A Mid-19th-Century View of Harrisburg

While poking around on the Internet this afternoon, I found something that would excite me — a bird’s eye view painting of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, done by an artist for Edward Sachse’s company in 1855. Sasche is an artist I’ve mentioned before in conjunction with my family genealogy — he did bird’s eye view maps ofContinue reading “A Mid-19th-Century View of Harrisburg”

Talking Grover with a Little Girl

I sat in the Beetle and cried. It wasn’t an ugly cry or an evil cry. Emotion had bubbled to the surface and, like an unstirred pot on the stove, boiled over. “I like your Grover mask,” said a little girl to me when I was leaving the ballpark, and what followed was the perhapsContinue reading “Talking Grover with a Little Girl”

Harrisburg Baseball, A Century Ago

I love old photographs, especially if they have a baseball connection. Consider my efforts to colorize Swampoodle Grounds, or the collection of women playing baseball in Washington in 1919. This photograph of the Pennsylvania State Capitol, taken from the west shore of the Susquehanna, circa 1906 fits the bill. It’s from a panoramic shot ofContinue reading “Harrisburg Baseball, A Century Ago”

Harrisburg at Twilight

I was in Harrisburg for a Senators baseball game. It was “Swords and Dragons Night” — Game of Thrones Night with the serial numbers filed inexpertly off — and they were playing the Bowie Baysox and Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman was making a rehab start. The game ended around sunset and, with the skyContinue reading “Harrisburg at Twilight”

A Day of Baseball in Harrisburg

The Harrisburg Senators began their 2019 campaign on Thursday with an 8-4 victory over the Bowie Baysox. Friday night’s game was rained out and rescheduled for Saturday doubleheader. I had a ticket for Saturday’s night, one I bought the day individual tickets went on sale early in March. Now I was getting two games forContinue reading “A Day of Baseball in Harrisburg”

Rainfall at Night

Rain began falling in the bottom of the 9th. The Senators were down 5-1. They hadn’t been able to muster any offense to speak of all game; indeed, their only run came on a wild pitch. I had no expectation that with three outs remaining, then two, and finally one, that the Senators would findContinue reading “Rainfall at Night”

A Day at the Celtic Craic

Friday afternoon I decided to attend the Celtic Craic Music Fest in Harrisburg on Saturday. The last few weeks at work have been nothing but Crunch, and the next few look to be nothing but Crunch, and you can make the argument that work in general into the distant past is nothing but Crunch andContinue reading “A Day at the Celtic Craic”

Jury Duty and a Day in Harrisburg

In late February I received a jury summons for the Federal District Court in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. My first reaction to the envelope in my mailbox that cold evening was, “Oh my god, what have I done?” Finding out that it was jury service was, frankly, a relief. I let my supervisors know and, largely, pushedContinue reading “Jury Duty and a Day in Harrisburg”

My First Harrisburg Senators Game

Last night I attended my first Harrisburg Senators game. I moved to the York area a few months ago; I needed a new place to live, housing in Baltimore (where I still work, as a copywriter) is stupidly expensive, and southern Pennsylvania had the advantages of being inexpensive and commutable. In the last month-plus, I’veContinue reading “My First Harrisburg Senators Game”