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Though the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has many enticing reasons to stay and explore we only had time for a brief stop in the northern part of the state. Pennsylvania means “Penn’s Woods” and was named after William Penn who was given the land by the King of England. The tract granted to Penn in 1681 was so vast that it remains one of the largest land grants in history. The Pennsylvania constitution, that William Penn helped draft, made “liberty of conscience” a guaranteed right.

As a result Pennsylvania was one of the few places where Quakers were welcome in developing America (it helped that Penn was a Quaker). Quakers flocked to Pennsylvania and it soon became known as “The Quaker State.” Another nickname, “The Keystone State,” is in reference to the state’s central location and strong economy. In the 1700s, the state’s manufacture of Conestoga wagons (the semi-trucks of the era), rifles and its large agricultural output helped the struggling young American colonies before and during the Revolutionary War.

Actually, I suppose keystone could also refer to the important events leading up to the quest for independence, such as the meeting of the First and Second Continental Congresses in Philadelphia or the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and even later when Pennsylvania became the second state to ratify the Constitution. Truly, it is a shame we were unable to make it to Philly for a visit. I would have loved seeing the sights and walking in Benjamin Franklin’s footsteps. Did you know he was President of Pennsylvania for several years? What an amazing man!

Not far from Philly, about 100 miles as the crow flies, lies another crucial location in the history of this country, Gettysburg. The battle of July 1-3, 1863, was the turning point of the Civil War as the Union Army defeated the Confederate Army in a bloody fight. It was a hard won battle with the highest casualties of the Civil War. Yet another place I feel I should visit someday, to gain a better understanding of my country’s history.

Interestingly enough a native son of Pennsylvania, James Buchanan, was partly responsible for the outbreak of the Civil War. Buchanan (born in Mercersburg, PA in 1791) was elected in 1857 as the 15th President of the U.S. Admittedly, Buchanan was elected during difficult times as the country was going through growing pains and the question of slavery was unresolved. However, he did little to diffuse the situation; in fact as a “doughface” (a northerner with southern sympathies) he exacerbated it. Together with Franklin Pierce ¹, the man he replaced in the White House and a fellow doughface, Buchanan is consistently ranked as one of this country’s worst Presidents. Unfortunately for Pennsylvania, so far he is their only contribution to the Presidency.

The state has many other claims to fame including a whole town named after a chocolate company, Hershey. The company, which began in 1894, is one of the oldest and largest in the U.S. I read that the whole area smells like chocolate; I think that would get annoying after awhile, but I am not a chocoholic unlike some folks I know. Not to mention any names, ahem, Tori and Lori.

All of those places were far across the state from our location near the shore of Lake Erie. One of the five Great Lakes, Lake Erie ranks as the tenth largest lake on earth. The lake received its name from the Erie tribe of Native Americans that once roamed through much of modern-day Pennsylvania. The part of the lake near the town of Erie is famous as the site where the U.S. hastily built ships for its fledgling Navy. At Presque Isle (French for “almost an island”) during the winter of 1813 the Navy began preparations to fight the British for control of Lake Erie. On September 10th Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry attacked the British fleet near Put-in-Bay, Ohio. It was a hard fought battle, with each side suffering over 100 casualties, but by 4 p.m. that afternoon the British had surrendered.

At Presque Isle State Park there stands a tall monument to Perry, the “Hero of Lake Erie.” We spent all day wandering through the park (which is free, like all the state parks in Pennsylvania: how cool is that?). For lunch we stopped at one of the many sandy beaches and played frisbee. Looking out across the sparkling blue water it was hard to believe that Lake Erie was once incredibly polluted.

In the 1960s the water was so toxic that in 1969 one of the lake’s tributaries caught on fire. I can’t imagine water burning, but when it is loaded with byproducts from the oil and gas industry I guess it can. The lake was so polluted that Dr. Seuss referred to it in his cautionary environmental tale, The Lorax. The line “I hear things are just as bad up in Lake Erie” has been removed from newer versions of the book since the lake has been cleaned up. Personally, I think it should have been left in as a reminder of how bad it once was so that we never let it happen again.

Our week in Erie, Pennsylvania was mostly spent hard at work. Lance was preparing for a week-long business trip and I had to complete two weeks worth of work in anticipation of visiting with family in Ohio. The weather was warm and sunny so we did squeeze in a couple afternoon bike rides and even a pick-up game of Wiffle ball with some locals. I had never played Wiffle ball before but thanks to Lance I knew enough about baseball to hold my own. I even managed to get on base every time, too. Of course, my team lost but it was still fun to play.

Oh, I have to tell you a funny story about our cat, Rookie. He and I were outside soaking up some sun one afternoon: I was doing some research and he was hunting insects in the grass. Everything was going along well until I heard Rookie cry out. Concerned, I stopped working and checked on him. At first I assumed that he had been stung by a bee (he has tried to catch one and been stung before). I soon found the source of his discomfort, a very large (at least three inches long) and very annoyed praying mantis! I don’t think I’ve ever seen one that big before and boy, was he mad. Like a well-trained pugilist the mantis was standing on its back legs, flashing its wings, with its “fists” ready to strike. Seriously, it even had good footwork as it spun around to face my hand as I tried to move it out of harm’s way. I know it sounds ridiculous but I have pictures. And yes, Rookie is fine although a bit embarrassed to have been beaten up by a bug.

While we weren’t able to try an original Philly cheesesteak or Hershey’s chocolate fresh from the factory we did try Yuengling Lager. “Vitamin Y”, as the locals call it, is brewed by the oldest brewery in the U.S. in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. The brewery was started by a German immigrant in 1829 and amazingly is still in the same family. The company that survived Prohibition by brewing near-beers now ranks as the sixth largest commercial brewer. We enjoyed the beer and wouldn’t mind seeing it on a shelf out West but then again, there are already so many good beers out there. So many beers, so little time…

Photos: View our photographs from Pennsylvania.

Notes: We stayed in Pennsylvania from 09/16/07 to 09/22/07.

1. Read more about Pierce in our Live Free or What? article. ↩