Jack Brubaker

Editor’s Note: This column is part of an ongoing series by Made by History and LNP | LancasterOnline to commemorate the 250-year anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. To read more about this series go here. Christiana, a compact village on the Chester County border, will commemorate the 175th anniversary of a violent confrontation known as the Christiana Resistance later this year.

This Scribbler column was originally published on Nov. 24, 1992. Updated November 2025. Many Scribbler readers will know that Lancaster educator John Piersol McCaskey wrote "Jolly Old St. Nicholas" and that Millersville educator Eliphalet Oram Lyte created "Row, Row, Row Your Boat." Many probably will not know that another sometime Lancastrian, the Rev. William Augustus Muhlenberg, authored the first official Thanksgiving hymn.

June has been quiet but consequential here in the woods on a rise above the Little Conestoga Creek near Millersville. Walking along the creek-side trail the other day, I surprised a fox trotting ahead. He stopped and turned. We looked at each other for a moment before he bolted into the trees. Another day I startled a mink. He stood on his hind legs and stared before making a dash for the water. I’m stalling here on the keyboard trail while deciding how to make my own exit. This won’t be easy.