Engaging the Public

Last week's post covers events this weekend through next Thursday, and the April program page is now available. Hard to believe that March is almost over.

UPDATED 3/29 1 pm to include a little fan-girling...

Our preservation and stewardship work on the Trails of History is vitally important, but so is the work of sharing our historic sites and their stories with the public. I had a handful of interesting examples in my news feed this week. Is it a coincidence that most of them involved food? You be the judge.


Today, March 29, marks the 200th birthday of Col. Edwin Drake, who drilled the first successful oil well in northwestern PA. Last week, as part of the Petroleum Program Series, staff and volunteers at Drake Well Museum and Park presented an educational talk about Col. Drake, his wife Laura, and the birth of the petroleum and gas industry (see article from the Titusville Herald for an indepth look). Tomorrow, March 30, visit Drake Well for a meet and greet with the Colonel at 12:30 pm - there will be cake.

From left: Drake Well Curator Susan Beates, Volunteer Bob Archer as Col. Drake, and Museum Educator Sarah Goodman as Laura Dowd Drake (via Facebook)

Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum introduced a new program earlier this month called "Lunch with the Landis Brothers," which included behind-the-scenes tours of the museum collection initiated by George and Henry Landis and the museum they founded on their family's property. On May 4, you can take tea with George and Henry's younger sister, Nettie May, and learn about her life and times (more info on the website).

From left: Museum Educator Timothy Essig as Henry Landis and Landis Valley Associates Board Member Rick Brouse as his brother George (via Facebook)

Earlier this week, members of the Friends of Old Economy Village were treated to "Coffee with the Curator" and enjoyed a close-up look at some of the original Harmonist artifacts in the collection. Membership in the various Associate groups on the Trails of History supports the programs and projects at their respective sites. Benefits generally include general admission and museum store discounts, but also access to members-only programs and behind-the-scenes tours.

The historic Granary building at Old Economy Village was the setting for curator Sarah Buffington's presentation (via Facebook)

BREAKING NEWS: 1 PM 3/29/19
And this just in...

On the Trails of History, March 22-April 4

Will March go out like a lamb after, indeed, coming in like a lion? Who knows? But winter is officially over and spring programming is on its way. The April program page will be up next week, but there's still some life left in March on the Trails of History.

Tomorrow, March 23, is the deadline to register for Old Economy Village's Spring Garden Workshop (see Facebook event for details)

Bushy Run Battlefield
March 23: General Meeting and Lecture—the meeting will begin with a lecture and presentation sponsored by the Lincoln Highway Experience and Heritage Corridor, previewing their upcoming events and activities. Then the Bushy Run Battlefield Heritage Society will be host an open board meeting to inform everyone about all of the exciting things happening in the 2019 Season in addition to what the board members have been up to throughout the off-season. 1-3 pm.

Conrad Weiser Homestead
April 1: Deadline to register—workshop scheduled for April 13 - learn about painted blanket chests and paint your own miniature to take home. Details and registration instructions on the Facebook event page.

Cornwall Iron Furnace
March 23: DIY Workshop—the museum will host a free community education workshop just in time for spring cleaning. Jason Killian, Repairs Supervisor for Lancaster Lebanon Habitat for Humanity, will teach you how to do some simple home maintenance projects. To RSVP, call 717/392-8836 or email family@llhfh.org. 10-11 am.

Drake Well Museum and Park
March 28: Petroleum Program Series—this year's series wraps up with Allison Rohrs and Michael Sell presenting "Wind Energy in Pennsylvania." Admission charged. Doors open at 6 pm, programs start at 6:30.
March 30: Something More Saturday—come celebrate Col. Edwin Drake’s 200th birthday and learn about life in the early oil boom era (and have cake). Included in regular admission. 10 am-3 pm.

Ephrata Cloister
March 28: Winter History Class—this is the last class for 2019 class (details on the website). Fee charged. 9 am-noon.

