ICYMI: St. Patrick's Day on the Trails of History

Since this blog posts on Fridays (and is usually compiled by Wednesday), I wasn't able to share any of the St. Patrick's Day content that was posted by sites on the PA Trails of History. So in case you missed it, here are some of my favorites. Please don't forget to scroll down to see a list of upcoming events.



Image description: Front page of the March 17, 1936, edition of The Moore's Run Bugler, newsletter from CCC Camp S-134. A detailed line drawing of St. Patrick with flowing robe, bishop's miter, and crook takes up most of the page. There are snakes at St. Pat's feet and a castle in the background. The word "Bugler" is at the top of the page and "Saint Patricks Number" in script runs down the left side (PA Lumber Museum Facebook post). For a taste of PA Lumber Museum humor, see the March 17, 2021, entry in the curator's blog series "What chainsaw did that movie use?" featuring the 1995 horror film, Leprechaun 3.


Image description: Curator's Corner post shows the front of a St. Patrick's Day birthday card with shamrocks across the top and a poem that reads "Your Birthday is on St. Patrick's Day. Not only St. Patrick is honored, This day when honor is due, But we celebrate Somebody's birthday, A very nice somebody - you." The text of the post notes that "Got on Mar. 17, 1925" is written in pencil on the back (Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum Facebook post).


Image description: An 18th-century portrait of William West, third owner of Hope Lodge, who was born in County Sligo, Ireland. He is dressed in a dark suit with breeches, a waistcoat, and jacket; the cuffs and collar of a white shirt show at his wrist and neck. His hair is powdered or he is wearing a powdered wig. A young girl with brown hair wearing a short-sleeved gown stands at his knee (Hope Lodge Facebook post).


Image description: A 19th-century cream-colored pearlware teapot with three rows of green shamrocks painted on the side. The shape of the handle resembles an Irish harp. Text notes that the teapot was found, almost complete, in a trash pit excavated at a site in Philadelphia (State Museum of PA Facebook post with link to "This Week in Pennsylvania Archaeology" blog post dated March 18, 2022).

Up Next

Today, March 24

• Learn at Lunchtime (virtual); 12:15-12:45 pm; The State Museum of PA
• Mark Hand, director, and Matt Reis, deputy director, will provide an overview of Pennsylvania's GreenGov Program and its climate goals for state agencies. The program is free, but you must register to receive the link (3/24 Learn at Lunchtime registration).

Saturday, March 25

• PA Fossils (in-person); 10:30-11:30 am and 1:30-2:30 pm; The State Museum of PA
• Learn more about the fossils found in Pennsylvania and make a "fossil" to take home. Included in regular admission (Fossil program info).

Wednesday, March 29

• Explore! (in-person); 11:30 am-12:30 pm; The State Museum of PA
• Come explore and experiment with magnets and discover their history, uses, and how they work. For grades 3 to 5 and included in regular admission. Space is limited, so sign up at the Ground Floor Info Desk (Explore! info).

Thursday, March 30

• Winter History Class (virtual); 9 am-noon; Ephrata Cloister
• This is the final class for 2023. Today's presentations are "The Gift of a Coat, Not Just Any Coat" with site administrator Elizabeth Bertheaud and "The Curator's Favorite Things," with Kerry Mohn. If you didn't sign up for the full series, you can attend this session via Zoom only (register for March 30 session).

• Wisdom & Wine (in-person); 5:30-8 pm; Drake Well Museum & Park
• Joe Lichtinger and Steve Lencer will present "Stray Gas Migration Investigations in Northwest Pennsylvania." Admission charged. Doors open at 5:30 pm (wine tasting available from Brokenstraw Valley Winery); lecture begins at 6:30 pm (Wisdom & Wine info).

• Equality of Quaker Women in the Late 17th and Early 18th Century (virtual); 7-8 pm; Hope Lodge
• Sarah Rudich will present a brief glimpse into what roles and responsibilities Quaker women had in their communities. From primary source documentation, letters, journals, and meeting records, we will get a high-level peek into this early established equality movement. The event is free; please reserve your spot to receive the link (Equality of Quaker Women lecture info and registration).

Friday, March 31

• Learn at Lunchtime (virtual); 12:15-12:45 pm; The State Museum of PA
• Fine arts curator Amy Hammond will be in conversation with 2022 Art of the State Purchase Award winner Matthew Coté. This virtual program is free, but you must register to receive the link (3/31 Learn at Lunchtime registration).

Advance Tickets or Registrations

• Rails & Ales 2023 (in-person); Saturday, Apr. 1, 5:30-9 pm; Railroad Museum of PA
• Taste craft beers among the museum's world-class collection of historic trains in Rolling Stock Hall. Must be age 21 or older to attend; photo ID required at the door. Advance tickets only; VIP tickets are sold out (ticket options, including designated driver tickets).

• Easter Egg Hunt (in-person); Sunday, Apr. 2, Noon-3 pm; Old Economy Village
• Children age 10 and under are invited to hunt for Easter eggs in the village and visit with the Easter Bunny. The event is free, but you must register in advance (Egg Hunt info and registration).

• The Little Saw Mill Run Railroad (in-person); Wednesday, Apr. 12, 6-7:30pm; Old Economy Village
• David Aitken will present a talk based on his book, The Little Saw Mill Run Railroad - Its Life & Legacy, including an exploration of the Harmony Society's role in the company. The program is free, but seating is limited (Saw Mill Run Railroad program registration).

• Revolutionary Speaker Series (in-person); Saturday, Apr. 15, Noon-2 pm; Brandywine Battlefield Park
• Friederike Baer, associate professor of history at Penn State Abingdon, will present "Hessians: German Soldiers in the American Revolutionary War," exploring the estimated 30,000 German soldiers hired to fight for the British. Tickets are $20 (Rev Speaker Series tickets).

