The Bradford County Historical Society will host a play titled, John Mitchell: An American Hero, scheduled for this Friday, August 19, 2016 at 6 p.m. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. There is no admission charge for this event but donations are appreciated. To reserve a seat, participants are asked to register by calling 570-265-2240 or by email at info@bradfordhistory.com.
A two-act one-person play, this show celebrates John Mitchell, an important Pennsylvania figure who organized and was the President of the United Mine Workers Union from 1898 to 1908. During his tenure, he liberated the anthracite coal miners of northeastern Pennsylvania by raising their standard of living, removed children from the mines and placed them into the schools, and saved many lives of the miners by raising safety standards. He took an unorganized group of 30,000 workers and turned them into an organization of 300,000 workers.
He was a poor, uneducated miner who lost both parents by 5 years old, surviving three stepmothers, one of whom abused him.
John Mitchell will be portrayed by Robert Thomas Hughes, a veteran actor and recently a playwright, who began his career in 1960.
This program is part of the 2016 Friday Night at the Museum programming series that is held the third Friday of each month from May through October. Each event is held in the Great Room at the Bradford County Historical Society, located at 109 Pine Street, Towanda, PA. Refreshments are provided at each program and the museum is open a half-hour prior to the event.
Other programs scheduled for this season are: September 16 – Sayre – 100+ Years Ago; and October 21 – A Glimpse from the Past: John Philip Sousa and Towanda (musical program).
The Bradford County Historical Society is a recipient agency of the Bradford County United Way and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. For more information about the society and its programming schedule, museum or research center, visit www.bradfordhistory.com or check out the society Facebook page at facebook.com/BradfordCountyHistoricalSociety.
