The only modern book investigating Pennsylvania's state system of social relief for the orphans of the Civil War.

Dr. O. David Gold

1930 - 2021
David Gold was born in the very, small hamlet of McEwensville, PA. His family moved to the nearby college town of Lewisburg, PA where David attended the public schools and Bucknell University.

He served as a Navy musician in the Korean War.

Then, he returned to Bucknell and completed both his B.S. and M.S. degrees in History and Music. But the most significant thing that took place during these years was the courting of his future wife, Barbara Grittner.

Next stop in his academic career was a two year appointment as a graduate assistant in history at the Pennsylvania State University.

This was followed by a long tenure as a high school teacher of history and philosophy in York, PA.

But his ultimate dream was to earn a Ph.D which he accomplished by 1971 when he earned the doctorate in the History and Philosophy of Education at the University of Maryland.

By now he had married Barbara and the two started raising a family- son, David and daughter, Martha

After his retirement, David wrote his first book: The Gold Family History-Eleven Generations from Moravia to Pennsylvania.

In his eighties and nineties, he continued to teach philosophy in the OLLI program at Penn State, then later at Yavapai College in Sedona, Arizona.

Martha Gold

Martha is the ghostwriter of over a hundred plus books, and award winning in many genres and under many pen names. She has authored and collaborated on dozens of plays, books, and screenplays including the libretto for a stage adaptation of WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY and the concept for Hallmark’s REAR WINDOW with Christopher Reeve. Additional stage adaptations include Runyon's GUYS AND DOLLS OF BROADWAY, a theatre adaptation of Tolkien's THE HOBBIT and Hinton's THE OUTSIDERS. As a ghostwriter, she has turned out books on such diverse matters as psychic warfare to celebrity autobiographies. She has an extensive background in theater. She resides in Sedona, Arizona and thoroughly enjoyed working for over two years on this book with her father.