• Lunch & Learn (in-person); Wednesday, Apr. 26, 10 am-2 pm; Graeme Park
• Author C.J. McGroarty will discuss her novel, Clara in a Time of War, which is set on a Chester County farm in 1777. The program also includes continental breakfast, buffet lunch, and tours of the Keith House. Tickets are $35 (Lunch & Learn program info and tickets).

• Behind the Scenes with the Heirloom Seed Project (in-person); Saturday, Apr. 29, 9 am and 1 pm; Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum
• Heirloom Seed Project staff and volunteers will offer a glimpse into preparations for the annual Herb & Garden Faire and lead a tour of gardens on the site. Two tour times: 9 am or 1 pm. The tour is two hours of walking around the museum grounds, rain or shine; please dress for the weather with comfortable footwear. Tickets are $40, $35 for members (Heirloom Seed Project tour tickets).

• Art in the Garden (in-person); Saturday, Apr. 29, 10 am-1 pm; Pennsbury Manor
• Take a tour of Pennsbury's gardens and grounds, then settle into your favorite spot and paint. All skill levels welcome; materials provided. Cost is $35, $30 for members. Registration required (Pennsbury Manor contact info).

Summer Camp Programs (camps are in-person unless marked otherwise)

• Brandywine Battlefield Park (Brandywine camp info)
• Live the Battle Week (grades 3-4), June 27-30, 9 am-2 pm
• Step Into the Past Week (grades 3-4), July 11-14, 9 am-2 pm
• Live the Battle Week (grades 5-6), July 18-21, 9 am-2 pm
• Step Into the Past Week (grades 5-6), July 25-28, 9 am-2 pm

• Drake Well Museum & Park (Drake Well camp info)
• Discovery Days Camp (ages 8-12), July 6, 13, 20 & 27, 9 am-4 pm

• Pennsbury Manor (Pennsbury camp info)
• Colonial Camp Week (ages 6-8), July 17-21, 9 am-4 pm

Museum Selfie Day 2023

Several Trails of History sites participated in this year's Museum Selfie Day, posting photos of staff in their natural habitats. It's a fun day and a chance to see some of the people who make our sites such great places to visit. Here are a few of our Trails of History selfies.

From left, Lauren, Dodie, and Juliette with the Tahoe steam engine in the Railroad Museum of PA's Rolling Stock Hall (photo via RMP Facebook page)

You can join Planetarium director Linda to learn more about the night sky next week (photo via State Museum of PA Facebook page)

PA Lumber Museum curator Josh took this selfie with original timbers from the U.S. Brig Niagara while he was helping with a collections move at the Erie Maritime Museum (photo via PA Lumber Museum Facebook page)

Up Next

Please note that Ephrata Cloister will be closed Saturday and Sunday, January 21 and 22.

Today, January 20

• Learn at Lunchtime (virtual); 12:15-12:45 pm; The State Museum of PA
• Join us as we talk to Jeff Jumper, Resiliency Program Manager with the Bureau of Recovery at the PA Emergency Management Agency (PEMA), to discuss some of our weather normal and some of our extremes. From tornadoes to floods, we’ll take a look through the Pennsylvania weather almanac. The program is free, but you must register to receive the link (Learn at Lunchtime registration).

Saturday, January 21

• StoryTime (in-person); 10:30-11:30 am; The State Museum of PA
• Read Supertruck by Stephen Savage and uncover how this truck saves the town from the big snowstorm. For ages 2 to pre-K and included in regular admission. Sign up at the Ground Floor Info Desk when you arrive (StoryTime info).

• Revolutionary Speaker Series (in-person); Noon-2 pm; Brandywine Battlefield Park
• Jennifer Janofsky, director and public historian at Red Bank Battlefield, and Wade Catts, principal archaeologist with South River Heritage Consulting, will present a program on recent excavations at Fort Mercer and Red Bank Battlefield Park. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased online (Rev Speaker Series tickets).

• Mapping Mammal Hall (in-person); 1-3 pm; The State Museum of PA
• Use the giant map of PA to find the real locations that inspired the Mammal Hall diorama scenes. Included in regular admission (Mapping Mammal Hall info).

• Anthracite Heritage Month Program (in-person); 2-3:30 pm; PA Anthracite Heritage Museum
• Presentations include "The Reopening of the Brooks Mine in Nay Aug Park, Scranton" and "Mine Equipment Restoration." Refreshments will be served (Anthracite Htge Month Pgm info).

Sunday, January 22

• Knox Mine Disaster Commemoration (virtual and in-person); 2-3:30 pm; PA Anthracite Heritage Museum
• Anthracite Heritage Museum staff and staff from several museums in Wales will discuss Welsh and American coal heritage. The program will also include music and a display of mining memorabilia. Attend in person (22 Bald Mountain Rd., Scranton), join via Zoom (link to join Zoom), or watch live on AHM's Facebook page (Knox Mine Disaster program info).

Tuesday, January 24

• Sensory Hours (in-person); Jan. 24, 9-11 am; Railroad Museum of PA
• Light, noise, and crowd levels will be lower, and there will be a few quiet spaces in the galleries if you need a break. Severl historic trains will be open with staff on hand to answer questions. Advance tickets required (Sensory Hours 1/24 tickets).

Wednesday, January 25

• Explore! (in-person); 11:30 am-12:30 pm; The State Museum of PA
• Learn more about the groundhogs in Pennsylvania and their legendary role in predicting the weather. Build an aneroid barometer to make predictions at home. For grades 3-5 and included in regular admission. Space is limited; please sign up at the Ground Floor Info Desk when you arrive (Explore! info).

• Stargazing: Tonight's Sky (in-person); 2-3 pm; The State Museum of PA
• Join the Planetarium director to explore the basic motions of the sky, visible constellations and planets, and any special celestial events coming up in the next month. Planetarium tickets are in addition to regular admission and may be purchased at the Ground Floor Info Desk (Stargazing program info).