Fort Pitt Museum
Please visit the Fort Pitt Museum website for information on this month's schedule and programs.

Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum
Multiple dates: Workshops for Adults—Landis Valley offers an array of workshops and classes for adults who want to learn new skills and information. Please visit the website (for class list and registration details).

Old Economy Village
March 23: Introduction to Basket Weaving—learn the basics of basket weaving and make a traditional basket with handle to take home. For details contact David Miller (davmiller@pa.gov or 724/266-4500 x110). 10:30 am-4 pm.
March 29-30: Spring Garden Workshop—Friday night features the workshop's keynote address and a wine-and-cheese reception; Saturday will include a variety of topics plus lunch. See website for details and registration info. Deadline for registration is March 23.
March 30: Silk Reeling Workshop—the production of silk was an important part of the Harmony Society's industrial activities. Participants in this workshop will learn the stages of silk production and have a chance to try their hand under the expert eye of workshop leader Sandy Smailer. Workshop is free, but space is limited, so registration is required by March 20 (see details on the website). 1-4 pm.

Pennsylvania Military Museum
March 30: Exploring the Armor—this behind-the-scenes tour provides a look inside some of the tracked vehicles on the museum grounds. Seating is limited and reservations are required (info on the website). Cost for the approx. two-hour tour is $15, $5 for museum members. 2-4 pm.

Washington Crossing Historic Park
Please check the website for information on events and programs.

How Was Your Charter Day?

Last week's post features Trails of History events through March 21, and the March program page gets you the rest of the way.

Philly Pretzel Factory in Langhorne made this pretzel version of the Manor House for Pennsbury's Charter Day celebration (via Facebook)

On Sunday, March 10, we celebrated the 338th anniversary of King Charles II of England granting William Penn the land that became Pennsylvania. As is the tradition, the original Charter went on display at The State Museum of Pennsylvania (still there through noon today, March 15). This year it was accompanied by documents related to passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, in honor of the centennial of women's suffrage. The Charter will now return to the vault of the Pennsylvania State Archives and the other documents to their appropriate housing. The State Museum displays a photographic reproduction of the Charter throughout the year.

Most sites on the Pennsylvania Trails of History were open free of charge in honor of Charter Day. Pennsbury Manor honored founder William Penn and his family with living history demonstrations and a unique pretzel from Philly Pretzel Factory in Langhorne (see photo above). Conrad Weiser Homestead is closed to the public during the winter, and hosts its largest living history event of the year on Charter Day to mark the start of their season (see news coverage of their day). Eckley Miners' Village featured local artists reading poetry and displaying paintings as part of their Charter Day event (more info).

Ephrata Cloister chose Charter Day to debut their new iPads, which allow guides to share historic photographs of the site with visitors and show upper floors of the 18th-century buildings not generally open to the public and not accessible at all to people with mobility issues. They also allow for closer examination of Ephrata's well-known fraktur alphabet, as in the photo below. You can read more in this article from The Ephrata Review.

Ephrata Cloister now has iPads for use on tours and in programs to provide visitors with additional visual info (via Facebook)

Charter Day was also the official opening of Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum's new visitor center exhibit, "Thrown, Fired, and Glazed: The Redware Tradition from Pennsylvania and Beyond." This exhibit will run through December of 2020, with a change of objects happening over the winter 2019-20. Hundreds of objects will be on display over the course of the exhibit's run, many that come from private collections and have not been exhibited in public. The exhibit also includes information on individual potters and various techniques of forming and decorating redware and other ceramics. I had a chance to attend the exhibit preview and can highly recommend a visit. I'll need to go back to spend some time really soaking it in. Kathy Daminger from LancasterOnline visited, and you can read her article to learn more.

The exhibit opening featured gingerbread cookies decorated to look like redware, and they were delicious! (photo AKF)

Trails of History Events, March 8-21

The full March program page is available and will take you all the way to the end of the month. Remember to set your clocks ahead one hour for the start of Daylight Saving Time, March 10 at 2 am.

