What to Expect in the Next Few Months...besides Snow

                                                                                                                      

The creeks have been at flood stage the last several days. There has been plenty of rain, some are flooding back roads as pictured.  Now it is changing over to snow (Dec.1); typical, November-December weather for NW Pennsylvania. The snow is welcome by area hunters since the rifle season for whitetail opened several days ago on Monday.

The deer processing shops have been busy with customers; saying they had to wait an hour or more. Not sure that means a good harvest or the shops were short-handed.

Just before the rifle season opened, there was a short bear season. A state record bear was harvested but the harvest has been controversial. The story does raise some questions. For more information, Bear.

Winter Plans and Thoughts

Winter is, among other things, a time to plan out a vegetable garden and/or yard improvements. A well located brush pile is a benefit to native wildlife; they are simple to construct and cab be made to look even more attractive with native vines and flowers. Brush piles can attract many birds, butterflies and native bees while offering protection and shelter to smaller animals. For more information, Brush Pile.

Another consideration for the yard are heirloom zinnias. The flowers are attractive throughout the year and attract many beneficial insects which can help increase pollination in the vegetable garden. For more, Zinnias.

What to Expect in 2011 – a lot of history

Beginning in April, the nation and Pennsylvania will begin commemorative celebrations of the Civil War. The events will span the course of the war and in end in 2015.

In northwestern PA it is difficult to miss the the artifacts from that era 150 years ago. There are many stories about John Brown and his farm in New Richmond and the Underground Railroad. Cemeteries are filled with aging graves with GAR plagues and flags; civil war era cannons and monuments are found in many of them and public parks. Pictured below is a Civil War veteran's grave near Canadohta Lake.

One intriguing person was Josuha Monroe Reisinger. He and his brother were students at Allegheny College in Meadville and enlisted. Josuha was critically injured at the Battle of Gettysburg but continued fighting despite his injuries.

It took several operations and several years for him to recovered and then he re-enlisted. This time he served in the 114^th United States Colored Troops (USCT) to train and lead a regiment sent to Matamoras, Mexico and Brownsville, Texas.

Following several mix-ups and a dispute with a commanding officer, he was finally granted the Medal of Honor years later in 1903 for bravery at Gettysburg and subsequent actions. After his military service in Mexico and Texas, he continued his studies at Allegheny College, passed the bar and practiced law, ran a newspaper and was an official in the Galena-Signal Oil Company. He died, a few years after receiving his medal, at the age of 82 and was buried in Greendale Cemetery in Meadville.

So, contrary to common opinion, not all USCT troops were of African or black descent. Some followed the suggestions of Frederick Douglass and joined the USCT to help train the soldiers. Other were recruited as they recovered from injuries and others assigned.

As 2011 rolls along we'll see many more largely unknown and revealing stories.

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What Else to Expect?

Much, much more of winter weather. But there are some "green winter", fun things to do and enjoy.

Good Blogs

Corning NY Step by Step – by Kathleen Richardson

New York's Southern Tier

PennFuture

Indian Summer Honors Veterans

  

      Veteran's Day

It has been an amazing weather week in northwestern Pennsylvania. While the nights have been cold, with temps in the low twenties, the afternoons have been in the mid to high fifties. Great weather for being outdoors. The first snows fell last week, so now we have Indian Summer.

The weather is forecast to be good for Veteran's Day; many communities will honor veterans with special services and dinners. It is one of our most solemn national holidays.

The Flags which have flown over the graves of veterans since Memorial Day will be collected and burned in a solemn service in many communities.

Garlic

This will be a good weather week to plant garlic for next year. Garlic is an easy crop to grow, it is not very demanding. Try to plant a hardneck variety; the spring scapes are really good. 

Try not to plant garlic cloves purchased from the supermarket. They tend to be softneck varieties which were grown in California and stored and shipped thousands of miles. Softneck varieties do not produce a scape.

For planting purposes, it is better to use locally grown garlic.

Turtles

Pictured is a young snapping turtle rescued from a busy parking lot. Snappers hatch ninety days after the adult female, leaves the water and travels to a nesting site on land and lays her eggs. She then returns to the water never again to visit the nest. Egg laying usually happens in May and June; so the hatch usually happens somewhere close to Halloween.

Snapping turtles, while common, are an important animal in the ecology of wetlands, swamps and ponds. To read more about these amazing animals, click Snapping Turtle.

