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It was 1931. The nation was still in the Great Depression. Television hadn’t been invented yet. And Erie, PA, had a Warner Brothers movie house on State Street.  

Today’s blog holds a special place in my heart because I am an Edinboro University alumnus, along with many of my fellow coworkers. As many of you may know, the University is currently going through some major changes. One of those is a name change. No, Edinboro is not losing its name completely. It will combine with Clarion and California Universities to become Pennsylvania Western University. These will also merge with Bloomsburg, Lock Haven, and Mansfield Universities to become Pennsylvania Northeastern University.

This Memorial Day, “The Wall That Heals,” a portable version of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. will visit Erie. In recognition of the visit of “The Wall That Heals,” the Hagen History Center will recognize the 59 servicemen from Erie County that are among the over 58,000 Americans who gave their lives in Southeast Asia. Each week, a few veterans will be featured on our social media and website. The week of Memorial Day, several servicemen will be honored.

In recognition of the visit of “The Wall That Heals,” the Hagen History Center will recognize the 59 servicemen from Erie County that are among the over 58,000 Americans who gave their lives in Southeast Asia. Each week, one veteran will be featured on our website and social media. The week of Memorial Day, several servicemen will be honored.

STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) is an acronym that teachers, students, and parents have used for years to group together scientifically oriented academic disciplines. The NSF (National Science Foundation) formalized the term STEM in 2001 and it has been used widely since. But long before STEM became an acronym, teachers in Erie were educating students in those topics. What was teaching STEM like 40-60 years ago in Erie schools?

Going through the collection, I became inspired by this dress, beautifully made and worn by a girl taking part in 1915.

As I begin the process of clearing my desk for a fresh beginning in the New Year, I found a cookbook buried.  Printed in 1885, it is a “Cookbook of Tested Recipes prepared by the Ladies of the First M.E. Church, in Erie, PA”.  My Christmas gift to each of you, my gentle readers, is a reprint of a few of the recipes from that book.  If you attempt these seasonal favorites, please let me know. They are certainly different!

Which former Erie County resident coined the phrase “Go West, young man, go West”? This same person also ran for President of the United States and helped to form public opinion during the Civil War. 

On the fateful morning of December 7, 1941, the first major American ship to make it out of Pearl Harbor during the Japanese attack was the cruiser the USS St. Louis. On board was fleet safety officer, Charles A. Curtze, would help the ship earn her nickname-“Lucky Lou.”

The ever-changing weather here in Erie County is always a topic of discussion among residents.  Fortunately, we don’t get extreme weather very often.