Quote Originally Posted by Noncommunist View Post
At least in the bottom picture, except for the flags, it looks just like home in western PA.
This area is the exact place of origin of the Pennsylvania Dutch and other German groups from this area, such as the Amish. They were German refugees fleeing before French troops indulging in their ancient French tradition of invading Germany for sports and glory.

Conveniently, our dear German friends located many of their richest cities just near the border, along the Rhine. For practical purposes, I'd wager, because it saves a Frenchman looking for loot the hassle of having to ride all the way into Allemania, with all the ensuing destruction and added costs for the German population this brings about. A fine arrangement. Sadly, this made the local Germans develop the habit of emigrating to America en masse every so often.


It had never really dawned on me that they may have picked the Pennsylvanian interior because it resembled their home so much.