Sept./Oct. 2009 Book Reviews
These reviews appeared in the September/October 2009 issue of Pennsylvania Magazine.
HISTORY/GENERAL INTEREST
A Country Storekeeper in Pennsylvania
Diane E. Wenger. 2008. Penn State University Press. 280 pp. $55.
This is an account of small-town shops and life in southcentral Pennsylvania at the turn of the 19th century. After the author and her spouse had moved to Schaefferstown in eastern Lebanon County, she came to possess almost a complete file of records belonging to storekeeper Samuel Rex, who had operated a country store here from 1790 to 1807.
She describes how Rex had conducted his business locally as well as in Philadelphia and other locations where he had both bought and sold goods. She helps readers understand how people would barter for goods, since cash was never abundant, and how Rex and other merchants dealt with the movement of goods and services among sellers and buyers in that early period of our history. (Many of the stores, hotels, dining locations and other structures of that period are still in place in Schaefferstown, which is a short distance from I-81.)
This is a fine reference for readers of economics in a much simpler and basic setting of 200 years ago.
Legends and Lore of Western Pennsylvania.
Thomas White. 2009. History Press. 123 pp. $19.95.
Is there really a WWII military bomber airplane at the bottom of the Monongahela River at Pittsburgh? Was a bag of gold from General Edward Braddock’s force buried before, during or after the battle with the French and Indian force that resulted in the defeat of the English in the southwestern part of the colony? And did the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run bury his victims in Murder Swamp, near New Castle?
Author White deals with these and another 25 or so legends and folk tales of the western part of our state. Learn about the man of steel Joe Magarac, the Blue Mist Road, Maxo Vanka and the Milldale Ghost, and the miracles of St. Anthony’s Chapel. To answer the opening questions: 1, yes; 2, probably; and 3, likely. The text serves as a mini-history lesson for the southwest, and introduces the reader to some noteworthy characters of our past.
Ice Cream U—The Story of the Nation’s Most Successful Collegiate Creamery
Les Stout. 2009 Penn State University Libraries. 62 pp. $19.95.
Certainly, PSU grads think highly of this creamery. Its international reputation results from more than 4,000 graduates of the university’s ice cream short course. Past students include Ben Cohen of Ben & Jerry’s, and the major makers, such as Good Humor, Baskin-Robbins, Breyers and Haagen-Dazs, send students there regularly.
The author is a long-term PSU archivist and was once a Good Humor man. In this book, he gives a complete report of the university’s role in dairy education and management since 1855 and how the ice cream program began and grew to its present status.
The Ol’ Hook & Eye—A History of the Kishacoquillas Valley Railroad, 2nd edition
John G. Hartzler. 2008. Hartzler Publishing (520 Markel Road, Conshohocken, Pa 19428.) 404 pp. $32.95.
The first train service of the Kishacoquillas Valley Railroad in Mifflin County began operation in 1893 and operated until 1941. As railroads go, this one was a small operation with a line only between Belleville and Reedsville and additional service from Reedsville to the main line of the Pennsylvania RR at Lewistown Junction.
This is a history of the communities and the people who lived there as much as it is of the railroad. The book contains several hundred photos of trains, yards and equipment, track plans and employees and also has a summary of area railroads of the era.
Wonders of Work and Labor: The Steidle Collection of American Industrial Art
Betsy Fahlman and Eric Schruers. 2009. Penn State University Press. 176 pp. $50.
This book is composed of illustrations from the Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum’s art collection, which was assembled by Edward Steidle, dean of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences at Penn State University.
When Steidle started collecting in the 1930s, his rule was that he would not purchase any art; acquisitations had to be donated or financed by benefactors. His goal with the art was to show the critical role of mineral industries in building a strong nation and enriching its society. The art represents most of the state’s pre-WWII industries, including oil, petroleum and natural gas processing in all parts. The book contains color photos of 76 of the paintings in the collection.
Poacher Wars—A Pennsylvania Game Warden’s Journal
William Wasserman. 2008. Penn’s Woods Publications. 150 pp. $12.95.
For more than 30 years, William Wasserman served as a game warden for the state Game Commission, patrolling 400 square miles in Wyoming County. He has written 16 accounts of some of his violent and noteworthy encounters with poachers—people who hunt and trap illegally.
His accounts read as a script for a true-life reality television show. Murderers, drug addicts, dope dealers and outlaw bikers have all crossed his path. This book was one of the top 10 best sellers in the hunting section of Amazon’s site.
California, Pa. 1849-1881: History of a Boat Building Town
J.K. Folmar. 2009. Yohogania Press. 466 pp. $29.95.
Starting in 1849, the building of steamboats—132 in 32 years—was a major production in this community on the banks of the Monongahela River in Washington County. (The town name was selected when it was formed in 1848, as news came about the discovery of gold in California state at the same time.)
Westward ho! had been a rallying cry for people seeking new opportunities, and the Pittsburgh area was a center for a number of companies building boats of different shapes and sizes. A boat company from a nearby town bought space in the new borough of California for its newest boatyard and the construction of steamboats was under way.
The author uses minutes of borough meetings and newspaper accounts of that day to convey a sense of the life of citizens in this area in the mid-1800s.
Following the Drum—Women at the Valley Forge Encampment
Nancy K. Loane. 2009. Potomac Books. 224 pp. $29.95.
History books tell us about the difficult six months that the Continental Army spent in Valley Forge in 1777-78. But most of us have not heard about the more than 400 women—and scores of children—who were there, too, for most or all of the six months.
Camp women were usually wives of soldiers, and most worked in one capacity or another such as cook, nurse, seamstress and laundress. The army provided them with food, shelter, clothing and sometimes cash. Many women married to officers would visit for short or longer times, staying in houses that had been taken over for the military.
Even Martha Washington came to visit and stay with the general. Some of the women were of the lowest order, however, and officers were on guard to remove them whenever possible. The author profiles some of the prominent officers’ wives who spent time there with their husbands. She reveals an area of knowledge that has seldom been reported in the historical press.
Birding and Wildlife Guide in Eastern Pennsylvania
Schuylkill River Heritage Area. 2009. 130 pp. Free, send $10 for shipping to SRHA, 140 College Drive, Pottstown, 19464.
This book is designed to assist birders in the 13 counties of eastern Pennsylvania. Schuylkill River Heritage Area officials have produced a resource guide of the birds in each county. The text has 13 sections, each covering one county. Details are given for three to nine birding sites in each counties—location, driving directions, species of birds according to the four seasons, access and parking. Birders will find useful information that is difficult to obtain in any other manner.
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