Advance Tickets or Registrations

• Tour of the GP30 (virtual); Tuesday, Jan. 31, 10-10:30 am; Railroad Museum of PA
• This interactive virtual program is geared to grades K-6 and will provide a behind-the-scenes view of spaces inside the locomotive. Admission is by donation (GP30 Tour info and tickets).

• Winter Academy (virtual); Thursday, Feb. 9, 6:30-7:30 pm; Drake Well Museum & Park
• Photographer and retired biology teacher Jeffrey Hall will present a virtual program, "Birds of Venango County," sharing facts and stories about the birds we all know, highlighting some of the birds that are "specialties" of Venango County, and introducing some of the rare birds that visit the county only occasionally (Winter Academy 2/9 info and registration).

• Rails & Ales 2023 (in-person); Saturday, April 1, 5:30-9 pm; Railroad Museum of PA
• Taste craft beers among the museum's world-class collection of historic trains in Rolling Stock Hall. Must be age 21 or older to attend; photo ID required at the door. Advance tickets only; VIP tickets tend to sell out quickly (ticket options, including designated driver tickets).

Winter Time Blues?

David Sonnen took this and other photos of the Conrad Weiser Homestead in last weekend's snow (photo via CWH Facebook page)

This past week has ranged from snow to spring where I live, and the weekend ahead looks like something in between (with wind, yay!). Don't let 60-degree weather in February fool you, campers. Winter never gives up that easily. As much as I'm not a big fan of being cold, I do love to see the winter scenes at our Trails of History sites, like the photo above from Conrad Weiser Homestead. Winter is definitely a slower time on the Trails, but there's still plenty to do. Even at sites that are closed to the public for the winter there is lots of activity going on behind the scenes. So whether you want to get outside, stay inside, or both - don't forget to visit your favorite Trails of History sites in person and online. (Here endeth my stream-of-consciousness exercise - Yikes!)

We love our visitors, but some jobs are easier to do when folks aren't around for tours. That's particularly true of giving our buildings and exhibits a deep clean (as opposed to ongoing maintenance and upkeep). Recently staff at Pennsbury Manor and Old Economy Village, both closed to visitors during January and February, rolled up their sleeves and got to work.

I tried to come up with clever shift here, but I can't. The Pennsylvania Military Museum shared this post about the anniversary of the first computer, ENIAC, which originated as a tool for calculating artillery firing tables. If you're reading this on your phone, you have more computing power in your hand than this room-sized computer had. Wild.

Up Next

Today, February 18

• Snow-mobility Weekend (in-person), 10:00 am-4 pm, Pennsylvania Lumber Museum
• Ride your snowmobile from Susquehannock State Forest to the museum today, tomorrow, and Sunday (10 am-4 pm each day). Enjoy a pancake breakfast tomorrow only (10 am-2 pm) in the visitor center (Snow-mobility details)

Saturday, February 19

• StoryTime (in-person), 10:30-11:30 am, The State Museum of PA
• Read "One Dog Sleigh" by Mary Casanova and create your own jingle bells. For kids age 2 to pre-K and included in regular admission (StoryTime info)

• Medicine and Disease in the 18th Century (in-person), noon-4 pm, Bushy Run Battlefield
• New exhibit opens today. Regular admission charged (Bushy Run info)

• The Dead of Winter (in-person), 5:30 and 7:00 pm, Graeme Park
• This program is conducted in the style of an early 20th-century seance, with a short historical discussion afterwards. Tickets are limited and reservations are required (Dead of Winter tickets)

Tuesday, February 22

• Sensory Hours (in-person), 3-5 pm, Railroad Museum of PA
• Light and noise levels will be lowered, and there will be several quiet spaces set up in the galleries. Several pieces of rolling stock will be open with staff on hand to answer questions. Registration is required (Sensory Hours ticket options)

• Pennsylvania Railroad Wooden Passenger Cars (virtual), 7-9 pm, The Railroad Museum of PA
• Take a virtual tour of coaches Nos. 3556, 8177, and 4639. Tickets are by donation (virtual tour tickets)

Wednesday, February 23

• Family Gallery Tour: Mammal Hall (in-person), 11:30 am-12:30 pm, The State Museum of PA
• Museum educators will use hands-on objects to help you learn about PA animals and their habitats. Included in regular admission (Gallery Tour info)

Thursday, February 24

• Winter History Class (virtual), 9 am-noon, Ephrata Cloister
• This week's topic is "Pennsylvania Dutch: The Story of an American Language." If you didn't register for the full course, you can attend today's session via Zoom for $10 (Winter History Class info and registration)

• Curiosity Kids (in-person), 11:30 am-12:30 pm, The State Museum of PA
• Learn about sleds and sleighs and how people in the past travelled and had fun in the winter. For kids in grades K-2 and included in regular admission (Curiosity Kids info)

• PHMC Virtual Collections Showcase (virtual), 7-8 pm
• This month's theme is Unique and Rare Objects. Panelists from 5 Trails of History sites will each have 5 minutes to present their object, then the audience gets to vote. Program is free, but you must register to receive the link (Collections Showcase info and registration)

Friday, February 25

• Learn at Lunchtime (virtual), 12:15-12:45 pm, The State Museum of PA
• Curators Katie McGowan and Robert Hill will share the story of Mary Sharp Ward (1912-1989), who served with the American Red Cross during World War II. The program is free, but you must register to receive the link (Learn at Lunchtime info and registration)

Advance Tickets or Registrations

• Ephrata Cloister's Winter History Class continues each Thursday morning from 9 am to noon through March 31; if you didn't sign up for the full 9-week course, you can register to attend individual sessions via Zoom for $10 each (Ephrata Cloister website)
• Pennsylvania Lumber Museum, in cooperation with the Potter County Conservation District, will host "Conservationist Gardener Workshop" on March 4, 11 am-12:30 pm; the workshop is free and in-person, but you must contact the Conservation District to register (Conservation workshop info)
• Rails and Ales: enjoy an evening of craft beer among the museum's historic trains at the Railroad Museum of PA, April 9, 5:30-9 pm; must be 21 or older to attend; variety of ticket options (VIP tickets are sold out), including designated driver tickets (Rails and Ales tickets)
• Drake Well Marathon, August 14 - this race is a Boston Marathon qualifier. Registration for a variety of categories is now open.

