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Barton's "Moving Road" captures Harrisburg history
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So you think Harrisburg is a bor
ing place without much culture.
Well WKBO says "it's a special
place to be," and for Associate
Professor of American Studies
Michael Barton, Harrisburg is a
kaleido scope of beauty -- both
historical and environmental.
Barton says even more in his
new book Life by the Moving
Road: An Illustrated History of
Greater Harrisburg, distributed by
Windsor Publications of Califor
nia, which specializes in
publishing local histories.
The book, which is a composite
of essays, explores Harrisburg's
history as far back as 1733, con
cluding with recent highlights bet
ween 1946 and 1981.
The style is "different (for a
history book) in that it hadn't
been done before," Barton said.
Life by the Moving Road sum
marizes the essence of each era
via a particular episode. For in
stance, in Barton's chapter "The
Start of Stopping By," eastern
traveler Miss Margaret Dwight
describes Harrisburg men as
"drunken, swearing wretches."
The traveler goes on to say that
taverns and cockfights are
disgusting--like most were in those
days in Harrisburg and other
towns.
Photo by Jeffrey G. Shatzer
Dr. Barton checks display of his book in
Capitol's book store.
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Barton further explains in his
book that he tried to capture a
"feel for place" when writing
Life by the Moving Road. He ex
emplifies his fiction writing
talents in a later chapter via the
composition of the late M. Harvey
Taylor's would-be diary. In that
chapter, Barton--through Taylor's
eyes --recounts and comments on
Harrisburg's recent events, such
as the '72 flood and TMI.
At present, Barton said Wind
sor had distributed 3,400 copies
to Harrisburg bookstores, most of
which have been sold.
Barton's Life by the Moving
Road is fascinating in another
sense, too. Normally, book
publishers accept book
manuscripts from writers or their
agents. In Barton's case, Windsor
contacted the Harrisburg
Chamber of Commerce, which in
turn contacted the Dauphin
County Historical Society where
Barton is president.
Capitol Campus has two other
connections to Barton's book.
Primary pictorial research for the
volume was done by Dr. Irwin
Richman, American Studies
Graduate Coordinator. Mark
Dorfman, the free-lance writer
who served as Business Historian
on the project, is a former
teacher of American studies,
history and communications here._
When asked how students at
Capitol Campus could benefit
from his book, Barton replied
that he hoped they'd learn that
"every town has a rich history
and interesting people . . . with
purposeful and meaningful
events."
"Kids don't take local history
seriously," Barton added,
"because they think important
things happen elsewhere.
"Harrisburg has a distinctive
personality," he said, referring to
the 19th century architecture,
such as Victorian homes and row
houses.
Moreover, it's the river which
lends beauty and landscape to
Harrisburg, Barton said. Life by
the Moving Road reinforces this
ideal via dozens of lithographs
and colorful pictures.
Barton said, however, that he
Associate professor of American Studies Michael Barton ponders impact of his latest
book, Life by the Moving Road: An Illustrated History of Greater Harrisburg.
wishes people would actually read Life, 1840 to 1876, which is being
his book and not just look at the published by Harper and Row.
pictures. In addition to teaching and
"The book looks nice, but I
would like to talk to people about
what they read," he concluded.
Barton's next book is titled
Middletimes: American Everyday
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1 Page 11
Photo b Jeffre C. Shatzer
writing, Barton is an editor of
American Quarterly, while pro
ducing Capitol Conversations, a
weekly half-hour interview
program.