Books

Most of the following books offered for sale were published by the Highspire Historical Society. Exceptions are the three bicentennial books and Vintage Highspire Happenings. The bicentennial books were donated to the Highspire Historical Society by the Bicentennial Committee and Vintage Highspire Happenings was donated by the Herald family. In both cases, when the current inventory is sold out they will probably not be reprinted.

Highspire, A Bicentennial Recollection

This book was written for the Highspire Bicentennial in 2014. It has 180 pages, 201 images, including 154 old photos, 31 current photos, 6 illustrations, 5 documents, and 5 maps. There are 50 pages of accompanying text on Highspire history, the most complete Highspire history written to date. The format is 8.5 in. X 11 in. soft cover, perfect bound. The cover is printed on heavy high gloss stock. The cost is $15.00 at all Highspire Historical Society scheduled events. It can also be mail ordered for $18.00 by sending an Email to sales@highspirehistory.org with your mailing address. A reply will be sent with instructions on how to make your payment. All proceeds go to the Highspire Historical Society for maintenance of the Wilson House. As a bonus we are also including a Bicentennial Activities book, see below, for the same price.

Bicentennial Activities Book

The Bicentennial Activities Book documents the Highspire Bicentennial activities that took place throughout 2014. Activities covered are the Scarecrow Contest in October 2013, the Messiah Sing-Along Dec. 29, 2013, the New Year’s Eve celebration Dec. 31, 2013, the Bicentennial Dinner and crowning of the Queen and Princess March 29, 2014, The House & Garden Tour and Highspire History Walking Tour June 7, the Veterans Memorial Rededication July 19, the Bicentennial Parade, Time Capsule Opening and Concert Sep. 20, the Bicentennial Chorus Concert Sep. 21, the Highspire Vehicle Show 27 Sep., the Time Capsule Burial Oct. 26, the Community Thanksgiving Service and Reception Nov. 23, and the New Year’s Eve Celebration Dec. 31, 2014, and bicentennial decorations. It contains 130 photographs along with an inventory of the time capsule buried in 1964 and the new time capsule buried in 2014. The book is 8.5 in. X 11 in., 32 pages printed on high gloss paper saddle stitch bound (stapled).
The cost is $5.00 at all Highspire Historical Society events. It can also be mail ordered for $7.00 by sending an Email to sales@highspirehistory.org with your mailing address. A reply will be sent with instructions on how to make your payment. All proceeds go to the Highspire Historical Society for maintenance of the Wilson House. NOTE: A free copy of this book is being provided with all orders of Highspire, A Bicentennial Recollection.

200 Years of Good Cooking

200 Years of Good Cooking was published for the Highspire Bicentennial in 2014. It is 5.5 in. X 8.5 in. spiral bound with a heavy high gloss paper cover. There are 220 pages of recipes plus 16 pages of cooking and nutritional tips, 16 pages of household hints, and a 9 page index.
The cost is $5.00 at all Highspire Historical Society events. It can also be mail ordered for $8.00 by sending an Email to sales@highspirehistory.org with your mailing address. A reply will be sent with instructions on how to make your payment. All proceeds go to the Highspire Historical Society for maintenance of the Wilson House.

Camp Meade

The Highspire Historical Society has published a new book on Spanish-American War Camp Meade. In the late Nineteenth Century, Camp Meade surrounded the small village of Highspire on the east and north with over 20,000 soldiers. This book should be of interest to current and former Highspire residents, residents of the surrounding area, and anyone interested in the Spanish-American War. The author, California attorney Fred Greguras, is an expert on Spanish-American War camps.
The book is 40 pages plus front matter, 8.5 in. X 11 in., paper bound. It contains 50 photographs, including 19 of regimental units, 9 of camp life, 14 of artifacts and souvenirs, and 6 then and now photos. Three maps are included. There is a large two page 11 in. X 17 in. center sheet map of Camp Meade from the Fall of 1898, the most complete map of Camp Meade, annotated with current road and street names. There is also an overlay of that map on a current Google Earth image.
The price is $15.00 at all Highspire Historical Society events. It can be mail ordered for an additional $3.00, for a total of $18.00. If interested in ordering by mail, send an E-mail to sales@highspirehistory.org with your mailing address. An E-mail reply will provide payment instructions.