Waiting for Punxy Phil

Last weekend, the Pennsylvania Lumber Museum welcomed visitors to try out cross-country skiing and other winter activities (photo courtesy PA Lumber Museum)

Wednesday (February 2) is Groundhog Day. Will we get six more weeks of the above? Or will it be an early spring? Only Punxsutawney Phil (or any of Pennsylvania's other prognosticating rodents) knows for sure. My money's on six more weeks of winter, because it's Pennsylvania and it's February--but I've been wrong before. While we wait to find out what lies ahead, season-wise, here's a roundup of Trails of History site news from January.

PHMC's Keystone Internship program will take place this summer with paid in-person placements around the state. Openings are available for a variety of historic preservation, museum operations, collections care and management, and museum education and interpretation projects. Applications are being accepted through the NEOGOV online system through February 20. Interns must be at least 18 years of age and must be enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program (the application process requires an unofficial transcript). For details, visit the NEOGOV Internship Site and look for postings for "Keystone Internships."

The Pennsylvania Humanities Council recently announced the award of $1.4 million in funds to 92 organizations through the PA SHARP program, funded through the American Rescue Plan. Each grantee will receive up to $20,000 to strengthen their organization and will join the new PA SHARP Learning Network, which fosters resource sharing, networking, professional development, and mutual support. We are pleased to report that two PA Trails of History sites, Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum and Pennsbury Manor, were among the successful applicants. Congratulations!

Also on the awards front, Somerset Historical Center is the 2022 recipient of the Betty Haupt Memorial Tourism Award through the Somerset County Chamber of Commerce. It is awarded in memory of Elizabeth "Betty" Haupt (1918-1990), former director of the Somerset Historical Center, and a former member of the Chamber's Tourism Committee. It is given to a county resident or business that has made a significant effort to further tourism in Somerset County. Betty Haupt was instrumental in the early development of Somerset Historical Center and its eventual transfer to the Commonwealth. The Center, with its focus on the history of southwestern Pennsylvania, is a major component of tourism to the Laurel Highlands. Well done, all!

Brandywine Battlefield Park and Hope Lodge were featured in a recent article in the Philadelphia Inquirer on the best museums in the Philadelphia region (hat tip to Kevin Horan at Hope Lodge for sharing the link). And Conrad Weiser Homestead was featured in a Washington Post travel piece that suggested folks visit Berks County as a less-busy alternative to Lancaster.

The Keith House at Graeme Park with its summer kitchen and kitchen garden in the foreground (photo via GP's Facebook page)

This year is the 300th anniversary of the Keith House, begun in 1722, and the folks at Graeme Park are posting lots of old photos and other images on Facebook to mark the occasion (Graeme Park's Facebook page). They'd also like to hear from people who have stories and memories of the site during its more recent history and have set up a Google Doc to gather that info (Graeme Park Memories Google Doc).

Two weeks ago curators from Drake Well Museum & Park and the Pennsylvania Lumber Museum participated in a program for the Boom Heritage Series, jointly sponsored by the Lumber Heritage Region and the Oil Region Alliance. It was in interesting look at relationships between Pennsylvania's lumber and oil industries and numerous ways in which they overlapped. If you missed it, you can catch the recording of "An Insider's Look at the Drake Well and Pennsylvania Lumber State Museums."

And finally, for today, Eckley Miners' Village is looking for help turning oral history transcripts into a searchable format to make them available for research. They've posted on Facebook with more information. Not a bad way to spend some time if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow next week.

Up Next

Today, January 28

• Learn at Lunchtime (virtual): Janet Johnson, curator of archaeology, will talk about a piece of Rev War naval defenses recovered from the Delaware River in 2012; The State Museum of PA; 12:15-12:45 pm; program is free, but you must register to receive the link (Learn at Lunchtime info and registration)

Sunday, January 30

• Sunday Sewing Circle (in-person): bring your sewing or embroidery project and spend time with others who like to sew; Bushy Run Battlefield; 1-4 pm; program is free (Sewing Circle info)

Wednesday, February 2

• Explore! (in-person): celebrate Groundhog Day by learning about groundhogs and the science of weather forecasting; The State Museum of PA; 11:30 am-12:30 pm; for kids in grades 3-5 and included in regular admission; space is limited, so be sure to sign up at the Ground Floor Info Desk when you arrive (Explore! info)

Thursday, February 3

• Winter History Class (in-person and virtual): the 9-week class starts today with a brief history of Ephrata Cloister and a discussion of the Welsh Tract of PA; Ephrata Cloister; 9 am-noon; limited in-person registration is available for members who sign up for the full 9 weeks, non-members and folks who want to choose individual sessions can attend via Zoom (see Ephrata website for details and registration)
• Games & Puzzle Challenge (in-person): test your knowledge and skills with a variety of games and puzzles in the galleries; The State Museum of PA; 11:30 am-12:30 pm; included in regular admission (Games & Puzzle info)

Friday, February 4

• StoryTime (in-person): read One Dog Sleigh by Mary Casanova and create your own jingle bells; The State Museum of PA; 10:30-11:30 am; for kids age 2 to pre-K and included in regular admission (StoryTime info)

Advance Tickets or Registrations

• Winter Academy virtual programs will be offered by Drake Well Museum & Park on Feb. 10 and 17 (Drake Well Virtual Academy info)
• Rails and Ales: enjoy an evening of craft beer among the museum's historic trains at the Railroad Museum of PA, April 9, 5:30-9 pm; must be 21 or older to attend; variety of ticket options (VIP tickets are sold out), including designated driver tickets (Rails and Ales tickets)

Taking Care of History

UPDATE SEPT. 1: Due to the remnants of Hurricane Ida, some sites and museums may be cancelling programs or changing operating hours. Always be sure to check ahead before visiting.

