Welcome Back!

Please check the PHMC Events Calendar if you're looking for virtual programs. I've highlighted events below, but there's more to see in the weeks ahead. The Trailheads Rec Room to the right of your screen has all kinds of online offerings. Enjoy!

Today's the day! Trails of History sites are officially reopening to the public and ready to welcome visitors. I've gathered some of the reopening posts on a separate page for general info. As we've noted before in this blog, most sites will be on reduced schedules (fewer days and/or shorter hours). You'll also want to know if you need to make an appointment for a tour or if there's a set schedule. In short, please take a look at the website of any Trails of History site you want to visit to get all the details (Trails of History page has links to all).

PHMC's requirements for safety measures can be found on the Welcome Back! page. We want to make sure everyone stays safe and healthy. Our staff and volunteers will do their part and we ask visitors to do theirs. Together we can get through this initial reopening phase and begin to get back to normal operations and programming.

PHMC Virtual Collections Showcase

Our next "What's in a theme? PHMC Virtual Collections Showcase" event is scheduled for Tuesday, May 11, at 7 pm EDT. The theme is Souvenirs and Swag. As always, our panelists will use the featured objects as starting points for a wide range of unexpected stories. The showcase programs are offered free of charge, but you'll need to register to receive the Zoom link (visit the Facebook event for details). What's that you say? You haven't seen one of our showcase events? Well, you can get caught up by visiting the Showcase playlist on PHMC's YouTube channel.

More Upcoming Virtual Events

Today, April 30

• Learn at Lunchtime, learn about the last documented mountain lion specimen collected in PA, The State Museum of PA, 12:15-12:45 pm EDT (SMP Facebook event to register)

Saturday, May 1

• They Fought Equally, a history of United States Colored Troops from PA, PA Military Museum, 2-3:30 pm EDT (PMM Facebook event to register)

Tuesday, May 4

• A Brief Intro to Wooden Shipbuilding (Part 1 of 4), Erie Maritime Museum & U.S. Brig Niagara, 6-7 pm EDT, additional programs on May 11, 18, and 25 (EMM Facebook event Part 1 to register)

Counting Down the Days

Please check the PHMC Events Calendar if you're looking for virtual programs. I've highlighted events below, but there's more to see in the weeks ahead. The Trailheads Rec Room to the right of your screen has all kinds of online offerings. Enjoy!

Henry and George Landis want your visit to Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum to be safe and enjoyable (photo via LVM Facebook page)

Trails of History sites are getting ready to welcome visitors starting next Friday, April 30. Site schedules will vary, and for the moment most will be open a few days a week. As I always say, please check ahead to make sure that the site you want to visit will be open when you plan to be there.

We're all anxious to put Covid-19 behind us, so we're making sure we follow CDC and PA Department of Health protocols. Staff, volunteers and visitors will be required to mask up and maintain social distancing. PHMC's "Welcome Back!" page has more info on our safety measures.

Virtual programs will continue, as we've learned that many people like to attend lectures and other offerings that they might never attend in person. Sites will be finding a balance as staff and volunteers - and visitors - adjust to reopening after more than a year. We'll keep you posted.

Looking Back at the Week

The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania celebrated National Volunteer Week with a short video featuring volunteers past and present.



Over the past year, Old Economy Village has undergone extensive physical changes, including the installation of a wheelchair lift in the Feast Hall building. Like all sites, they've been preparing the buildings and exhibits to look their best for returning visitors.

From the Museum Educator: Both staff and volunteers have been busy cleaning the historic buildings and getting exhibits...

Posted by Old Economy Village on Saturday, April 17, 2021

Reopening and emergency preparedness plans at Cornwall Iron Furnace included a visit from local emergency services personnel to reaquaint them with the site.

Thank you to Cornwall, Quentin, and Mount Gretna fire companies for touring the Cornwall Iron Furnace as part of our emergency preparation.

Posted by Cornwall Iron Furnace on Monday, April 19, 2021

Pennsbury Manor posted about a popular spring flower, taught us its name in Latin, English, and Lenape, and linked to the "Lenape Talking Dictionary" so we could learn how to pronounce it.

This delicate white flower belongs to a plant called bloodroot in English, and pèkòn in Lenape. The English term '...

Posted by Pennsbury Manor on Wednesday, April 21, 2021

Yesterday, Daniel Boone Homestead wished everyone a happy Earth Day. I hope you had a chance to celebrate the planet that is home to us all.

