What to Do When the Turkey's Gone

Please check the PHMC Events Calendar for info on upcoming events on the Trails of History. The Trailheads Rec Room pages to the right of your screen have examples of online stuff that you can access anytime you like.

Scene from 2017 Candlelight Tours at Conrad Weiser Homestead (photo via Facebook)

Opportunities for Support and Shopping

Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Museum Store Sunday, Cyber Monday, and Giving Tuesday all lie ahead of us as I write this. (Okay, it's true that every Monday feels like Cyber Monday for those of us working from home.) Everything looks different this year, but these are all opportunities to support your favorite sites. Donations are always welcome, if you can afford it, and memberships provide you (or your "giftees") with direct benefits in return. You can find links to all the Trails of History sites on the PHMC website.

Many of our sites offer online shopping or mail order options for at least some of their museum store inventory. The links below will make it all so easy:

• Anthracite Heritage Museum
• Bushy Run Battlefield
• Eckley Miners' Village

Ephrata Cloister Christmas Card 2020 (photo via Facebook)

• Ephrata Cloister
• Erie Maritime Museum and U.S. Brig Niagara
• Pennsylvania Lumber Museum
• Pennsylvania Military Museum

Gingerbread cookies shaped like locomotives. What's not to like? (photo via Facebook)

• Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
• Adopt a Train Program
• Gingerbread Cookie Kits
• Whistle Stop Shop Holiday Items
• Somerset Historical Center

Other ways to support Trails of History sites include following them on social media (if you don't already), sharing their posts with your friends and followers or commenting to let sites know you support them, attending a virtual program (most are free or by donation), or watching a recorded program on YouTube or Facebook. Everything helps.

In the Coming Week or So

• Nov. 28 - Ephrata Cloister virtual program, Candlelight Chat, 7 pm (link for Facebook Live event)
• Dec. 1 - deadline to submit nominations for new state historical markers (details on PHMC website)
• Dec. 2 - deadline to register for Bushy Run Battlefield Dec. 12 virtual program, Children's Christmas Party (Facebook event)
• Dec. 3-4 - Pennsbury Manor virtual program, Holly Nights at Home (streaming info available on Facebook). Pennsbury has extended the deadline for ordering a Take-Home Craft Bag to Nov. 27 (for pick-up Nov. 29).
• Dec. 5 - Railroad Museum of PA, Virtual Visit with Santa and Telegram to the North Pole, 10 am-3 pm (details and registration on Facebook)
• Dec. 5 - Erie Maritime Museum and U.S. Brig Niagara virtual program, Christmas Tree Ship Lighting, 5-8 pm (check Facebook for updates)