Shorts

Continuing at the Library Company of Philadelphia through Thursday, November 25 [1999], is “Ardent Sprits: The Origins of the American Temperance Movement,” featuring books, prints, broadsides, sheet music, and manuscripts spanning the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The American Temperance Movement called for moderation and even abstention in the use of alcohol. The longest and most popular social reform movement in the United States, it’s probably best remembered for its role in the passage of the failed Eighteenth Amendment (1919) which banned the sale and consumption of alcohol – and inadvertently ushered in one of the most immoderate periods in the nation’s history. For more information, write: Library Company of Philadelphia, 1314 Locust St., Philadelphia, PA 19107-5698; telephone (215) 546-3181. Free.

On Saturday, October 30 [1999], Eisenhower National Historic Site in Gettysburg will present its fourth annual Eisenhower Seminar. This year’s theme, “Cold War Thaw, 1959,” commemorates the fortieth anniversary of the historic meeting of President Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969) and Soviet Premier Nikita Kruschev (1894-1971) at Camp David and at Eisenhower’s Gettysburg farm. Additional information may be obtained by writing: Eisenhower National Historic Site, 97 Taneytown Rd., Gettysburg, PA 17325; or telephone (717) 338-9114. Registration.

Considered one of the oldest house tours in the Mid-Atlantic region, the Historic Harrisburg Association’s twenty­-sixth annual Candlelight House Tour will be conducted on Sunday, December 12 [1999], in the city’s Belle­vue Park neighborhood. Belle­vue Park, central Pennsylva­nia’s first fully planned residential area, was laid out in 1910 with winding lanes, wooded areas, common paths, and open spaces. To obtain more details, write: Historic Harrisburg Association, 1230 North Third St., Harrisburg, PA 17102; or telephone (717) 233-4646. Admission.

During the weekend of November 5-7 [1999], the National Aviary will host its popular Wings and Wildlife Art Show, Pittsburgh’s premier wildlife art exhibition and sale. More than forty artists will participate in this year’s show. For more information, write: National Aviary, Allegheny Commons West, Pittsburgh, PA 15212; or telephone (412) 323-7235. Admission.

Documents, photographs, objects, artifacts, and ephemera chronicling the last one hundred years of Lycoming County’s history is on view at the Lycoming County Historical Society in Williamsport. “From La Belle Époque to the Fin de Siecle: The Century in Lycoming County” will remain on view through Sunday, November 28 [1999]. Additional information is available by writing: Lycoming County Historical Society, 858 West Fourth St., Williamsport, PA 17701; or by telephoning (570) 326-3326. Admission.

Historic Harmony will host an open house with carriage rides, crafts demonstrations, walking tours, period entertainment, and guided tours of the Harmony Museum on Saturday and Sunday, November 13-14 [1999]. The village, a National Historic Landmark District, was once home to religious visionary George Rapp and his followers known as Harmonists and the Harmony Society. For more details, write: Historic Harmony, P.O. Box 524, Main and Mercer Sts., Harmony, PA 16037-0524; or telephone (724) 452-7341 or toll-free (888) 821-4822. Admission.

In observance of National Story­Telling Day, West Overton Museums will sponsor “Telabration” on Saturday, November 20 [1999]. The story-telling fest will feature both professional and avocational storytellers spinning their unusual, anecdotal, and amusing yarns. For more information, write: West Overton Museums, West Overton Village, Scottdale, PA 15683; telephone (724) 887-7910. Donation.

Through Friday, December 31 [1999], guided tours are being given at Hartwood, a Tudor-style mansion built in Pittsburgh in 1929 by John and Mary Flinn Lawrence. The palatial residence, situated in a picturesque park-like setting of more than six hundred acres, was designed by Alfred Hopkins. It houses a fine collection of English and American furnishings, decorative accessories, and antiques. To make tour reservations (which are required), write: Hartwood, Allegheny County Department of Parks, 215 Saxonburg Blvd., Pittsburgh, PA 15238; or telephone (4U) 767-5038 or 767-9200. Admission.

Opening Wednesday, December 1 [1999], at the Cumberland County Historical Society in Carlisle, “Cumberland County Celebrates: 1901-1951-2000” will examine the ways in which countians celebrated milestone anniversaries in the past. Highlighted will be the county’s sesquicentennial and an exhibit at the Hamilton Library (the origin of the society’s museum collection) in 1901, and its bicentennial in 1951. The exhibition will showcase artifacts, objects, photographs, and souvenirs of these commemorations. “Cumberland County Celebrates” will continue through Saturday, March 11, 2000. For more details, write: Cumberland County Historical Society, 21 North Pitt St., Carlisle, PA 17013; or telephone (717) 249-7610. Free.

An exhibit of cast iron toys made in Pennsylvania between 1850 and 1950 will be on view at the Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts, Bethlehem, from Tuesday, November 16, through Sunday, January 16, 2000. Additional information is available by writing: Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts, 427 North New St., Bethlehem, PA 18018; or by telephoning (610) 882-0450. Admission.

The theme of this year’s Pennsylvania Historical Association’s annual conference, which will be held at the Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center, Pittsburgh, from Thursday through Saturday, November 4-6 [1999], is “At the Confluence.” Pittsburgh has often been described as being located “at the confluence” of the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio Rivers, but Pennsylvania, as well as the Mid-Atlantic Region, can also be understood as being “at the confluence” of different geographical, chronological, social, political, economic, and cultural developments and forces. For a conference schedule, telephone (814) 641-3534.