Vintage Highspire Happenings

For information about Vintage Highspire Happenings see the image of the Forward page above. This book contains 56 excerpts from Tom Herald's Highspire Happenings column that were republished during the 2014 Highspire Bicentennial. Tom served as president of the Highspire Historical Society in the 1980s and made many valuable contributions to the preservation of Highspire history. The book is paper bound 6 in. X 9 in. saddled stitch bound on very high quality gloss paper. The cost is $15.00 at all Highspire Historical Society scheduled events. It can also be mail ordered for $17.00 by sending an Email to sales@highspirehistory.org with your mailing address. A reply will be sent with instructions on how to make your payment. All proceeds go to the Highspire Historical Society for maintenance of the Wilson House.

Highspire Pure Rye Whiskey and Its Makers

This monograph is 32 pages with front matter, saddle stitch binding, and a beige linen paper cover. Seventy four end notes provide references for those wishing to conduct additional research on Highspire Whiskey. The cost is $8.00 at all Highspire Historical Society scheduled events. It can also be mail ordered for $10.00 by sending an Email to sales@highspirehistory.org with your mailing address. A reply will be sent with instructions on how to make your payment. All proceeds go to the Highspire Historical Society for maintenance of the Wilson House.

Highspire History Walking Tour

This booklet was designed to be used for the Highspire Historical Society walking tour. The walking tour around the old Highspire village covers about one mile with 14 stops. It can also be used for a self-guided tour. The 36 pages contain 34 photos and cover about 70 items of historical interest. The two page center sheet has an 1875 map with the stops annotated in red. The cost is $7.00 at all Highspire Historical Society scheduled events. It can also be mail ordered for $9.00 by sending an Email to sales@highspirehistory.org with your mailing address. A reply will be sent with instructions on how to make your payment. All proceeds go to the Highspire Historical Society for maintenance of the Wilson House.

Defending Highspire

This monograph contains four parts. The first part is an eight page forward giving an overview of the invasion of Pennsylvania in the summer of 1863 that culminated with the famous Battle of Gettysburg. It contains three pages of footnotes and references for those wishing to read more about the events leading up to the epic battle. As part of the defense of Pennsylvania the 68th Regiment of the New York National Guard was sent to Highspire to guard the fords of the Susquehanna from Harrisburg to Middletown. The second part is the official record of the 68th from the time they were mobilized until they were ordered to depart Highspire to assist in the pursuit of the retreating Confederate forces. The third part consists of excerpts from the History of the Thirty Days’ Campaign of the Sixty-Eighth Regiment written shortly after their return by Sergeant Silas W. Lewis from diaries of soldiers who served in the 68th. It fleshes out the dry official records and puts a human face on the New Yorkers who defended Highspire during those dark days in early July 1863. Here you can read about the mysterious Mrs. Bassett who cast her charms on the New Yorkers. The last “bonus” section is a transcript of a letter written by 17 year old soldier Silas Alleman to his parents in Highspire. He was serving as Hospital Steward with 36th Pennsylvania Emergency Militia Regiment commanded by his older brother, Highspire native COL Hiram Alleman. COL Alleman was appointed Military Governor of the battlefield area and assigned the monumental task of cleaning up the battle field, burying the dead, and caring for the wounded and prisoners.

The monograph is 5.5 in. X 8.5 in. The cover stock is a cream color with a linen finish. It is saddle stitch bound (stapled). All photographs are contemporary color photos. The cost is $8.00 at all Highspire Historical Society scheduled events. It can also be mail ordered for $10.00 by sending an Email to sales@highspirehistory.org with your mailing address. A reply will be sent with instructions on how to make your payment. All proceeds go to the Highspire Historical Society for maintenance of the Wilson House.

1964 Highspire Directory

This is a photo duplicate of the original 1964 Highspire directory published by the Citizen's Fire Company. This 36 page directory contains an alphabetical list of all households with address and telephone number, and a business directory on pages 22 to 36. The only change is the "Highspire Historical Society Reprint" note at the bottom of the front cover. The book is 5.5 in. X 8.0 in. paper bound with saddle stitch (stapled) binding. The cost is $7.00 at all Highspire Historical Society scheduled events. It can also be mail ordered for $9.00 by sending an Email to sales@highspirehistory.org with your mailing address. A reply will be sent with instructions on how to make your payment. All proceeds go to the Highspire Historical Society for maintenance of the Wilson House.

The Orange and Black, High Spire Alumni

See the back cover image for information on the book. The book is 5.5 in. X 8.0 in. paper bound with saddle stitch (stapled) binding. The cost is $5.00 at all Highspire Historical Society scheduled events. It can also be mail ordered for $7.00 by sending an Email to sales@highspirehistory.org with your mailing address. A reply will be sent with instructions on how to make your payment. All proceeds go to the Highspire Historical Society for maintenance of the Wilson House.