Thursday, June 3, 2010

BCHS Museum Now Open, New Tour Guide Announced

The Bradford County Historical Society announces that its museum is now open for the 2010 season.

The museum is located in the former Bradford County jail, located at 109 Pine Street in Towanda. The museum features two floors of exhibits that can be found in the former jail cells and other rooms. Each exhibit features an accompanying easy-to-understand descriptive panel that includes stories, statistics and photographs. Many reminders of the jail still exist, including the original jail doors, a dungeon cell, prisoner exercise yard, Sheriff’s house, and much more.

Visitors will find six new rotating displays this season including an exhibit about Charles Carroll of Carrollton who was the last living signer of the Declaration of Independence and owned over 1,000 acres of land in Bradford County.

A photography exhibit is spread throughout three different cases and includes a variety of cameras from the late 1800’s and early 1900’s along with examples of various types of photography from the last 150 years.

Another case tells the history of “Old People Day,” an event sponsored by the Bradford County Historical Society in the early 1900’s. The main lobby display has an interesting display of odd and unusual items from the Society collection including souvenirs from famous buildings and ships, a saw back bayonet, a piece of human skull from the Civil War and other objects collected over 100 years ago.

BCHS also announces that Shannon Funk is this year’s summer tour guide. Shannon is a 2009 graduate of Bloomsburg University, earning her Masters in Education and her Bachelors in History and Anthropology. She will be glad to give you a tour of the museum when you visit this summer.

Museum hours are Thursday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Research Library is also open and the hours are Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the first Saturday of each month, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Bradford County Historical Society is supported in part by the Bradford County United Way and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. For more information about the Society visit www.bradfordhistory.com or join the Bradford County Historical Society Facebook page for the latest news.

BCHS to Host "The Music of World War II," June 18

The Bradford County Historical Society will host a free program entitled "The Music of World War II" scheduled for June 18, 2010 at 6 p.m. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Although the event is free, participants are asked to register by calling 570-265-2240 or by email at info@bradfordhistory.com.

Presented by Dr. Phillip Atteberry, this presentation examines the most popular song genres of World War II — propaganda songs, work songs, army life songs, separation songs and reunion songs. Through a “musical” PowerPoint presentation, Atteberry asks audiences to consider how these songs, at times, reflected the attitudes and morale of the moment and how they, at times, shaped those attitudes and morale. The Music of World War II includes excerpts from well known standards as well as period pieces that have become obscure.

Dr. Philip Atteberry has taught seminars in jazz and American popular music for the last ten summers at the Chautauqua Institute. He also teaches the History of Jazz at the University of Pittsburgh at Titusville and hosts a popular weekly radio program, “Sunday Night Jazz,” on WQLN-FM, Erie’s public broadcasting station. Atteberry holds a Ph.D. in English from Washington University-St. Louis.

This program is made possible by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Free refreshments will be provided and the museum will be open from 5:30 until the program begins.

Other programs scheduled for 2010 include: The Barns and Agriculture of Pennsylvania’s Northern Tier, July 16; Stephen Foster: Father of American Music, August 19 (note this program will be held on a Thursday evening); Canton: Circus Capitol of the East, September 17; and The Frisbie Family of Orwell Township: A 19th Century Saga of Bradford County and Beyond, October 15.

The Bradford County Historical Society is a recipient agency of PHMC and the Bradford County United Way. For more information about the society and its programming schedule, visit www.bradfordhistory.com or check out the Bradford County Historical Society Facebook page.