Pennsylvania Quotes

“To live in peace as long as the waters run in the rivers and creeks, and as long as the stars and moon endure.”
― Tamanend, The Peace Treaty

“It’d been a long time since they’d been together, but as close as they were physically, they’d never been so far apart in every other way.”
― Jennifer Faye, Snowbound with the Soldier

“Then, one sunny September morning, the illusion of a personal God that I tried so hard to believe in, exploded over the skies of Manhattan. Even as the ashes and ruin of this horrific act of blind faith settled over New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, I watched people across the country scrambling to that same irrational altar for their answers. In the fierce storm of emotion that rolled across this country, one realization rose to the surface of my mind with blinding clarity: certainly this mechanism of unassailable blind faith is one of the greatest risks mankind faces today.”
― Nathan Phelps

“Once a state has completely withered away, it is an extremely difficult task to re-create it, as Blackwell quickly discovered. If Blackwell had been under any illusions that the Quakers were a meek and passive people, he was in for a rude surprise. He was to find very quickly that devotion to peace, to liberty, and to individualism in no sense implies passive resignation to tyranny. Quite the contrary.”
― Murray N. Rothbard, Conceived in Liberty Volumes I-IV

“The refreshing serenity of mountains, streams and more forests in Pennsylvania gave way to small communities and the more thickly-settled towns of New Jersey. And finally, New York City.

It took us six days to get there, and as I crossed the George Washington Bridge I remember thinking how amazing this was. I was back in New York. A city that takes no crap.

I was back amongst Carefree Scamps who I could trust with my life”
― Karl Wiggins, Wrong Planet - Searching for your Tribe

“Loki shook his head in the darkness. That’s confusing, he thought, “And what is a Pennsylvania?”

“It's a large region of land. They say that this is where revolutions begin and nations are born. They say that this is a place where steel rules all and there is something called a cheese-steak sandwich that is supposed to be manna from heaven!”
― Dylan Callens, Operation Cosmic Teapot

“What's it mean; are you determined
To make modern all mankind?
If so, you should be be-sermoned
And brought back to healthy mind.”
― Charles C. Abbott

“Danny couldn't remember how many times he had driven down this particular stretch of highway.”
― Mike Mehalek, Hazard Yet Forward

“Oft have I marked, with silent pleasure and admiration, the force and prevalence, through the United States, of the principle that the supreme power resides in the people, and that they never part with it. It may be called the panacea in politics.”
― James Wilson

“My friends,” he began with good cheer, “how do you like this way of coming back into the Union?” He went on to explain that he and his fellow soldiers had felt the need of a summer outing, “and thought we would take it at the North.” They might be conquerors, he said—“this part of Pennsylvania is ours today; we’ve got it, we hold it, we can destroy it, or do what we please with it”—but they were also Christian gentlemen and would act accordingly. “You are quite welcome to remain here and to make yourselves entirely at home—so long as you behave yourselves pleasantly and agreeably as you are doing now. Are we not a fine set of fellows?” With his honeyed words he had the crowd in the palm of his hand, only to be interrupted by a querulous, impatient Jubal Early. Old Jube forced his way through the onlookers to confront Extra Billy and snarled, “General Smith, what the devil are you about? Stopping the head of this column in this cursed town!” Not the least taken aback, Extra Billy replied, “Having a little fun, General, which is good for all of us, and at the same time teaching these people something that will be good for them and won’t do us any harm.”
― Stephen W. Sears, Gettysburg

“Most of the people in Johnstown never saw the water coming; they only heard it; and those who lived to tell about it would for years after try to describe the sound of the thing as it rushed on them.”
― David McCullough, The Johnstown Flood

“A locomotive whistle was a matter of some personal importance to a railroad engineer. It was tuned and worked (even "played") according to his own personal choosing. The whistle was part of the make-up of the man; he was known for it as much as he was known for the engine he drove. And aside from its utilitarian functions, it could also be an instrument of no little amusement. Many an engineer could get a simple tune out of his whistle, and for those less musical it could be used to aggravate a cranky preacher in the middle of his Sunday sermon or to signal hello through the night to a wife or lady friend. But there was no horseplay about tying down the cord. A locomotive whistle going without letup meant one thing on the railroad, and to everyone who lived near the railroad. It meant there was something very wrong.
The whistle of John Hess' engine had been going now for maybe five minutes at most. It was not on long, but it was the only warning anyone was to hear, and nearly everyone in East Conemaugh heard it and understood almost instantly what it meant.”
― David McCullough, The Johnstown Flood

“Your vehicles are in breach of Pennsylvania state vehicle code and you are driving illegally without proper vehicle tags," the cop bawled. Before we could respond, he added: "Your vehicles will be impounded and crushed." We knew driving through Pennsylvania would be one of the toughest parts of our trip, but this isn't what we had in mind.”
― Alex Kefford, Two Jeeps

“the root cause of any problem or issue is the first thing that you learn and thus don't question... it is your native language. It's how you begin to structure thought. ENGRISH. Do you speak EAT???!”
― Dmitry Dyatlov

“The Underground Railroad has several stations in the [Welsh] Mountains, and secrecy was not just a buzzword, as breaking the code of silence could mean death. The justice meted out in the Mountains was sure and swift, making it different from that in the surrounding community. The laws were meant to protect the security of the community, and not just the individual person.”
― Anita Wills, Black Minqua The Life and Times of Henry Green

“i saw you
vincent van
gogh perched
on those pennsylvania
cornfields communing
amid secret black
bird societies. yes.”
― Sonia Sanchez, Shake Loose My Skin: New and Selected Poems

“My uncle used to take me and my brothers fishing in northeastern Pennsylvania, and when it started getting dark, small bats would dart around, occasionally colliding with our fishing lines sitting out in the water. I loved it.”
― Aesop Rock