This collection of warm and witty pieces by Venango County columnist Peter Greene profiles some of NW PA's most remarkable residents including John D. Rockefeller, Johnny Appleseed, Civil War General Jesse Reno, best-selling author Hildegarde Dolson, town character Grassy Nichols, trust inventor S. C. T. Dodd, flyswatting pioneer Samuel Crumbine, football coach Joe Stewart, scholar Harold Dodds, and an assortment of teachers, musicians, and colorful local figures. These mini-biographies are warm and light-hearted, capturing the many sorts of lives that have been lived in one slice of small town America. Come meet some of the most interesting people in Venangoland, where American small town life has always retained its special flavor. These columns are collected Peter Greene's work in the News-Herald and Derrick newspapers.

For over fourteen years, Greene has chronicled life from the perspective of the small cities of the Oil Heritage Region.