BCHS Annual Book Sale December 4

The annual holiday book sale will be held at the Bradford County Historical Society in Towanda on Sunday December 4th from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The sale will be held in the museum located at 109 Pine Street in the heart of Towanda’s Historic District.

The book sale which is held only once each year has become a tradition with local history buffs that are looking to add to their collections. It is the only time each year that the society offers books at a discount price. Books range from $7.50 to $70.00.

Recently there have been on-line auctions of several local estates and it has been amazing to us at the society to see the amounts that books that we sell are fetching at these auctions. A lot more than we charge in the museum gift shop to be sure.

A great stocking stuffer are the Bradford County Playing Cards there are two versions of the playing cards that have images of famous Bradford County people and Places with a succinct history of the image on the card. These will be available at the sale.

Karen Tuton’s book “Jail Birds” a delightful story of her time as a child growing up living in the sheriff’s quarters of the jail is available this year. The society was out of this book last year and many requests came in for copies so more were ordered.

The reprint of “History of Bradford County, Pennsylvania-1770-1878,” will be available at the sale. The book was produced using cover material and paper like the original book, making this a collector’s edition for all local history fans and researchers alike. The production of this history in 1878 by Rev. David Craft was the first major project done by the Bradford County Historical Society after it was formed in 1870. Craft was appointed by the society to write the history; it is considered one of the best county histories ever published for that period. The Craft history (as well as all other reprints of the society) contains an added index which makes finding your ancestor or subject much easier as the originals did not include indexes.

The wonderful history of our ghost mountain “Barclay Mountain-A History” will be available at a discounted price. The 359-page book published in 2007 features 32 chapters that are full of historical documentation, interviews and transcriptions of oral history with 400 plus photos of people and places over two centuries.

Offered at a discount to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War the reprint of “Our Boys in Blue,” Clement Heverly’s exceptional account of Bradford County men who fought in the Civil War. Heverly originally published two books one that contained stories and reminisces of the soldiers and one that contained all the Bradford Country men who served and where they served. Heverly’s work has been reprinted in one volume with an added index it is truly a treasure for the Civil War enthusiast. This is also a great reference for Bradford County descendants of the local men who fought in the Rebellion.

Local Columnist and longtime Bradford County Historical Society volunteer and Emeritus Trustee Guy Abell’s book –Roman Guy—a collection of columns and musings—will also be available. The book is a selection of newspaper columns, personal opinions, and stories about his life in Bradford County, travel adventures, and articles about automobiles, nature, sports, the weather and memories of the good old days.

Also, available will be “Images of Southwestern Bradford County”, the largest photo book ever published about the history of southwestern Bradford County was written and designed by Matthew T. Carl. Proceeds benefit the LeRoy Heritage Museum. The book is hardcover has 400 pages and is over an inch thick. Approximately 700 photos from the collections of LeRoy Heritage Museum, the former Canton Area Historical Society, Ruth Kinney-McIntire, and several private collections. Images are from the townships of Canton LeRoy, Granville, and old Barclay. The Bicentennial photo history of Bradford County will be available for sale at this event. The Bradford County Historical Society put together a book that contains 653 photographs of towns and townships throughout the county many of the photos have never or rarely been published in the past and offer the reader a glimpse of how our county grew and progressed through time.

Another featured item at this year’s sale will be the 128 page, full color, hard cover, indexed atlas, “Map of Bradford Country, Pennsylvania – 1858,” reprinted by the Bradford County Historical Society. This book features a map of each township and borough that shows the location of houses and buildings and their ownership in 1858. The entire set of maps is indexed, making it easy to quickly locate your ancestor or property.

Reprints of local history such as the “Romance of Old Barclay” and the “1869 Beers Atlas of Bradford County” along with writings of other local historians will be available that day.

The late Staley N. Clarke wrote the “Romance of Old Barclay” in 1928. He tells the story of the mountain and the coal mines along with the stories of some of the people who came to Bradford County to work there. Every little town on the mountain is mentioned in the book. There is also a listing of Barclay Mountain residents employed in the mines.

