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The Journal of the Lycoming County Historical Society
 VOLUME XLII, Winter 2004-2005 Edition
 
This issue of the Journal is the first to focus entirely on women's history.  It contains a photo essay on women's many roles in the region, and an article on local involvement in the Women of the Ku Klux Klan with excerpts from a diary and letters written by women from the area who belonged to the Klan.

The photographic essay "Women at Work in North-Central Pennsylvania: Images from the Historical Society's Collections" depicts the range of women's work in the region, from housework to office, from silk mill to art studio.  It also shows the range of women in the social hierarchy, including upper-class women doing volunteer work, middle-class women at work in offices and on farms, and working-class women employed in factories.  The photographs hint at the extensive contributions women made to the economy and social fabric of their communities.  But many of the women pictured are anonymous.  Often a single photograph is the only clue that women did a certain type of work.  For example, we know that women worked in heavy industry in wartime, but photographs also show women working at Lycoming Auto in the 1920s, when there was no wartime emergency.  Was this usual, or was it an exception?  We need to do more research to see how local patterns in women's lives fit into the national picture.

The second piece in this issue uncovers women's participation in a little-known organization, the Women of the Ku Klux Klan, in the 1920s and 1930s.  Original documents written by members of this group reveal female participation in cross-burnings and Klan demonstrations, events that newspaper accounts portrayed as all-male.  These letters and diary represent the perspectives of individual writers, and so may not be entirely reliable historic sources in and of themselves.  But they are important because they show how the Klan worked with other voluntary organizations, and how Klan activities were just another part of everyday life in the Susquehanna Valley, for women as well as men.

                                                                                                         -- from the Letter from the Editor, Alison Duncan Hirsch

 

The Journal is a membership benefit. Copies may also be purchased by contacting the Lycoming County Historical Society.  Click on the Gift Shop link at the top of the page to see a complete list of journals and other publications available.

        List of Journals

Issue Main Topic Author
Fall 1955, Vol. I, No.2 Sketch of the Life of Gen. John Burrows of Lycoming County General John Burrows
Spring 1956, Vol. I. No. 3 Ocean Voyage of the Kiess Family -- The Diary George Kiess
Fall 1956, Vol. I, No.4 Memories of Wild Life On Young Woman's Creek Henry W. Shoemaker
Spring 1957, Vol I, No. 5 Early Lumbering in Cogan House Township Milton Landis
Winter 1958, Vol I, No. 8 What Lumbering Meant to the U.S.A. Dr. Lewis E. Theiss
Spring 1958, Vol. 1, No. 7 Fort Augusta: What It Meant to the Pioneers of the Susquehanna Valley Dr. Lewis E. Thiess
Summer 1959, Vol. I, No. 9 Freedom Road Ralph L. Lester
Winter 1959, Vol I, No.10 The Williamson Road Charles G. Webb
Summer 1960, Vol. II, No.1 Life in a Small Town Mrs. J. Wesley Little
Winter 1961, Vol. II, No. 4 The Great Runaway of 1778 Helen H. Russell
Summer 1962, Vol. II, No.5 The Susquehanna Boom Gibson Antes
Winter 1963, Vol. II, No. 7 The Culbertson Path Carlton E. Fink
Spring 1963, Vol II, No. 6 Stump Pulling in Cogan House Township 1890 -- 1930 Berton E. Beck, D.D.S.
Summer 1966, Vol III, No. 1 To The West For Gold William H. Chamberlin
Spring 1968, Vol V, No. 1 Local History As A Hobby Rev. Charles F. Berkheimer, D.D.
Spring 1969, Vol VI, No. 1 Life of John Bartram Richard L. Mix
Fall 1973, Vol IX, No. 2 Sequoyah of the Cherokees Gladys A. Tozier
Spring 1975, Vol XI, No. 1 The Story of Peter Herdic  
Spring 1982, Vol XVIII, No 1 Early Episodes in Williamsport's History Paul Gilmore
Fall 1984, Vol XX, No. 2 Some Important Milestones in Lycoming County Archaeology James P. Bressler
Spring 1985, Vol XXI, No. 1 John Alden Knight and the Solunar Tables  
Fall 1985, Vol XXII, No. 2 Unraveling the Wertman Site Mysteries James P. Bressler
Winter 1986, Vol XXIV, No. 2 "Stilling Birch" in Cogan House Township Carl B. Taylor
Summer 1987, Vol XXV, No 1 Tom Fausett (The Record of a Trifle Lone Tragedy) Henry W. Shoemaker
Summer 1988, Vol XXVII, No. 1 Gifford Pinchot Pioneer Conservationist -- Part I Stephanie Zebrowski
Winter 1988, Vol XXVIII, No. 2 Gifford Pinchot Pioneer Conservationist -- Part II Stephanie Zebrowski
Winter 1988, Vol XXVI, No 2 The Last Hanging in Lycoming County Everett Rubendall
Summer 1989, Vol XXIX, No. 1 Debunking a Myth -- Were There Really Buffalo in Pennsylvania? Stephanie Zebrowski
Summer 1990, Vol XXXI, No. 1 Regional Industries and Environmental Impact Julia Gano
Winter 1990, Vol XXXII, No. 2 A Death Shout (A Story of the Senecas) Henry W. Shoemaker
Winter 1992, Vol XXXIV, No. 1 Excavation of a Shenks Ferry Habitation Complex on Canfield Island,... James P. Bressler
Summer 1995, Vol XXXV, No. 1 Personal Journal of Evan Russell Captain Evan Russell
Winter 1996, Vol XXXVI, No. 1 John Hazel: The Wizard Cornetist John Hunsinger
Winter 1997/98, Vol XXXVII, No. 2 The Park Home Collection - Special Edition  
Fall 1998, Vol XXXVIII, No. 1 The John Sloan Collection  
Fall/Winter 1999 Floods - Refugee Camp at Brandon Park, 1889 Flood  
Vol XXXIX, 2000/2001, No. 1 An Historical Walking Tour of Millionaires' Row  
Winter 2001/2002 Grand Tours and Artistic Friendships  
  Art from the Thomas T. Taber Museum and Park Home Collections  
2002/2003, Vol XL, No. 1 Remembrances of September 11, 2001  
2003, Vol XLI Historical Walking Tour of Downtown Williamsport  
Winter 2004/2005, Vol XLII Women at Work in North-Central Pennsylvania Alison Hirsch, Ph.D.

 

 

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Lycoming County Historical Society
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