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Reposted by Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History

Jonathan Burdick @jonathanburdick.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Last month, I wrote about Norman Morrison, the pacifist Quaker who self-immolated in 1965 to protest the escalating Vietnam War. Here’s some of my research that didn’t make it into my initial story. #history #skystorians jonathanburdick.beehiiv.com/p/reflection...

jonathanburdick.beehiiv.com

Reflections on Norman Morrison

and how the Vietnam War has never really

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Reposted by Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History

Jonathan Burdick @jonathanburdick.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

My latest is on the quest to find a home for a *National* War of 1812 museum. Historian Douglas Brinkley, journalist Steve Scully, and Dr. Brad King, expert in museum exhibition development, all believe the location could be Erie, Pennsylvania: www.eriereader.com/article/brin...

eriereader.com

Bringing 1812 Into the 21st Century

A national museum on the shores of Lake Erie's bayfront

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Reposted by Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History

Jack El-Hai @jackelhai.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Today's #history article pick from Damn History, my free newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to writer @jonathanburdick.bsky.social & @eriereader.bsky.social! Read/subscribe to Damn History: damn-history-16d93f.beehiiv.com/subscribe www.eriereader.com/article/norm...

eriereader.com

Norman Morrison: An Erie Quaker's Fatal War Protest

How a 1965 self-immolation left a family, hometown grappling with its meaning

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Reposted by Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History

Jonathan Burdick @jonathanburdick.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

My latest story is on Norman Morrison, a Pennsylvania born Quaker who in 1965 self-immolated in front of the Pentagon to protest the escalating Vietnam War. It was a heavy story to research and write. #history #writing #skystorians www.eriereader.com/article/norm...

eriereader.com

Norman Morrison: An Erie Quaker's Fatal War Protest

How a 1965 self-immolation left a family, hometown grappling with its meaning

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

“Emily cannot know with certainty why her father took her that day. ‘By involving me the way he did, I feel Norman was intrinsically asking the question, How would you feel if this child were burned too?’ she later reflected in her mother's memoir.” Read more: www.eriereader.com/article/norm...

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

“The only soft drink that doesn’t treat you like a kid.” August 1966 advertisement.

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Who remembers when Hines Ward of the Pittsburgh Steelers was a zombie on The Walking Dead? (My photo from 2013) 🧟‍♂️

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

As described by Encyclopedia Britannica: “[The] Great Migration, in U.S. history, [is] the movement of millions of African Americans from rural communities in the South to urban areas in Northern and Western states during the 20th century.“ #history #maps #ushistory

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

A 1966 advertisement for Armour turkey. I can imagine the ad meeting now: “How’s the turkey look, sir?” “Drier!” “How about now?” “DRIER!” “How about now?” “Goddamn it, Frank, cook it until there is NO moisture left!” #food #history #1960s

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

“It’s not frozen solid… It’s SOFT-frozen. 1966 advertisement for Hi-C for Breakfast. #1960s #breakfast

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Growing up, we all knew somebody who had a couch like one of these. August 1966 advertisement. #1960s

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

JET Magazine cover story about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls from 30 years ago. May 1996. 🏀 #nba #basketball

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Corporal Joseph Foley, U.S. Army 106th Infantry Division, World War II. #EriePA resident. (Hagen History Center) #history #WWII

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

The King of Cool himself: Willie Stargell of the Pittsburgh, Pirates. 1976. #mlb #pittsburgh #pittsburghpirates

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

The effective simplicity of this 1976 Heinz ketchup advertisement really highlights how awful and jumbled those 2026 AI-generated ads are.

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

You can only bring one of these department store chains back. Which are you choosing? #1980s #1990s

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Bird’s eye view of Grove City, #Pennsylvania. 1901. Drawn and published by Thaddeus Mortimer Fowler.

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Radio Shack Nationwide Super Computer Sale! A color monitor! MS-DOS! A point and click mouse with TWO buttons! Only $1,299 ($3,600 when adjusted for inflation). Erie Daily Times. July 16, 1989.

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Sept. 20, 1980. New York Times. Steven V. Roberts interviews #EriePA residents about a potential Ronald Reagan presidency: "He thinks he's still before the movie cameras. He comes off to me as an actor, and I can usually spot an honest person." #history #1980s

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Did anybody (or their grandparents) have one of these growing up? The Fliptop Dishmobile. LIFE Magazine, 1968.

