Robert Fulton Birthplace (6/15/2026)

Monday, June 15, 2026

Erich was heading north of Lancaster to play golf with a friend, and we decided to meet him for lunch. On our way, we stopped at the Robert Fulton Birthplace.

Robert Fulton Historical Marker at 1932 Robert Fulton
Highway near Quarryville, PA

Robert Fulton was born in 1765 to Robert Fulton, Sr,
an Irish immigrant trained as a tailor but unsuccessfully
tried his hand at farming on this land, and Mary Smith Fulton

In 1777, the family moved back into the town of Lancaster. Young Robert Fulton developed his artistic talents by painting tavern and shopkeeper signs, as well as etching and engraving firearms. Later he worked for a jeweler, painting lockets and pendants with a human hair, and eventually became known for miniature portraits. He earned enough money to treat himself to a health resort for an ailment of his lungs. When in Bath, VA (now WV), he met James Rumsey who was experimenting with steam to propel a boat.

In 1787, Fulton traveled to London to study art under the American artist Benjamin West. His first inventions were a marble-cutting machine and a powered loom to spin flax. He became friends with the Duke of Bridgewater, who built his own canal, and the Earl of Stanhope, another man of science. Fulton went to Paris where his focus shifted to steamboat and steam navigation. He designed a submarine, the Nautilus, that he tried to sell to Napoleon. Fulton befriended the American minister to France, Robert Livingston of New York, who had been working with the Boulton and Watt steam engine company to study the feasibility of a steam-powered boat.

In 1806, Fulton had a Boulton and Watt steam engine delivered to New York City and began working on a hull that incorporated this engine. By 1807 he succeeded in having a steamboat travel on the Hudson River from New York City to Livingston's estate in Clermont, the name by which his first boat was known. Fulton’s steamboat became the most important form of transport before the arrival of the railways and a great symbol of American industrial progress and wealth.

The Kitchen Garden at Fulton's Birthplace featured 
plants from the Colonial era (1620 to 1776)

Sundial

Papaver dubium/Long-podded Poppy (KSS)

Ribes hirtellum/Wild Gooseberry

Lunaria biennis/Honesty or Money Plant (KSS)

Asclepias tuberosa ssp rolfsii/Rolf's Milkweed was the
only color in a nearby Pollinator Garden

A 1.5-mile Nature Trail (2016) on the former railroad bed of
the Lancaster, Oxford and Southern Railroad/L, O & S (KSS)

Storm debris from a system that stretched from Maryland
up through Pennsylvania, and was too much for us to remove

Evenly spaced along the trail were net bags
of halves of Irish Spring soap, which is
meant to deter rabbits, deer, and mosquitoes
with its strong scent; however, it seems that
mice, raccoons, opossums, and skunks are
attracted to Irish Spring for the fat content

This is the first time we realized what the look
of an Impatiens capensis/Jewelweed stalk is,
which is the source of a gel to rub immediately
on poison ivy to prevent rashes (usually we
identified this plant by its flower)

There were a couple well-made bridges, but generally
the trail was overgrown, with jewelweed!

Next: The Amish Village.

US Army Heritage and Education Center (5/18/2026)

Monday, May 18, 2026

Still heading home, but it is a Monday when most museums are closed. Where could we stop for a break?

US Army Heritage & Education Center is primarily to hold
archives and artifacts, and for research; however the
extensive Visitor Center (2009-2011) is open to the public

D-Day sculpture group titled Liberation Point 
(2025, by ART Research Enterprises) includes the
names of all the beaches involved and an anti-tank
static obstacle, nicknamed the Czech hedgehog,
that were scattered all along the beaches in Normandy

Another view of Liberation Point to see the soldiers

We each chose a dog tag on plastic card with a computer chip

My soldier, Anton H Schroeter, fought in the Spanish-
American War, declared after the sinking of the USS Maine
during the "intervention" by the United States to
help Cuba win independence from Spain

