Pennsylvania Stories--Well Told

by William Ecenbarger

Overview

With a biting mix of wonder and pride, William Ecenbarger observes that in the quirky state of Pennsylvania, the town of Mauch Chunk changed its name to Jim Thorpe—even though the famous Indian athlete never set foot in it.
 
A former journalist for the Philadelphia Inquirer Magazine, and author of the bestseller Kids for Cash, Ecenbarger has collected a dozen of his fascinating articles showcasing the Keystone State in Pennsylvania Stories—Well Told. He provides a history of the pencil, and considers why the first day of Pennsylvania’s deer hunting season—the world’s largest participatory sporting event—is an unofficial state holiday, closing schools and state offices. Ecenbarger also profiles George “Boom Boom” Zambelli, the internationally renowned pyrotechnic king, and goes driving with Pennsylvania native John Updike in rural Berks County, PA.
 
Other fascinating tales unfold in Pennsylvania Stories, from an inspiring tale of Governor Bob Casey’s double organ transplant, to darker essays on the electric chair and the Ku Klux Klan, to a mile-by-mile appreciation of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
 
In these weird and wonderful stories, Ecenbarger highlights just what makes Pennsylvania both eccentric and great. His book is a delightfully intriguing read for natives and curious outsiders alike.

 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781439914656
Publisher:	Temple University Press
Publication date:	04/14/2017
Edition description:	1
Pages:	218
Sales rank:	1,045,128
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

William Ecenbarger, a freelance writer, is the author of Walkin’ the Line, Glory by the Wayside: The Old Churches of Hawaii, and Kids for Cash: Two Judges, Thousands of Children, and a $2.6 Million Kickback Scheme, and the co-author of Catching Lightning in a Bottle: How Merrill Lynch Revolutionized the Financial World (with Winthrop H. Smith) and Making Ideas Matter: My Life as a Policy Entrepreneur (with Dwight Evans).
 

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Intimate Strangers 5

Mike Lucas Was Struggling to Build a Life. Bob Casey Was Fighting to Keep His. This Is Their Story.

Passing the Torch 25

Former Klansman Roy Frankhouser Still Dreams of the Day When Men Will Be Judged by the Color of Their Skin rather than the Content of Their Character.

The Shame that Was Byberry 43

To Behold the Horrors of This Philadelphia Mental Hospital Is to Wonder: Just Who Are the Lunatics?

The Pencil 67

What's Portable, Chew able, Doesn't Leak, and is Recommended by Ann Landers?

The Great Zambelli's Theory of the Big Bang 83

A Profile of Mr. Fireworks, George "Boom Boom" Zambelli

John O'Hara Could Go Home Again 103

But No Cheering Crowd Would Await the Once-Despised Novelist in Pottsville.

Drawing the Line 119

The Surveyors Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon Were Hired in 1763 to Settle a Simple Border Dispute. They Never Knew Their Work Would Become One of the Most Famous Boundaries in the World.

The Chair of Death 133

Some Have Been Dragged to It; Others Have Run to It. They Have Died Crying and Laughing. Many Have Died as Converts; Others Have Shouted Their Rejections. No Two Stories Are Alike.

Why Would a Nice Town like Jim Thorpe Want to Be Mauch Chunk-Again? 153

How a Pennsylvania Town Came to Be Called Jim Thorpe-even though the Famous Native American Athlete Never Set Foot in It

Pennsylvania's Deer-Hunting Season 169

The Largest Participatory Recreation Event in the World?

Tales of the Pennsylvania Turnpike 193

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Ls, in a Very Real Sense, America's Highway-a Fenced City, 470 Miles Long and 200 Yards Wide, with a Heterogeneous and Resurgent Stream of Mobile Citizens. And Every Mile Has a Story.

Updike Is Home 213

The Author Vowed to Leave His Pennsylvania Home Behind, but He Never Quite Escaped-in His Work or His Life.

Acknowledgments 233