Although the purpose of our trip to Gettysburg was focused on the battle itself and Lewis Armistead’s participation in it, it was easy for me to get distracted by other interests. The first distraction came before we even reached the village. As we came in toward town on the Chambersburg Road we passed an impressive stone barn to the south of the highway. Elizabeth promptly reported, “McPherson’s Barn”. I was aware of McPherson’s Barn and its significance in the first day’s battle. Our beloved Company D and the rest of the 149th Pennsylvania Regiment were heavily involved in action adjacent…

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Last weekend I had an unanticipated treat thanks to my daughter Elizabeth– a trip to Gettysburg! She is heavily involved in a symposium on the premiere of a play that will be presented in the Stephen Foster Memorial on the University of Pittsburgh campus at 7:30 pm on September 14, 2019. The play is based on one of the fundamental subplots in the drama of the Battle of Gettysburg, the overpowering friendship of two key antagonists in the conflict – Confederate General Lewis Armistead and Union General Winfield Scott Hancock. The opportunity to revisit the battlefield was too much for…

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Five and a half years ago Jim Fry donated his collection of railroad memorabilia to the Bridgeville Area Historical Society to become the nucleus of their railroad exhibit in the caboose annex at the History Center. His contribution included 140 books and pamphlets, plus thirty-four VHS tapes related to railroading. My column, dated February 13, 2014, reported on the wide variety of material in the collection – detailed descriptions of specific railroads, technical books dealing with rolling stock, scenic railroads all across the country, model railroading, etc. – and predicted it would become the basis for a major asset for…

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Most of us are familiar with the accepted story of how Bridgeville got its name. In the early days a Virginian named James Ramsey had a warrant for “Purity”, 102 acres in the western half of what is now Bridgeville. He assumed his property extended to the center of Chartiers Creek. At the point where the Black Horse Trail, the main road from Washington, Pa. to Pittsburgh, crossed Chartiers Creek, Ramsey made significant improvements and stationed a toll collector there to charge the local farmers for passing through. This idea did not set well for the locals. In 1793 they…

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I have been interested in the battle of Gettysburg since I was a small child and my Uncle Joe took me for a tour of the battlefield. I am currently revisiting this interest because of a project in which my daughter Elizabeth is involved. The Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures at the University of Pittsburgh is sponsoring a performance of ‘Gettysburg”, “a poetic expression of the ill-fated friendship between Confederate General Lewis Armistead and Union General Winfield Hancock and the unseen wounds of war”. The play will be presented at the Charity Randall Theater on the University campus…

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As I mentioned last week, the highlight of my recent trip to Colorado was a memorable trip on the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad. We drove from Alamosa to Antonito, making certain to be there in time for the scheduled 10:00 am departure. Sara had purchased Tourist Deluxe tickets for us, which gave us access to a car outfitted like a dining car with four person tables on one side of the center aisle and two person tables on the other. Our car was the sixth of seven cars in the train, directly following an open gondola car that provided…

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I have just returned from another exciting trip to Colorado, to visit my daughter Sara and her family. There is so much to see there that it would take a lifetime to take in all the sights. This time we decided to begin with a ride on the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railway. Sara and my granddaughter Claire met me at the Denver airport early one evening and drove west on I-70 past the Continental Divide to Frisco, where we checked into a Ramada Inn. My flight had been quite pleasant, but the positive experience of the “Friendly Skies” was…

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Two hundred and twenty-five years ago the brand new United States government faced its first major domestic crisis when a large group of farmers in western Pennsylvania rose up in opposition to an onerous excise tax on the production of whiskey, threatening armed rebellion. We have been aware of this momentous event for many years, but continue to be eager to learn more about it. Fortunately there are a number of local organizations dedicated to enhancing our understanding of this significant bit of our heritage, primarily in the form of memorial festivals. Thanks to fortuitous scheduling this year we were…

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My talents as a grandfather were severely tested last month when my seventeen-year old grandson Ian McCance visited me for two weeks. I had a wonderful time and hope that it was equally rewarding for him. The primary reason for his visit was a week spent at Jazz Camp at Duquesne. Unlike me, Ian is a very competent musician, playing trumpet in both his high school band and their jazz band. He had a good experience at camp at Duquesne last year and was happy to have the opportunity to return this year. This is a lot of fun for…

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It was my privilege recently to attend a presentation in South Fayette’s “local authors” series which featured my brother, Joe, and his book, “Almost Forgotten”, a record of the men from the Bridgeville and South Fayette area who lost their lives while serving in the military. He began his talk with an explanation of how the project that led to the book began. In 2004 he attended a Memorial Day weekend service at Bethany Church in which the pastor focused on honoring our ancestors. Joe commented that it would be appropriate to mention the men from the church who had…

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