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Pennsylmania

Pennsylmania

By: Mark Smith
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Entertaining and informing listeners with stories of people and events in the history of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, hosted by Mark Smith.Copyright 2026 Pennsylmania World
Episodes
  • Hess's of Allentown (Ep15)

    Hess's of Allentown (Ep15)
    Jun 23 2026
    This is the story of the Pennsylvania department store that for several decades was more well known and more glamorous than the city in which it was located – Hess’s of Allentown. The brothers Hess founded their dry goods store in Center City Allentown in 1897. By 1929, it had grown to become a large department store at the same location. By this time, both Hess brothers had died, leaving Max Hess, Jr., their 18-year-old heir. Max, Jr, would turn out to be one of the most innovative and successful American merchandisers of the 20th century, making Hess’s a luxe shopping destination that, at one point, had the highest per capita sales volume of any department store in America. The store was famous for its models, European couture, in-store restaurant, annual events like the flower show, television programming, the hundreds of fashion shows they organized and exported, and their canny way of securing publicity. In the 1970s and 80s, after Max Hess, Jr, had sold Hess’s lone department store and died in 1968, Hess’s became an iconic department store chain, growing rapidly to the point that, in 1990, there were 76 Hess’s stores overall, 27 of which were in Pennsylvania. This growth occurred during a time when the City of Allentown and the Lehigh Valley were suffering an intense period of economic decline due to de-industrialization and factory closures. A retail recession in the 90s led to an abrupt collapse of the department store chain and, by 1995, no Hess’s remained. This episode ends with a list of surviving department store buildings in major cities of the Commonwealth.
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    58 mins
  • Revolution on $33,000 a day Part 3 (Ep14)

    Revolution on $33,000 a day Part 3 (Ep14)
    Jun 9 2026
    This is the concluding episode in our three-part series on the financing and supply logistics of the American Revolution. It begins with financial and monetary crises having hit both the Continental Congress and the Pennsylvania Assembly. The Continental Congress has created the new role of Superintendent of Finance, and named Robert Morris to the position. Morris and his aides made several major reforms. They solved the army’s supply problems through private contracts with private vendors, created the Bank of North America, and pressured the states to fulfill their financial obligations to the Continental Congress. Morris and his aides ensured critical financing for the decisive military victory over the British at Yorktown, and navigated the collapse of the Continental dollar. But the Continental Congress was hamstrung in its efforts because it did not have the power to tax. This led to an over-reliance on the French and other foreign governments for the funding of the war effort, and led to the states and Congress stiffing their creditors, most shamefully the unpaid soldiers of the Continental Army. The demobilization of the army led to a touchy flashpoint in early America – one that could have led to violence and civil war. Congress was threatened by a mob of soldiers, and the Pennsylvania government did nothing to stop them. Congress left Philadelphia. The overall political dysfunction could have upended the whole experiment with federal government in America, but it led to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, and the new constitution that took effect in 1789.
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    1 hr and 11 mins
  • The Johnstown Flood (Ep13)

    The Johnstown Flood (Ep13)
    May 26 2026
    On May 31, 1889, after torrential rains worse than any in recorded history, the South Fork Dam on the western side of the Allegheny Mountains broke, and 20 million tons of water poured downstream. Towns in its wake were leveled: South Fork, Mineral Point, Woodvale, East Conemaugh and, most notably, Johnstown. Prior to the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center, it was the deadliest man-made disaster in U.S. history. 2,209 people were killed. Johnstown and several neighboring towns were destroyed. This episode addresses the questions of why it happened and what happened afterward.
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    1 hr and 7 mins
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