Pennsylvania Here and There Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bethlehem

Besides being known for its celebration of Christmas, Bethlehem was an important steel making city for most of the twentieth century. The mills are closed now, but the land is slowly being transformed to other uses such as a Transportation Museum which is part of the Smithsonian Institution. Lehigh University graces the south side, with Moravian College occupying part of the north side.

The oldest buildings are the old Moravian buildings just north of the Lehigh River.

Answer: Bellefonte

Bellefonte, pronounced bell-font, has been home to seven US state governors. James Beaver, Andrew Curtin, Daniel Hastings, William Bigler, and William Packer were Governor of Pennsylvania, while John Bigler governed California and Robert Walker Kansas. Students at nearby Penn State University in State College, PA are familiar with all of those last names as building names on campus. Bellefonte is the county seat of Centre County and has many Victorian Era homes in the downtown areas.

The Mills Brothers singing group lived here for many years.

The name Bellefonte is derived from the French for "beautiful fountain". Its Big Spring flowing into Spring Creek is the basis for the name.

Answer: South Williamsport

Started as an idea by Carl Stotz of Williamsport, PA in 1938, the first official game was won by Lundy Lumber over Lycoming Dairy on June 6, 1939. Lycoming Dairy went on to win the first league championship. The first non-Pennsylvania league was Hammonton, New Jersey in 1947, the same year the Maynard Midgets won the first National Little League Tournament, which became the Little League World Series.

There were hundreds of leagues by 1950 including the first outside the United States at the ends of the Panama Canal.

The organization has grown tremendously since then.

Answer: Battle of Lake Erie

The words were written by Oliver H. Perry, Commander of the American fleet in Lake Erie after the defeat of the British on September 13, 1813. Though mainly associated with the Brig Niagara he began the battle on the flagship Brig Lawrence. After the Lawence was badly damaged in the early part of the battle Perry transferred the flag with Captain Lawrence's famous last words "Don't give up the ship" to the Niagara, thus making it the flagship.

The Niagara can be seen at the Erie Maritime Museum.

The other battles were part of the U.S. Civil and Revolutionary Wars. The cartoon opossum Pogo spoke the famous line "We have met the enemy and he is us."

Answer: Port Jervis

Port Jervis, New York is located just across the Delaware River from northeastern Pennsylvania. Dallas was named for George M. Dallas, Vice President of the United States under President James Polk. It's possible that Dallas, Texas was named for him or one of his relatives, but that will probably never be known. Dallas County, Texas was named for George M. Dallas. Washington and Indiana are in western Pennsylvania and both are home to universities in the state's higher education system. So if you hear about a team from Washington University or Indiana Univerity it could be from Pennsylvania.

The actor Jimmy Stewart is from Indiana, PA.

Answer: York

York Barbell company is the site of the Weightlifting Hall of Fame. The center of government of the colonies was in York from September, 1777 until June, 1778 and the Articles of Confederation were developed during that time. If you like the band Live and their album "Throwing Copper", this is where they call home.

Answer: Wynken, Blynkin, and Nod

The bronze statue was placed on "The Green" in Wellsboro in 1938 in honor of Elizabeth Cameron Bailey by her husband. The artist who created the original statue, Mabel Landrum Torrey, was on hand for the dedication. Torrey's marble statue in Washington Park in Denver, Colorado is probably the inspiration for the bronze statue.

The Baileys were natives of Wellsboro but lived in Denver while married. Leonard Harrison State park is near Wellsboro. James Buchanan's Birthplace State Park is nowhere near Wellsboro, but you can visit it in southern Pennsylvania. George Harrison made a bit of music and was involved in some projects with John, Pete, Paul, and Ringo. I'm not sure he has anything to do with Pennsylvania.

Answer: Perry Como

Perry Como had a long career in show business which included recordings, radio shows, concerts, television, and the movies. Some of his more famous songs were "Hot Diggity Dog Diggity Boom", "Papa Loves Mambo", "Till the End of Time", "It's Impossible", and "And I Love You So", which was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1973.

Answer: Jim Thorpe

The Carlisle Indian Industrial School began in 1879 as a means to assimilate Native Americans into white culture. It's a very controversial subject to this day whether this was good or bad. The school's most famous student was probably Jim Thorpe. Mauch Chunk was a town on the Lehigh River in coal country known for its scenery and transportation of coal in the 1800s.

Its prosperity declined with the increase of petroleum based fuels and in 1954 was renamed Jim Thorpe in an attempt to revitalize the economy. Jim Thorpe's body was moved to Mauch Chunk and his relatives have tried to have it returned to Oklahoma.

The name change did little for the economy but gained the town notoriety. The economy has been improving over the past few decades with the area promoting its positive qualities of scenery and recreation as a popular vacation spot.

Answer: It is the only incorporated town in the state

Bloomsburg was incorporated as a town on March 4, 1870 by a special act of the General Assembly with the encouragement of Charles R. Burkalew. The incorporation is patterned after towns in New England and is the only time it has been done in Pennsylvania.

While Agnes certainly made water levels on the Susquehanna River rise, Wilkes-Barre received the most damage. The largest school in the state is The Pennsylvania State University with its largest campus in State College. Although Geisinger Medical Center is large, it is located in nearby Danville, just a short ride down US Route 11 from Bloomsburg.