by Kate Dolan | Sep 30, 2025 | 19th Century America, Colonial America, Faith, Latest Posts, Living History, Religion and Magic
I went to secular public schools from pre-K through grade 12, so religion was not regularly addressed in school at all. Christmas was about Santa Claus and decorated trees. Easter focused on bunnies and eggs. Yet there was one religious event that managed to make it...
by Kate Dolan | Aug 30, 2025 | 19th Century America, Camping with History, Colonial America, Travel
We picked this Pennsylvania park purely for its location and the fact that it had some trails we could hike. As we neared the entrance, I saw a sign for a national historical site and thought maybe we could make time to visit after we left. But it turned out that the...
by Kate Dolan | Aug 3, 2025 | Kate Dolan, Latest Posts, Tiki, Travel
The fictitious world of tiki became my paradise at young age. Some of my earliest happy memories involve thatched umbrellas waving in a warm breeze, colored lights flickering on cocktail tables in a darkened room, and lots of maraschino cherries on a fanciful plastic...
by Kate Dolan | Jul 24, 2025 | Colonial America, Latest Posts, Living History, Travel
Years ago, he terrorized teenagers and vandalized cars. Now he hangs out in the swamp, playing scales on the washtar and stomping to the beat. Or so the story goes. I’m talking about the Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp. Depending on who you talk to, he’s either the...
by Kate Dolan | Jun 24, 2025 | 19th Century America, Camping with History, Latest Posts, Living History, Travel
The beginning of our stay at Rickett’s Glen State Park was underwhelming . It rained steadily all day. Our campground looked like the parking lot of a strip mall. The nearest trail led to a collection of ash dumping cans at the edge of a muddy lake. We expected to...
by Kate Dolan | May 31, 2025 | 19th Century America, Camping with History, Colonial America, Latest Posts, Living History
History geeks like me tend to look for interesting bits of information about the past in every place we visit, so it’s fun to camp in areas with displays that share that information. But some of us with a history obsession also like to take things a step further on...
by Kate Dolan | Apr 14, 2025 | Articles, Faith, Holidays, Living History, The Irish
While I’m disappointed that last night’s pink moon did not feature any special colors, I’m not surprised. Blue moons aren’t blue either, so the naming of moons is a highly suspect practice in my opinion. Despite my disappointment, I had to find out why it’s called a...
by Kate Dolan | Mar 27, 2025 | 19th Century America, Camping with History, Latest Posts, Living History
When we arrived at Hillsborough River State Park outside Tampa, we were looking forward to hiking some beautiful trails and canoeing with alligators and blue herons. What happened instead was that we discovered a fundraising drive that was doomed to fail. Many of the...
by Kate Dolan | Feb 16, 2025 | 19th Century America, Camping with History, Latest Posts, Living History
“Camptown ladies never sang all the doo dah day…” –Ghost of Stephen Foster by the Squirrel Nut Zippers We’re here at the Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park on the banks of the Suwannee River in northern Florida and while the camping is pretty nice,...
by Kate Dolan | Jan 26, 2025 | Living History, Romans, Travel
During the 1600s, poor farmers in the Alps prayed desperately for relief as slow-moving rocks made of ice–more commonly referred to as glaciers—overran their villages. Decades later, poor farmers on the western outskirts of Europe would similarly watch in horror...