The Daniel Boone Homestead has 579 acres of land for you to enjoy daily! Celebrate Earth Day with a walk in our park! #danielBoone #EarthDay2021 #parks

Posted by Daniel Boone Homestead on Thursday, April 22, 2021

Upcoming Virtual Events

Today, April 23

• Learn at Lunchtime, Beth Hager, director of The State Museum of PA, will talk with collections managers Mary Jane Miller and Lauren Stark as well as Aaron McWilliams of the Pennsylvania State Archives, 12:15-12:45 pm EDT (SMP Facebook event to register)

Saturday, April 24

• Oops! this event has been rescheduled to August 21 Combined Arms: Tactics in the War of 1812, staff from Erie Maritime Museum and the PA Military Museum will discuss land and sea operations, 2-3 pm EDT (Facebook event to register)

National Volunteer Week

Please check the PHMC Events Calendar if you're looking for virtual programs. I've highlighted events below, but there's more to see in the weeks ahead. The Trailheads Rec Room to the right of your screen has all kinds of online offerings--available whenever you need some entertainment.

National Volunteer Week this year is April 18-24, and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of the PHMC volunteers out there who have helped us weather a very weird year. Every site's experience has been a bit different since we closed to the public in mid-March 2020, but I think it's safe to say that "normal" operations and activities were disrupted. Volunteers do many things at our sites. Those involved in public programming were sidelined, but that doesn't mean they didn't stay engaged. At a number of our sites, staff organized Zoom sessions where volunteers could learn new information, visit other Trails of History sites remotely, and enjoy a virtual happy hour together. At some sites, volunteers were engaged with checking on buildings, maintaining a social media presence, and supporting virtual programs.

Because of, well Covid everything, we didn't do our usual round of nominations for Volunteer of the Year. We're still hoping to hold a ceremony later this fall to recognize, in person, the people honored for service in 2019 (read all about them in the April 17, 2020, Trailheads post). With sites reopening on April 30, we hope that we will work our way back into a rhythm and get back on track. In the meantime, thank you for everything!

Upcoming Virtual Events

Today, April 16

• Flyover PA: TM Fowler's Bird's-Eye Views of PA, speaker: Dr. Curt Miner, The State Museum of PA, 12:15-12:45 pm EDT (visit SMP Facebook event to register)

Saturday, April 17

• Naval Wargaming - A Brief History, speaker: Ed Bolla, Erie Maritime Museum, 2-3 pm EDT (visit EMM Facebook event to register)
• Poison Gas Use in World War I, speaker: Ron Lenox, PA Military Museum, 2-3 pm EDT (visit PMM Facebook event to register)

Sunday, April 18

• Explore Dinosaurs! The State Museum of PA, 2-3 pm EDT (visit the Explore Dinosaurs event on Facebook to register)

Tuesday, April 20

• 18th- and 19th-Century African American History in Pennsylvania German Lancaster County, speaker: Dr. Leroy Hopkins, Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum, 7-8 pm EDT (Zoom link to register)

Thursday, April 22

• Simple Machines: Railroad Edition, Railroad Museum of PA, tickets by donation, 10-11 am EDT (Eventbrite link to register)

Snapshots from the Week

Please check the PHMC Events Calendar if you're looking for virtual programs. I've highlighted events below, but there's more to see in the weeks ahead. The Trailheads Rec Room to the right of your screen has all kinds of online offerings--available whenever you need some entertainment.

See below for details on this month's Virtual Collections Showcase

If you're a regular reader of Trailheads, you know that a title like today's means you're in for a pretty random array of stuff. I mean, even more random than usual. Spring has sprung, so there were numerous posts from the Trails of History highlighting gardens and landscapes. Staff and volunteers are making preparations to welcome visitors in person again starting on Friday, April 30 (yay!). And Throwback Thursday is always good for some cool historical photos. So let's dive in, shall we?

News from the Trails

Lancaster Online reported on a writer who is walking from Washington, DC, to NYC. Neil King spent some time in the Lancaster area mid-week and posted on Instagram about his travels, including a twilight stop at Ephrata Cloister.

After catching a "mean game of softball" played by Mennonite ninth-graders Tuesday night, King capped off the eighth day of his trip in Ephrata. His final photo was of the Ephrata Cloister.

Posted by LNP + LancasterOnline on Wednesday, April 7, 2021

Old Economy Village's museum educator has been documenting and sharing the progress of an extensive capital project that will improve access at the site in all kinds of ways, including pathways, ramps, and an elevator.

From the Museum Educator: Here is a photograph of the new brick walkway leading to the cabinet shop.

Posted by Old Economy Village on Saturday, April 3, 2021

Gardens and More

Pennsbury Manor's historic gardens interpreter has been very busy with plantings this week.

Today's a BERRY big day in the Kitchen Garden! Our Historic Garden Interpreter Jessye is planting several 'bare root'...

Posted by Pennsbury Manor on Monday, April 5, 2021

The forsythia at Conrad Weiser Homestead is in full force.

