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Erie is chock-full of edible plants and mushrooms if you know where to look. These plants have been harvested by and used by many people in Erie’s History, including the famous Joe Root. Several people still prepare these plants in foods today.

Despite being a native of Cleveland, as the mastermind behind the radio labels Rocket and Star, Mr. Richard “Rick” Rambaldo has been a household name for decades in Erie media. He founded and oversaw Rambaldo Communications from 1988 to 2006 skyrocketing it into a $15 million brand.

Officially a buildup of mucus, some of us know catarrh as postnasal drip. And if you lived in northwestern Pennsylvania during the second half of the 19^th century you were in luck, because one of the most celebrated catarrh remedies was developed in Erie by Dr. P. Hall.

Just about everyone has a skeleton or two in their closets … but how many people can say they have a headstone in the basement?

Here is your very, very rare, “Found in the Archives” blog post for 2023! I write to you on this occasion to commemorate a very special donor named Charles A. Bliley. Chuck donated his collection of materials relating to his family’s local company, Bliley Electric Company, founded by Frank Dawson Bliley. The collection came into the archives in September of 2022 as a loan, and recently it was absorbed into the archive as a permanent collection. Pictured is Chuck standing with his donation in our archives. 

History is full of individuals whose ideas changed the world, but then faded into obscurity upon their death. Mention E.H. Scott to someone and you’ll see what I mean.

Scott was a headliner in the early 1900s. He appeared in Saturday Evening Post ads, trade journals, and yachting magazines. In 1939, the Erie Times-News referred to him as a “truck mogul” and the “Father of Transportation by Motor.”

I was walking down the sidewalk at the west end of North Park Row in Erie when I happened to look up at just the right time. Greeting me from the red-bricked side of the Flagship City Public Market was faded lettering that read “Paragon Building: Clocks, Watches, Jewelry & Fancy Goods.” Made visible by the removal of the neighboring bus terminal, this ghost sign was obviously old, and I couldn’t wait to get home and research its origins.

Tucked into a wooded area with brilliant fall colors as a backdrop, sits a grand three-story Italianate yellow house built in 1857. Sitting on the front porch at 436 Walnut St., just beyond the reach of the hustle of downtown Girard, it's not hard to imagine when the property was a working farm. But now, while it might or might not be haunted by a ghost who likes Whitney Houston, it will soon be the site of a grand dinner put on by the Hagen History Center and Red Letter Hospitality, owner of The Cork 1794.

Baking has been around for ages. It is a timeless art, recipes passed down from generation to generation. I remember my grandma giving me some of her prized recipe books or my mom teaching me our treasured family recipes. It is a way to connect past to present, it speaks where words won’t. Baking holds a special place in my heart; it’s fun for me. I cannot remember a time when I was not in the kitchen baking. Whether it be during the holidays or a random day in June. I was researching in the archives and stumbled upon some old recipe books and thought to try a recipe out from it. 

With new owners, Art’s Bakery is set to continue its Erie legacy.

An Erie staple since 1950, Art’s Bakery is one of the mom-and-pop shops whose light continues to burn bright in this historic city. For the past 72 years, the Evans family kept the business afloat, consistently selling their highly acclaimed baked goods throughout the decades.