We celebrated a milestone in the Van Auken family: our 35th wedding anniversary. Robin and Lance Van Auken Mr. and Mrs. Lance Van Auken, South Williamsport, observed their 35th wedding anniversary Feb. 14, 2016. They were married in Seminole, Fla. Mrs. Van Auken, the former Robin Butler, is a native of San
MUNCY — River enthusiasts, canoeists, and kayakers have another gorgeous access point to the West Branch of the Susquehanna River, this one overlooking a significant historic site: the Last Raft Crash Site at Muncy Heritage Park and Nature Trail. Muncy Heritage Park offers river access. Muncy Heritage Park offers river access. Muncy
The E. Keeler Company, manufacturers of boilers, etc., conduct Quo of the old industries of the city. The business was established in 1864 by J. Heathcote & Company, who conducted it until 1877, when it was incorporated with a paid-up capital of $50,000, the executive officers being George W. Sands, president; Isaac Barton, treasurer,
This 1875 photograph shows the southwest corner of Market Square in downtown Williamsport. Bustling with downtown traffic despite the muddy thoroughfares, Williamsport's booming lumber trade summoned entrepreneurs eager to capitalize on the region's wealth and new construction. The block featured a ticket office for the Philadelphia and Erie Railroad Company, a hardware store, and
We're all curious about what goes on behind closed doors, and that's true for museums and galleries and historical societies, as well as private residences. Spencer Baird My favorite closed doors are at the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Also the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum. I pause and stare at
Odd, Strange and Curious: A #TBT from Grit: America's Greatest Family Newspaper, brought to you by Hands on Heritage. Mother Instinct Outweighs Appetite June 6, 1946
Williamsport: Boomtown on the Susquehanna (Robin Van Auken and Louis E. Hunsinger, Jr., Arcadia, 2003) This book relates the history of Williamsport, as well as many towns and boroughs of Lycoming County. Williamsport, a struggling frontier village that grew into a town with a taste for success, eventually molded itself into a magnetic and vibrant
Play Ball! The Story of Little League Baseball By Lance and Robin Van Auken Play Ball! The Story of Little League® Baseball is the remarkable story of Little League® Baseball, from the first diamond in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, to the playing fields of the world. Little League’s history is told with great detail at the World of Little
The Little League Baseball World Series (Robin Van Auken, Arcadia, 2002) This book is a photographic companion book to Play Ball! The Story of Little League Baseball (Penn State University Press 2001). It profiles more than five decades of the World Series. In 1947, when the first Little League Baseball World Series was played, there
Lycoming County's Industrial Heritage (Robin Van Auken and Louis E. Hunsinger, Jr., Arcadia, 2005) This book reviews Northcentral Pennsylvania’s rich industrial history, first in lumber and then in manufacturing. After the Lumber Boom, many company towns collapsed. Boards of trade were created to entice manufacturers to the region. During the first half of the twentieth
Muncy (PA) (Postcard History Series) (Robin Van Auken, Arcadia, 2006) Muncy Postcard History Series by Robin Van Auken examines the small river town of Muncy, Pennsylvania. Founded shortly after the French and Indian War, Muncy was the earliest European settlement in the West Branch Valley of the Susquehanna River. By 1769, land speculator Samuel Wallis
One man's quest to memorialize the victims of the worst airline disaster in Lycoming County history, the crash of Allegheny Airlines Flight 371 on Bald Eagle Mountain, is coming to an end. The crash site has received designation from the Commonwealth as an official archaeological site. In addition, plans are underway for a monument to
Thinking Like Leonardo I've been pondering the concept of a New Renaissance. I've been wondering if it's possible to think like Leonardo da Vinci. On the topic, Parade magazine's resident genius Marilyn Vos Savant once wrote she would: "... found a school for art and music, dedicated to bringing back the classical beauty in sight and
A few years ago, during American Archaeology Field School, one of my students asked about Cultural Resource Management in Pennsylvania. I told her about CRM and about PA Act 70, which has devastated professional archaeology in the Commonwealth, and encouraged her to research the topic as an independent study, a capstone project for her
Ricketts Glen State Park in Benton, PA, is a haul up to the top of a mountain, but it's worth it!
The postcard gallery from the collection of Richard and Miriam Mix, "A Bicentennial Postcard History of Williamsport," is available as a paperback book from Otto's Bookstore in downtown Williamsport. Richard and Miriam Mix, experts on regional history as well as America’s past, authored a book, “A Bicentennial Postcard History of Williamsport,” which contains colorful postcards
Language professionals are among those who teamed up with the World of Little League® Museum and Official Store for the audio tour guide project that is now available in eight languages. The interactive, multilingual audio tour guide is among the most recent attractions at the Museum, which reopened in 2013 following a $4.3 million
