QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER AND CALENDAR WINTER 2007
RANDALL MILLER LECTURE
A lecture by noted Pennsylvania historian Randall Miller will kick off the 2007 PHS Signature Series at 7 p.m., Thursday, March 8, at The State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. Held in conjunction with PHMC’s annual Heritage Week, Dr. Miller will present “‘The Last Best Hope’?: The American Civil War in Memory and Meaning.” A dessert reception will follow in the museum’s Memorial Hall with a special preview of the annual display of King Charles II's original 1681 Charter to William Penn. PHS Randall Miller is a professor of history at members, $10, non-members, $15. St. Joseph’s University and co-editor of the PHMC publication, Pennsylvania: A History of Please RSVP to PHS Membership Coor- A SUCCESSFUL CAPITOL TOUR the Commonwealth. dinator Kelly VanSickle, (717) 787-2407, or [email protected], by March 1. About 100 PHS members and guests joined PHS and the Capitol Preserva- tion Committee (CPC) for a special dome-access tour and reception on September 19, 2006. Celebrating the Capitol building’s centennial, attend- ees enjoyed gorgeous late summer vistas for Harrisburg and the Susque- hanna Valley from atop the Capitol as well as behind-the-scenes commentary on the Capitol’s restoration by the CPC. PHMC Chairman/PHS President Wayne Spilove and Lieutenant Gover- nor Catherine Baker Knoll presided at a dessert reception following the tour.
PHS Capitol Reception last September 19: PHMC Chairman Wayne Spilove thanks Ruthann Kemper, CPC Executive Director, and Representative Paul Clymer, CPC Chairman, with a framed copy of a Penn- sylvania Heritage magazine cover featuring a State Capitol mural.
11 PHS NEWSLETTER CALENDAR FOR JANUARY – MARCH 2007
Please note that sites and museums may have modified hours during the winter. Please call ahead to verify hours.
HERITAGE WEEK 2007 WORKSHOPS, LECTURES, AND SHOWS Join the Heritage Society and PHMC in celebrating the found- DRAKE WELL MUSEUM ing of the Commonwealth during Heritage Week, March 9–18, Titusville, (814) 827–2797 2007. The original 1681 Charter to William Penn, which created March 8, 15, 22, 29 Heritage Lecture Series: “Ethnic Music of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, will be on display at The the Oil Region” 7 p.m. Admission. State Museum in Harrisburg, and all twenty-five PHMC historic sites and museums throughout the state will be open free of charge on Charter Day, Sunday, March 11. EPHRATA CLOISTER Ephrata, (717) 733–6600 The following sites will feature special Charter Day programs: February 1 – April 5 History Class Tuition charged. EPHRATA CLOISTER Ephrata, (717) 733-6600 Ephrata Cloister Chorus 2 p.m., 3 p.m., 4 p.m. HOPE LODGE AND MATHER MILL CONRAD WEISER HOMESTEAD Womelsdorf, (610) 589-2934 Fort Washington, (215) 646–1595 Weiser Battalion Re-Enactment noon – 4 p.m. March 17 Colonial Cooking Workshop 9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Registration required. JOSEPH PRIESTLEY HOUSE Northumberland, (570) 473-9474 Meet Dr. Priestly 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. LANDIS VALLEY MUSEUM DRAKE WELL MUSEUM Titusville, (814) 827-2797 Lancaster, (717) 569-0401 Charter Day and Family Heritage Day noon – 4 p.m. February 16 – 18 Winter Institute Registration required.
