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Conococheague Pioneer Times

The Newsletter of the Conococheague Institute October 2012 Volume 18, Issue 4

Board of Directors: Dr. John C. Stauffer, President Tom Finucane, Vice President Shirley Shatzer, Treasurer Dr. Joan M. McKean, Secretary Calvin Bricker, Historian Jim Rogers John Munday Leighton Wolffe John R. Stoner Rev. Dr. Lawrence Jones Staff: Heather A. Wade, Executive Director Nancy Rice, Administrative Assistant Mary S. Hartman, Collections Manager and Resident Caretaker of Rock Hill Farm Dr. Joan M. McKean, Librarian Gary Salvatto, Library Assistant Advisory Board: Merle S. Elliott Dr. Terry Musselman Dr. Doris Armstrong-Goldman Peggie Potts Roger Swartz Martha E. Stauffer, MD Gay Buchanan Mailing Address: 12995 Bain Road Mercersburg, PA 17236 Phone: (717) 328-3467 Fax: (717) 328-2800 conococheague.org pioneerhistory@innernet.net https://www.facebook.com/#!/conococheagueinstitute

The Conococheague Institute’s Annual Membership Meeting will be held on

Saturday, Oct. 13 at the Welsh Barrens Visitors Center. Please RSVP at 717-328-3467 or pioneerhistory@innernet.net if

you plan to attend. Participants are asked to bring a covered dish for a potluck

luncheon. The day’s schedule: 11-1 Silent Auction*; 12-1 Lunch; 1-2

Annual Business Meeting; 2:30-5:00 Guest speakers on the theme of

“The Life and Times of James Smith” including JB High School student Mikayla

Barnhart, Linda Ries of the PA State Archives, and

Dr. William Pencak of Penn State

*See Page 2 for a complete listing of items up for bid!

PRESIDENT’S REPORT By John C. Stauffer

First be sure that you have the date of the annual membership meeting, October 13, on your calendar and see the details on it below. This year we have been honored by having a number of people and businesses provide items for our auction. The Colonial Faire was a well-received event this year with the visitors participating in many of the events and sticking it out even during the thunder storms that passed over both days. The Board is in the process of making an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of this year’s event. Feedback from those who attended is much appreciated, so if you have any comments, please let us know your thoughts. This, of course, is most helpful in planning for future events. It seemed to be well organized and ran smoothly thanks to the hard work of our director, Heather Wade. In looking back over the past year since

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Heather took charge, many changes have occurred. With Heather’s background she came with experience in organizing our collections, book and objects, and in updating and spelling out our policies and procedures. To some this may not be noticeable, but is the basis of an effective organization. Work on cataloging is proceeding, albeit at what seems like a slow pace and should pick up with practice. All of this is entered using the Past Perfect software that is a standard tool among small museums. Looking ahead, there are two important needs of C.I. First, we need to increase our pool of volunteers to help us with our many needs. The volunteers form the basis of our workforce covering such aspects as helping people doing genealogy work, helping with school groups and visitors, taking on responsibility for grounds and building maintenance, and various other projects. Members, please consider how you might help us directly or how to find other volunteers. Please see what you can do. Second, we must build the financial security of C.I. Heather promptly addressed this need after she arrived, analyzing expenditures and identifying ways to save money and grow wealth. She proceeded to work on an application for a matching grant from the National Endowment of the Humanities. Now, the challenge is for C.I. to ensure its future. The Board is taking on this challenge but we need all the help possible. We are thrilled that twenty percent of our members have already donated funds toward our Annual Campaign. Thank you for your generosity! If you haven’t already given, remember that any amount, large or small, will make a difference.

A Silent Auction to Benefit General Operations at

The Conococheague Institute

Come to the Annual Meeting on October 13 to place your bid in person before 1 p.m.,

OR phone or e-mail your bid no later than 5 p.m. on October 12!!

Lot 1 One pound of coffee from Greencastle Coffee Roasters Lot 2 Alpaca cardigan, size M, in two- tone brown, from Pam Knepper at Humming Brook Farm Lot 3 Square woven silk tablecloth, in blue and chartreuse, 4’ 4” from Gisela Rice Lot 4 18” silver necklace with dark blue beads from Snider’s Jewelry, Mercersburg Lot 5 Winterling China coffee or dessert service for 6; 24 pieces, white with single red rosebud and gold trim from Gisela Rice Lot 6 1 night’s stay at Mercersburg Inn, Standard room, Sunday-Thursday, from Lisa and Jim Lot 7 Rosenthal Coffee Service for 12, white with gold rim; circa 1946. 44 pieces, from Gisela Rice Lot 8 1 night’s stay at Fox’s Jus-Em-

Tyme Bed and Breakfast, from Ed and Sue

Lot 9 1 Hand-sewn, soft-bound leather journal in the Medieval style by Barb Peshkin Thank you to each business and individual that donated items for the Silent Auction! We anticipate a few additional lots to be

added before October 13.

