PQ 17 July 4th 1942… 2132… “Scatter”

The summer of 1942 was not just a horrible time for merchant shipping long the east coast of the United States, it was also one of significant losses in the Atlantic U-boats were coming out in larger and larger numbers and even the convoy systems were being tested to the limits with the existing escorts. […]

Elizabeth Home-coming Centennial Celebration ~ July 3 and 4

Familiar names for native Elizabethans pop up in the activities for the third of July. Despite the heat, many athletic events were scheduled and hopefully well attended. Starting at 9:00 A.M. a ten mile marathon was held around Pangburn and Fallen Timber hollows. A golf tournament was also held at Butler’s golf course. Growing up […]

Elizabeth Home-coming Centennial Celebration ~ July 2, 1934

The two big events for this steamy hot July day were the Steamboat Parade and the Great Historical Pageant. Despite the grave economic situation of the country, the organizers were able to put together a massive display of riverboats that were gaily decorated and covered with happy citizens in their summer finest. This Article about […]

Elizabeth Home-coming Centennial Celebration ~ July 1, 1934

The first day of the Elizabeth Centennial Celebration in 1934 started the same way as the previous days had … hot. The entire country had been sweltering in an unseasonable hot weather pattern and the people in Elizabeth were not exempt. The four day program began on July 1 with an 8:00PM Union religious service […]

Elizabeth Pennsylvania … 178 Years of Freedom and Liberty

The boroughs and townships of Western Pennsylvania are a patchwork of communities that have evolved over the past several hundred years. Elizabeth Borough is one such community and has a story typical of many of the river communities of old. In 1934, The Great Depression was working its way around the country and the globe. […]

Lean on me – Boot Camp Memories from 1972

It is with a very heavy heart that I join so many others in saying farewell to Bill Withers today. His song “Lean on me” was the theme song for my company in boot camp and every time I hear that song, I am reminded how much we need each other in troubled times. Rest […]

Love, your Son Butch ~ Father’s Day Memories

Today’s blog is from a book I wrote based on my Dad’s letters to his family during the second world war and the following year while he tried to make it back home. I found the letters a few days after he passed away, and learned a lot about a man who I thought […]

Built Like a Mack Truck

How many times have you ever heard the expression Built Like a Mack Truck? For most people in the US, that is one of those old expressions that symbolizes strength and endurance. The trucks that were designed and built by Americans were once the pride of many trucking fleets and rightly so. The story of […]

The Summer of ‘42

Many of the World War 2 stories being profiled right now are being followed because of the 70th anniversary of those events. The realization that the loss of so many of the participants due to age has finally settled in for many of us. My Dad has been gone for nearly twenty years but since […]

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link

I am not sure what philosopher first uttered the words in the title of this post It may have been an old Navy Boson’s Mate Chief trying to square away a young non-rated seaman about ship’s lore. Ultimately, the phrase has been used in more stories and tales about life than most of the alternative […]