To promote family reunions in the Keystone State, the PHMC OLD ECONOMY VILLAGE and the Pennsylvania Tourism office will host open houses Ambridge, (724) 266–4500 at several historic sites and museums on Sunday, March 11. March 31 Spring Garden Workshop Registration required. Workshops and reunion planning forums will be offered at The State Museum, the Pennsylvania State Archives, Pennsylvania PENNSYLVANIA ANTHRACITE HERITAGE MUSEUM Anthracite Heritage Museum, Landis Valley Museum, Fort Pitt Scranton, (570) 963–4804 Museum, Somerset Historical Center, and the Drake Well Mu- January 14 Knox Mine Disaster Oral History 2 p.m. seum. To learn more or to register, visit www.visitpa.com. February 18 Audubon Society Lecture Tom Miller 2:30 p.m. March 4 Angel of the Anthracite: The Life and Legacy of Sophia Georgina Coxe James Bohning 2 p.m. SPECIAL EVENTS March 18 Audubon Society Lecture: Birdsongs Dr. Allen Togut 2:30 p.m. March 24 Family History Workshop 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. DRAKE WELL MUSEUM Titusville, (814) 827–2797 March 29 Colonel Drake’s Birthday 6:30 p.m. THE STATE MUSEUM OF PENNSYLVANIA Admission. Harrisburg, (717) 787–4980 January 6 – April 1 Planetarium: Destination Saturn www.statemuseumpa.org HOPE LODGE AND MATHER MILL January 13 Tea for Three: Lady Bird, Pat, and Betty Fort Washington, (215) 646–1595 Elaine Bromka 8 p.m. Admission. February 10 Colonial Dance Featuring Mr. Newport Gardner 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. Registration required. March 31 Colonial Merchant Day 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. EXHIBITS JOSEPH PRIESTLEY HOUSE Northumberland, (570) 473–9474 OLD ECONOMY VILLAGE January 7 Twelfth Day at Priestley House 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. Ambridge, (724) 266–4500 Admission. March 11 – December 30 Tracks, Trestles, and Trustees March 25 Meet Mary Russell and Company 2 p.m. Admission. Admission. THE STATE MUSEUM OF PENNSYLVANIA PENNSYLVANIA ANTHRACITE HERITAGE MUSEUM Harrisburg, (717) 787–4980 Scranton, (570) 963–4804 Through January 14, 2007 Storm Cycle: An Artist Responds to January 21 Audubon Society Meeting 2:30 p.m. Hurricane Katrina Thomas Mann and Friends Through February 25, 2007 Inaugural Chic: Gowns of THE STATE MUSEUM OF PENNSYLVANIA Pennsylvania’s First Ladies Harrisburg, (717) 787–4980 Through March 18, 2007 Pennsylvania Craft Exhibition 2006 February 11 Curiosity Connection: Valentine’s Day Through April 29, 2007 Steel: Made in Pennsylvania Celebration 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. Admission. Ongoing Curiosity Connection www.statemuseumpa.org.
PHS NEWSLETTER 22 Warm winter wishes at the PHMC
featured a variety of beautifully displayed gift items and holiday wares as well as a PHS membership booth with a backdrop of live music. Participating PHMC stores included: Old Economy Village, Landis Valley Museum, Ephrata Cloister, Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, Somerset Historical Center, Radius/The State Museum store, and the State Bookstore/PHMC Publications. Guest participants included the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development and the Capitol Preservation Committee. The Holiday Marketplace was sponsored by PSECU.
Assisting PHMC Executive Director Barbara Franco (center) at the ribbon-cutting to open the fi rst PHS Holiday Marketplace: (left to right) Richard Bonds, Pa. Department of Community and Economic Development; Michael Washburn and Nathan Muniz, PSECU; Randy Shutt, Pa. Department of General Services, and Ruthann Kemper, Capitol Preservation Committee.
HOLIDAY MARKETPLACE The first annual PHS Holiday Marketplace introduced hundreds of Commonwealth employees working in Har- risburg’s Capitol Complex to several of PHMC’s wonderful museum stores from across the state on November 16 and 17, 2006, in Harrisburg. Held in the dramatic nine-story atrium of the Commonwealth Keystone Building adjacent to The State Museum and the State Archives tower, the event
33 PHS NEWSLETTER PHS ANNUAL APPEAL The PHS has enjoyed a banner year presenting the new Signature Series lectures and tours as well as unveiling the new Holiday Marketplace. Your generous contributions to PHS sustain these exciting programs as well as help underwrite Pennsylvania Heritage magazine and support valuable PHMC educational projects. Please consider an annual gift to the PHS Annual Ap- peal for 2006–07. Thank you!
DAVID HACKETT FISCHER A Event presented by Washington Crossing Historic Park and PHS The Pennsylvania Humanities Council provided a grant to PHS to support Congratulations to Drake Well an outstanding lecture by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David Hackett Fischer at Washington Museum, Titusville, for receiving a Crossing Historic Park, on December 2, 2006. More than 350 guests packed the park’s auditori- prestigious Save America’s Treasures um and were captivated by Dr. Fischer’s perspectives on researching his bestseller, Washington’s grant for artifact conservation and Crossing. A dessert reception and book signing by Dr. Fischer followed the presentation. restoration. Save America’s Treasures is a federal program administered by the National Park Service.
Commonwealth Keystone Building 400 North Street, Plaza Level Harrisburg, PA 17120-2407 (717) 787-2407 (866) 823-6539 Toll-Free (800) 654-5984 PA TDD (717) 346-9099 FAX www.paheritage.org
The Pennsylvania Heritage Society is a non-profit organization supporting the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC), the official state agency charged with preserving and interpreting the Commonwealth's heritage and culture. Your membership (Individual level and up) in the Pennsylvania Heritage Society provides free admission to all PHMC sites throughout the Commonwealth as well as Time Travelers benefits—free or dis- counted admission and store discounts at COVERED BRIDGES PHS led a second sold-out Covered Bridges of Lancaster County tour on more than 100 museums nationwide. Call Tuesday, October 10, 2006. Here PHS members and guests leisurely inspect the Erb’s Mill us for additional information and a list of Bridge. Look for upcoming tours to memorable Pennsylvania historic sites and museums in the participating museums. next PHS newsletter and on www.paheritage.org.
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