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Reading Rescue, February 2008: Local History
By Anne Allen and Mary Anne Fulmer
Did you know that Jeannette was known as the "Glass
City"? Manor's early residents were Pennsylvania Dutch farmers. Export,
a major coal town, symbolized what America is all about -- people. Penn
Township's historical birth was on February 23, 1855. If you live in
these communities or close by, wouldn't it be great to know more about
them?
John W. Mochnick's, History of Penn Township
(974.881 MOC) is the definitive work on the history of Penn Township. Mr. Mochnick was a life-long resident of
the Township. His dream was always
to make known the history of the Township he loved. He used maps, many
photographs and a lot of research to tell the story of the Township.
The book has been reprinted in quality paperback and is for sale in the
library. Also, Mr. Mochnick's desk that he used for many years and the
typewriter used to type the book History of Penn Township is
available in the library. Due to the lack of space, we are interested in
taking bids on these items. The desk is solid wood and a nice piece of
furniture. Wouldn't this be great for local history lovers?
In 2005, Penn Township celebrated its 150th
anniversary. There was a celebration including opening of a time
capsule. John Harvison, local historian and former tax collector along
with a committee, wrote Penn Township 150 Anniversary Album (on
sale in the library). This fine book has many photos, maps and quotes
that tell the story of the Township. In the beginning of the book Mr. Harvison wrote,
"This book is an attempt to preserve the historical
account of Penn Township." He and his committee do a marvelous job
telling the story. There are so many things in this book I didn't know.
For example, did you know that there are more females in the Township
than males; the coal industry played a very important part but so did
the railroad; and believe it or not, there was an airport on Route 130
in Harrison City! The committee's mission was to tell the history of the
Township of Penn in such a way that it was worthy of this beautiful
Township. They carry out this mission with photos of home sites and
residents along with historical maps. This book is well worth the
purchase price of $20.00 and would be a wonderful addition to any home
library.
Terry and Kathy Perich's book Jeannette, PA
(Postcard History Series) is a wealth of information. Jeannette was
founded in 1888 by Pittsburgh industrialist H. Sellers McKee. It was
destined to produce more glass in various forms than any other city in
the world. During this time the penny postcard became popular and
"Victorian" planned Jeannette was on many of them. The cards showed
Jeannette at its finest with the photos of Victorian mansions, schools,
churches, streets, government buildings and more. This is a wonderful
book. Mr. and Mrs. Perich did a lot of research into this book. It is
well worth the time to read and see the various postcards. I guarantee
you will learn something new. The book is on sale at the library and
several copies are in the collection.
One of the closest neighbors to Penn Township is
Manor. It was once known as Denmark Manor, one of the manors or estates
acquired from William Penn's descendents. The book Manor (974.8
MAN) edited by Gail Noll, Dorothy Y. Miller and James Thompson tells
the story of this delightful town. Manor was developed along the
Pennsylvania Railroad's main line. This book honors the citizens of
Manor, past and present, who have been instrumental in making Manor a
great place to live. The editors strived to make this book not only a
history with chronological dates and facts, but a book that you will
enjoy reading. There are, of course, maps, photos and charts, but the
real story is about the people.
Helene Smith’s Export, tells the story of a
patch of tapestry out of coal country America. Export served as the
melting pot for people from all countries. They came to work in the coal
mines and this is their story. One man in particular is featured in the
book and his name was Thomas Mellon. The author uses Mellon's life as
well as other stories, photos, diagrams, maps and research to tell the
story of this town. You will be sure to learn some interesting facts and
may even smile at some of the stories in this fine book.
If you are looking at local history on the county
level, The History of the County of Westmoreland by Dallas Albert
(R 974.881 ALB) would be a good choice. This author explains the history
of Westmoreland County using maps, documents and historical records. He
also has chapters with facts about the various townships, boroughs and
cities. Also included in this book is an index of names. Some of my
husband’s distant relatives are mentioned. Two of them were privates in
the Two Hundred and Twelfth Regiment in 1864. Another was a Post Noble
Grand in the West Newton Lodge, No. 440. This book would be great for
research but is also interesting to read for fun!
Trafford is another close neighbor to Penn
Township. Trafford 75th Anniversary, 1904-1979 Souvenir
Book is a good source of information on the town. Trafford is a
small town that is "large in heart." The editors of this book make use
of maps, photos, historical research and much more to capture the
essence of this truly American town. Their story begins in 1770 and is
still going strong today. People from Trafford play together, work
together and worship together. There are small photos of the buildings,
past and present, and each has a brief history to help the reader
understand more about the photos. Who hasn't ridden across the Trafford
Bridge? Did you know construction started on the first bridge in 1901
and another new bridge was dedicated in 1964? You can learn much more
about this little big town from this book.
The Penn Area Library has many local history books
in the collection. Some that may be of interest are: The French
Invasion of Western Pennsylvania, 1753 by Donald H. Kent (973.2
KEN); Historical Account of Bouquet's Expedition Against the Ohio
Indians in 1764 clarified by Arthur W. McGraw (R 973.2 HIS); Tales of Mine Country by Eric McKeever (974.8 MCK);
The Attack in
Kit-Han-Ne: Kittanning, PA September 1756 by Larry A. Small; and
two accounts of Denmark Manor Lutheran Church by Paul Miller Ruff
(974.88 RUF). These last two books provide records of baptisms,
confirmations, deaths, pastors and more during the years 1837 to 1865
and 1888 to 1912. Another good source of research and something
interesting to view is Discover Hidden Treasures, a video, (V
917.4 DIS) that describes the museum at Bushy Run Park and several other
interesting museums.
At the library we are in the midst of Winter/Spring
Reading. It began on January 14th and will end on April 21st.
There are several categories used for this program, and one of them is
local history. I hope you will try our local history materials. I know
you will enjoy them! It is always fun to know some interesting things
about where you live, work and play. Please come into the library to
sign-up for this program. Just for signing up, you will receive a raffle
ticket to be eligible for a $100.00 gift certificate for gasoline. If
you continue with the program, for each book you read in a category, you
will receive a raffle ticket for several more great prizes including
more gift certificates. You can read up to three books in each category.
Prizes will be drawn on April 22nd. Please come in and try
this wonderful program!
As always if you have questions or comments, please
either phone (724) 744-4414 or e-mail
mfulmer@pennlib.org.
See you in the library!
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