DEATH & TAXES: One reader writes, “As reported in the Era, Jan. 2, 2017, page A-3, Pennsylvania wholesale tax on gasoline increased by 8 cents a gallon, combined with the federal gas tax, thus costing 76.7 cents per gallon in taxes. Highest in the United States.
“It is interesting to note that back in the infant days of oil drilling (1860s), the principal products of petroleum were kerosene, benzine, naphtha, lubricating oils and paraffin with kerosene being the most important. Gasoline was a curious, virtually useless liquid. Times change.”
Our reader cites “The Golden Flood” by Herbert Asbury, page 102, as the source for information — and notes there is a copy of it in the reference section of the Bradford Area Public Library.
HARRIET TUBMAN: A new state park is being established to honor probably the most well-known activist in the Underground Railroad.
Today, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell is set to sign a memorandum that will formally establish the Harriet Tubman National Park at a property in Auburn, N.Y., that she purchased as a free woman after escaping her life in slavery.
Auburn is about three hours northeast of Bradford.
While a formal ceremony will be held today establishing the park, the move have been in the works for a couple of years.
“Congress authorized the Harriet Tubman NHP on December 19, 2014, as part of the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act,” the U.S. Department of the Interior reported. “Once formally established, the park will join the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park in Maryland as a sister national park commemorating this remarkable figure in American history.”
The National Park Service is partnering with Harriet Tubman Home Inc. and the AME Zion Church to operate the site.