Please be sure to check the PHMC Events Calendar for information on upcoming programs (in-person and virtual). I've included highlights below. The Trailheads Rec Room pages to the right of your screen offer an array of online content generated by Trails of History sites. Also, if you're looking for a Covid vaccine provider, check out Vaccines.gov and enter your zip code.

Please note that staff and volunteers at Commonwealth of PA worksites, including the PA Trails of History, are wearing masks while indoors. Visitors are encouraged, though not required, to do so as well.

The annual Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day tribute at the Pennsylvania Military Museum takes place beneath two guns from the USS Pennsylvania (photo PMM)

As we've noted in this blog many times, the work of caring for the objects in our collections never ends (nor does the work of sharing those objects and their stories with our audiences and communities). Sometimes those objects are small and delicate. Sometimes they're, to reveal an insider term, "Big Metal Objects." This week the staff of the Pennsylvania Military Museum began a project to make necessary repairs to the Pennsy Guns, two 44-foot-long gun barrels from the USS Pennsylvania that are now displayed on the museum grounds (see photo above). The ship was at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and these guns saw action during World War II. Site administrator Tyler Gum explains, “After more than 10 years of exposure, the necessary adjustments, and improvements are certainly due, as they would be if the barrels were still aboard the Pennsy.”

Work will include the temporary removal of the barrels from their pedestals, allowing for repairs to be completed successfully and safely. Caring for these immense artifacts is a responsibility held by museum curator Jennifer Gleim. “The Pennsylvania Military Museum is lucky to be the stewards of these important pieces of history," said Gleim. “We ensure the safety and integrity of the barrels on display by performing yearly condition reports and upkeep, in accordance with standards provided by the U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command.” Maintenance and repairs are performed by a team of engineers, architects, and historians. Once completed, both barrels will be remounted, allowing for continued interpretation and long-term preservation.

The Pennsy Guns being lifted into place at the museum in 2009 (photo by intern William Cawthern)

Upcoming Events (virtual & in-person)

Today, August 27

• Drake Days (in-person): enjoy some extras with your visit today & tomorrow marking the 162nd anniversary of Col. Edwin L. Drake striking oil in northwestern PA, Drake Well Museum & Park, 10 am-4 pm each day, included in regular admission (DWM Facebook post for details)
• Learn at Lunchtime (virtual): view "Witness to History: WITF's Tim Lambert and 9/11," a pre-recorded interview by State Museum Director Beth Hager, 12:15-12:45 pm (SMOP link for program)

Saturday, August 28

• Sawblades & Spinning Wheels (in-person): members of the local fiber arts community will be on site so bring your knitting, crochet, or other fiber projects, Pennsylvania Lumber Museum, 1-3 pm (PLM Facebook for info)

Sunday, August 29

• Last Sunday Sewing Circle (in-person): bring your sewing or embroidery projects and spend time with others who like to sew, Bushy Run Battlefield, 1-4 pm, repeats the last Sunday of each month, except Oct. (BRB Facebook post for details)

Wednesday, Sept. 1

• Explore! (in-person): kids in grades 3-5 are invited to learn about black bears, The State Museum of PA, 11:30 am-12:30 pm, included in regular admission (Explore! info)

Thursday, Sept. 2

• Curiosity Kids (in-person): learn about the basic motions of the Earth and the Sun that cause us to experience seasons, The State Museum of PA, 11:30 am-12:30 pm, included in regular admission, but space is limited (Curiosity Kids info)

History: It's What We Do

Please be sure to check the PHMC Events Calendar for information on upcoming programs (still mostly virtual). The Trailheads Rec Room pages to the right of your screen have other online offerings that you may find interesting.

Monday, May 31, is Memorial Day. With current operating schedules, most Trails of History sites will be closed on Monday - but most are open this weekend, so please check the schedule of your favorite site.

The Pennsylvania Military Museum will be open from 10 am to 3 pm Friday through Monday - you can learn more about Pennsylvanians' military service while honoring those who did not return home from war. The monuments and memorials on the grounds are always a stark reminder of what it means to send troops into the fight.

Pennsbury Manor will be open for grounds-only visits on Memorial Day.

History Behind the Scenes

Yesterday, May 27, marked the 60th anniversary of Ephrata Cloister as a state property. As curator Kerry Mohn explains in the Facebook post below, "[I]n a brief ceremony in the Governor’s private office in the State Capitol, the deed for the grounds and buildings of the Ephrata Cloister was handed to Governor Arthur H. James, who in turn handed to the “heirs” of the Ephrata German Seventh Day Baptist Church a check for $15,000.00. The purchase also included artifacts."


Cornwall Iron Furnace recently shared an image of a map that has been a great tool for learning about the furnace complex and its environs. Reading this map and comparing to what's left to us today helps to document change over time. The community of iron furnace sites is a big one - this past weekend Cornwall staff participated in the 2021 Virtual Maryland Iron Festival, organized by Catoctin Furnace Historical Society (you can check it out on YouTube).


As you can see in this post from Old Economy Village, collections care involves many tasks, such as cleaning and inventory. Staff always try to be efficient by taking care of as many tasks as possible each time they touch an artifact. The work never ends.

What Day Is It?

Please check the PHMC Events Calendar if you're looking for virtual programs; I've highlighted some below. The Trailheads Rec Room to the right of your screen has all kinds of online offerings--great for when you need a break.

This past week has offered a variety of opportunities for Trails of History sites to highlight items in their collections.

Black History Month

Erie Maritime Museum and U.S. Brig Niagara posted an image of Cyrus Tiffany's fife, which is part of the museum's collection. As museum educator Charles Johnson notes in a linked blog post, Cyrus Tiffany was one of a number of Black sailors who served in Oliver Hazard Perry's fleet during the Battle of Lake Erie.

In celebrating #BlackHistoryMonth, the Erie Maritime Museum is home to a unique artifact pertaining to the...