The History Hippies request your input: Moldboard Plows that were designed to be pulled by horses roll the sod to the left. Plows that were designed to be pulled by tractors roll the sod to the right. Why? James McCullough’s 1750’s diary states that during a threat of Indian attacks he would put utensils in a gurne and bury it from Indians. What is a gurne? What were early tombstones made of and how were they carved? We know that some of the stones were marble. Are some made of sandstone? Did they mine the stones locally?

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C.I. offers special thanks to the following who have contributed time, advice, materials, skills and equipment toward improving the appearance of the Rock Hill Farm this year: Trayers Farm & Greenhouse Martin Niswander Calvin Bricker Dakota Bricker Bob Miller John Stoner Eby’s Lawn and Garden Van Adams Bud Marshall Students of Mercersburg Academy Rev. Dr. Larry Jones David Bell Students of JB High School’s Life Skills Class Mrs. Chris Shelley Mrs. Sally Haver Chad Miller Mary Hartman Larry Hartman Brian Failor Tina Archambault Leda Werner Cynthia Lawrence-Fink Grace Boscolo Ken May Dr. Doris Goldman Lauren McVaugh David McVaugh, Jr. David McVaugh, Sr. Bricker’s Lumber Gish Logging Trump Vandreau Darlene Vandreau Sue Bell Richard Bell Karen Thatcher Dale Thatcher Marcus Spangler Gay Buchanan Sheri Morgan Gary Salvatto Nancy Rice Ushers of the McVaugh Wedding Party Jeremy Martin Isabelle Waddelow Dr. Joan McKean

We also thank everyone who made the 8th Annual Colonial Fair possible, including: Bill Weaver Carol Zehosky Audie Maines

Calvin Bricker Dakota Bricker Dr. Martha Stauffer Trump & Darlene Vanderau Lynn & Rich Ross Allen, Angie and Ashley Piper Jay & Pam Chamberlain Lyn Norris Shirley Shatzer Brian Failor Tina Archambault Dan Guzy Isabelle Waddelow Students of Mercersburg Academy Joe Lubozynski Barb Gift Roger and Deborah “Turtle” Swartz The Rutherford Rangers The Kittatiny Associators John & Susan Bortniak Gary & Marie Salvatto Dawn Hoffman Billy Wible Reb Staup Susan Matson Barb Peshkin Cynthia Lawrence-Fink Ed & Pat Beard Jim & Janet Rogers Lisa Lambert Phil Gilson Sally Haver Peggie Potts Rich and Pam Blaha Pam Knepper Paul & Elissa Parish Larry & Joanne Klase Darlene and “Bear” Little Tad Miller David Hornbaker Beth Skroban Dr. Joan McKean Marty and Dawn Boscolo, Blare and Grace Students of JB High School’s Life Skills Class Jerry Proctor and MPMW Mary Bock Tom & Susan Finucane Anita Pfeuffer Bonnie Rose Hudson Larry Jones Marcus Spangler The Southeast Indian Loyalist Confederacy/Shelby’s

Any omissions are the fault of human memory and in no way reduce the feelings of gratitude that we have for our dedicated volunteers.

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The 8th Annual Colonial Fair took place September 8-9, 2012, in spite of scattered showers and high winds that whisked many a loose item across Bain Road and threatened to topple the glassblower’s tent. Highlights of the weekend included re-enactments; a skirmish; craft demonstrations; shopping; lectures by Dr. Walter Powell, Debra “Turtle” Swartz, and Roger G. Swartz; and the debut of three fictional stories based on the lives of the children who grew up on the Conococheague Frontier. The stories, "Lena's Feast," "Fearless Fillmore," and "Eliab's Tale" were read by their author, Bonnie Rose Hudson, both days of the event. The stories and related learning activities can be found on-line at: http://writebonnierose.com/news/Conococheague.html Find more photos from Colonial Fair on C.I.’s Facebook page! - https://www.facebook.com/#!/conococheagueinstitute

Above: Children playing Tad Miller’s Early American Games; Calvin Bricker enlists helpers to pound corn; Reb Staup demonstrates blacksmithing. Left: Glass blower Phil Gilson carves a glass mold. Above, right: Mouse Foot explains the traditional weaving of wampum goods; Paul Parrish demonstrates colonial-era surveying; a scene from the Native American encampment; Dr. Walter Powell lectures on the Conococheague during the War of 1812; and Turtle teaches children about the Eastern Woodland Indians.

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Hessians Prisoners in Franklin County By Dan Guzy

Hessian soldiers of the Revolutionary War are legendary figures. There is Washington Irving’s galloping ghost of a Hessian trooper decapitated by a cannon ball. There are those German party boys at Trenton who were too drunk or hung over after Christmas to compete with George Washington’s frostbitten patriots. (David Hackett Fischer’s recent Washington Crossing attempts to dispel that legend.) And then there are many stories of Hessian soldiers and prisoners blending into the German-American society during and after the war.

