Roundup

If you’re in the Harrisburg area, you can still catch day two of the annual Holiday Marketplace, organized by the Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation and sponsored by PSECU. Lots of nice stuff from museum stores at Trails of History sites, as well as from Commonwealth partners. And a lunchtime demonstration of turning maple syrup into maple sugar. Yum. (More info is here.)

Did you know that today is Museum Educator Appreciation Day? We’re not exactly sure where we got this, but it was started by a former director of the Bureau of Historic Sites and Museums (curators get appreciated in February). So I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all museum educators, but especially my colleagues on the Trails of History, for their hard work, their dedication to our visitors, and their perseverance. I’m honored to work with you.

Cover Day 2012, photo by John Baker, Flagship Niagara League

At the Erie Maritime Museum and US Brig Niagara, Cover Day marks the beginning of winter as surely as the solstice, ubiquitous holiday music, or the influx of catalogues in your mailbox. Senior Captain Walter Rybka describes it as “the closest thing we have to a barn raising.” Crew, staff, and volunteers worked together on Nov. 10 to erect the wooden framework and attach the canvas that protects Niagara’s deck from snow, sleet, and rain until sailing season comes again in the spring. Thanks to John Baker for sharing the photo above.

Scranton Iron Furnaces, via Facebook

We’ve been posting a lot of info about the Scranton Iron Furnaces site, which is quickly becoming a focal point for community events and activities on the city’s south side. A note posted on their Facebook page suggests that there may be a bit too much attention. After noticing an increase in photos online that seem to be taken from vantage points not generally accessible to the public, they’ve asked that photographers (amateurs or pros) contact the site if they have photo ideas involving those areas. Good advice at any site, in my opinion. The safety and security of our visitors and our structures, collections, landscapes, and archaeological remains are a responsibility we can’t and don’t take lightly. (Imagine every schoolmarm caricature you’ve ever seen—that’s how I look right now.)

Combat Rations exhibit, Pennsylvania Military Museum, photo by AKF

In time for Veterans Day, the Centre Daily Times ran a feature article about the 2012 foodways theme exhibit at the Pennsylvania Military Museum. The temporary exhibit highlights combat rations from various eras and explores how soldiers were and are fed while in the field. Each year, PMM adds elements to their ongoing exhibit to reflect that year’s PHMC theme. You have until the end of November to catch this year’s offering before the museum closes for the winter (except for Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day on Dec. 7). After that, you’ll just have to wait for the 2013 edition (PHMC’s theme next year is the Civil War and the centennial of the PA Historical Commission).