Posted by Erie Maritime Museum on Friday, February 12, 2021

The State Museum of Pennsylvania has been sharing posts about Black Pennsylvanians featured in their Trailblazers exhibit. Among them is Daisy Lampkin (1883-1965), a native of Reading who was active in women's suffrage and anti-lynching movements.

Born in Reading, Daisy Lampkin held a lifelong commitment to advancing the rights of women and African Americans. She...

Posted by The State Museum of Pennsylvania on Tuesday, February 16, 2021

Valentine's Day

The PHMC Virtual Collections Showcase on Feb. 16 revolved around the theme of Love and Relationships. We hope to have the recording available in the next week or so. Keep an eye on the Showcase playlist on PHMC's YouTube channel. Spoiler alert: Old Economy Village won the night with a collection of coded love letters between two non-Harmonist members of the community. Our next Showcase will be March 9 at 7 pm with a theme of Birthdays and Other Celebrations, in honor of Pennsylvania's birthday, Charter Day.

Daniel Boone Homestead highlighted the heart-shaped holes in the barn gables on site, which served a practical purpose (ventilation) but may also reflect Pennsylvania German use of hearts as symbols of love, protection, and luck.

The Homestead "hearts" you! The heart shaped holes in the barn gables at Boone probably served as a ventilation for the...

Posted by Daniel Boone Homestead on Sunday, February 14, 2021

Presidents Day

Or more specifically, Lincoln's Birthday - PA Lumber Museum curator Josh Fox offered the latest installment of the hit series, "What chainsaw did that movie use?" Noting that Abraham Lincoln died about 80 years before chainsaws were widely available, Josh identifies the weapon wielded by the 16th President in the movie "Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter" (2012) as a Baltimore-Kentucky pattern axe. I'll take his word for it.

Happy Birthday to Abraham Lincoln!

Posted by Pennsylvania Lumber Museum on Friday, February 12, 2021

Upcoming Virtual Events

Today, Feb. 19

• "A Spirited Republic: Whiskey Distilling in PA," State Museum of PA, 12:15-12:45 pm (program info and registration)

Monday, Feb. 22

• "Power of Steam: Demo and Live Tour," Railroad Museum of PA, 10-11 am (RMP info and registration)

Tuesday, Feb. 23

• "The Country Store," Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum, 7-8 pm (LVM info and registration)

Wednesday, Feb. 24

• "African American CCC Camps in PA's State Forests and Parks," PA Lumber Museum, 7-8 pm (PLM info and registration)
• "Pioneer Steam Heritage Virtual Tour," Railroad Museum of PA, 7-8 pm (tour info and registration)

Thursday, Feb. 25

• "Winter History Class, Week 4," Ephrata Cloister, 9 am-noon (EC info and registration)
• "The Harmonist Articles of Agreement," Old Economy Village, 7-8 pm (OEV info and registration)

Working from Home to Transcribe History

Be sure to check out the PHMC Events Calendar for online events at Trails of History sites. The Trailheads Rec Room pages to the right of your screen have wide array of puzzles, activities, videos, and collections highlights - all available 24/7.

Today we have a guest post from Faith Denny, who recently took on a remote transcription project as a volunteer. Faith lives outside of Philadelphia with her husband Joshua and their cat, Colby. She works in journalism and is studying to earn a master's in library and information science, with a concentration in archives management. Faith worked with Bureau of Historic Sites and Museums curator Rachel Yerger, who has written several posts about curatorial work for Trailheads (most recently in April and May).

This year, we have certainly had to overcome new challenges by not being able to safely meet or congregate in person as much as we would like. However, it has also provided us with some new opportunities to connect virtually. Thanks to the internet, I was able to be connected with the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) and Rachel Yerger, a curator with the Bureau of Historic Sites and Museums in Harrisburg, for a virtual volunteer opportunity, though I live about two hours away outside Philadelphia.

Gilpin Land Indenture (BB85.1.35, view 1)

My work consisted of transcribing a land indenture from 1730 associated with Brandywine Battlefield Park. I was very new to transcription, especially for a document from this long ago. Rachel sent me two photographs of the indenture, of its front and back. A land indenture is similar to a deed, and this one in particular had to do with the Gilpin family. My technique was to have the photo open on one side of my computer screen, with a Word document open on the other side and I would write down whatever I saw as I saw it. The definition on the photographs was incredible, allowing me to zoom in to my heart’s content.

This project was very interesting and kept me on my toes. I had to remind myself not to change the spelling (and to watch out for autocorrect), even if the word looked incorrect or odd to my eyes. For example, the author of the indenture spelled the state’s name Pensilvania. Hickory was spelled like Hickery. There were also different terms used, such as perches, which is a form of measurement.

Detail of document (BB85.1.35, view 2)

Though ideally you would want to see documents like this in person with a nice magnifying glass, it is truly amazing that something like this can be done virtually. I was able to work on it at any time, from the comfort of my own home. I look forward to doing more and to learning more about the Gilpin family and that time period in American history.

Rear view of Gideon Gilpin House at Brandywine Battlefield Park (via Facebook)

[Editor's note: the document Faith Denny transcribed (transcript) involved a transfer of property from Joseph (Sr) and Hannah Gilpin to their son Joseph Gilpin Jr. In 1745, Joseph Jr constructed the stone portion of the house shown above (the kitchen section to the left in the photo was added in 1782). Joseph Jr's son Gideon took custody of the home in 1764 (learn more about Gideon Gilpin's experiences during the Battle of Brandywine and its aftermath).

It's What We Do

Please check out the September program page for online events (I've highlighted a few below). Online offerings ranging from coloring pages to jigsaw puzzles to videos are available 24/7 in the Trailheads Rec Room (to the right on your screen).

