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As a history guy, I naturally tend to see events as taking place within a larger context. Recently, I’ve found a book that does this for me in both history and geography. It’s The American College Town, by Blake Gumprecht, a professor of geography at the University of New Hampshire, published in 2008. Like…

From the Penn State Blue Band to the State College Area Municipal Band, Dr. Ned Deihl has been a staple as a band director in Happy Valley since 1975. After nearly six decades here of carrying out his passion for leading bands, first as an assistant, Deihl will be retiring this month after the…

Christie Clancy and Jonathan McVerry share two things in common: their passion for music, and an appreciation of beer and wine, which is how the acoustic duo got their band name, Hops & Vines. McVerry describes himself as more of a beer drinker, while Clancy enjoys a good wine. Hops & Vines started…

Everyone wants to be able to pursue his or her dreams. When Jessica Lang was given the chance, she took the opportunity and ran with it. Now, she’s a fashion designer in New York City. Lang, a State College native who says she was always creative as a child, knew since her junior…

Most romantic dinners you see played out in movies or on television involve a couple sharing a meal and a bottle of wine. You rarely see two people having a special evening together with a pint of beer in their hands! But as we come to this month that includes the most romantic of…

A cancer diagnosis can seem like the beginning of a long, lonely journey. A patient who has just been told by their doctor that they have cancer is suddenly thrust into a world filled with unfamiliar medical terms, difficult decisions, and perhaps a lot of fear – of the unknown, of the effect this diagnosis…

Lair of the Lion, a History of Beaver Stadium “hit the streets” this past August, much to the delight of Penn State football fans and to the co-authors as well. Professor Emeritus of Civil Engineering Harry H. West and I have worked on this book since 2013 and it seems like it’s been a long time…

Centuries ago, the carols and fiddle tunes of Celtic Europe crossed the Atlantic and found a second home in the mountains of Virginia. They mingled with shape-note hymns and African spirituals to create the soulful Christmas music of Appalachia. The people of the highlands welcomed the Christ child with singing, dancing, love, and prayer. …

Lynsey Addario is a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist known for her images of war. Her book, It’s What I Do: A Photographer’s Life of Love and War, is a memoir of her experience surviving in war zones, living through kidnappings, and meeting people she says are “beautiful and generous” despite their circumstances. Her book was…