“Crossing the Delaware in the Age of Ferries and Bridges” is the title of a new program I do for the Delaware Humanities Forum. In early times, the crossing of the First State’s waterways, particularly the mighty Delaware River, presented a challenge. Getting from here to there often depended upon river conditions, and the pre-bridge…
Delaware Research Alert — Wilmington’s Morning News and Evening Journal Available Online
Online full-text searchable newspapers from earlier times are quickly becoming the norm for researchers. Institutions such as the Library of Congress, Google, local heritage organizations, and commercial database providers are all rushing to unlock the past, making our work of digging into family or local history much more efficient. And each month brings exciting news…
Disasters Are Part of a Community’s History and Should be Remembered
A story about the passage of 37 years since a sudden, life-shattering tragedy hit San Diego came up in my Delmarva Newsfeed yesterday. On Friday, September 25, 1978, a beautiful, sunny southern California Day, Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) Fight 182 was on final descent into the airport when it collided with a Cessna. Thirteen seconds…
On Labor Day: Remembering Those Who Died While Building the Conowingo Dam
On this Labor Day, a holiday that honors American Workers and remembers the struggle to acquire better employment conditions, it’s a good time to share some research I have been doing on men who paid a high price erecting the Conowingo Dam. An untold number were killed, injured or disabled while toiling away at the…