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Ah, the wonder of long distance telephone calls. Columbia Telephone Company. 1950. #history #1950s

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

What are you watching in each time slot? Saturday TV. January 20, 1990. Erie Daily Times. #television #90skid #80skid

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

The City of Erie was a 324 ft long passenger steamship that raced another steamship, the Tashmoo, in a hyped race from #Cleveland, #Ohio to Erie, Pennsylvania in 1901. The race was over 4 hrs long. The City of Erie steamship won by 45 seconds, giving it the claim of fastest ship on the Great Lakes.

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Who Owns Antarctica? The Centre Reporter (Centre Hall, PA). January 16, 1930. #history #1930s #skystorian

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

21-year-old George Washington’s route to Fort LeBoeuf in 1753, occupied by the French near modern day French Creek in Waterford, #Pennsylvania. From LIFE magazine, Feb. 26, 1956. #GeorgeWashington #history

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Kinzua Dam on the Allegheny River in Warren County, #Pennsylvania. I was an adult before I learned how its construction displaced over 600 Seneca members and flooded 1/3 of their territory, including most of the historic Cornplanter Tract. (Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1993) #history

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

“Almost every police department in the nation refuses by one means or another to hire gay recruits.” From the Erie Daily Times. August 13, 1979. #history #skystorians #lgbtq

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Who knew? The many uses of Listerine. Erie Daily Times. May 2, 1928. #1920s #history #advertising

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Data on strikes throughout the United States, 1941. (Source: United States Dept. of Labor) #history #laborhistory

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

In August 1925, this is what Popular Science predicted 1950 cities would look like. #futurism #history

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

In 1990, this is what some believed would be the house of the future in the 2000s. As seen in Popular Science magazine. #futurism #science #history

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Sesame Street hand puppets advertisement. Ebony Magazine, Dec. 1971. #history #pbs #sesamestreet

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Holstein dairy farm. #WaterfordPA. n.d. From the Tinchor Brothers postcard collection. Harry & Louis Tinchor founded the company in 1908 & it became one of the most successful souvenir postcard manufacturers in the US. Harry, sadly, died young in 1911, but Louis lived until 1974. #history

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Ida Tarbell. Raised in Titusville, #Pennsylvania, the muckraking #journalist took on one of the most powerful & wealthy men in history, John D. Rockefeller. The History of Standard Oil (originally serialized) chronicled his shady business practices & brought her stardom. (Photo: LoC) #history

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Mader’s Bakery & Restaurant. “Where You Eat in a Homelike Atmosphere.” Parade Street. Erie, #Pennsylvania. #1930s.

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Swimming pool at Glenwood Park, Erie, Pennsylvania. 1920s.

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Moose Club. 7th & French. Erie, Pennsylvania. 1940s.

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Dominant Industries in Rust Belt Cities in 1950. From the Digital Commons at DePaul University: “Corey J Shupp devised this map in GEO 241-GIS in Fall 2015. His goal was to discover the historically dominant industries in American cities and synthesize his findings into a map.” #rustbelt #1950s

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

If you were a kid in the #90s, you remember how awesome the Gargoyles #animated #TVshow was. (1994 advertisement)

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Cars from the future as seen in This Boys Life Magazine, November 1994.

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

A cleverly rebellious 1994 Reese’s advertisement. #90skid #1990s

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

WWF Raw for Super Nintendo, Game Boy, Sega Genesis, and Game Gear. 1994 advertisement. #1990s #90s

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

The short-lived Pittsburgh Condors for the ABA. This is the 1970-71 schedule. #NBA #basketball #Pittsburgh

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

1915 Buffalo, New York Industrial Show. By the Wholesale Merchants and Manufacturers Association. #BuffaloNY #history

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

“Well, you and I constitute several tens of thousands of parasites and political hitchhikers in this one town in Pennsylvania.” Informal remarks in Erie, #Pennsylvania by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. November 2, 1940. (Source: National Archives) #history #FDR

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Dunkirk, New York. Photographed by Michael Scialdone in 2015. (Source: Wikimedia Commons) #LakeErie

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Rust & Dirt: Rust Belt History @rustanddirt.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Signs over the Terminal Theatre. Upper Darby, #Pennsylvania. Summer 1936. Photographed by Paul Vanderbilt. (Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division) #history

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