Special thanks to Nancy Sweda

The History Center would like to send out a special thank you to Nancy Sweda for her excellent presentation on the porch of the Forest County Arts Council.  She talked about the many projects our local Arts Council has undertaken and she had samples of some work as well as photos of events. 
Next week, August 18 we welcome Leonard Nicklas, from the FCHS Board of Directors.  Leonard will speak on the history of gas stations and service stations in Marienville. 
The following week, August 25  will be our final Tuesday Talk for this year.  Scott Weichert, Forest County Extension Agent for Penn State will present a talk about ticks and Lyme’s Disease

Forest County Historical Society offers this lecture series.   All talks will begin at 7:00 pm.  Speakers will speak until 7:30 and then you will have until 8:00 for questions and answers.  Cost for the program is free to members and for visitors the donation is $5.00 for Adults which includes a tour of the house before the speaker begins.  

Special thanks to Brian Hale

Special thanks to Brian Hale for the very informative and well presented talk and virtual walk through of Tionesta and the History of the buildings there. He is a wealth of knowledge.
Next week, August 11th, we will have Nancy Sweda from the Forest County Arts Council to talk about the Arts council and some of their major projects. The following week, August 18th, will be Leonard Nicklas from Marienville who will speak about the history of gas stations and service stations In Marienville. We hope to see you there!
Tuesday Talks are a lecture series which we sponsor every Tuesday night at 7:00. Members are always free and visitors are asked for a donation of $5 which includes a tour of the house and property before the lecture. 

Celebration

Looking for Women and girls to celebrate

There is no Indian Festival parade this year and yet this is the one hundredth year since women got the right to vote in the 19th amendment.  Forest County voted in favor of the 19th amendment.  Women in Forest County had been working hard to bring about this change.  They had a parade in 1915 promoting this worthy cause.  So, we at the Forest County Historical Society plan to have our own celebration parade on Saturday August 15th.  Our parade will be at 11:00 and we will march from the Historical Society to the Market Village (2 blocks) and back. We will use the sidewalks so we do not stop traffic.  We would like to invite any women or girls to join us in the celebration parade.  If you rsvp (8147582409) either by text or voice, we will have a sash ready for you to wear.  White dresses were the traditional color the suffragettes wore with their sashes to parade, but you may wear whatever you have in black or white.  You may bring a sign to carry if you like.  After the parade we plan to recreate the following two photos. 

The celebration will also include our traditional “Cookie Barn” from 10:00-2:00 where we sell 5” cookies for $1.00.  Our Model T will be out on the lawn decorated in yellow which was the chosen color of Tionesta women.  Please join us.  

Special thanks to Ashley Sweda

Special thanks to Ashley Sweda for his presentation on the history of Forest County permaculture and where do we go from here.  Ashley, along with his wife Nancy, is the owner of Full Circle Artisan Farm.  We had an intimate group sit out on the lawn and reminisce.  
Next week we welcome Burke Beach Civil War (volunteered as a reenactor for over 20 years at Bull Run, Gettysburg, Antietam, Fredericksburg and Bentonville, NC as well as addressing the 6th grade at West Forest since 1991). Burke also serves on the FCHS Board of Directors. 
On August 4th we have Brian Hale, West Forest Historian, elementary teacher, and Forest Press writer.  Brian will virtually walk us down the block where the Market Village stands and tell us what all used to be in this space.  Hope to see you all there.

Special thanks to Bernadette Holzer

Thank you to Lions former District Governor, Bernadette Holzer, and over 50-year Lion member, Bill Wallace, for their excellent presentation on the History of the Tionesta Lions.  The Tionesta Lions have been in existence for 81 years.  It was great to hear about the activities of our local club and how they meet the mission of the Lions International.  We keep getting a few more people at our Tuesday Talks lecture series.  Last night we were up to 14.  It was quite comfortable on the porch.

Please join us next week, July 21, for Ashley Sweda, owner of Full Circle Artisan Farm. He will discuss Forest County permaculture and the historical perspective we are creating today. 

The following week, July 28, Burke Beach – Civil War (volunteered as a reenactor for over 20 years at Bull Run, Gettysburg, Antietam, Fredericksburg and Bentonville, NC as well as addressing the 6th grade at West Forest since 1991.)

