Here is a collection of topical articles and personal essays by Robin Van Auken.
The Susquehanna River is a shallow river that flows about 440 miles, from Cooperstown to the Chesapeake Bay. Nearly 200 years ago, canals were used to transport goods and people instead of the river. Canal boats would use the river where it was deeper, or where dams had raised the water level. The Susquehanna, stretching
Conflict between American Indians and white people escalated during the last two decades of the 18th century. War -- both declared and undeclared -- made for "dark and gloomy days," according to historian John F. Meginness in his 1,268-page tome, "History of Lycoming County" (1892).
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 and illustrations of pre-World War I Williamsport and the region, and was published by the Lycoming County Genealogical Society just in time for the City of Williamsport's bicentennial in 2006.
If you've ever wanted to know who you are and where you came from, you're not alone. More than 100 million Americans are looking for their roots, a remarkable explosion in genealogical research inspired, in part, by author Alex Haley who discovered his own "Roots" in the mid-1970s, and recently by Henry Louis Gates
Newport, RI NEWPORT, RI – Seagulls surf the bitter wind off Narragansett Bay as a lone lobster boat chugs home. By January, the blue bay in Newport, the “Sailing Capital of the World,” is empty and few people remain in the small coastal town. The lovely 12-meter yachts used in the internationally famous
The spirit of Rachel Carson lives on, instilling in the Earth's human population awareness of its fragile environment and an urgency to protect it from toxins. Although it's been 40 years since the publication of her runaway bestseller, "Silent Spring" (1962), Carson remains one of the greatest nature writers of America and one of
The eReader is emerging as a true friend of the reader: they're useful, entertaining and you can have thousands of eBooks on your virtual bookcase without taking up valuable space. If you don't know much about eReaders, consider this a primer. An eBook reader also called an eBook device or eReader, is an electronic
Trailer sailing works for powerboats and for sailboats Living in Northcentral Pennsylvania is advantageous for land-locked sailors. In addition to several large lakes and reservoirs nearby, boaters can use the Finger Lakes of New York. Trailering a boat from Williamsport to the Finger Lakes is easier than it sounds. It’s little
Daysailing can be a solo activity or a sport, such as racing around the bouys Daysailing, also called dinghy cruising, has been described as "a magical way of exploring new coastlines and experiencing nature at close quarters."You don't have to wait until the bank account is full and until you have plenty of time
Swallows and Amazons: a sailing adventure series for children -- and adults Barbecued Billygoats! You mean you haven't read Swallows and Amazons or any of the other books in the 12-volume series? Technically, we're all supposed to read these books when we're children, but if you haven't don't worry — you'll still
Learn to Sail Captain Gardner Lloyd of Flagship Sailing We made the decision to learn how to sail and to purchase a sailboat in 2005 so we took Basic Keelboat (BKB 101) sailing lessons with Flagship Sailing in Clearwater, Florida. Captain Gardner Lloyd taught us the fundamentals aboard a Catalina 22.
ANNAPOLIS, Md — Tony Smith, designer and builder of the 28-foot Telstar trimaran and the 35-foot Gemini catamaran, has retired and has hit the road — as promised — traveling the countryside with his wife, Sue. The couple are hauling a modified Telstar to the Pacific Northwest, according to an article “Three Hulls on the
