Tuesday Talks… What we learned in 2021
Peggy Butler kicked off this year’s Tuesday Talks on May 25th with a presentation on the state insect, the firefly. Peggy and her husband Ken have chaired the PA Firefly Festival for the past 9 years to celebrate rare synchronous fireflies found here in Forest County.
Peggy was followed by Georgene Searfoss, author of Longings of the Heart.
On June 8th, Hillary Jebitsch from The Lumber Heritage Region of Pennsylvania discussed her research on diversity within our region’s lumber history.
Our next speaker was Robert Pringle, author of several fictional books that take place in Forest County. Robert shared his research and study of the Nebraska area that he used to write his books.
On June 22nd, Steve Sorenson, an award-winning outdoor writer whose column “The Everyday Hunter” currently appears in the Jamestown Gazette and the Forest Press, presented “Pennsylvania – Home to Coyotes for more than 80 years.”
On June 29th, Mary Alyce Knauff gave a presentation on the Robinson family and the house they built, which is now the home of our county’s History Museum.
The following Tuesday, Brian Hale spoke about the Purinton Pottery Factory, which used to be located in Tionesta. It later became the Evenflo-Crater factory. The History Center has many pieces produced by both Purinton and Evenflo.
On July 13th, Kevin Carter discussed the restoration of the Marienville Railroad station.
On July 20th, Terry Janosik, President at Townline Lumber and Excavation, showed videos of some historic spots in Forest County.
Doris Bisker England joined us the following week. She is the author of In the Forest. Doris drew a record crowd of people wanting to hear about life in the past. Her daughter Diane joined her and read some excerpts from her book.
Ed Bell, writer for the Forest Press, gave us an appreciation for “The Magic of The Forest”. He spoke about the magic of the forest and how he came to feel that way from the time he was introduced.
On August 10th, Matthew Savinda from the PA Game Commission gave a very animated talk about owls found in Pennsylvania, including identifying the sounds they make.
The following week, Amanda Hetrick, Superintendent of Forest Area Schools, presented American Folk Songs. Amanda was accompanied by Elisha Pospisil on the guitar.
On August 24th, FCHS Board member Leonard Nicklas taught us about trivia facts from around Forest County with an emphasis on the Marienville clubs.
The last speaker for the summer was Jim Brunner, a writer for the Forest Press who spoke on “The wonders of your own backyard.”
