Here is a more general link, with a good map of the PA coalfields
The world’s first oil well was drilled there.
The world’s second oil well was drilled there, & my ancestor was a partner in it. His father built what may have been Pennsylvania’s first steel foundry. (Don’t ask to borrow money; my family lost all its dough during a stock market collapse in the late 19th century.)
Thanks for all the tips!
Actually, Pennsylvania (or “Penn’s Woods”) was named in honor of Sir William Penn, an English admiral whose son, also William, received a charter from Charles II for his father’s service to the crown. My guess is that Washington is the only state named for an American.
So, brix11, since you’re in the area, may we expect you at PA Dope?
Robin
Alas, no, as I already have plans that day. Hope everyone has a good time though!
Don’t forget about TastyKakes (Philly)! Mmmm butterscotch crimpets.
The first jeep (defined as a quarter-ton 4X4 reconaissance car) was designed and built in 1940 at the American Bantam plant in Butler, PA. Karl Probst was the engineer in charge of the project. Though they lost the government contract to build jeeps, American Bantam did build trailers for the jeeps; they’re considered to be quite valuable today.
Poseur!
They’re Krimpets.
Factoryville PA is the birthplace of original Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson.
Zippos are made in Bradford, PA.
Okay, help me out, then, will you? I know that now that whole area has been consolidated into the Ringgold district, but what school did they actually attend? I’m pretty sure that I’m remembering correctly that they’re both from Monongahela, so was it Monongahela High?
I’m not from PA. I live in MA.
Are there many technology jobs where you all live in PA? How much does real estate cost? (Can you tell I’m thinking about moving?)
I’m a Ringgold grad. Since the consolidation, and the building of the “new” high school in 1979, both men are considered Ringgold alumni.
Joe Montana graduated from the Monongahela High School, today the Monongahela Elementary Center.
Stan Musial graduated from the (now closed) Donora High School.
Incidentally, other athletes have also graduated from the school and its predecessors. Ken Griffey Sr. was in the class of 1969 (Donora High). Ken Griffey Jr. was actually born in Pennsylvania, while his parents still lived in Donora. Patriots fans probably remember Scott Zolak, Bledsoe’s backup QB. He graduated a year ahead of me.
There are tons of tech jobs in the Phila area. Try a search on any of the job-placement sites i.e. monster.com. Housing in southeast PA is anywhere from $100k to $250k for a decent sized house on a 1/4 - 1/2 acre, depending on the neighborhood.
I’ve been trying since this thread started to think of something worthwhile to say about Altoona, but I just can’t think of anything. Well we do have (I think) the oldest gas station still in existence in the country and of course, there’s the Horseshoe Curve, but every body knows about that since its “world famous” <cough>
And then there was the big controversy when Al Roker insulted our Minor League baseball team’s mascot on national television. Oh, and local drug lore claims that Altoona was the Quaalude capital of the world in the 70s. Other than that…
Bradford, Pennsylvania has been the home of the [url=http://www.zippo.com]Zippo** lighter company since 1932, when it was founded.
And 2/3 of the time, I screw up URLs.
nitroglycerine, that’s just sad. Here’s my random tidbit for Altoona: it’s where the main character Alex says she is originally from in Flashdance. Betcha didn’t remember that 
So’s mine. He grew up in Titusville, where the first oil wells were built.
Haha…I didn’t know that. Remember the TV show that was set in Pittsburgh, Mr. Belvedere? Whenever they wanted to talk about a crappy town nearby, they’d always use Altoona. And George Burns made a joke about us when he guest starred on Alice. The Mishler Theater was one of his regular stops back in the day.
We’re sorta famous for the undercover drug bust they had at the High School a few years back.
Philadelphia claims to have the world’s only statue of Charles Dickens. In his will, the writer had stipulated that no monuments be erected to his memory. The mounted body of Grip, Dickens’s pet raven, is on display at the Philadelphia Free Library.