Coming Attractions in the Next issue
Shad: Nostalgically deliciousBy April Line
From a time that eludes archived statistics and records, fishermen of the Susquehanna River Valley caught hundreds of thousands of pounds of shad each year. Harvesting shad provided healthy, hearty livings for a great number of families. Now, shad is only available locally in very limited quantities for a brief time each year, exciting nostalgia in Central Pennsylvania. Linda Derr, of Selinsgrove, grew up in Sunbury and recalls shopping for shad with her folks at the local A&P market. She said the shad were labeled roe and buck - the roe were female fish, complete with the roe (egg) sack. "You never knew how much roe you'd get because it was tucked into the shad, so you hoped for a big one," Linda said. "We would have it baked for Sunday dinner. It is one big fish. The roe would also be baked, usually with a strip of bacon over it. My grandmother and I would share the roe, which was my favorite part - and still is."
Seen from above
By John Deppen
As a boy in Northumberland, Theodore "Dutch" Van Kirk never dreamed he would one day sign autographs, or that fame's spotlight would shine on him in ways both comfortable and uncomfortable. Van Kirk graduated from Northumberland High School in 1938. He described his boyhood in a television interview as like that of "Huckleberry Finn," rowing flats of coal up and down the Susquehanna River for his father. After high school, Van Kirk attended Susquehanna University for a time, but was enthralled with advertisements about the Army Air Force Aviation Cadet Program. When Van Kirk joined the cadet program in October 1941, he looked to the skies with a mixture of excitement and dread.
Danville museum looks back, and ahead
By Karen Blackledge
Where can you find the region's most extensive Civil War collection, a letter signed by Benjamin Franklin, a dinner invitation from President George Washington and much more? These items - and thousands more - are on display in the Federal-style fieldstone Montgomery House Museum, 1 Bloom St., Danville. "I'm not aware of a better collection for miles," said Dianne Zamboni, who serves as museum curator, along with Sue Tinsley, of the Civil War items. Among the items are swords, canteens, cartridge, cases, knapsacks, a coat and hat and the drum beat by Charles Hardor, who at 10, was believed to be the youngest drummer boy of the war.