March 10 is also Charter Day - site schedules and activities are listed below. In honor of Charter Day (celebrating Pennsylvania's founding in 1681), Pennsylvania Mercantile Store (the official source of PA tourism merch) is offering a variety of t-shirts at the low, low price of $16.81 (shop here).

Learn about historic brewing methods, and much more, at William and Hannah Penn's home on the Delaware (see Pennsbury Manor listing for details)

Anthracite Heritage Museum
March 8: Parade Day Eve—enjoy food, games, and bagpipe music, Irish Step Dancing, and more as Scranton kicks off its St. Patrick's Parade Day weekend (more info on Facebook event page). Tickets are $25 each and may be purchased by calling the museum at 570/963-4804. 6-9 pm.
March 10: Charter Day —the museum will be open, free of charge, noon-5 pm. Mike Buryk will present a new exhibit on the art of Ukrainian social realist artist Nicholas Bervinchak at 2 pm (the exhibit continues through July 10).

Brandywine Battlefield Park
March 10: Charter Day—the site will be open, free of charge, noon-4 pm.
March 19: Revolutionary Dining Series—author Nancy K. Loane will present "Beneath the Snow: Myths and Realities of the Valley Forge Encampment" at The Gables at Chadds Ford. Cost is $50 per person and includes dinner, lecture, and Q&A session; cash bar available. Visit the website for details on this and upcoming events in the series. 6 pm.

Bushy Run Battlefield
March 10: Charter Day —the site will be open, free of charge, noon-4 pm. Guides will available for tours of the battlefield from noon to 3 pm, and the visitor center and park will be open until 5.

Conrad Weiser Homestead
March 10: Charter Day—the site’s largest living history event of the year, with Pennsylvania Provincial and French military units, Native American interpretation, artisans, and loads of books (details on Facebook). Noon-4:30 pm.

Cornwall Iron Furnace
March 10: Charter Day—the site will be open, free of charge, noon-4 pm. Guides will be stationed throughout the site to provide info and answer questions (more info).
March 12: Friends Lecture Series—Susan Boardman, a licensed Gettysburg Battlefield Guide and Leadership Program Director for the Gettysburg Foundation, will present “History and Restoration of America’s Largest Oil Painting, the Gettysburg Cyclorama.” Lectures are held in Freeman Hall auditorium at Cornwall Manor. 7 pm.

Daniel Boone Homestead
March 10: Charter Day and Fireside Tales—the site will be open, free of charge, noon-4 pm in honor of Charter Day. In addition, there will be a Fireside Tales program in the Wayside Lodge starting at 2 pm ($2 per person donation is suggested for Fireside Tales).

Drake Well Museum and Park
March 10: Charter Day—the site will be open, free of charge, noon-5 pm.
March 14 and 21: Petroleum Program Series—explore a wide variety of topics: (3/14) "Kinzua Dam from Construction to Function," Douglas Helman; (3/21) "Colonel Edwin Drake," Bob Archer. Admission charged. Doors open at 6 pm, programs start at 6:30.

Eckley Miners’ Village
March 10: Charter Day—the site will be open, free of charge, noon-5 pm. Docents will be stationed in the museum buildings to add life to your self-guided tour. Poets Erin Delaney, Susan Jaffer, Nancy Dymond, Amanda Bradley, and Laurel Radzieski will read from their book, Down the Dog Hole - 11 Poets on Northeastern Pennsylvania (edited by Thomas Kielty Blomain and Brian Fanelli), starting at 2:45 pm. Tom Hartz will display his artwork on site as well (read more about Hartz's work).

Ephrata Cloister
March 10: Charter Day—the site will be open, free of charge, noon-5 pm. The Ephrata Cloister Chorus will perform in the Saal (meetinghouse) at 2, 3, and 4 pm.
March 14 and 21: Winter History Class—class began in January, but you can still sign up for one or more of the remaining sessions.

