On February 2, Punxsutawney Phil, Pennsylvania’s groundhog extraordinaire, will again stick his head out of his den. The nation awaits his verdict.    Groundhog Day is said to have its origins in ancient weather lore where the prognosticator was often a badger or a sacred bear. In the United States, its origin is said to come from a Pennsylvania German custom. […]

By Henry J. Pratt    Is burying our artifacts in time capsules just a game, or is it a primitive urge to squirrel away a piece of our lives for future generations?    If one includes the practice of lodging odds and ends in the cornerstone of buildings, then the origin of time capsules goes back to at least ancient Babylon.    Paul […]

By Robert Reed      Electrical kitchen appliances were mostly a 20th century deliverance for the homemaker. It was not that devices that not been invented. Henry Seely of New York City obtained a patent for an electric flat iron in 1882, and Dr. Schuyler wheeler developed an electric propeller fan that same year. But home electricity was not that […]

By Maureen Timm    One of the really neat things about music, and there are many, is that it reflects the times. Lyrics tell how people feel and about the events of the period. In many ways music gives us a more accurate picture of people and events of the period than any other method available.    The Catholic Church was the […]