Shorts

Fort Hunter Day, a celebra­tion of autumn, will be hosted on Sunday, September 19 [1993], from 10 A. M. to 5 P. M. by Fort Hunter Mansion and Park. The event, free and open to the public, will feature crafts show and demonstrations, carriage rides, period entertainment, and numerous activities designed especially for children. Also featured throughout the day will be demonstrations of traditional household tasks, including apple butter making, spinning, rug hooking, and open hearth cooking. For more information, write: Fort Hunter Mansion and Park, 5300 North Front St., Harrisburg, PA 17110; or telephone (717) 599-5751.

Special public behind-the­-scenes tours of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania’s extensive archives will be offered on Wednesday and Thursday, October 13-14 [1993], at the headquarters of the Philadelphia institution. The tours will give visitors an opportunity to see rare documents up close, and to learn how an archives works to preserve history. For additional information regard­ing special tour hours, write: Historical Society of Pennsylva­nia, 1300 Locust St., Philadelphia, PA 19107; or telephone (215) 732-6201. Registration is limited and reservations must be made in advance. Admission is charged.

“From Kiln to Crock” is the theme of this year’s twenty­-eighth annual Chadds Ford Days, sponsored by the Chadds Ford Historical Society during the weekend of September 11-12 [1993], on the grounds of the circa 1725 John Chads House. To illustrate the importance of everyday uses of clay during the eighteenth century, the event will feature demonstrations of pottery molding and decoration, brickmaking, and day pot baking, in addition to period music, dancing, crafts, performances, and activities for children. For additional details, write: Chadds Ford Historical Society, Box 27, Chadds Ford, PA 19317; or telephone (215) 388-7376. Admission is charged.

The new wing of the Palmer Museum of Art, located on the campus of the Pennsylvania State University, State College, will officially open to the public during the Labor Day weekend, Septem­ber 4-6 [1993]. The museum, designed by internationally acclaimed post-modern architect Charles W. Moore, will be regularly open Tuesday through Friday, 10 AM. to 4:30 P.M., and Saturday and Sunday, Noon to 4 P.M. Ten galleries showcase the museum’s permanent collec­tion of local, regional, national, and international works of art. The museum also features changing exhibit galleries, sculpture garden, and mu­seum store. For more information, write: Palmer Museum of Art, The Pennsyl­vania State University, University Park, PA 16802; or telephone (814) 865-7672. Admission is free.

Reenactments of the Battle of Germantown, featuring costumed troops from through­out the East Coast, will be held on Saturday, October 2 [1993], at Cliveden in Philadelphia. Reenactors will include soldiers, camp followers, and even the occasional minister and peddler in colonial period costume. The Americans lost the original battle, which took place on October 4, 1777, in large part because of strong resistance from an infantry unit which had taken over the house. For more information, write: Cliveden, 6401 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19144; or telephone (215) 848-1777. Cliveden is ad ministered by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. There is an admission charge for tours of the historic house-museum.

The third annual Oil Region Heritage Conference will be held in Franklin, Venango County, on Saturday, Septem­ber 11 [1993]. The conference focuses on the history and heritage of northwestern Pennsylvania’s oil region, where the world’s modern petroleum industry began in 1859. Speakers of local, state, and national prominence will present papers dealing with the oil industry and its impact upon the area. For program and registration information, write: 1993 Oil Region Heritage Conference, Venango County Planning Commission, 1383 Liberty St., Franklin, PA 16323; or tele­phone (814) 437-6871. A registration fee will be charged.

“Inventing Eden: The Landis Brothers and Pennsyl­vania Folk Art” is the title of an exhibition mounted by the Heritage Center of Lancaster County at Penn Square in center-city Lancaster. The exhibit examines how and why George and Henry Landis began collecting Pennsylvania objects and artifacts, and explores the origins of collect­ing art and artifacts in America, using the brothers as models. “Inventing Eden” continues through Saturday, November 27 [1993]. Visiting hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 A. M. to 4 P. M. For additional details, write: Heritage Center of Lancaster County, 13 West King St., Lancaster, PA 17603; or telephone (717) 299-6440. Admission is free.

A retrospective exhibition of the work of the nineteenth century southwestern Pennsyl­vania artist George Hetzel (1826-1899) will be on view at the Westmoreland Museum of Art in Greensburg from Saturday, September 18 [1993], through Sunday, October 31 [1993]. Many of the region’s scenes depicted by Hetzel no longer exist, destroyed or altered by industry and technology, and the artist’s paintings offer a visual documentation of southwestern Pennsylvania’s nineteenth century rural landscape. Hetzel was a well­-known leader and teacher in Pittsburgh’s art circles and at the artists’ colony of Scalp Level, Cambria County. In addition to landscapes, “George Hetzel and the Scalp Level Tradition” includes still lifes and portraits. To obtain more information, write: Westmoreland Museum of Art, 221 North Main St., Greensburg, PA; or telephone (412) 837-1500. Admission is free.

The third annual “Garden Walk” conducted by the Packwood House Museum, Lewisburg, will be held on Saturday, September 11 [1993], from Noon to 5 P.M. Several gardens within walking distance of the historic house-museum will be featured, and an afternoon tea will be served in the Packwood House Museum’s exotic Oriental-style garden. The museum’s patio will be filled with vendors, herb and nursery plantings, and artist Karen Ross working on her latest creation. Additional information is available by writing: Packwood House Museum, 15 North Water St., Lewisburg, PA; or by tele­phoning (717) 524-0323. Admission is charged.