Erie Maritime Museum and U.S. Brig Niagara
March 10: Charter Day—the museum will be open, free of charge, noon-5 pm.

Fort Pitt Museum
Please visit the Fort Pitt Museum website for information on this month's schedule and programs.

Graeme Park
March 10: Charter Day—the site will be open, free of charge, noon-3 pm. Tours of the Keith House will be offered.

Hope Lodge
March 10: Charter Day—the site will be open, free of charge, noon-3 pm.

Joseph Priestley House
March 10: Charter Day and Dr. Priestley’s Birthday—visit with costumed docents in each room (including the laboratory) and wish Dr. Priestley a happy birthday while he demonstrates the wonders of chemistry in the Pond Building. 1-4 pm (chem demos at 1:30 and 2:30).

Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum
Multiple dates: Winter-Spring Workshops for Adults—Landis Valley offers an array of workshops and classes for adults who want to learn new skills and information. Please visit the website (for class list and registration details).
March 10: Charter Day—the site will be open, free of charge, noon-5 pm. Craft demonstrations and horse-drawn wagon rides are planned. Rides on a two-wheeled horse cart will be available for a $5 charge. LVM's new exhibit, "Thrown, Fired, and Glazed: The Redware Tradition from Pennsylvania and Beyond," will open to the public (runs through Dec. 2020). Event is rain or shine, but wagon and cart rides are weather-dependent.
March 13: Homeschool Class—this is the last class of the spring season; visit website for details and registration. 9 am-12:30 pm.
March 16: Lunch with the Landis Brothers—this new interactive experience includes lunch at the Landis Valley Hotel with George and Henry Landis, founders of the museum, and a behind-the-scenes look at some of their prized collections pieces. Advance reservations are required by March 8 and can be made online or by phone (details and link on website). 11 am-3 pm.

Pennsbury Manor
March 10: Charter Day—the site will be open, free of charge, 1-4 pm. Living history theater presenters and colonial craft demonstrators (including the cooks and brewers) will be on hand. Bring a non-perishable food item for the Penndel Food Pantry and receive a 10% discount in the Museum Store today (more info on the website or in this article from Bucks Local News).

Pennsylvania Lumber Museum
March 10: Charter Day—the site will be open, free of charge, 9 am-5 pm. Guided tours of the site will be offered between 10 am and 3 pm.
March 16-17: Potter-Tioga Maple Producers Assn Maple Weekend—be sure to stop by the Lumber Museum as you explore all things maple along U.S. Route 6.

Pennsylvania Military Museum
March 9-10: Charter Day Weekend Celebration—the museum will show Frank Capra's WWII film series, Why We Fight, in the museum auditorium on Sat., 3/9, beginning at 10:30 am. CORRECTED TO ADD SATURDAY AND CORRECT TIMES: In honor of Charter Day, the museum will be open free of charge on Saturday (10 am-4 pm) and on Sunday (noon-4 pm).
March 17: Documentary Film—You Enter Germany: Bloody Huertgen and the Siegfried Line, a German documentary released in 2007, includes archival footage and interviews with veterans. Donation requested for admission. 1:30 pm (film runs 104 minutes).

Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
March 9: Reading on the Rails—enjoy stories about trains, railroads, and amazing people, places, and things, read by a host of local notables (info on readers and storytimes on website). Children will receive stickers at each story-reading to decorate a cardboard suitcase and will get to spend time with teams from KPETS (Keystone Pet Enhanced Therapy Services). Morning storytimes will also include an American Sign Language interpreter. All activities are included in regular admission. 9 am-5 pm.
March 10: Charter Day—the museum is open, free of charge, noon-5 pm.

Somerset Historical Center
March 9-10: Maple Taste and Tour—Somerset Historical Center is a must-see stop on the Somerset County Maple Producers annual tour (more info on SHC's Facebook event page).

