Inner Nature: Beekeeping in Ukraine
By Vidya Rajan, Columnist, The Times
“History is all explained by geography.” Robert Penn Warren, novelist and poet (24 Apr 1905-1989)
In this article, I want to pay homage to Ukraine’s beekeepers and beekeeping in light of the many wars that have washed over this beleaguered land. With a land area only slightly smaller than the state of Texas, it lies at many junctions: between Europe...
Inner Nature: Mad Honey
By Vidya Rajan, Columnist, The Times
In his book, Anabasis, Xenophon wrote in 401 B.C.E. that his Army of Ten Thousand – Greek soldiers retreating from a failed mission on behalf of Cyrus to dethrone his brother, Artaxerxes – had crossed into a Turkish town called Trabzon, near the Black Sea. Tired but exultant after having arrived at the sea and imminent succor, they rested. They found...
Former Chester County resident co-authors new book on Phillies’ minor league history
A long-time Chester County resident is the co-author of Life in the Minors, 5th Annual Phillies Minor League Digest, an historical book that details the franchise’s minor leagues from the first affiliate in Hazleton, PA, to the current structure.
The 355-page book, filled with over 170 photos, many of historic significance, is available now in both color and black and white. A portion of...
Some really stupid things in history
By Nathaniel Smith, Columnist, The Times
The other day I watched the movie “Titanic” for the second time. It seemed a lot longer than before, and much less plausible. What seems totally implausible is that any ship was thought unsinkable, that the captain agreed to increase speed in the known presence of icebergs, that the lookout binoculars were left behind in England, that the flotation...
Art Watch: Remembrances of Things Past
‘The Poetry of Nature’ at the Brandywine River Museum of Art
By Lele Galer, Columnist, The Times
At the Brandywine River Museum of Art, a beautiful new exhibition opened this week through June 12, “The Poetry of Nature: A Golden Age of American Landscape Painting”, which highlights the works from the New York Hudson River School of the 1800s.
Forty paintings, including works...
Grant comes to Avon grove Library, Aug. 4
WEST GROVE — What was life like during the Civil War? How did Hiram Grant become Ulysses S. Grant, and why was his name change so important? Adults and children alike will enjoy learning the answers on Tuesday, August 4 when Grant visits West Grove in the person of Kenneth Serfass, historian and retired Marine.
Ken Serfass as Gen. Ulysses S. Grant.
“This is a great opportunity for anyone who...
Op/Ed: Fictionalizing history
By Bruce Mowday
Bruce Mowday
The history Americans know, or think they know, is increasingly coming from polluted sources. Last week I was in Gettysburg digging into original historical documents at the Adams County Historical Society and Gettysburg National Military Park for information on my next book, J. Howard Wert’s Gettysburg.
I had several interesting conversations with curators and historians...
Brushing up on the history of the toothbrush
From the simple to the blinged-out wild, 5,000 years of dental health
By Dr. Stephanie McGann, DMD FAGD, Columnist, The Times
The toothbrush we know today has come a long way since it’s humble beginnings. The earliest toothbrushes were used by the Babylonians and Egyptians around 3500 BC.
It was more of a tooth cleaning stick than a brush as we know it. Small branches of the olive, sassafras...
Celebrating past, present and future
Appreciate that we are the sum of our experiences, but keep looking ahead
By Dr. Matthew Lapp, Columnist, The Times
Our son celebrates his first birthday this week and his mom and I decided to put together a small time capsule to commemorate some of the notable events that have occurred in his first year. It’s been a great year, and it brings us a tremendous amount of joy to watch him develop...
For ex-slaves in the 1800s, Chester County was home
Swarthmore library curator delivers lecture on Underground Railroad
By Kyle Carrozza, Staff Writer, The Times
Christopher Densmore educates the audience at the National Steel and Iron Heritage Museum.
COATESVILLE – In a country largely built by the unpaid forced labor of those who Moses Coates called “dark-skinned brethren,” Chester County became the home of many slaves who escaped the terrible...
