by Kate Dolan | Nov 12, 2019 | 19th Century America, Articles, Latest Posts, Living History, Travel
We learned all about American canals in school, or so I thought. In the days before trains, men loaded goods onto canal barges. Then the barges would be pulled slowly by draft animals trudging up the tow path. It was a slow means of transportation, but still faster...
by Kate Dolan | Oct 17, 2019 | Food, Latest Posts, Living History, Travel
At first, I thought I heard wrong. I could have sworn the state park employee behind the counter told a co-worker that she needed an “Ammonia Coke.” Being nosy, I had to ask. And I heard right. She wanted to head down to the local lunch counter for a “hand-pumped”...
by Kate Dolan | Jan 20, 2019 | Articles, Colonial America, Kate Dolan, Latest Posts, Living History, Servants, Travel
The immense popularity of the British series Downton Abbey in the U.S. shows that despite our commitment to the concept of equality, many Americans are fascinated by the lifestyles of those living in a society where the accident of your birth could grant you a life of...
by Kate Dolan | Oct 27, 2018 | Colonial America, Kate Dolan, Latest Posts, Living History, Travel
With a name like Boiling Springs, I expected Vincent Price to be dangling victims from a hook over steaming waters. Maybe not every day, but this close to Halloween, I was looking for morbid stories. However, when we arrived in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania, we...
by Kate Dolan | Aug 21, 2018 | Articles, Kate Dolan, Latest Posts, Living History, Travel
Most of us think of amusement parks with thrill rides as a modern concept, but they have actually been popular destinations for well over a century. However, while people now drive hundreds of miles to go to one or two parks, back then, people traveled to hundreds of...
by Kate Dolan | Jul 24, 2018 | Articles, Kate Dolan, Latest Posts, Living History, Travel
Shortly after we arrived at the beach, my daughter and I headed straight for the boardwalk. And I started to wonder why our society puts collections of shops, restaurants and amusements on a length of boards where the ocean meets the sand. We don’t put...