The “Beers Atlas” produced in 1869 with information compiled in 1868 is every genealogist’s dream. Each town and township has a page and on the page, is a listing of every road that existed in 1869 along with the property owners in each section. Schools and cemeteries are listed too. The reprint includes an added index created by Doris Wilcox Hugo. The index is the best part of the reprint as it guides the researcher to the page where their ancestor may be found.

Wyalusing Valley Museum has published a photo history of the Wyalusing area “Wyalusing Valley Portraits” compiled with photos from the museum’s collection. This new history book was released in 2015 and will be available for sale at the Book Sale.

Some of the other books that will be available December 4th include “Pioneer and Patriot Families of Bradford County, 1778-1825”. The new “History of Bradford County.” 1995, which features 1,400 submitted family stories and the histories of town and townships, churches, schools and businesses, industry, military, cemetery and Century Farms. Please note this book can not be reprinted so when the supply available at the museum is depleted it will no longer be available. “Guthrie 100 Years of Health Care” a photo history of Guthrie along with the works of several local authors can also be acquired at the annual sale.

Bradford County History Books make wonderful Christmas gifts please join society trustees who will be on hand to assist book shoppers during the sale. The Historical Society is a recipient agency of the Bradford County United Way.

BCHS Research Center Closed Thanksgiving Week

The Bradford County Historical Society Research Center will be closed next week (November 23-25) in honor of the Thanksgiving holiday. We will reopen with regular hours on November 30. Have a blessed Thanksgiving!

WYALUSING SWING CHOIR TO PERFORM AT BCHS ANNUAL MEETING - OCTOBER 30

The Annual Meeting of the Bradford County Historical Society will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday October 30, 2016 at the museum located in the Historic old Bradford County Jail, 109 Pine Street in Towanda. The Historical Society, one of the oldest in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was founded in 1870. The Annual meeting is an opportunity for the membership and guests of the society to hear the progress of the society over the past year.

The Clement F. Heverly award for Outstanding Service and the Leo E. Wilt Historian of the Year award will be presented. These awards were established by the society in 1992. The Clement F. Heverly Outstanding Service Award was named for a man who did much to record the past history of the County. It is to be for organizations excelling in the preservation of the history of Bradford County. The Leo E. Wilt Historian of the Year award is to be given to an individual who has shown diligence and leadership in recording, preserving or disseminating of County History. Leo E. Wilt was a pillar in the Bradford County Historical Society. He and his wife Mary kept the society going for many years when it was located in the old fire proof behind the Bradford County Courthouse.

The program for this year’s meeting will be musical and will be presented by the Wyalusing Swing Choir. When planning the annual meeting the 50th anniversary of the Camptown Races was occurring and the thought was that the society should recognize Bradford County Composers. The Wyalusing Swing Choir was contacted and agreed to perform. Some of the composers whose music will be presented are: P.P. Bliss, the Towners, Stephen Foster and Pat Ballard.

The Wyalusing Swing Choir is currently comprised of nine members: Carol Madill, alto and Wyalusing Valley High School music teacher and choral director; Tonya Boatman, alto and Elk Lake School District music teacher and choral director; Wendy Farley, soprano of Herrickville; Pam Obert soprano from Monroeton; Marnie Wilson of Wyalusing; Wes Skillings, tenor, recently semi-retired editor of the Wyalusing Rocket-Courier newspaper; Jason Boatman, bass, and he is married to Tonya; Scott Snyder, tenor and new member Joe Martin, bass of Wyalusing. Sound personnel for the group is Mary Skillings, a retired teacher at the Wyalusing Elementary School.

The group performs a wide variety of music that includes swing, Christian, blues, country, classic rock ‘n roll, and contemporary 4-5 arrangements.

This is an opportunity for Bradford County residents to spend a relaxing afternoon listening to the program put together by the Wyalusing Swing Choir. It is also an opportunity to learn more about your County Historical Society.

Please call the museum at (570) 265-2240 to reserve a seat for this historic presentation. Light refreshments will follow the program.