Towns often start in strange ways, following paths not first expected by their planners. The farther we are removed from those founding days, furthermore, the more difficult it becomes to reconstruct just how a town began. After the passage of a century or more, most tangible vestiges of the early days are gone and we are left with only the old myths and oral traditions. So it is with Mechanicsburg. Almost.
This first issue of Cumberland County History inaugurates a new era in publishing for the Cumberland County Historical Society and the Hamilton Library Association. Publications, which have been a mainstay of the society's programming for more than a century, are an activity of great interest to the membership.
Daniel Drawbaugh, born July 14th, 1827 in the town of Eberly’s Mills, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, is perhaps equally known for his brilliance and his greatest defeat.
Interview of Marie Farley for the Elizabeth V. and George F. Gardner Digital Library. Farley discusses her work as a judicial law clerk in the Cumberland County Court System including for Judge George Hoffer.
Interview of Charles M. Sanders by Susan Meehan.
Interview of Bruce Wall for the Elizabeth V. and George F. Gardner Digital Library. Wall discusses his experiences as a student at Dickinson College during the Vietnam War including his service as a member of the ROTC.
Interview of Charles Kruger for the Elizabeth V. and George F. Gardner Digital Library an initiative of the Cumberland County Historical Society. Kruger continues to discuss his life including his work after the Kruger Dairy.
Kirk Wilson discusses a number of aspects of his life including being a member of the Carlisle High School Band, joining the Carlisle Fire Police and Friendship Fire Company, and his experience as the mayor of Carlisle. Wilson also discusses the fire appratus of the Friendship Fire Company, fires during his experience in the 1970s and 1980s including the South Pomfret Street Apartment Fire, the Cumberland Valley Savings and Loan Fire, and others.
Interview of Chad Johnson for the Elizabeth V. and George F. Gardner Digital Library. Johnson discusses his work at the Carlisle Barracks and how sports connects those stationed at the base with the greater Carlisle community. Johnson also discusses how he created a local AAU Basketball team, the Carlisle Rocks, and how basketball can change lives.
Interview of Dorothy M.Slothower for the Elizabeth V. and George F. Gardner Digital Library Memory Bank. Slothower discusses growing up in Cumberland County and the former Carlisle Indian School student Jacob Jackson who worked and lived on her family's farm.