Drake Well Museum and Park and the Pennsylvania Lumber Museum co-hosted a live event for Ask A Curator Day on Wednesday (screenshot from Facebook video)

This has been a busy week. I've spent a lot of time talking with colleagues about the work we do, which is what inspired the title and brief content for this week's post. Much of the discussion has been around the work we are doing (with much more to be done) to foster and support inclusive work environments and to make sure that we are truly welcoming and inclusive places to visit (both in person and online). At a meeting of PHMC's Equity and Inclusion Team, we explored how issues of diversity, equity, access, and inclusion (DEAI) should inform the agency's latest strategic plan.

I met with colleagues from the Bureau of Historic Sites and Museums and the PA State Archives to discuss an upcoming conversation about inclusive collecting (part of a new monthly series of staff conversations on topics related to museum work in the 21st century). And I attended a DEAI training led by Cecile Shellman, who has an extensive background working at a range of museums and now consults on equity and inclusion for museums around the country. I also spent time with my colleague at Pennsbury Manor, Mary Ellyn Kunz, recording a short session on virtual programs for teachers and students that we'll be presenting for a meeting of Trails of History site administrators and educators next week. To say that my brain is full is an understatement. But I'm also feeling optimistic about the energy of so many PHMC staff and volunteers to do the hard work of making our sites, programs, and collections a true reflection of Pennsylvania's diversity and complex history.

My colleagues were also (in addition to attending these meetings) showing the public what they do and what it means to preserve and interpret Pennsylvania's history:

• For Ask a Curator Day (Sept. 16), staff from Drake Well Museum and Park and the Pennsylvania Lumber Museum took part in a conversation about museum collecting via Zoom and Facebook Live (that's what the photo at the top of the post is from). If you'd like to catch a replay, you'll find the video on Facebook.
• For Welcoming Week (Sept. 12-20), an annual series of events where neighbors, immigrants, and long-term residents come together in a spirit of unity, staff at Ephrata Cloister have been sharing stories and letters of immigrants who helped start the town of Ephrata - highlighting the history of immigrants and Ephrata's collections (you can check the first post of the week on Facebook and then find the rest).
• In tribute to Civil War historian Ed Bearss, who passed away earlier this week, PA Military Museum site administrator Tyler Gum wrote a blog post reflecting on "What Makes a Professional."
• After having to cancel their signature Mountain Craft Days event this year, Somerset Historical Center filled the weekend with posts about the history of the event and scenes from the past (Facebook photo album)
• This year's Art of the State exhibit at The State Museum of Pennsylvania is online. You can find a 360 degree view and take a virtual tour by visiting the museum's exhibit page.

P&R Shopmen Baseball team 1922 (via Railroad Museum Facebook page)

The Week Ahead

• Sept. 20-27, Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum Online Auction Preview--this fundraiser supports the Farm Program and Heirloom Seed Project (animals and gardens need ongoing care even if the site is closed to the public). Online bidding will take place Sept. 28-Oct. 5. Visit the Facebook event for details.
  
• Sept. 23, Virtual Happy Hour: Sports--join staff from the Railroad Museum, Anthracite Heritage Museum, Eckley Miners' Village, and the Pennsylvania Military Museum for a live chat about sports-related objects in their collections. Offered via Zoom. Tickets for this event are by donation (drink recipe included with ticket). Visit Facebook event page for details and ticket link. 7-8 pm.

So Many Milestones

The August page has a growing list of online events, including a couple of updates since last week's post. For online activities available 24/7, check out the Trailheads Rec Room (to the right of your screen).

A splash of color (photo by AKF)

This month - this week - included some important milestones and one that's not-so-historic but worth noting, I think (I'm sure you'll be able to tell which it is). Let's get started.

The Pennsylvania Humanities Council (PHC) announced this week that 140 cultural nonprofits across the state had received $780,500 in PHC CARES emergency relief grants to help mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on their programs and operations. Six Trails of History sites were among the awardees, for a total of $29,500 (grants ranging from $4,000 to $7,000). Congratulations to Ephrata Cloister, Graeme Park, Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum, Old Economy Village, Pennsbury Manor, and Somerset Historical Center!

PHMC's public portal for museum collections, ARGUS, now includes more than 10,000 entries. Curators on the Trails of History have used their time very productively, turning institutional catalog records into descriptions that convey the essential history of the objects. You can browse to your heart's content by visiting the PHMC website and clicking on Museum Collection (or use this link). And speaking of curators, Susan Hanna, who retired earlier this year after a storied career with PHMC, recently received a Special Achievement Award from PA Museums, our statewide museum association. UPDATE: my sincere apologies for neglecting to mention that Pennsbury Manor received an Institutional Achievement Award for their Gathering of Governors program.

100 Years - Ratification of the 19th Amendment

75 Years - Atomic Bombs Dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

55 Years - The Voting Rights Act

50 Years - Pennsylvania Lumber Museum

11 Years - Trailheads Blog

August 1 marked the 11 year anniversary of the first Trailheads blog post. As far as I can tell, I failed to note the 10th anniversary last year. Since we'll be coming up on the 600 post milestone in the next month or so (and because the new Blogger format afforded me some additional stats), I've included the top 5 most-viewed posts. Only one of them was actually written by me, but that's fine. Really. Juuuuuust fine. But seriously, it's been a pleasure to work with staff and guest bloggers to help showcase the work of all the people who make the Pennsylvania Trails of History what it is. Thanks for reading. See you next week.

• #1 - The Last Days of William Penn, July 30, 2018, an article by Linda Ries that originally appeared in the Summer 2018 issue of Pennsylvania Heritage
• #2 - Historic Hunting: Helen Sites Miller excelled at male-dominated pastime, Dec. 8, 2016, a guest post by Bureau of Historic Sites and Museums curator Rachel Yerger
• #3 - Invention of the Jeep, Sept. 21, 2018, a piece that originally appeared in the Summer 2003 issue of Pennsylvania Heritage
• #4 - That Reminds Me of a Story, March 26, 2018
• #5 - Philadelphia and the 1918 Influenza Pandemic, Sept. 14, 2018, a guest post by Christina Stetler, then on staff at the PA Heritage Foundation

The Week in Review

The July program page has info about online programs happening this weekend and next week (and a couple of deadlines for August programs). To help you plan ahead, I've also published the August page. For online activities available 24/7, check out the Trailheads Rec Room (to the right of your screen).

