Another Good Week for History

Before we dig in, I'll note that most, but not all, Trails of History sites will be open on Monday, May 25, for Memorial Day. To avoid surprises, be sure to check the list of open sites.

I guess I should say that all weeks are good weeks for history, but I had to title this post something. As mentioned in a previous post, May 15 was a big day on the Trails of History. Eckley Miners' Village unveiled a new state historical marker celebrating 160+ years of an anthracite patch town's heritage (you can find the text of the marker in an article from the Standard Speaker).

Top: Site Administrator Bode Morin speaks to the crowd at Eckley
Bottom: Daughter and granddaughters of John and Beth Hensley unveil the marker; a fund established in memory of the Hensleys covered most of the cost of the marker (photos courtesy Eckley Miners' Village)

And we cut the ribbon on the expanded visitor center at the Pennsylvania Lumber Museum and its new core exhibit, "Challenges and Choices in Pennsylvania's Forests." Tweets and photos from the Lumber Museum event are gathered on Storify, and here are a few photos I took on Saturday, as visitors enjoyed free admission and programs.

Top: A walk on the Sustainable Forestry Trail with a DCNR forester
Middle: Birch twigs heated in the Birch Still to extract oil of wintergreen
Bottom: Bill Jamerson performs his CCC program for an appreciative crowd

The May program listings will tell you most of what you need to know about events and activities the rest of the month. But I'd like to highlight a few things related to Memorial Day weekend. (But first, you might like to read an article about the annual 28th Division "Celebration of Service" that took place last weekend at the Pennsylvania Military Museum.)

• Saturday and Sunday, May 23-24, 10 am-4 pm, Pennsylvania Military Museum: American and German WWII reenactors will be bivouacked on the museum grounds portraying field life in the European Theater of Operations, 1944-45, as part of the "World War II Revisited" program. Grounds will be open 10 am-4 pm. Saturday only, at 2:30 pm, "Letters from Home: A Serviceman's Canteen Show” will entertain the troops and homefront crowd (please bring your own seating). Inside the museum, May 23-25, you'll find a small exhibit of the Civil War casket flag of Amos Myers and the WWII Medal of Honor of Foster J. Sayers, both Centre County soldiers.
• Sunday, May 24, 1 pm, Washington Crossing Historic Park: a memorial observance at the Continental soldiers gravesite, Thompson-Neely House (Upper Park). Stop by the Visitor Center to see the new exhibit, "The Gentleman Soldier," that highlights the economic and social differences between senior officers and rank-and-file soldiers of the Continental Army.