Pennsylvania

If you’ve ever given an imp a penny, then you know how outrageous things can get. If you haven’t…consider yourself warned! In this vibrant new story from the writer and illustrator behind Monster Goose Nursery Rhymes, a well-meaning imp needs one tiny favor. But sometimes even the smallest of good deeds can lead to huge accidents! When he tries to help you clean house, this clumsy imp will leave everything messier than ever. And once he’s done burying his money bag for safekeeping, your yard might never be the same. With colorful illustrations right out of a fairy tale and a story that will get the whole family laughing, this book is a must-have for every lover of fantasy.

Children will enjoy coloring the pictures while reading this retelling of the Christmas classic by Clement C. Moore, which blends Santa Claus with the traditional Pennsylvania Dutch figure of the Belsnickel, a thin, cantankerous old man who visits children before Christmas and rewards or punishes them based on their behavior.

Navigate the treacherous waters of Lake Erie, Lake Huron and the Georgian Bay to discover the fates of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry and his fleet.

Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry's defeat of the British at the Battle of Lake Erie was a defining moment both in the War of 1812 and American naval history. Yet the story of Perry's fleet did not end there. Come aboard as author David Frew chronicles the years and decades after Perry's victory. Heroic acts and bitter defeats unfold as Frew details the lives of fleet surgeon Usher Parsons, shipwright Daniel Dobbins and fleet commander Oliver Hazard Perry and his successors. The adventure moves from the tribulations of Misery Bay and a crafty British victory in the Lake Huron Campaign to the closing of the naval base in Erie and the raising of the Niagara in the twentieth century. Navigate the treacherous waters of Lake Erie, Lake Huron and the Georgian Bay to discover the fates of Perry and his fleet.

This illustrated history for young readers offers a sweeping view of the events that led up to and followed this famous battle. The story begins in 1863 and continues to 1923, told through the voices of the participants. The gripping images draw readers into the turning point of the American Civil War.

America's Oldest Black Swim Club

When it opened in July of 1959, the Nile Swim Club welcomed over one thousand people to its pool. The only problem that day, remembers Bill Mellix, then 13, "None of us knew how to swim." In the 1930s, an African American middle class began moving into Yeadon, leading to one of the nation's first Black suburban enclaves. By the end of the 1950s, Ebony magazine dubbed Yeadon Philadelphia's "Black Mainline." The town remained majority white however, and strict racial segregation was enforced, including the local pool. Typical for the time, white residents maintained it as a private swim club to avoid public desegregation laws. The response of Yeadon's African Americans proved unique. They built their own pool and opened it to all, regardless of race. It attracted members from the Philadelphia area, including New Jersey and offered a variety of programming. Celebrities such as Harry Belafonte and members of the Supremes visited. Decades later, hip hop icon D.J. Cash Money and actor Will Smith started out at the Nile as MCs. Join author Robert Kodosky as he reveals the incredible history and legacy of the Nile Swim Club and the vibrant landmark it remains today.

Beyond the world famous artists, singers, actors and more from Pittsburgh are the city's celebrities known locally for their quirky style, unique mannerisms, and outlandish behavior.

From Joe Barker, the violent "street preacher" who was elected mayor in 1850--while in prison!--to Curt Wootton, the comedian whose celebrity status comes from being "Pittsburgh Dad," on Youtube, the Steel City has had a number of colorful characters throughout its history that defy category.

Discover sinister stories of Erie's hidden history.

Life on the lake is not always pleasant, as these stories of scandal, robbery, murder, suicide, the mob, and more, reveal. The threatening reign of terror from the Phantom Burglar in the winter of 1926 kept Erie residents living in fear, culminating in a shocking finale. In 1927, bandits stole the payroll of the Erie County Electric Company in a harrowing robbery, and the manhunt and investigation that followed captivated the city. Extortion and blackmail were the purported tactics of local Black Hand gangsters in threatening letters sent to one of Erie’s wealthiest turn-of-the-century citizens. The tragic murder of twenty-two-year-old Mary Sobucki enraged local law enforcement and shined a light on the underworld operations of baby harvesting farms. Author Justin Dombrowski presents narratives of Erie’s wicked past.

Captivating and entertaining, this new collection of historic images brings to life the past of Glenshaw, Pennsylvania, focusing on the period between the mid-1800s to the 1940s.

Captivating and entertaining, this new collection of historic images brings to life the past of Glenshaw, Pennsylvania, focusing on the period between the mid-1800s to the 1940s. With insightful captions and breathtaking images, readers are introduced to many of the early residents who shaped the future of this area of Shaler Township, and we are transported back in time to see early homes and places of work, play, worship, and education. In 1800, John Shaw Sr. purchased 600 acres of land just 8 miles north of the city of Pittsburgh. He built a log sawmill to prepare lumber for his home, and later built a log gristmill which stood until 1845 when his son replaced it with a larger mill. The new mill stood on property across from the local school, and the area became known as "Shaw's Glen. During the period covered in this book, Shaler Township, incorporated in 1837, grew from a quiet milltown of just 2,000 residents to a bustling suburb of the Steel City. Today, over 33,000 people call this area home.

Yardley revisits the 200 year history of the borough through photographs.

In the eighteenth century, a ferry and mill marked the crossroads beginnings of Yardleyville in Makefield Township. New modes of transportation transformed the village, commerce and industry flourished, and the population increased substantially. Soon the people of Yardley yearned for their own government--their own town--and Yardley, Pennsylvania, was incorporated in 1895. When Yardley Borough celebrated its centennial, donations and loans of photographs revealing Yardley's history were collected. This volume is compiled mostly from this locally assembled selection of images, and recounts Yardley's history with eloquence. The face of the old toll collector, the festivities of the ""Canal Days"" and ""Harvest Day"" celebrations, and countless days at Lake Afton, the canal, or the river are all captured in this treasured account of Yardley's past.

Perkasie, named after William Penn's country manor in Upper Bucks County, was a boomtown that sprang up along the North Pennsylvania Railroad in the late 1870s.

From the 1880s to the 1920s, Perkasie grew rapidly, becoming a transportation and cultural center and drawing crowds with commerce, industry, summer retreats, and even an amusement park. Through nearly 200 vintage postcards, Perkasie chronicles the expansion of this once small town as well as its impact on neighboring rural communities such as Rockhill, Bedminster, and Silverdale. The postcards in this book re-create a visual memory of the economic and social changes that worked to shape this dynamic community.

The Squirrel Hill Historical Society and editor Helen Wilson explore the fascinating history of one of Pittsburgh's historic neighborhoods.

Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood began on the frontier of western Pennsylvania 250 years ago and developed into a vibrant urban community. Early settler John Turner, half-brother of renegade Simon Girty, survived capture by Native Americans and experienced firsthand the change from dangerous wilderness to established farming community. As Squirrel Hill developed, the landscape dotted with farms and cottages, inns and taverns, and little shops, over time Pittsburgh's elite began to build mansions in the area, especially after the Civil War; one of these stately manors even became the Pennsylvania Female College in 1869, today known as Chatham University. Wealthy landowners Henry Clay Frick and Mary Schenley bestowed Squirrel Hill its grand public parks . Hyman Little, Herman Kamin and countless others moved to the hill and made it Pittsburgh's premier Jewish community, with a tight knit cluster of synagogues, temples and a thriving business district. Today, Squirrel Hill is still one of the most beautiful and exclusive neighborhoods in Pittsburgh.