🎄✨ Meet the Belsnickel: Pennsylvania's Wild Holiday Legend! Forget the jolly Santa Claus—Pennsylvania German folklore brings…
Category: History
Krampus: The Dark Side of Christmas Cheer
December 5th is Krampusnacht or Krampus Night. For those unaware, Krampus is a horned, anthropomorphic figure…
The Time Britain Skipped 11 Days
Time Travel in 1752? Almost! Have you ever felt like you've lost a few hours? How…
Brief History of Thanksgiving
🦃 Did you know? York, Pennsylvania, holds the honor of being the birthplace of the first…
A Brief History of Candy Corn
With its iconic tri-colored, cone-shaped appearance, Candy corn has become a staple of Halloween and fall…
Glow from the Past: The Radiant World of ☢️ Uranium Glass
On a recent trip to Columbia, PA, at Bootleg Antiques, I purchased some uranium—not weapons-grade, just…
A penny saved is $3,500 earned. Meet the 1787 Benjamin Franklin designed Fugio cent
You can add coin designer to Benjamin Franklin's MASSIVE resume. In fact, his 1787 Fugio cent…
Why is Friday the 13th considered unlucky?
It's Friday the 13th! A day full of dread and possible horror. But have you ever…
River Guide: Mouth of the Conestoga
Ponder this for a moment. Millions of years ago, an enormous lake once existed at what…
Grave Money: Why do some tombstones have coins on them?
Discover why do some tombstones have coins on them.
Would you believe cowboys fought in the American Revolution…and on the side of the British?
The American Revolution produced the first "cowboys." But these hard riding, clever guerrilla fighters worked for…
Race Against Time! Exploring the abandoned Kingsley Tower before its destruction
A Fourth of July weekend road trip turned into a race against time as I attempt…
The busybody: Benjamin Franklin’s greatest “invention”?
Is the busybody Benjamin Franklin's greatest invention? Perhaps not, but the story behind it is.
Side Quest: Visit the Grave of former President James Buchanan
On this Presidents’ Day, I visited the grave of Commander in Chief, James Buchanan. Born on…
Lancaster’s surprising royal connection
Pop Quiz: What connection does King George, Queen Caroline, the Prince of Wales, and the Duke…
Lititz answers the call of freedom; becomes a hospital town for Revolutionary War wounded
For eight months in 1778, the town of Lititz served as a hospital caring for hundreds…
A brief history of booze and the origins of other alcoholic terms
As with other American pastimes, alcohol and related activities developed colorful terms each with fascinating etymologies.
The Mystery of Slanted Topped Stone Walls
Pop Quiz: This 100-year-old stone wall once corralled what animal? Click the Start Quiz button below to find out.…
This Lancaster bookworm has been reading the newspaper daily for 40 years
Lancaster's metallic bookworm has been reading the newspaper daily for nearly 40 years. But how much…
Hang’em High! The macabre history of public hangings in Lancaster
Almost as soon as people started living in Pennsylvania, we started executing them. Lancaster's first hanging…