Compiled & written by Carlene Bouwman, Pat Collins, & Patti Jo Lambert
"As early as 1905, entrepreneurs in the City of Butler [Pennsylvania] were looking to the future. Long before it became fashionable to breeze around town in a new Chevrolet, these citizens took a chance and invested in a new industry--the manufacturing of automobiles.
This book covers 36 years of Butler's automotive golden age. During this time, Butler entrepreneurs manufactured six unique vehicles. They faced many challenges--including the Great Depression. One of the Butler-made vehicles--the Bantam Reconnaissance Car--became the most important American vehicle ever built"--the Jeep. (From introduction.)
There is much more that could be written about this fascinating part of Butler's history. But this abbreviated compilation of facts and photos is an excellent introduction to the 70th anniversary of the Jeep.
These are fascinating books with which to cozy up by the fire during the cold winter months. They can even help you plan next summer's vacation trip or weekends. They serve as travel guides just as much as they are history works; and cover unique places of interest to visit, as well as festivals and special events to enjoy across the beautiful state of Pennsylvania.
You can get all five volumes in the series at our SPECIAL PRICE. Buy four of any County Chronicles volumes ($29.95 each) and get the fifth volume FREE--what a savings!
You can also find slightly damaged, discounted books for sale at: http://www.mechlingbooks.com/SlightlyDamaged.html. Please call us to order from this list.
For history and rail buffs, Rails of Dreams has it all--steam, electric locomotives and streetcars, and diesels. Its 272 pages reveal the history of the Youngstown & Southern; the legendary Pittsburgh, Lisbon & Western Railroad; the Pittsburgh Coal Company’s Smith Ferry branch, and the quest to haul Ohio River coal to Republic Steel in Youngstown. Note: Consider also getting Ghost Rails III Upper Ohio Valley(history of the Y&OR)--the perfect companion to Rails of Dreams--whichadds/updates more information about the oldest short line. See all of the volumes in the railroad section of our bookstore.
This history and nostalgia series is back with Volume Two, featuring more great stories culled from Tunney's popular newspaper column.
Have you tried spider webs or castor oil to cure what ails you? How about a dip in Sulfur Creek for poison ivy? Recall those pink chicks and onion skin-dyed eggs for Easter?
Here are the stories of the storm that unsteepled a Brownsville (Pa.) church . . . a treasure-filled Brownsville-built steamboat discovered forty feet beneath a Midwestern corn field . . . trucks whose brakes called it quits descending Brownsville's hills . . . and some remarkable and moving stories, told in words and pictures, of life in Brownsville during World War II.
These tales, and many more, of the "good old days" have universal appeal for all readers.
The eighth volume in this series is a first-time history of 174-miles of the B&O Railroad Northern Sub from Callery Junction to Mt. Jewett--covering the early Pittsburgh & Western narrow gauge era through the B&O era; and then from 1982-2010, the Knox and Kane era and its predecessor railroads (Gettysburg, Penn View Mountain, B&I, and JKWI).
Perhaps most important is at least 35 pages devoted to Foxburg Bridge; Foxburg, a railroad town; and the Foxburg switchback, the last one east of the Mississippi River. And on the opposite end of the railroad, this book covers the complete history of Mt. Jewett, one of the few towns in America to have eight railroads; and the Erie Railroad's Kinzua Bridge.
We have recently launched a new E-newlsletter program. You may have received one or two of our newsletters produced with that program in the past month. Unfortunately, they contained some errors that we have sinced corrected. We appreciate your patience while we "debug" the system.
If you haven't signed up for our newsletters, or if your email address has changed recently, please click on the blue link on the left column, this page. You may choose the subject(s) in which you are most interested: PA history and genealogy; printing and publishing; commercial book binding; bible rebinding; and restoration.
Slippery Rock University: the Legend behind the Name—the culmination of 40 years of research—is the fascinating story of the evolution of and people involved with this popular western Pennsylvania college. This book is 460 pages of history packed with 813 photographs and pieces of documentation.
Click on the title (in blue) for more information.
"As early as 1905, entrepreneurs in the City of Butler [Pennsylvania] were looking to the future. Long before it became fashionable to breeze around town in a new Chevrolet, these citizens took a chance and invested in a new industry--the manufacturing of automobiles.