It's Officially Summer (I think)

Those of you reading this in the Northern Hemisphere (humor me) are now experiencing the longest period of daylight all year. The summer solstice took place early this morning on the east coast and now we begin the long slide toward winter. (How’s that for cheerful?) Anyway, here at Trailheads HQ, we’re inundated with links and info about the Trails of History, so let’s get to it.

Last week, Eckley Miners’ Village was a featured community organization at a Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Rail Riders (minor league baseball) game. Volunteer Garrett Kott, dressed as a breaker boy, threw out the first pitch, and site administrator Bode Morin was interviewed on the Jumbotron. There are photos on Eckley’s website here.

The Ephrata Cloister Chorus will cap off a tour to New York and New England this weekend by giving a concert of early American music at Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on Sunday, June 22.

If the summer heat is already too much for you, consider getting a military-style buzz-cut at the Pennsylvania Military Museum 10 am to 3 pm tomorrow. Buzz-Cut Saturday is a new program; you can help it be a success. Haircuts are free, but donations are gratefully accepted to support the museum's programs. Regular admission rates apply if you want to visit the museum exhibits; PMM and all sites on the Trails of History offer free admission to active duty military and their immediate families. If buzz-cuts aren't your bag, you might also want to check the latest installment in the Military Museum Moment series on caring for your military collections.

Somerset Historical Center recently participated in a program highlighting and honoring the Johnstown area’s connections to the Underground Railroad (you can read more about it here). Staff from the center appeared in period dress and provided children’s activities during the event.

Todd Galle brewing beer the old-fashioned way at Pennsbury Manor (via Facebook)

Pennsbury Manor will kick off their first “Brews and Bites” event tomorrow, 4-8 pm. The event features food inspired by the recipes of William Penn’s first wife, Gulielma, and beer from a great selection of Philadelphia-area craft brewers. There will be musical entertainment and demonstrations of 17th- and 18th-century beer brewing techniques (photos of the recently planted hops wall in the garden are here). For details and tickets, go here. I also recommend, for your reading pleasure, a nice article here about Pennsbury's animals and gardens and the staff who take care of them (in addition to all the other things they do).

Work is proceeding on the expansion of the visitor center at the Pennsylvania Lumber Museum. Andrea Lowery, of the PHMC’s Division of Architecture and Preservation, reports that “A new ADA-accessible entrance is being added at the front elevation of the Lumber Museum. The projecting entrance will have a wide portico and a cultured stone-clad elevator tower to the east. Photos [top and bottom photos below] show the before conditions and the in-progress condition, with the excavation at the front elevation. Additions will also be constructed at the east and west ends of the facade. The concrete work underway [center photo below] is the foundation for the addition at the west end of the building, which will house the mechanical room and public restrooms.”