It's an Old Pennsylvania Custom - Edwin Valentine Mitchell

What a delightful bunch of stories on things done in Pennsylvania!  Written in 1957, it gave me insight into living in caves, travelling in Conestoga Wagons, Shoo-fly-Pie, and being fond of music.

Some instruments played were the dulcimer, the dudelack, the geik and fiddle - I'll have to look them up!

They told the story of how on the wagons the driver mostly rode the nigh wheel horse, i.e., the one next to the wagon pole on the left hand side.  In passing traffic coming from the opposite direction the driver could manage his horses and wagon better by keeping to the right-hand side of the road, and from this practice,  the book claims, came the universal American custom of keeping to the right!

It mentioned beliefs in witchcraft and powwow and the book The Long Lost Friend.  Another good read for getting familiar with where so many of my family grew up for generations.

Published: 1957  Read: April 2019  Genre: short story, history

The Year Without Summer - 1816 William K. Klingaman and Nicholas P. Klingaman

Sub-title: and the volcano that darkened the world and changed history

This was written by a history professor and his son, a meteorologist.  The story was told in the first 25 pages and dragged on for over another 200.  It explains the effect that the volcanic eruption of Tambora Mountainin in Indonesia had on weather across the U.S. Eastern states and Europe for the next two years.  It gets bogged down in reciting first person accounts and minute details.  The areas experienced massive crop failures which contributed to civil unrest and population shifts.  A good reference for those interested in 1816 to 1818 history and a glimpse of the potential impact of any future severe weather disturbances.

Published:  2013   Read: October 2016  Genre: history