Mountain Craft Days will be hosted by the Somerset Historical Center in Somerset from Friday through Sunday, September 10-13 [1993]. The popular annual event includes craft demonstrations, music, artisans, and regional foods, all celebrating the life, times, and culture of the Laurel Highlands region. For more information write: Somerset Historical Center, R. D. 2, Box 238, Somerset, PA 15501; or telephone (814) 445-6077. Admission is charged.

An unusual new permanent exhibit has been installed at the Lebanon County Histori­cal Society in Lebanon. Entitled “Victorian Parlor Funeral, 1880-1910,” the exhibition includes period funeral furniture, coffins, body baskets, and related artifacts, such as an extensive selection of antique mortuary equip­ment originally used by a local undertaker. For information regarding visiting hours, write: Lebanon County Historical Society, 924 Cumberland St., Lebanon, PA 17042; or telephone (717) 272-1473. Admission is charged.

Curtin Village, located near Bellefonte, Centre County, will conduct antique tool demon­strations, as well as an antiques show and sale, on Saturday and Sunday, September 18-19 [1993]. The weekend event also offers guided tours of the nineteenth century ironmaking plantation, including the restored ironmaster’s mansion, circa 1850 charcoal-fired furnace, worker’s cabin, and herb garden. For more information, write: Curtin Village, P. O. Box 312, Bellefonte, PA 16823; or telephone (814) 355-2937. There is a charge for admission.

Laerenswaert means “worth learning.” Visitors to the Peter Wentz Farmstead in Worcester, Montgomery County, will be able to learn about – and actually participate in – several eighteenth century crafts and traditional arts of the region’s early Pennsylvania German settlers through “hands-on” demonstrations. The Peter Wentz Farmstead was the residence of a prosperous eighteenth century farmer and the headquarters of Gen. George Washington in Septem­ber and October 1777 on his way to and from the Battle of Germantown. The historic house-museum will be open for tours. Additional information is available by writing: Peter Wentz Farmstead Society, P. O. Box 240, Worcester, PA 19490; or by telephoning (215) 584- 5104. Admission is free.

A quilt forum will be held at Mather Mill on Saturday, October 2 [1993]. This event, sponsored by the Friends of Hope Lodge and Farmar’s Mill, will include quilting demonstrations, lectures on quilt preservation and mainte­nance, and a quilting workshop. For registration information, write: Hope Lodge, 553 Bethlehem Pk., Fort Washington, PA 19034; or telephone (215) 646-1595. There is a registration fee.

A commemoration observ­ing the fiftieth anniversary of the raising of the flag at Eckley, a coal mining patch town in northeastern Pennsyl­vania, will be held at Eckley Miners’ Village, on Sunday, September 26 [1993]. The day will feature a reunion of village residents past and present, re­creations of activities of the original festivities, and ethnic food and music of the anthra­cite region. For more information, write: Eckley Miners’ Village, R. R. 2, Box 236, Weatherly, PA 18255; or telephone (717) 636-2070. The event is free.

Printing demonstrations on a late nineteenth century printing press, com grinding, wood carving, sheep shearing, and traditional skills presenta­tions will highlight the twenty-second annual Harvest Festival sponsored by the Greene County Historical Society Museum on Saturday and Sunday, October 17-18 [1993]. The weekend event will also include clog and square dancing, dulcimer music, and storytelling. For more infor­mation, write: Greene County Historical Society Museum, P. O. Box 127, Waynesburg, PA 15370; or telephone (412) 627-3204. Admission will be charged.

An exhibition entitled “Women’s Roles in the Home” will remain on view at the Lehigh County Historical Society, Allentown, through March 1994. The exhibition focuses on domestic life in Lehigh County and showcases selections drawn from the historical society’s extensive collections. To obtain more details, write: Lehigh County Historical Society, Hamilton and Fifth Sts., Allentown, PA 18101; or telephone (215) 435-4664. There is no charge for admission.

“A Walk on the Wild Side: The Wissahickon Creek, 1800-1940,” will open at the Library Company of Philadelphia on Monday, October 18. The exhibition will bring together for the first time the visual and textual work of nineteenth century artists and writers who illustrated the landscape and life on the creek. Many painters, photographers, printmakers, writers, and poets were attracted to the natural beauty of the Wissahickon Creek for decades. “A Walk on the Wild Side” will continue through March 18, 1994. (An article devoted to the subject by Susan Oyama of the Library Company will appear in the fall edition of Pennsylvania Heritage.) For more informa­tion, write: Library Company of Philadelphia, 1314 Locust St., Philadelphia, PA 19107; or telephone (215) 546-3181. Admission is free.

A suite of ten large-scale woodblock prints by contemporary artist Al Erdosy will be on view at the Allentown Museum of Art through Sunday, September 26 [1993]. This is the second exhibition of works by Erdosy, a long-time resident of Allentown. For more informa­tion, write: Allentown Art Museum, Fifth and Court Sts., P. O. Box 388, Allentown, PA 18105-0388; or telephone (215) 432-4333. There is a charge for admission.