Corn Harvest

By many accounts, the corn harvest in much of the northwestern PA region is one of the best anyone can remember. So much corn is being harvested that storage facilities are literally busting at the seams. Strangely, the price per bushel corn is at a record high. According to the owner of Platt's Mill in Spartansburg, the crop is one of the best he has ever seen. Scott Morton has been the owner operator of the feed mill for decades; his father once owned and operated the mill, and before that, his father. The price per bushel, according to Morton is between $5.60 and $6, a price he calls “obscene”.

Europe and Russia had terrible growing season and there was hardly a harvest in those countries; those countries are buying US grown corn. China has also bee buying a lot of US corn. Market speculators are in a frenzy also driving the cost per bushel, upwards.

Compounding the upward price spiral is the demand for ethanol and poor crop production in several US mid west and western states.

The meaning – well, corn supplies could be lower than ever in the US which means higher prices for many consumer products. Corn is used in a zillion different products besides being a staple in food; corn is used in pharmaceuticals to automobile parts, cosmetics and glue, beer and whiskey.

Marcellus and the Elections

Thankfully, elections are over. What the candidates made the electorate suffer through was inexcusable. In Pennsylvania, a state with no tax on gas drilling, it will likely remain the same under Republican control despite a serious deficit problem.

Outgoing Dem Gov. Rendell imposed a moratorium on drilling on State Parks after the state's political leaders (?) were unable to reach a compromise.

While the gas deposits offer an economic boost to many, there are problems which should not and can not be ignored. Secret chemicals are used and, one company, Halliburton, is being sued by the EPA for more information regarding the toxic fracking process.Penn State University has opened a new research center, which can be found here. It is well worth the look.

Enjoy the Indian Summer weather an be sure to honor and thank a veteran.

Good Blogs 

One Woman Over Sixty - this is a great blog by Kathleen Richardson. She is also a good writer at Helium.

Marcellus Money - take a look at whose on the payroll.

Penn Future -   well worth the thought and consideration

                                                                                       

Will a Halloween Scrooge Create a New National Cemetery?

Halloween is a fun sort of holiday. It's actually the start of the “holiday” season, quickly followed by Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's. It begins the season of gathering together with family and friends, gift giving and celebration.

Originally, established as a harvest festival it is now connected with remembrances of those who have died, costumes, trick or treat, pumpkins and gourds, witches and black cats.

Dia de Muerto's, November 1 & 2, is the Mexican celebration perhaps best known for welcoming back the spirits of family and friends who come back for a visit. It is an important holiday to visit cemeteries. Halloween is actually a joyous festival.

Pennsylvania Senate Republicans – The Holiday Scrooge Factor for Citizens ?

Pennsylvania Republican Senators, however, are “scrooging” Pennsylvania citizens by balking at a severance tax on Marcellus Gas. The Pennsylvania House adopted a tax proposal, as promised, and forwarded it to the Senate, which has until Thursday October 14^th to pass the legislation. The proposed tax calls for a tax of $.39 per 1,000 cubic feet of gas taken. Not a whole lot of money. If the severance tax is not in place, it is likely dead in the water since no more legislative sessions are scheduled.

Of course elections are only a few weeks away, and the politicians need to spend some time with the electorate. Many of the politicos will have some extra money to spend this election cycle, thanks the generosity of the drilling companies. Check out MacellusMoney.Org to see who is getting rich.

Perhaps, not as much in northwestern Pennsylvania, but in other regions, the Marcellus debate is a contentious issue during this election. Chances are that is the same in New York, West Virginia, and parts of Ohio.

Pennsylvania sits on what is estimated as trillions of dollars of Marcellus Gas and there is no tax to help fund the local communities, state government, nor environmental issues. This despite the fact there is enough gas to supply US energy needs for the next fifty years.

The gas is a statewide, people's resource not a corporation's resource. At least in Alaska, the oil wealth is shared, why not Pennsylvania? Could it be the Halloween Scrooge at work?

The Halloween Costume of Marcellus Gas ?

Marcellus drilling does offer some hope. There will be plenty of jobs in many communities connected with the drilling. Although, lets face it some jobs, perhaps the highest paying, will go to company workers from out of state; fine. There are many other related spin-off jobs which will be available. Besides, the gas is here not in Texas or Iraq.

From a company viewpoint, there are few environmental problems, some even admit to no wrong. But that is not the reality. There have been problems with private water wells, public waterways, farm animals and forest land.

Concerns are also being raised about the effects of roads and huge machinery rumbling through forest land and it's impact on wildlife. Yet, very little environmental studies have been completed, despite the fact that 70 percent of Pennsylvania is forest land.