Beautiful day at the Park!

Posted by Conrad Weiser Homestead on Saturday, April 3, 2021

Getting Ready to Reopen

The folks at Hope Lodge were doing some careful cleaning this week to get ready to welcome visitors. Operating schedules will vary by site, so please be sure to check ahead before visiting.

It’s cleaning day at Hope Lodge. Stay tuned for reopening details soon!

Posted by Historic Hope Lodge on Tuesday, April 6, 2021

Throwback Thursday 100 Years

Cornwall Iron Furnace shared images of Bethlehem Steel's Number Three Mine in Cornwall, which opened 100 years ago. The images are from the Dewey Bernard Archival Collection.

Happy Throwback Thursday! One hundred years ago Bethlehem Steel began to develop the Number Three Mine at Cornwall. ...

Posted by Cornwall Iron Furnace on Thursday, April 8, 2021

Upcoming Virtual Events

Today, April 9

• "Adventures in Nature Lab," learn about vernal ponds and the plants and animals who need them to survive, The State Museum of PA, 12:15-12:45 pm EDT (SMP link to register)

Tuesday, April 13

• "Historical Markers of the Lebanon Valley," Henry Deemer takes you on a tour of state historical markers, Cornwall Iron Furnace, 7-8 pm EDT (CIF Facebook link to register)

Wednesday, April 14

• Story Reading, "The Caboose Who Got Loose" (written and illustrated by Bill Peet), Railroad Museum of PA, 10-10:30 am EDT (RMP YouTube channel to view)
• "Dawn of Diesel Locomotives," Railroad Museum of PA, 7-8 pm EDT, tickets are by donation (Eventbrite link to register)

Thursday, April 15

• "Power of Steam," live virtual tour and demo, Railroad Museum of PA, 7-8 pm EDT, tickets are by donation (register on Eventbrite)
• "What's in a theme? PHMC Virtual Collections Showcase," this month's theme is Sports, 7-8 pm EDT (Facebook link to register)

Happy It's April

Please check the PHMC Events Calendar if you're looking for virtual programs. I've highlighted events below, but there's more to see in the weeks ahead. The Trailheads Rec Room to the right of your screen has all kinds of online offerings--available whenever you need some entertainment.

A lovely view looking out from the Sisters' House (Saron) at Ephrata Cloister (photo via Facebook)

April Fool's Day

Lots of museums posted on social media for April Fool's Day. I found two very different Trails of History posts (if I missed one, please let me know and I'll add it here).

Pennsbury Manor did a bit of virtual redecorating of their beehives.

Bee-roque Decor 🐝 Having run out of spaces in the Manor House to decorate, we've turned our attention to renovating our...

Posted by Pennsbury Manor on Thursday, April 1, 2021

And the Pennsylvania Military Museum joked about activating (with blanks, of course) the 14-inch guns from the USS Pennsylvania.

The 14-inch/45 caliber guns of the USS Pennsylvania are an appreciated spectacle at the Pennsylvania Military Museum. ...

Posted by Pennsylvania Military Museum on Thursday, April 1, 2021

Looking Ahead

The April edition of "What's in a theme? PHMC Virtual Collections Showcase" is scheduled for Thursday, April 15, at 7 pm. The theme is sports, in honor of the opening of baseball season. Many of the featured objects are related to baseball, but you'll also learn about boxing in the US Armed Forces and an International Ladies' Garment Workers Union bowling league. The program is free and will be offered via Zoom (more info and the link for registration is on Facebook).

The State Museum of Pennsylvania has announced the deadline for submissions to this year's Art of the State juried exhibition. Entries will be accepted online from artists and craftspeople from throughout Pennsylvania through May 28 at 11:59 pm. Visit the Art of the State page on the museum's website for details. The Art of the State exhibit is slated to open on September 26. 

Calendar of Virtual Events

Today, April 2

• "Artists Conversations," fine arts curator Amy Hammond with artist and educator Tina Williams Brewer, The State Museum of PA, 12:15-12:45 pm (SMP Facebook page to register)

Wednesday, April 7

• "Story Reading," How to Train a Train (by Jason Carter Eaton with illustrations by John Rocco), Railroad Museum of PA, 10 am (watch on RMP's YouTube channel)

Thursday, April 8

• "Virtual Field Trip to Harmony, New Harmony, Economy, and Zoar," Ephrata Cloister, 9 am-3 pm, $20 (Ticketleap link for tickets)
• "Talking Back: Women's Voices in the Oil Story," third lecture "Working Out of Bounds: Women's Labor in Pennsylvania's Early Oil Industry," Drake Well Museum & Park, 7-8:30 pm (link for registration)