Thanksgiving has always been a unique holiday, with an unfortunate emphasis on eating. I confess to enjoying turkey and pumpkin pie, but for me the holiday has traditionally been important… [Read More]

Like most folks, my perception of the pioneers heading west in the mid-1800s is dominated by covered wagons pulled by oxen, certainly an uncomfortable way for a family to travel…. [Read More]

On one of my recent visits to the Woodville Experience I came across the original survey for “The Mouth of Miller’s Run”, the property warranted to John Campbell in 1790,… [Read More]

It was my privilege recently to give a talk to a combined meeting of the Pennsylvania Canal Society, the Ohio Canal Society, and the Northern Ohio Chapter of the Society… [Read More]

The Bridgeville Area Historical Society kicked off its twenty-first year with its first Fall program meeting last month. The speaker was Norene Beatty, President of The Pittsburgh Old Stone Tavern Friends… [Read More]

One of the best things about this time of year is the proliferation of festivals. They didn’t amount to much last year, but now we seem to be ignoring the… [Read More]

Our Book Club meeting this month was delayed to avoid Rosh Hashanah, prompting me to investigate that holiday. My initial investigation determined that it was Jewish New Year, celebrated on… [Read More]

In a previous column I remember writing that “Ed Weise was the best ‘best friend’ a teen-aged boy could ever have”. And indeed he was; his passing has triggered an… [Read More]

Noblemen in Scotland employed ghillies as caretakers of the forests and streams on their extensive estates; that seems like an appropriate description of the role I have assumed in my… [Read More]

One of the most rewarding things about being an amateur historian is researching an unknown person or event successfully and ending up learning a little bit more about life in… [Read More]