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)

Keep Moving Forward

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.

These ducks are among the 24 different bird species found at Daniel Boone Homestead, according to an inventory conducted as part of the Site Master Plan process (photo via DBH Facebook)

This week we announced that PHMC sites and museums, which have been closed for a year due to Covid 19, will reopen with reduced hours of operation and limited capacity on Friday, April 30. (Those of us in administrative offices, including Trailheads HQ, the Pennsylvania State Archives, and the State Historic Preservation Office, will continue to primarily telework for the time being.)

We'll be following CDC and PA Department of Health guidelines related to face masks, social distancing, hand hygiene, cleaning, and capacity limits. Each site has been working on reopening plans to determine how their specific operations will be adjusted. You can find the general guidelines on PHMC's Welcome Back page, but you'll want to check the websites for individual sites to be sure of schedules and so that you know what to expect when you arrive. But that's always good advice, isn't it?

We don't expect to have large events at Trails of History sites until the fall, and staff will focus on general site activities at first. We also know that some folks aren't yet ready to visit in person. So virtual programming will continue to be part of our offerings for the foreseeable future. Stay tuned to this space, PHMC's website, and your favorite Trails of History sites for updates and program listings. Thanks for hanging in there with us.

Upcoming Virtual Events

Today, March 26

• Learn at Lunchtime, "State Museum Perspectives," a conversation with the museum's archaeology staff about their excavations at Fort Hunter, 12:15-12:45 pm (link for Zoom registration)

Saturday, March 27

• Cerddoriaeth & Ceol: Welsh and Irish Anthracite Music Traditions, PA Anthracite Heritage Museum, $5, 2-4 pm (Eventbrite link for details and tickets)
• Life-Saving Service Lecture series, "Station Presque Isle/Erie History," Erie Maritime Museum and U.S. Brig Niagara, 2-3 pm (Facebook event link for registration)
• Historic Arms of the Museum, PA Military Museum, 2-3 pm (Facebook link for registration)

Sunday, March 28

• Korean Service Corps (lecture), PA Military Museum, 2-3 pm (PMM website link to register)

Tuesday, March 30

• Harmonist Woodworking Tools, virtual walk-through of the Harmonist cabinet shop, Old Economy Village, 7-8 pm (Facebook event link for registration)

Wednesday, March 31

• Homeschool Presentation: Tonight's Sky, live chat with the State Museum of PA planetarium director, 10-11 am (State Museum website for registration)
• Story Reading, "I Knew You Could," by Craig Dorfman with illustrations by Cristina Ong, Railroad Museum of PA, 10 am (watch on RMP's YouTube channel)
• Life-Saving Service Lecture series, "USCG Operations During Prohibition," Erie Maritime Museum and U.S. Brig Niagara, 7-8 pm (EMM Facebook event for registration)

Thursday, April 1

• Winter History Class, Week 9, Ephrata Cloister, $10, 9 am-noon (Ephrata website for registration)
• Simple Machines: Railroad Edition, designed for ages 7-12, Railroad Museum of PA, 4-5 pm (link for tickets by donation)
• Talking Back: Women's Voices in the Oil Story series, "Privilege & Politics: Women's Activism in the Oil Region, 1880-1921," Drake Well Museum & Park, 7-8 pm (Facebook event for registration)