Kent's dog tag

Kent's soldier was Walter A Owens, who fought in Vietnam

Photo albums covered with Army camouflage shirts
held copies of letters from soldiers

Compared to soldiers of today, in the Spanish-American War
they only carried a canteen for water, and food, blanket,
possibly a poncho, and ammunition in a knapsack

French Renault FT-17 light tank, used by US troops
in World War I, was the first with a fully rotating turret

Because of raw material shortages for
military production, civilians and even
school children were encouraged to collect
metal scrap during World War II

Kent guides his parachute to the landing site
through flares and exploding bombs; we also
had the opportunity to test marksmanship at the
digital shooting range and experience
a night attack during the Korean War

Replica of Stuart's Tavern (Carlisle, PA) in 1778, which
provided essential lodging, supplies, and meeting spaces
for the Continental cause, before there was a United States

This We'll Defend: Celebrating 250 Years of Army History:

Pickelhaube/spiked helmet worn by the
Imperial German Army during World War I

Solid Shot that supposedly deflected off the CSS Virginia
during the Civil War; in 1861 the US Navy had burned and sank
the USS Merrimack to avoid capture, but the Confederacy was
desperate for ships and raised the hull to build the iron-clad
CSS Virginia, which fought against the iron-clad USS Monitor in 1862

Montagnard Crossbow, Quiver and Bolts, a traditional
weapon used by indigenous hill tribes in Vietnam; these
Montagnard people allied with South Vietnam and the US

Shadow Box of Insignia and Patches of Staff Sergeant
Richard Falvey, who fought in World War II

Flag of Shippensburg Volunteer Troop of Horse,
a local militia group that was active during the American
Revolution and the early Federalist era, notably
serving during the Whiskey Rebellion

US Army M109 A5 self-propelled howitzer saw
active service in the Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm)
and the Iraq War (Operation Iraqi Freedom)

All-Sports Museum at Penn State (5/17/2026)

Sunday, May 17, 2026 (continued)

We made it to the All-Sports Museum at Penn State before it closed.

All-Sports Museum (2002) is located in Beaver Stadium
(1959-1960, with multiple expansions) is named for
James A Beaver, president of the board of trustees and
governor of Pennsylvania (1887-1891)

A facsimile of the original Nittany Lion, Puma concolor/
Eastern Mountain Lion that became extinct in the late 1800s

The All-Sports Nittany Lion (KSS)

Timeline of sports at Penn State, beginning with baseball

The Gene Wettstone Most Valuable
Gymnast Award, named for the Men's
Gymnastics Coach who served 1939-1976

Kent poses with the 100-pound wrestling
dummy whom we were challenged to pick up

Early Nittany Lion basketball uniform shirt
and a 1921 basketball (what happens
if you dribble on the lacing?)

Another All-Sport Nittany Lion

Coach Joe Bedenk's baseball warm-up jacket
and glove; he was inducted into the
Collegiate Coaches Hall of Fame in 1966

Penn State played in the first two Soccer Bowls in 1950
and 1951; the pennant and game ball are from 1950

1999 College Football Preview Cover
with LaVar Arrington, who currently is
part of the podcast, 2 Pros and a Cup of Joe

Is this photo the only acknowledgment
of Franco Harris?

Beaver Stadium model (2024, by
Garrett Gourly)  is made with Lego bricks

Aha! In the museum entry lobby is a huge collage of
Franco Harris, made up of photos of Franco posing
with fans, for which he was always willing to take time

A closer look...

...and an even closer look (KSS)

Tamiko & Kent with the Nittany Lion

Because we came "all the way" from Philly, and it
was the end of the day, one of the staff took us up
in the elevator for a view into the stadium

The southeast scoreboard (KSS)

Renovation will add seats and boxes, and
replace benches with individual blue seats

Tonight we stayed at Nittany Budget Motel

Nittany Budget Motel room

Breakfast would be served through this pass-through

Next: US Army Heritage and Education Center.