Susquehanna Footprints

Madame Elnora, Charles Lee, and the Sunday School Circus

A boa constrictor spending the cold Bradford County winter in woolen blankets, wagons to paint, acts to rehearse, and horses to train. One performer in the entourage was a cartwheeling youngster who later rose to national acclaim. All of them were part of Charles Lee's Great London Shows, which wintered in Canton. During the traveling season, the wagon train of performers wheeled into such places as Troy, Towanda, LeRaysville and Montrose before continuing into New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

The Forgotten Charcoal Burners of the Middle Susquehanna Valley

Charcoal burners, commonly known as colliers, worked deep in Pennsylvania's forests, converting enormous quantities of wood into the fuel needed to manufacture iron. They often lived in temporary huts near their charcoal hearths, sometimes for much of the charcoal-making season. Charcoal was particularly suitable for early iron-making because it was rich in carbon, burned at high temperatures, and contained relatively few impurities.

October 12, 2026 · Terry Diener

Madame Elnora, Charles Lee, and the Sunday School Circus

October 12, 2026 · Terry Diener

From Field to Grist Mill to the Table in the Pioneer Communities of the Middle Susquehanna Valley

Today, few of us give much thought to the journey that brings flour in from the field, to the grist mill and to the family table. A grist mill was among the most important establishments in a developing frontier community. It transformed the farmer's grain into the flour and meal needed for daily meals.to our kitchens. We purchase it in neatly packaged bags, seldom considering the many generations of farmers, millers, and laborers whose work made that convenience possible.

October 11, 2026 · Terry Diener