Some people bring good things to this world. Now, I am not sure what kind of a man he was in his spirit and will, but William Penn enabled us to have some incredible things. It was on today’s date, this August 30, 1682, that William Penn left England to sail to the New World.
As his name suggests, we have the great state of Pennsylvania because of him. Mostly. And because of Pennsylvania, we find lots of golden treasures.
Like my favorite football team, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Or what about those delicious Philly Cheese Steaks? Hershey, Pennsylvania, and all those little Hershey kisses. That big cracky Liberty Bell. Zippo Lighters.
And, we can’t forget all the good pretzels. There is the Utz Bakery and Sturgis Pretzel Bakery. And then my favorite. Snyders of Hanover. I am in love with their Honey Wheat Pretzel Twists.
But back to Penn.
He was born in England, not here. Yes, William Penn came into this world a long time ago, on October 14, 1644, from London, England.
His dear old dad was an admiral in the English navy, not to mention a wealthy landowner. One of the perks of being in a wealthy family is receiving an excellent education, and William did just that. By the age of 16, William attended Oxford University.
William Penn became a Quaker when he was twenty-two, and this was not an easy road for him. You see, at that time, the official religion of England was none other than the Church of England. Other religious groups existed, like the Christians, the Puritans, and the Quakers, but it was illegal if you wanted to join those. A sure “Go To Jail” ticket.
A note about Quakers. They are a peaceful lot. The Quakers believe that there shouldn’t be any religious rituals or sacraments. They refuse to fight in wars. Pacifists. And they believe in religious freedom for all people. They oppose slavery.
Anyway, William was often arrested for attending Quaker meetings. But because of his famous, wealthy father, he was released quickly each time. But dear old dad was not happy with his Quaker boy. So he made William move out of the big, lovely house. William became homeless for a while and sometimes lived with other Quaker families.
But apparently, William was a thinker. Things were getting worse and worse for all those Quakers in England. So William devised a good plan. He went directly to the king and proposed that the Quakers should leave England and have their own colony in the Americas.
The king thought that was a peachy idea. He gave William a big chunk of land in North America, you-know-where. At first, the land was called Sylvania, which means “woods,” but not long after, the name got changed to Pennsylvania in honor of the Penn family.
William Penn wanted Pennsylvania to be a true “free land,” not only for Quakers but for anyone who wanted to live there. He wanted freedom for all religions and all minorities. Supposedly, he worked for peace with the Native Americans and hoped they could live together as “neighbors and friends.”
There’s much more to the story. But now we have Pennsylvania.
The Big Mac came from there, in case you need more persuasion. It was invented by Jim Delligatti, who owned several McDonald’s restaurants near Pittsburgh.
Or how about in the way of computers? The first computer existed in Philadelphia in 1946. Then there are the Crayola Crayons. They are all produced in Pennsylvania.
Finally, let’s not forget the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia in 1776.
All from the little Quaker scheme of William Penn.
Some people bring good things to this world. Cheesesteaks, baby. Cheesesteaks.
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“Time is what we want most,but what we use worst.”
― William Penn
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“Right is right, even if everyone is against it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it.”
― William Penn
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“Let us then try what love can do to mend a broken world.”
― William Penn
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Penn. Tell me all the good things. Kissses, and such.
