Today I go behind the scenes to show what I saw while reviewing the area near Harrisburg and the Susquehanna River.
Maps copied from Google Maps and edited using MS Paint.
Other images are sourced as noted.
TL;DR
- Introduction
- Fun with Maps
8. Dauphin, PA
7. Pillow, PA
6. Progress, PA
5. Good Hope, PA
4. Halifax, PA
3. Liverpool, PA
2. Malta, PA
1. Harrisburg, PA - More Fun with Maps
Introduction
There's a stretch of 325 miles in Pennsylvania totally ignored by the daily zapfic serial because none of it fit the story I was telling at the time. First wer see David Guardia in Allentown. Next see David Guardia about to exit Pennsylvania into Ohio, eventually stopping at East Palestine.
Left unsaid is how he decided to go from Point A to Point B. Even if GPS or some online map app offered several routes to take, David Guardia may have decided on a route of his own choosing (or ir was determined for him by circumstances). In any event, it's safe to say he had been looking at digital (or even paper) maps.
What was he looking at? What caught his eye? What surprises did he find?
While I can't answer those questions for him, I can answer them for myself.
Although the trip would have been shorter, more efficient-- and cheaper-- had David Guardia traveled the path shown by the mapping app, it also would have been a much more boring ride.
Maps are a vital part of The GHAWG Universe, both for me as storyteller and for the characters. As much as I want to have scenes take place at certain locations, the ultimate decider is THE MAP: If the location doesn't make sense for the story, then I can't use it for that story. On the other hand, the map may show me a location I hadn't considered before but makes perfect sense both for utility and symbolism.
While reviewing digital maps, there are times I find locations which get me scratching my head and scruff, get me laughing, or even get me wondering "WTF is this??" This post features what I discovered shortly a few screens west of Allentown, focusing on the area near the Susquehanna River.
Fun with Maps
As with earlier editions of Fun With Maps, a few places on the map
… I had known about over the years;
… are better known by their more famous alternatives; and
… I just hadn't expected at all.
While it's true that David Guardia jumped over a huge chunk of Pennsylvania after leaving Allentown, that's not to say there was nothing interesting in the digital map. It just means that either
- what I saw didn't fit into the story I had in mind; or
- that I couldn't mold the story to take advantage of what I had seen on the map.
While in Ohio, David Guardia was always going to end up at East Palestine. However, it was by dumb luck that he would end up in Defiance.
This is my third look at the 325 mile stretch the story skipped over. Here is the 3rd set of discoveries in this section which I had skipped:
Just to remind myself that this map was part of Pennsylvania, I added the label PENNSYLVANIA. Then I highlighted 10 locations. This map isn't directly tied to any other map, so I added the label Allentown ▬►► for reference. Here are the 10 locations in reverse order of interest:
8. Dauphin, PA
According to the online edition of Encyclopedia Britannica, "dauphin" is a title from 1350 to 1830 which was given to the eldest son of a king of France. One of these dauphin was ultimately crowns King Charles VII of France, and one of those who made it possible for him to reach this status was Joan of Arc, who would later be canonized a saint by the Roman Catholic Church.
Before the term became a title of French royalty (similar to the Prince/Princess of Wales being heir to the British throne), the word simply meant "dolphin". Whatever we think of this word, it was no accident that it was chosen to be a royal title.
7. Pillow, PA
This town of less than 300 people (as of the 2020 Census) was founded in 1818 by John Snyder. At the time, the town was named Schneidershtettle. In 1864 Schneidershtettle was incorporated as the borough of Uniontown, but due to a conflict with a previously existing Uniontown in Pennsylvania it needed a different name. The Post Office named the former Schneidershtettle "Pillow," in honor of Gideon Pillow. Mr. Pillow was a farmer, lawyer, politician, and military general. For 99 years the incorporated town was known as Uniontown, but in 1965 the townspeople voted to rename the town Pillow for good.
(And here I thought it was named for a sleep aid.)
6. Progress, PA
Apparently (if I go by what Wikipedia says), This town went by a few other interesting names. Before it settled on the current name, Progress had been known as Jacob's Plains, Mud Town, and Shellstown. According to Wikipedia, "Progress was named for the progressive spirit of its original inhabitants, though the pronunciation is different."
When it comes to the history of Progress, PA, Wikipedia has little to say about the town. This is understandable since not much can be found anywhere else online.
Regarding the actual town, this town of nearly 11,300 people is a short distance from the state capital at Harrisburg (discussed later). It's a small town with a suburban feel to it, and it can be explored on foot within a day. According to Niche.com, even though 61% of residents live in homes, rentals are affordable enough to be less than the national average (USD 990 versus USD 1,163).
5. Good Hope, PA
My first thought was the Cape of Good Hope at the southernmost tip of Africa. That's the most famous Good Hope I know about. Now I know about the town in Pennsylvania.
According to Geotargit.com, it turns out that there are 17 such places in the United States (including one in the United States Virgin Islands).
As for David Guardia, he may have passed near Good Hope in Illinois before he and the uncanny Manny Rey crossed over into eastern Iowa. I won't be able to confirm this until I reach that part of the route taken.
4. Halifax, PA
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada is what comes to mind when I hear that place name. Other places with this name exist, but this is by far the most famous Halifax.
Now I know about this Halifax. Its history goes back to the 1750s when the Seven Years' War between Great Britain and France was waged in North America as the French and Indian War.
3. Liverpool, PA
The most famous Liverpool is in northern England, and it has two major claims to fame:
- It's where The Beatles got started, and to this day we still feel their influence worldwide.
- Liverpool Football Club of the English Premier League. LFC knows that The Beatles still own Liverpool, and they're OK with that.
Liverpool, Pennsylvania came into being on 1808-October-25 when the Stailys, John and his wife Eve, gave to John Huggins a deed for 121 acres of land.
2. Malta, PA
When we hear of Malta, nearly all of us think of the island nation in the Mediterranean Sea located south of Sicily and Italy in Europe north of Africa with Tunisia to its west and Libya to its south. Today it's a member of the European Union.
Many ethnic Maltese are descendants of the ancient Carthiginians from North Africa, the Phoenicians from the Middle East, Romans and Italians, and other people from the Mediterranean area. Before them, megalithic people built structures whose construction still baffles archaeologists.
Not much is known about Malta, Pennsylvania; even Wikipedia has little if any content regarding this unincorporated community. About all it says is that it's at the intersection of two roads and that it had once been known as Vera Cruz.
1. Harrisburg, PA
This is the capital of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This is the most famous Harrisburg I know about.
While people fight about whether Philadelphia in the east or Pittsburgh in the west is better or more important, both have to answer to Harrisburg when it's time to request state resources (including taxpayer money).
More Fun with Maps
Given that 325 miles of Pennsylvania roads were crossed without comment in the zapfic serial, I will go back to review the maps to see what David Guardia may have missed on his ride, and what I may have missed
What other place names can I find within this stretch of Pennsylvania? Let's find out together as I continue my research and we have more fun with maps.
As more posts in this series are published, they will be added to the pinned post "GHAWGnav: Navigating The GHAWG Universe". Thanks for taking time to see how this part of The GHAWG Universe is being built.