Laura Klotz, of Lehigh Township, has come across her fair share of places that attach themselves to George Washington’s name as she started visiting historic markers in 2018. Pennsylvania has more than 2,000 historical markers. There are at least 80 markers in Pennsylvania claiming “Washington slept here” and traveled or prepared for battle.

Recently, Klotz was interviewed by ABC27 News out of Harrisburg by Alton Northup.

One of the things discussed with ABC27 was the Sun Inn, built in 1758 as part of the Moravian settlement in Bethlehem. All of the bigwigs stayed there: Washington, Marquis de Lafayette, John Adams, Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock and Alexander Hamilton. The Continental Congress also met there while fleeing Philadelphia after the Battle of Brandywine.

Klotz said places like the inn help her see from the perspective of these giants of American history, but as someone whose family traces its origins in the Lehigh Valley to 1710, they’re also a reminder of the role the average colonial played in the country’s fight for independence.

“I’ve been interested in the markers for as long as I can remember, honestly,” Klotz said. “These snippets of history on the roadside, reminding us of things most of us have never seen and probably didn’t even know existed/happened, struck even little me as fascinating.

“But it’s hard to read some of them when you’re driving past, and I always wanted to know more,” Klotz added. “Growing up in the ‘before times,’ when there was no internet to consult, made it hard to know how to find that information, so this hobby is so much easier now than it ever could have been when I was younger.”

She added it’s also a great excuse to travel and see more of the state overall.

Klotz has two favorite markers.

“One is the marker out in Westmoreland County for Fred McFeely Rogers, since Mister Rogers was and remains one of my personal heroes,” she said. “I also had a great time collecting that particular marker; my youngest sister and I took a road trip together, and it was a lot of fun.”

Her other favorite is the one for the city of Emmaus, in Lehigh County — but that’s family pride talking.

“Mine was one of the founding families of the community, and our family home — known today as Shelter House — is still there and serves as a museum of early Pennsylvania German life. Philip Kratzer and his family (including the cat!) came over from Germany in approximately 1710, and we’ve been in the Lehigh Valley ever since.”

How many markers has she visited?

“There are more than 2,000 markers, and they add more almost every year. They did pause the program for a couple of years during the pandemic, focusing instead on repairing and maintaining the current markers,” Klotz said, consulting pamarkers.blogspot.com. “I’ve barely made a dent. I have thus far profiled roughly 300 of them in blog posts, plus I have some more that I’ve visited but not yet unfolded their stories.

“I would like to add that the blog is made infinitely easier through the contributions of a lot of people. The other writers who share their work are a huge help, of course,” Klotz added. “I also couldn’t do it without my husband, my family and several of my friends, who either travel with me to visit markers (for example, my husband and I visited every marker in Sullivan County last summer) or take photos of them and send them to me to gain guest photographer status. I also sincerely appreciate everyone who reads the blog and shares it on their own social media. It makes a huge difference.”

She is working on her first MarkerQuest book. She has gotten permission from the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission to not only do the blog, but also to turn it into books.

She intended to launch the book featuring all of Carbon County’s markers last fall, but things kept getting in the way, so now Klotz is aiming for September at the latest. She has two chapters left to go.

She is planning a second release, a second edition of her previous book “Laury’s Island: The Lehigh Valley’s Forgotten Park,” with some additional information and images. The first edition was published in 2020, and the book is about Laury’s Island, a highly popular 15-acre amusement and picnic resort operated by the Lehigh Valley Railroad on the Lehigh River in Pennsylvania from 1891 until 1906.

For Klotz, history is more than just a collection of facts; it’s something deeply personal. She credits her grandparents with sparking her passion for the past. Her grandfather was incredibly knowledgeable and loved sharing stories about their family’s history. Her grandmother, a dedicated genealogist, spent countless hours working on family trees.

Klotz treasures the bond to the past as well as the sense of carrying those stories forward.