News from All Over

Spring seems to have given way to summer already, at least for the time being. I'm headed to Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum's annual Herb & Garden Faire today. I go almost every year, because 1) I love it and 2) I've managed, as usual, to kill most of the plants I bought last year. I'm every garden center's best friend. Anyway, I've rounded up some items of interest (I hope) to share this week. The list of upcoming programs was in last week's post, so if you're looking for something to do this weekend, you'll find lots there.

Herb & Garden Faire, Landis Valley, 2013 (I think - photo by AKF)

As part of the 150th anniversary of the founding of Pithole, PA, an oil boomtown near the site of Drake's well, the folks at Drake Well Museum (who oversee the remains of the town) have planned a full program of events this summer. The visitor center (profiled in the Trailheads column in the summer issue of Pennsylvania Heritage magazine) will be open on weekends, starting June 6 with "Wildcatter Day." One of the quirky features of the big day is a Look Alike contest - visit the photo album on Facebook to see if you or someone you know looks like one of the Pithole residents pictured. More info on the contest is available in the Titusville Herald.

You may have already heard that there is a direct link between one of this year's Pulitzer Prize winners and the PA Trails of History, but if you haven't here it is. Julia Wolfe's "Anthracite Fields," a choral work commissioned by The Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia, recently won the Pulitzer for music. Wolfe researched life and work in the anthracite region of Pennsylvania, visiting many locations in the area, including our own Anthracite Heritage Museum. You can read more in an Associated Press story, including quotes from AHM's Barbara Powell, who attended the work's premiere last April.

I'm really late in sharing this one. At the end of March, Chris Rosenblum of the Centre Daily Times wrote an interesting piece about the lecture series at the Pennsylvania Military Museum, formally known as the Friends' [of PMM] Richard Koontz Memorial Lecture Series. Rosenblum interviewed WWII pilot John Homan, who was the featured speaker for April's program, and museum educator Joe Horvath about the value of sharing and capturing the stories that are so much a part of our history. You can find more info about upcoming lectures and programs on PMM's website.

Next Friday, May 15, Eckley Miners' Village will receive its new PHMC Historical Marker. Eckley turned 160 last year and the new marker provides the public with a brief history. The dedication ceremony is scheduled for 2 pm.

May 15 is also the grand reopening of the PA Lumber Museum and its new core exhibit, with a ceremony scheduled for 10 am. In next week's post, I'll share some behind-the-scenes photos of the run-up to this much-anticipated event. Stay tuned.