Gas might be a clean burning energy resource, but extracting it has some serious issues.

What are the impacts on the deer herd, turkey flocks, grouse and other native wildlife? Could Appalachia become the next national cemetery? After all, it is Halloween.

Halloween and the Vegetable Garden

Halloween also brings up images of snow, fireplaces and woodstoves. The holiday means winter is knocking at the back door. Ashes can be good for the garden but be careful.

Do not use the ashes if cardboard has been burned, plastic or most fire starter logs. These items have dangerous chemicals.

The best wood ash to use which will raise a soils pH are the hardwoods like cherry, oak, hickory and beech. It is also best to dig the ashes into the ground in the spring of the year which means safely storing them in a covered container. Melting snow and rain will leech out the available nutrients.

Before using the wood ash, it is a good idea to have a soil test done to determine the ration of ash to use. These test are inexpensive and will help to improve soil quality for the next growing season.

Additional Quick Note: Be careful, there is a ban on moving firewood because of the Emerald Ash Borer.

Good Blogs to Read

One Woman--over sixty--and her perspective of life. - by Kathleen Richardson. This was formerly called On Your Way to the Top. It is a great blog and she has worked hard to improve it and make it better.

Penn Future - This is a Web site, not actually a blog, but worth the time to check.

Marcellus Money - Not a blog but a listing of whose accepting money.

What Happens when Gardens Wind Down and the Gas Heats-Up

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The all important honey flow from the goldenrods and asters is winding down. These native wild flowers provide the honeybees and other native bees with their last nutrients before winter set it's icy grip.

The sunchokes are blooming. At times called Jerusalem artichokes, are members of the sun flower family and the edible tubers are healthy and nutritious, although, they are difficult to work with. Unlike a smooth potato, the sun choke tubers are bumpy and irregular and not the easy to peel. But they are tasty. The bees are attracted to the small yellow flowers and the finches in particular enjoy the seeds after the flowers dies back.

The bees have been in trouble for years now and declining populations of pollinators pose a threat to the human food supply as well as to native wildlife. Bees are necessary for the pollination of many wild food crops such as berries, nuts and wild apples.

Varroa mites and Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD, have decimated many beehives, both domesticated and feral. Ongoing research by universities and state agencies continue to investigate the best methods to manage these pests.

There are immediate actions which home and property owners can do to help the bees. One of the first steps is to discontinue herbicide and pesticide use and find alternative solutions; plant native and heirloom flowers which provide the bees with the best nutrients and increase habitat areas. Ultimately, vegetable gardens will do better; the more bees around, the better the pollination, the more vegetables.

For the most part vegetables gardens are over unless a fall garden was planted; lettuce does particularly well in September/October as do red beets, peas and other edible greens. 

In the woodlands, the stumpy mushrooms are ready and easy picking this month. October is also a great month to get garlic in the ground.

With gardens winding down, the Marcellus Gas debate is heating. Many farms and organic growers, hunters and anglers, are becoming increasingly concerned about drilling operations and the impact on the environment.

Marcellus Gas

Many citizens continue to express concerns over the largely unregulated, and untaxed, gas drilling companies. Pennsylvania, as well as New York and West Virginia are hot beds of activities as more deposits of underground gas are discovered. There is enormous amounts of money involved and many problems connected with Marcellus Shale Gas drilling.

In Pennsylvania, there has been something of a free-for-all for the companies – the state is the only state not too tax the huge profits. However, that is beginning to change as communities need to address some of the problems created by the industry such as crumbling bridges and roads from the traffic from heavy trucks, water issues from sloppy workmanship and accidental events, and the impact of workers and their families from other states, particularly school districts.

Many of Pennsylvania farms and organic growers are becoming increasingly concerned for their operations. Clean water is a big issue.

Dimock, Pennsylvania is a tragic example. Cabot Oil and Gas of Houston, Texas has been drilling wells in that area. Unfortunately, many private water wells have been polluted and have become unusable because of leaking methane gas among other problems.

The situation has become so tense in that region that armed guards now accompany drilling crews to work sites in that region. Last week, the Pennsylvania DEP ordered the Houston, Texas based company to install a water line to provide clean drinking water to the families. Cabot, however, is outraged and is taking the DEP to court. Similar situations are happening in Bradford, Pennsylvania as well.

The state is taking action on regulations and on taxes. The PA House of Representatives recently adopted a tax structure, which the gas companies simply don't like. The bill now goes to the PA Senate where there will likely be a fierce debate.

