Wednesday Aug 24th, 2022
Carl Benz was an Erie man, an immigrant, a butcher, a business-owner, a family man, and my grandfather. He was born in 1888 in Offenburg, Baden, Germany along the western edge of the Black Forest, just six miles from the Rhine River (which was the sometimes-border between France and Germany). He was the baby of the family with three older sisters.
Wednesday Aug 17th, 2022
Every now and then, the author of this blog gets out to enjoy the surrounding beauty of our area. I took a drive to Conneaut township, Ohio, recently and remembered that there were several covered bridges in the area to be admired. Well, I had the wrong car for the job because my low-profile tires do not like dirt roads (my last experience ended with a tow truck ride!) but I found two of the four bridges anyhow and checked them out.
Wednesday Aug 10th, 2022
Where am I? The land for this community was part of the Erie “Triangle” which was 315 square miles claimed by New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts at the same time. In 1778, the Commonwealth (the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a state and a commonwealth as the same thing with the only difference being in the name) of Pennsylvania and the Federal Government signed a treaty with 24 Iroquois Chiefs and was purchased for $165,640.00 ($3,508,399.23 today).
Friday Aug 5th, 2022
Many readers have seen the 1998 World War II film Saving Private Ryan. A small group of Army Rangers is sent behind German lines in post-D-Day France to find Private James Ryan whose brothers have been killed in the war. The story is loosely based on the story of the Niland brothers of Tonawanda, New York.
Wednesday Aug 3rd, 2022
Each and every day people get into their cars to travel from point A to point B. Most of us would never give it second thought to our journey. Some of the first cars were open meaning the riders were exposed to the weather, debris, etc. Today though, we have the luxury to jump into our fully covered cars and go where we want, whenever we want to.
Wednesday Jul 27th, 2022
As you walk through the Watson-Curtze Mansion, have you ever found yourself wondering about the story behind a particularly lovely decorative item or a piece of furniture that is on display?
Most of the gorgeous Provincial furniture that resides in the mansion’s parlor came from the estate of a pair of Erie sisters – Helen Taylor and Ethel Taylor Winder.
Wednesday Jul 20th, 2022
Let’s face it, we all like to eat. Maybe some more than others of us as our waistlines may show! We all must eat to live, of course, but how many of us produce what we eat? In the early days of life here in Erie County, it was imperative.
Wednesday Jul 13th, 2022
A few blogs ago, I wrote about the Greyhound bus station being on the site of the Park Opera House. What exactly was an Opera House and why did Erie have one for such a long time?
Friday Jul 8th, 2022
When I was a fourth-grade teacher, I introduced my students to a spelling game I called Ish Kabibble. The kids enjoyed playing the game and being the one who got the shout “Ish Kabibble” at the completion of the correct spelling of the given word. But Ish Kabibble was not a word I made up, it was actually a person’s stage name. The man known as Ish was Erie native Merwyn (Mern) Bogue and the great uncle of my husband, Jeff.
Wednesday Jul 6th, 2022
Last week I wrote a blog about the history of wedding dresses. As I was writing that one, I felt it would also be interesting to also go over other parts of a brides’ outfit.
