respects to the legendary Mr. Rogers and bring back pictures of his marker. 

(Among others. His hometown is also the birthplace of the banana split, so I mean to get that marker too, and I think we're kind of required by law to have ice cream while we're there.)

But first, this week's quest. This is a sad one. The events of this marker led to profound overhauls in fire safety regulations, which is good, but those changes came at a terrible, terrible cost.

Rocky Glen Park, Moosic, Lackawanna County

We're finally in my favorite month of the year, the one with the pretty leaves and cooler temperatures. This weekend my husband Kevin and I will be heading up to Knoebels Amusement Resort, hopefully to get a couple markers along the way, and that makes it strangely appropriate that this week's blog post is about a different amusement park which actually has a minor connection to Knoebels.

As you might guess from the topic of my first history book, defunct amusement parks are very interesting to me. Not many of them have historical markers, however, so discovering that there was one in Lackawanna County which does took me by surprise. Let's dive into the history.

11/3/2023: Made a few edits after hearing from Mary Ann Moran-Savakinus of the Lackawanna Historical Society. Thank you, Mary Ann!