The gas deposits are a natural resource which belong to all citizens of Pennsylvania and should be shared by all not just the drilling companies. The drilling companies are not fond of the proposed tax.

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The Marcellus Spy Thriller

Recently, it was revealed that the Pennsylvania Office of Homeland Security under Secretary James Powers hired a small company to spy on Pennsylvania citizens who express concerns about the Marcellus drilling. The spying revelations have created an furor among many environmentalists, Civil Rights Groups and churches. Political dissents is a constitutional right in both Pennsylvania and the USA. This isn't Iran.

The small company had a $130,000 contract to spy on citizens and the information was forwarded to the Homeland Security office which then issued “bulletins” to various agencies and to at least some of the drillers. Gov. Rendell, when the spying scandal broke, ended the contract.

Groups of citizens in Pennsylvania now want to know exactly who was informed by the bulletins but so far the state has refused to release a complete list. The issue is going to court.

Marcellus Cash Register

Marcellus Money, a Web site, has posted a listing of all the politicians, and many candidates for public office, who have received money from the gas drillers. It is an eye opening list. Check it out, MarcellusMoney.Org.

Frontier Preacher

A new book by former Canadohta Lake novelist Sam Hossler is a fictional account of the life historical Pennsylvania citizen John Corbly 1733-1803. It is great reading, great writing, and highly informative. Sam brings history alive with this his, third novel. The time frame is the Whiskey Rebellion. The book can be obtained at Sally's on the Lake in Canadohta, Morrison's Sports Store in Titusville and the Erie Book Store as well as online at SamHossler.com. For more information on Sam, his books and how to obtained his latest novel go to Sam Hossler.

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Good Blogs

On Your Way to the Top

New York's Southern Tier

Simply Snickers

Special Note Blogs : Here are some links to other blogs which I have read about Marcellus Gas. I will include one from each side of the debate. Get informed, know the issues, it could very easily be coming to you neighborhood.

Bobs Blog – this is really good first hand citizen journalism with great photos.

Marcellus Shale and Gas - from the industry's point of view.

Important Details You Should Know about the Marcellus Show

Learn whose been taking the money gifts. - The Money Machine

How to stay informed.

With enormous amounts of Marcellus Shale gas to be tapped, drillers from outside of Pennsylvania are rushing to set up shop in Pennsylvania. Interest is also high in other areas from New York to Tennessee. Some gas industry officials claim there could be enough natural gas to meet the energy demands of the nation for 10 or 15 years or longer. Marcellus gas has created a land rush in Pennsylvania reminiscent to the “gold rush” a 150 years ago when Edwin Drake drilled the first commercial oil well at Titusville.

Geologists believe there could be upwards of 500 trillion cubic feet of gas as far down as a mile below the surface. Last year, US consumers used 23 trillion cubic feet of gas. Currently, there are 4,000 active Marcellus wells in Pennsylvania and each typical well has the potential to generate $4 million for property owners. We are talking about huge sums of money to be realized across much of Appalachia.

The newly developed technologies used to extract the gas are relatively new and called fracturing or fracking. About 7 million gallons of water, sand, and toxic chemicals and other “secret” ingredients are pumped into the wells under great pressure to fracture the shale to release the gas. 

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is attempting to identify all the native trout streams in Pennsylvania as Marcellus Gas production increases in order to protect the streams.

The rush to grab the riches, combined with new technologies has created some serious environmental problems. In Pennsylvania, 1,435 incidents have been reported to DEP. Water wells have been contaminated, creeks and rivers have been damaged by pollutants, homes have had to be evacuated because of high gas levels, farm animals quarantined because they drank contaminated water and there have been serious explosions at drilling sights. The EPA is currently conducting hearings into the safety of the new technology.

UPDATE:

On September 15, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell shut down an intelligence gathering operation designed to gather information on opponents of Marcellus Shale drilling. The information and the program was operated by Pennsylvania Homeland Security Department. This is an amazing and quite remarkable story. The person in charge of the program designed to get information on suspected environmental terrorists (people who question the safety of the drilling), James Powers, was not fired. One has to wonder about what these folks were thinking?

With big money rolling in and the potential for more mega-dollars, the industry's lobbyists are spreading it around.

The Political Money Machine

Pennsylvania has had a long history with gas and oil drilling.

In Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Land Trust Association, has compiled a list of politicians who have accepted thousands of dollars of money from various Marcellus gas well drillers and their lobbyists. The environmental coalition, Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future, is conducting a statewide tour to force the Pennsylvania Legislature to adopted  a severance tax on the Marcellus Gas drilling industry. 

