Keystone Threads

For over eighteen years, I have had the privilege of serving as a business education teacher, helping students navigate everything from fundamental computer skills to accounting and personal finance. My path to the classroom wasn’t direct; it was shaped by years of real-world experience in restaurant management and as a sales. Those years on the ground taught me the practical value of the business principles I would later teach, eventually inspiring me to pursue a Doctorate of Education, which I earned in 2017.

Beyond the classroom, my deepest passion lies in unearthing the stories of those who came before us. As a committed amateur genealogist, a member of the Lock Haven Genealogical Association, and a member of the Sons of the American Revolution (descending from Sergeant John Sechler), I have spent decades tracking archival records and preserving local history.

My research primarily follows the Fry, Sechler, Gottshall, and Merritt family lines. These lineages represent a true cross-section of the Pennsylvania experience—stretching from 1700s colonial pioneers who cleared the wilderness to late industrial-era arrivals who worked the state’s booming mills and factories.

This digital archive is the culmination of that work: a space dedicated to weaving these disparate family threads into a cohesive, living history. When I am not lost in historical archives, you can usually find me outdoors with a camera in hand for nature photography, birdwatching, or camping in one of Pennsylvania’s beautiful state parks with my family.