All Titles

Pittsburgh Jazz documents the almost forgotten magic created in the city of Pittsburgh by a host of artists, uptown inner city streets, and jazz joints that served patrons from a menu packed full of delightful music. The magical improvised songs, compositions, and unique styles of hundreds of those who were born, raised, or influenced by what occurred in the smoke filled clubs, bars, restaurants, and theaters is difficult to comprehend. And yet, every jazz artist in the world was attracted here to "stand the test" waiting in the Steel City. This book is committed to connecting Pittsburghstyle jazz as the synthesis that resulted in the art form called bebop. This photographic presentation was captured by Pittsburgh Courier photographers between the 1930s and 1980s.

Historic photographs of the German and Croatian immigrants who flocked to this area on the outskirts of Allegheny City, and their customs, religions, skills, and traditions.

The Reserve Tract across from Fort Pitt was set aside in the 1780s by the government of Pennsylvania as a way of raising funds to pay the troops who had served during the American Revolutionary War. Although many areas in the commonwealth were set aside like this, few grew to such prominence as the distinct neighborhoods of Troy Hill, Spring Garden, Spring Hill, and Mount Troy. Photos of the German and Croatian immigrants who helped build a new nation by providing steel, leather products, food, and even beer; their spirit and work ethic set a standard that many Americans to this day try to emulate. The Heinz complex, the old E&O Brewery, St. Anthony's Chapel, Most Holy Name Church, and the Teutonia Mannerchor are several of the local landmarks that were established generations ago and are still being utilized today.

Chestnut Hill, in northwest Philadelphia, is one of America's most beautiful urban villages thanks to the fusion of physical setting, notable architecture, historic preservation, and careful planning.

During the Colonial period, Chestnut Hill was a rough-hewn village of farmers and millers; after the railroad reached the area in 1854, Chestnut Hill's natural splendor and healthful atmosphere made it a popular spot for Philadelphia's wealthy. Soon, it was ringed by magnificent estates designed by Frank Furness, T.P. Chandler, and Horace Trumbauer, though living side-by-side with the wealthy were hardworking communities of Italian, Irish, and German immigrants. This fascinating photographic record of Chestnut Hill's past reveals some surprising secrets about this vibrant community, such as the current community center was once the site of a perpetual motion machine hoax that swindled 19th century Philadelphians, and how one local hotel provided liquor (and perhaps other illicit services) to Chestnut Hillers during Prohibition. The stunning photographs and riveting stories of Chestnut Hill include those of the anti-Catholic Know-Nothings, who threatened to halt the construction of Our Mother of Consolation Catholic Church in the 1850s, and of Richard Norris Williams II, who survived the sinking of the Titanic and went on to win the national tennis championship twice at the Philadelphia Cricket Club.

Reading and Berks County's first documented Jewish settlers, Lyon Nathan, Meyer Josephson, and Israel Jacobs, arrived in the 1750s. Another wave of Jewish immigrants, mostly from Eastern Europe and Russia, came in the late 1800s to escape the Russian army draft or persecution. Many of these early settlers' families still remain, and their established synagogues and organizations are a vital part of the community. Reform Congregation Oheb Sholom, the oldest surviving synagogue, was founded in 1864. On October 18, 1945, the Jewish Community Center of Reading was completed and dedicated. The Jewish community is committed to improving the lives of everyone in the area by sharing their time, talents, expertise, and financial resources with the larger region.

The diverse landscape of gay and lesbian Philadelphia is a story of highs and lows. From rustic post-Civil War days when Camden poet Walt Whitman crossed the Delaware River on a ferry or caroused Market Street "eyeing" the grocery boys, to the beginnings of ACT UP more than one hundred years later, the gay and lesbian community in Philadelphia has never lost its flair for the dramatic.

Gay and Lesbian Philadelphia is a historical look at the neighborhoods, events, and people that have been a part of this community. The 1920s saw the birth of private dance bars on Rittenhouse Square. It was a time when drag shows in straight bars were the order of the day, as was the presence of men in drag during the annual Mummer's Parade on New Year's Day. The pre-Civil Rights era, when segregation was the status quo, saw the proliferation of African American house parties in neighborhoods such as North Philadelphia, where black gays and lesbians formed a community. During the 1950s and 1960s, Rittenhouse Square was the site of informal public gatherings. These gatherings of friends and strangers helped set the stage for the Annual Reminder, the first public protest in support of "homosexual equal rights," which took place every Fourth of July at Independence Hall. Throughout all of these eras, members of the community faced challenges, celebrated victories, and continued to try to blend their lives with those of their gay and straight neighbors.

The unsolved 1878 murder of a young woman walking home from Hanover and a lethal 1901 love triangle in Chanceford Township that led to murder by strychnine are but two incidents in York County's history of deadly deeds and misdoings. While the 1969 York Race Riots are the most infamous instance of mayhem in the county, the strangest is perhaps the Hex Murder that left a North Hopewell Township powwow doctor a practitioner of the local folk magic dead at the hands of those trying to lift a curse. Follow author Joseph David Cress on the lonely country roads and harsh city streets as he goes on the trail of the body snatchers, hooligans and black widows of York County, Pennsylvania.

From the horrific Enoch Brown Schoolhouse Massacre of 1764 to settlers who hunted local tribes for a bounty, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, has long had a violent and bloody history. As more people came to the region, murder and mischief of every kind only multiplied. Local author Joseph David Cress explores the dark side of history, from little-known cases such as that of Sarah Clark--who became the first woman hanged in the county after she poisoned a family to dispatch a romantic rival--to high-profile crimes like the shocking 1955 courtroom slaying that left one person dead and three injured. Join Cress on a hair-raising walk down Hell Street as he investigates the underbelly of Cumberland County.

When the Henry Belin Jr. Waverly Community House and Park was dedicated in 1920, Margaretta E. Belin intended both to honor her husband and benefit residents of Abington Township. The community house was envisioned by its progressive donor as the educational, cultural, and social heart of rural Waverly. By 1930, when Margaretta and Henry's six children added land and two wings to the original building in honor of their mother, chautauquas, concerts, clubs, sports teams, and Scout troops were filling the annual calendar of events. On site, a post office provided mail delivery, a canteen supplied merchandise from ammonia to pencils, and residents of Dalton, Factoryville, Clarks Summit, and Clarks Green pumped gasoline. No activity, however, was more celebrated both locally and regionally than the annual fair that united Waverly in purpose, labor, and pleasure at summer's end. Since its inception, the Waverly Community House has set and achieved ambitious goals to enrich community life, a mission that successive generations have strived to follow.