Also, a new Web site, MarcellusMoney.Org, is tracking the donations to politicians from the Marcellus Gas industry. Included in the list are the companies with the worst records; Chesapeake Appalachia LLC, East Resources LLC, and Chief Oil and Gas LLC and who they are giving money too.

For a list of the all companies donating the money and in what amounts, click here.

For a list of the candidates and politicians who are accepting the money, click here.

Marcellus Drilling on Public Land

In much of western Pennsylvania, the minerals rights under the surface are not owned by the public. Oil Creek State Park is one example. A recent Supreme Court ruling will allow three wells to be drilled at the public park since the mineral rights are privately owned. The Belden & Blake Corp., a Houston, Texas company with offices in Pleasantville, Crawford County will be drilling at the popular public park.

Allegheny National Forest, the only National Forest in Pennsylvania, is comprised of 513,000 acres and 12,000 active wells. In Mercer County, five Marcellus Gas wells have been completed at Goddard State Park.

Pennsylvania has no policy regarding privately held mineral rights for surface land which is used for public parks and recreation. Some groups see the solution as being based on a tax on Marcellus Gas wells being used to buy back the mineral rights. The Marcellus Gas proposed tax could be used to fund the buy back. The tax will be discussed in the legislature in the next several weeks. However, the tax is largely unpopular with the drilling companies.  Pennsylvania, however, is the only state without a tax on Marcellus Gas.

The proposed Marcellus Gas Tax is becoming a heated election issue in Pennsylvania. Dem. candidate for governor Ornarato now favors the tax; The Republican candidate Corbett disagrees. Dan Onorato received $74, 300 from the Marcellus Gas industry, while Tom Corbet took in $372,720, according to Marcellus Money.

Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge recently became a lobbyist for the Marcellus Gas industry as have three of Gov. Ed Rendell's staff people. Ridge's annual compensation is listed as $900,000, Rendell has collected $84,100 from the industry, according to Marcellus Money.

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Good Blogs to Read:

On your Way to the Top

New York's Southern Tier

Simply Snickers

Know What is Coming and What Has Happened

                                                                                                                             

Friendly but Brawling Winter Forecasts

Labor Day brings on the onslaught of winter weather predictions; it is almost a traditional ritual. The Old Farmer's Almanac and NOAA have issued two very different forecasts. The old almanac based on long held and secretive formulas says the winter in the Great Lakes region and the northeast will feature extreme cold conditions, last quite a long time, and will have less snow.

NOAA's forecast says it will be somewhat milder with plenty of snow beginning in December but there will be an early warm-up in Feb.

Then there are local meterologists and their predictions based on historic folklore:

• If ant hills are high in July, Winter will be snowy.
• Squirrels gathering nuts in a flurry, will cause snow to gather in a hurry.
• A tough winter is ahead, if the apple skins are tough
• Let alone all the commotion about Wooly Bear caterpillars.

Here's the Historic Facts:

Winter factually arrives on the calender on December 21, 2010 at 6:38 pm. But it often snows well before that date, often around Halloween but certainly sometime right after deer rifle season opens in northwestern Pennsylvania opens after Thanksgiving (count on it). Historically, December, January, and into February it is always cold, blustery and very snowy. December and January are famous for the incredible snow machine. It never seems to go away. Winter ends when it wants too, despite Groundhog Phil's or any other animal's predictions. But Jack Wax is the first real sign of spring; followed by the spring peeps which always seem to emerge with warmer weather the last week of March, as the wood pile is down to the last row and kindling is nowhere near the house.

Another Historic, Well Known Fact

Late summer and from early to mid-fall are great times to get yard and garden work done. It is a good time to divide perennials or start a new one.

Plant garlic now for next year and try to get the garlic from a local source and not the supermarket. The garlic will be ready in early summer. If a hard neck variety is chosen, there is an extra benefit – the flavorful scapes.

Go native with perennials. Native plants have special relationships with important pollinators, are hardy to the local climate and are generally carefree. The trout lily is a good choice as are mayapples. Trilliums can be a little tricky but well worth the effort. Sunchokes, sometimes called mistakenly Jerusalem artichokes, are also a good choice for a barrier or screen.



Historic Bridges



Western Pennsylvania has many historic bridges, many are in danger of being demolished. Perhaps, it is time to consider saving and preserving these structures. The add to the historic atmosphere of the region, preservation is likely less expensive than building new (and sometimes ugly) bridges and they do represent part of Pennsylvania's historic heritage.

