WELCOME ONE AND ALL
Fondly remembering these places where we, (us local yokels), were born and grew up. Though this may be an economically strapped area and it is tougher to make ends meet these days, the beauty of its scenery and wonderful secrets it contains are worth their weight in gold and silver. Also, it is to be hoped this is where some 'outsiders' may be able to approach some things here in this part of southwestern Pennsylvania. The storied, multi-layered culture of our ancestors that many of us recall and still keep alive. Much of this colors our daily experiences and ultimately, our lives.
Comments, constructive ideas, photos, and-yes, opinions too (!) are warmly encouraged. A site like this thrives on your personal input as well the information presented. Any stories given will be acknowledged as such and would not be taken to mean they are absolutely true as to every exact word, but can only be related as facts when newspaper articles, photos, etc., are included. Don't worry, you can give your input and opinions and stories and they will get attention and consideration.
This is also certainly meant to include the younger ones, and those who are newer to these counties as well as the old timers. We plan to gather some stray knowledge with a touch of geography and a smidgen of history, and carry over with recollections here and there, especially as we travel further 'inward' toward the borders of the Counties of Westmoreland and Fayette.
While researching for this blog it was found noteworthy that there were few counties and, in fact, even fewer states which contained such unique historical situations as experienced here in this area! This is especially so in encapsulating the area's involvement in the French and Indian War and by extension, the outbreak of the larger fabric of the Seven Years War. It is literally a who's who in an interconnecting web of people and places that gathered a vast array of influences and nations, including :
France, the American Colonies, Great Britain and much of Europe, Central America and the West Indies have connections, even Africa, India and areas of the Philippines !
This is not to suggest other areas and states do not have interesting historical sites and backgrounds, far from it. The meaning is to be looked at in the narrower view of context and particular events, such as the French and Indian War sites like Fort Necessity and Bushy Run. With the excursions of famous men as George Washington, (that is hard to beat!), and subjects as exciting as the Whiskey Insurrection. So, whatever the history of your area, come on in an experience a taste of things that happened in our towns, river ways and all around in these counties and townships as they are shared here and maybe this will help you to compare and rediscover the historical underpinnings of other counties and nearby states, as well as other countries too.
Like many of you, I was intrigued by these byways from back near childhood. With the passing of my parents in 2013, a decision was almost instinctively made to pursue a blog dedicated to their memory and by extension, all those wonderful people that came before and affected our lives so deeply. This, in conjunction with doing some neglected genealogical research of my own, inspired this objective. The main course is simply to take note of and provide a guidepost toward those forgotten places and those things we tend to take more or less for granted. We are all human and must be looking to the future, yet there is so much to be enriched by with insightful customs and stories of elder times along with historical nuggets to be dug up and dusted off and polished up to gain a better perspective on how we got to where we are. I hope this will add something to that outlook.
As cited in another post, though the observations arrived at are influenced by the stated facts from Historical Societies and research from books, newspapers and magazines done well in the past as accurately as can be ascertained, please do your own homework to verify this and learn MORE. If other information be traditional, secondary or simply in the form of a story told long ago, it should be viewed by readers in that context alone. The rare opinions that are expressed here are only meant to help refresh the subject of local history and are not to be considered written in stone and no offense to anyone is intended. The idea is, hopefully, to send the curious back to what was originally stated to be factual and thereby further their own knowledge, but do keep coming back. For here will surely be much local and regional information to sink your teeth into and glean something from a familiar place and a lost time for those curious about bygone days.
So let us get on with the gathering of local history and stories to whet our appetite for what is up the path and around the bend.
~ Histbuffer, Al Wilson