Special thanks to Eric Cepak

Special thanks to Eric Cepak, Forest County office of Veterans affairs. Erick spoke at our Tuesday Talk and told us about some times he was able to help Forest County veterans or their families to get Benefits. Some benefits are based on income and some are not. Eric is a great asset to our county and if you have any questions or concerns about our veterans please give him a call at the courthouse. 
Next week we welcome Bernadette Holzer and Bill Wallace to talk about Tionesta Lions. Bernadette will concentrate on the “big” national picture while Bill will talk about local Lions club and their goals and accomplishments.
Please join us on Tuesdays at 7:00 for our Tuesday Talks at the Museum lecture series. Meme era are always free and for others the cost of a tour gets you to take a tour and then hear a speaker talking about a concern to Forest County. Please come and join us at the History museum.

Special thanks to Amanda Hetrick and Elisha Pospisil

Special thanks to Amanda Hetrick, Forest Area Schools Superintendent as well as Elisha Pospisil for entertaining us at our Tuesday Talks at the museum on June 30, 2020.
Elisha played the guitar while Amanda taught us about the suffragette movement and the songs they sang to express themselves.
At one time, in another state, the women’s movement was told they could not hold a rally with speeches, so they held a sing along to get their message across. We hosted the evening out on the lawn, and it was a perfect evening outside to sing with social distancing. Our crowd is growing slowly.
Next week, July 7th, we welcome Eric Cepek, Office of Veterans Affairs. Eric will speak on Forest County Veterans and is sure to provide us with valuable information. Then on July 14th, Bernadette Holzer is speaking on the History of the Tionesta Lions. Bernadette has been very active in our local Lions as King Lion and has worked on a larger level serving as District
Governor.
We host Tuesday Talks at the Museum every Tuesday throughout the summer at the Forest County History Museum, 206 Elm Street from 7:00 – 8:00 pm. We will host a speaker to talk
about an interest of concern here in Forest County. On Tuesdays, we will be open from 1:00 pm – 8:00 pm. Visitors may come anytime of the day and then speakers will present from 7:00 – 7:30 and then will have from 7:30 – 8:00 to talk with you or you could poke around the nooks and crannies of the Robinson House. The price of a tour is $5.00 for adults, $3.00 for students 13 years and older and children under 12 are free as are members. You can come any Tuesday and tour about the place and learn about an area of concern to Forest County.

Special thanks to Ron Heasley

Special thanks to Ron Heasley for his Tuesday Talk at the Museum on June 23.  Ron stepped up when the woman scheduled to speak had to decline due to a hospital stay.  Ron talked about memories of the Tionesta Beach.  We had ten people attend who laughed at old pictures and reminisced about the last fifty plus years. 

Next week, June 30, to gear-up for the 4th of July and help celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the 19th amendment giving women the right to vote, we welcome Amanda Hetrick as our speaker.  She will be playing and singing “Songs of the Suffragettes”.  Amanda is the Superintendent of Forest Area Schools and sings as a hobby. 

“Tuesday Talks at the Museum” is a lecture series held each Tuesday evening at the History Center.  Speakers present from 7:00 – 7:30 pm and then answer questions from 7:30 – 8:00.  For the price of a tour (free to members and $5.00 for adults), you can come and get a tour around the museum and attend a program about a topic related to Forest County history. 

History Center Opening

Governor Wolf has declared Forest County green as of May 29, 2020. We at the Forest county History
Center plan to re-open on Friday June 12. Our hours for this year are Monday through Saturday noon –
four o’clock except on Tuesday when we will once again offer our lecture series, Tuesday Talks at the
Museum. On Tuesdays we are open noon to eight o’clock. Our prices will remain the same this year
being: members free as always, Adults – $5.00, Students 12 and over – $3.00 and children under 12 free
with an accompanying adult.
We want everyone to feel safe at our museum. That includes the docents, other
volunteers, visitors and the Board, so we have implemented some changes to our
routines:
We are an exhibit-based organization, not a performance-based organization. So, this along with the
CDC and the Pa Department of Health guidelines, and recommendations from the American Association
for State and Local History here are some policies we have implemented:
Docents will wear a mask when they greet people and during tours.
We will only take one group of visitors at a time. If someone is already on tour, visitors can wait on the
porch until that tour is finished.
All visitors must wear a mask for the safety of others.
We will have hand sanitizers in most rooms.
We will have alcohol wipes placed by any computers, etc. that people may touch.
We have implemented a Cleanliness policy so keep everyone safe at the museum.
We will be offering our lecture series again on Tuesday evenings at 7:00. We will appropriately place
our chairs for social distancing and if by chance we run out of room, the doors will close and no more
people will be admitted that evening.
We, the FCHS Board will continue to observe, analyze, and adapt our policies to make sure everyone is
safe during this historic time.

“May Tea” Postponed

The “May Tea” has been postponed until further notice.