The following is the first part of  report written by Nathan Holth of historicbridge,org on a  August 22, 2010 tour of some of these local bridges. Many have withstood winters since the late 1800's.
The bridge featured is the Perry Street Bridge in Titusville. It could be demolished if preservation action is not taken. Thanks to Nathan for both the report and the photograph. The next post will continue his report.

We arrived in Crawford County in the afternoon (having seen bridges in
Butler and Venango Counties in the morning) and began by visiting the Franklin Street Bridge in Titusville. The bridge is one of two bridges that are nearly identical to each other, yet unlike any bridges found elsewhere in Pennsylvania. The Franklin Street Bridge, a steel tied arch bridge, was designed in 1939 by County Engineer Karl A. Miller. Miller was a rather interesting individual. Historic American Engineering Record research into Miller shows that he was an engineer who placed great value on repairing and maintaining bridges rather than replacing them, a good value that often seems sadly lost on today's roads and bridges. Another interesting thing found about Karl Miller was that he may have shared something with Historic Bridge Weekend attendees, which is an appreciation for the shear variety of bridge designs found in Crawford County. Many of his photographs feature various bridges in the county. Also in Titusville, we crossed the Perry Street Bridge, a historic pin-connected Pratt through truss. Our main goal here was to take HD Video while crossing the bridge. This weekend was our first opportunity to test our new HD recording capabilities. Sadly, the day before the Bridge Weekend, we discovered that the Perry Street Bridge has been slated for demolition and replacement. PennDOT will likely have to first conduct Section 106, a process which requires them to stand back and consider alternatives to replacement of a historic property, but they usually end up at demolition and replacement anyway. However when this process does take place, anyone concerned about losing this heritage should participate in the Section 106 process (which is required to include public participation) and speak out in favor of preservation.

Written by: Nathan Holth, www.historicbridges.com

Frontier Preacher – a Fictional Novel Based on Historical Events  

Sam Hossler, a former Canadohta Lake resident, has announced his new novel, Frontier Preacher, will be available in early September. Sam is a prolific and brilliant writer, a avid angler and hunter. For thirty some years, Sam has written extensively for Outdoor magazine's and newspaper columns and served as the editor of the Canadohta Lake Breeze. For many years, he organized the Canadohta Lake Kid's Fish day and help with other Canadohta Lake Area Business Association's events.

Sam now lives in Florida.
In an email, Sam said his latest novel will be available by Labor Day at Sally's on the Lake in Canadohta, Morrison's ll Sport Store in Titusville, the Erie Book Store in Erie and also at his Web site samhossler.com
Sam's writing, while fiction, is based on historical facts and centered in the northwestern Pennsylvania area.
The Frontier Preacher, is based on the historical life of  John Corbly (1733-1833) who was an important evangelist in the northwestern areas during the Whiskey Rebellion. Corbly lived an adventuresome frontier life, often marred by tragedy.
Meadville, for historical perspective, was founded in 1788 by a group of settlers led by David Mead. The site was chosen because of the convergence of French Creek with Cussewago. Meadville was the frontier and was also located on French Creek because of the ease of getting to Fort Franklin and safety.
I have read Sam's first two fascinating novels, cover to cover: The Summer of 1763 and The Great Land Grab. I'm reading Frontier Preacher now, it is difficult to put it down and get work done.  Sam has a great ability to bring history alive. All three books are related and focus on the  time period  following the French and Indian Wars and life in this section of the state.
If your looking for some great, entertaining, and informative writing, stop by either at the Web site or at one of the locations mentioned and get a copy, or buy all three. It is well worth the investment and enjoyment.

French Creek and the Creek Connection

It looks like everyone had a great time at Creek Camp ll which ended recently. Creek Camp is a program of Creek Connections and Allegheny College. During the week long camp students get to enjoy historic French Creek, learn about it's ecology and the local environment. This year as in the past several students in the 10^th and 11^th grades enjoyed the French Creek frontier from Costa Rica and, according to the Director of the Program, Laura Branby, one year there were six German students. After spending the day on the creek and the watershed area, the students spend the nights at dorms on the college campus.

Throughout the school year, local students, gather water data and help plant trees for stream erosion and pollution control.

French Creek retains much of the same characteristics as it did during the early historic frontier days. The watershed has remained largely undisturbed and provides an environment for many rare and endangered species. It makes for a great classroom.

Good Blogs to Read

On Your Way to the Top

Simply Snickers

New York's Southern Tier

more » HubPages