State Museum of Pennsylvania
Visit the website for a complete schedule of Planetarium shows.
March 8: Learn at Lunchtime—archivist Joshua Stahlman will talk about Pennsylvania's 1681 Charter; the original charter, along with several documents related to the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, will be on display during regular hours through noon on March 15 (then it's back to the vault until next year). Included in general admission. 12:15-12:45 pm.
March 10: Charter Day—the museum will be open, free of charge, noon-5 pm (schedule of activities).
March 21: Curiosity Kids series—this month's program is "Feed the Birds!" and participants will make a feeder to take home (program details, including a nut allergy warning). Included in general admission, but space is limited so be sure to sign up at the front desk. 11:30 am.

Washington Crossing Historic Park
Please check the website for information on events and programs.

Cheer Up, It's March

Well, it's March. February was, at least where I live, a roller coaster of snow, ice, rain, and tantalizing but fleeting hints of spring. I expect March to be more of the same, but three days longer. Ugh. Get that woman some sunshine and/or chocolate. On the upside, life on the PA Trails of History will continue to rev up with the end of winter schedules at a number of sites (some will wait for April) and an increase in programming. Not to mention the always-popular Charter Day (March 10 this year), when admission to PHMC sites is free. The March program page is up and running (subject to updates as the month wears on) and includes activities planned for Charter Day and the rest of the month. Listings below will get you through the coming week.

But first, a couple of previews.

Visitors to Drake Well Museum and Park on Charter Day will be among the first to see some changes to the core exhibit in the visitor center (and no, there's not enough chocolate in the world to get me to spill the beans (heh), because I don't know). The core exhibit is wide-ranging, with artifacts and info on the history of the oil industry locally and globally, so these updates should be interesting. We'll try to keep you posted as all is revealed (or follow Drake Well Museum on Facebook).

Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum staff and volunteers are putting the final touches on a major exhibit of redware pottery, which opens on Charter Day and will run through December 2020 (with some changes before the 2020 season). This exhibit brings together many pieces not seen in public before.

The week ahead

Brandywine Battlefield Park
March 3: Casimir Pulaski Day—learn about the role of the cavalry during the American Revolution and honor the founder of American Cavalry (be sure to check out the state historical marker while you're there). Admission cost is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors, and $8 for kids. Noon-4 pm.

Drake Well Museum
March 7: Petroleum Program Series—Chris Dubbs, military historian and retired administrator at Gannon University, will present "Women Journalists in WWI." Admission charged. Doors open at 6 pm, programs start at 6:30.

Ephrata Cloister
March 7: Winter History Class—each Thursday morning participants in the Winter History Class learn about the history of the celibate brothers and sisters, the world they lived in, and the work of preserving the collections and buildings. Visit the website for details and registration info. You can still sign up for the remaining March classes. Contact the site at 717/733-6600 for details and/or to register.

Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum
Winter Learning for Adults—the full list of classes through April is on the website, along with a registration form. Costs and schedules vary.
Homeschool Classes—on Wednesdays through March 13, Landis Valley offers a series of classes designed for homeschool groups. Each week has a different focus and activities. Sign up for one or more, depending on your schedule and interest (full details are on the website). 9 am-12:30 pm.

Pennsylvania Military Museum
March 3: Friends' Lecture Series—Michael Carper will present "Was It Hot Over There?" and discuss his experiences serving in Iraq. 2-3 pm.

State Museum of Pennsylvania
Planetarium Shows—check the State Museum website for schedule and program descriptions.
March 1: Storytime—enjoy a reading of Charlotte Guillain's The Street Beneath My Feet and play a guessing game using objects found in the story. Designed for ages 3-5 with an adult. Included in general admission. 10-11 am.
March 7: Nature Lab—learn about ROCKS! through images and hands-on objects. Geared for a general audience, ages 7 and up. Included in general admission. 11:30 am.