Members of the Accessibility Excellence Working Group during their online meeting (screenshot)

I spent yesterday afternoon meeting with colleagues working on the PA Museums and PHMC Accessibility Excellence project. PA Museums received a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services last fall, and PHMC is partnering with them on this effort. We are developing an assessment tool to help museums and historical organizations measure their accessibility to the public and a resource kit to help institutions improve. As you might expect, COVID-19 has thrown us a significant curveball. On the upside, we have continued, with the leadership of project manager Jenny Angell, to refine the assessment and work to bring it in line with some other standards programs in the field. On the other hand, we had hoped by now to be piloting the assessment tool at PHMC's Trails of History sites. With uncertainty about when sites will reopen, we are considering a number of alternatives and (yes) pivots to keep the project moving.

Online meetings allow for document sharing in addition to the Brady Bunch experience (screenshot)

On a related note, Sunday, July 26, is the 30th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), landmark legislation intended to make employment, government services, and public accommodations fully accessible to people with disabilities. Clearly, the work to achieve that is still ongoing. As part of their "ADA at 30" compilation, the New York Times spoke with disability rights activists Judy Heumann, Alice Wong, and Haben Girma for an article titled "What the A.D.A. Means to Me" and provided an overview, "'Nothing About Us Without Us': 16 Moments in the Fight for Disability Rights." To learn more about disability history and disability rights advocacy, check out the Disability History Association or Disability Rights PA.

The historic Saal at Ephrata Cloister (photo via Facebook)

Singer, educator and musicologist Chris Herbert will be on NPR's Morning Edition today to talk about his recording project, "Voices in the Wilderness: The Music of the Ephrata Cloister," which includes works by the earliest-known female composers in America. Herbert describes the project:

"In order to create modern transcriptions of the music for the recording, I visited 22 libraries, collections, and archives throughout the world to study and photograph Ephrata music manuscripts. I got to spend time in the Library of Congress, and it was there that I realized that one of the largest Ephrata documents, known as the Ephrata Codex, contains inscriptions that offer proof of authorship by three women: sisters Föben, Hanna, and Ketura.

Since this post won't publish until about 20 minutes before you can hear Herbert on NPR, I'll add a link to the recording here when it becomes available (NPR link added 7/26/2020). In the meantime, you can sample some of the music, which was recorded at Ephrata in the historic Saal (meetinghouse) last year.

This week also marks the return (finally) of Major League Baseball, although greatly curtailed due to COVID-19. Pennsylvania Trails of History shared a relevant artifact from the State Museum of Pennsylvania collection.



And here's a selection of posts from the past week - I noticed a theme of different types of work. I hope you have a chance to rest from your labors sometime in the coming week.

Curating from Home

PHMC's Trails of History sites remain closed to the public until the Green Phase in accordance with Governor Wolf’s Process to Reopen Pennsylvania plan. During the Yellow Phase, the grounds can be accessed for passive and dispersed recreation. Visitors are to follow the governor’s guidelines regarding masking and social distancing, and gatherings are prohibited.

The May program page lists a couple of virtual programs at this point, and it contains a full list of links to Trails of History Facebook pages so that you can continue to enjoy our online offerings. You'll also find some of those offerings in the Trailheads Rec Room (see links in the sidebar to the right of your screen); new material gets added so that you can see the most recent examples. This week there's a new page for Videos, Virtual Tours, and Playlists.

Today's post is the third in a series from Bureau of Historic Sites and Museums curator Rachel Yerger. Rachel has been sharing insights and behind-the-scenes peeks at PHMC collections and the work that goes into caring for and learning about them ("A Glimpse Into Our Collections" on March 27 and "Focus on Collections - Mining PPE" on April 10).

Rachel Yerger, left, working with David Dunn to inventory collections at Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum in 2018 (I think)

How has the coronavirus changed the way a PHMC curator works? One big change is that many of us don’t have regular physical access to artifacts (total bummer). Don't worry, we are working with our site colleagues to make sure that the collections areas are secure and the environment is stable. But, since we don't have easy access to artifacts, our daily functions have pivoted slightly. Some curators have taken this time to work on research projects, write blogs, and update collection records. While many of these things aren’t quite as much fun as working with artifacts, this time at home has given us the opportunity to move forward with a major PHMC initiative, creating a publicly available online artifact database (which you can find by clicking the "Museum Collection" icon on PHMC's homepage).

Landing page for the Museum Collection portal (link to landing page)

A few years ago, the PHMC shifted to a new web-based collections management system. One major benefit of this system is that it allows us to publish artifact records online. Many curators are using this time at home to publish records for your viewing pleasure! Since our sites themselves aren’t currently accessible, we hope that these online collections will be a way for us to stay connected with the public, provide some comfort, and most importantly, allow us to share the story of Pennsylvania with a broader audience.

This is what a typical record looks like, with a thumbnail image and information about the object

Generally, when creating a record, we try to make sure to include a photograph of the artifact, a physical description, dimensions, date, and manufacturer/artist. When possible, we add some background information on the object, such as who owned it, how it was used, or why we think it is significant. This isn't always possible for each artifact, but we try to include as much information as we can before the record is published. We hope that the information provided in these records will help both researchers and history enthusiasts alike. The most exciting part of our online catalog is that many of these artifacts might not ordinarily be seen on exhibit, so it provides a behind-the-scenes look at PHMC's collections.

This is the search page - you'll find featured objects and instructions on how to begin your search

There are over 4,500 records currently available, and that number is continuing to grow. You can use the search bar to search for specific types of objects, or you can peruse by site or featured object groupings. The site is a work in progress, and we welcome feedback and suggestions about what we have published, or what you might want to see published. So, take a look and let us know what you think!