Hessian Soldiers

Conococheague Institute’s History Hippies meetings typically cover many topics in the course of discussion. One conversation item during the very first meeting this year was whether Franklin County held Hessian prisoners. This article will expand upon that topic. There were almost 30,000 German soldiers fighting for Great Britain in the Revolutionary War, comprising a quarter to a third of the British fighting force in America. They were generically called “Hessians” because almost 20,000 of them came from Hesse-Cassel or Hesse-Hanau, but the others were from Brunswick, Anspach-Bayreuth, Waldeck, and Anhalt-Zebst. The princes, dukes and counts of

these separate German states sold their armies to Great Britain, and were paid further as their soldiers were captured or killed. Some make the point that the Hessian soldiers were not mercenaries but instead “auxiliaries to the British Crown.” That is, they were drafted into service and commanded by officers of their own states. They did not individually hire on as soldiers of fortune. Knowing that many, if not most, of these Germans were forced into a war they would rather not fight, the American government offered 50 acres of land as an enticement for them to desert. Many did, particularly those who could escape into German-speaking communities. American victories at Trenton in 1776 and Saratoga in 1777 resulted in the respective capture of 900 and 2,400 Hessians. Hessians troops also were a significant percentage of the British force of 7,000 that surrendered at Yorktown in 1781. The Americans moved Hessian prisoners around to several sites including Lancaster, Lebanon, York, and Reading in Pennsylvania; Frederick in Maryland; and Charlottesville and Winchester in Virginia. Captured Hessians were often hired out to work on farms or in trades owned by German-Americans. The farmer or tradesman would be responsible for a captive’s shelter and food, and would be fined if the captive escaped. When war ended with the 1783 Treaty of Paris, Hessians could pay a ransom to remain in this country. The money was often advanced by employers who arranged for the men to work off their debt. Several historians agreed that about 5,000 Hessians stayed in America after the Revolution, compared with roughly 8,000 who died from combat, accident and disease, and 17,000 who returned home to Germany. However, M. H. Volm claimed that almost 7,000 remained here; half of whom had been prisoners. Most of the former Hessian soldiers who stayed in the newly formed United States married and settled into the large German-American population. So were there Hessians in Franklin County? First, we should understand there were no Revolutionary War battles or British campaigns

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in this area. Secondly, despite some misconceptions, there were no forts in the immediate area that held imprisoned Hessians. Fort Loudoun was abandoned before the Revolutionary War. Several older books claim that Hessians were imprisoned at Fort Frederick (in Washington County, Md.) and hired out to nearby farmers. However, historian Allan Powell wrote in the May 14, 2010, Hagerstown Herald Mail that after several years of research he could not find any reliable evidence to support this. Bob Study, Fort Frederick’s park ranger, noted this year: Although it has been long held that German prisoners were at Fort Frederick during the American Revolution, at this point we have found no documentation that they were in fact at the fort. It is evident that British prisoners were brought to the fort after Saratoga and Yorktown while the Germans captured at those battles are sent to Winchester, VA, Reading, PA and Frederick, MD. [George] Washington even order[ed] German prisoners from Yorktown sent to Fort Frederick but they [were] diverted to Frederick, MD when they reach[ed] the Virginia- Maryland border by the Commissary in Charge of Prisoners. Nevertheless, some people in Franklin County have traced their ancestry to Hessian soldiers. Stories vary as to how they came to the county. The 1887 History of Franklin County, Pennsylvania noted without much explanation that some Hessian prisoners from the Battle of Trenton “found their way to this vicinity, settled here, and became useful citizens, and their descendants are among some of the most respectable people.” In his 1920 paper to the Kittochtinny Historical Society, M.K. Burgner attributed the arrival of Hessians to Major James McCalmont (1737–1809) of Upper Strasburg. In 1777, while the British occupied Philadelphia, McCalmont commanded a troop of Pennsylvania rangers that raided and harassed the enemy. Burgner said:

. . . Upon one occasion on one of his raids in New Jersey, opposite Philadelphia, he [McCalmont] captured about a dozen Hessian soldiers. Having no convenient way to dispose of them, he marched them to [Upper] Strasburg and induced them to settle there; to one he gave a few acres of land, to another a tannery and to another a tavern stand and for the others he made provisions in manner suitable to their several capacities. According to "Men of Mark," the United States Barracks erected at Carlisle in 1777 were built by the Hessian soldiers captured on this occasion. Of the Hessians brought to [Upper] Strasburg, a few of their descendants still remain and are among the respected citizens of that locality. They were, however, considered just a little different from other people. This tale seems too good to be true in regards to the generous treatment of the prisoners. However, in the July 31, 1987, Fort Loudon News, historian Charles Stoner repeated Burgner’s story with slight variations. Stoner said McCalmont brought ten Hessians back to his home and “gave them land on his large holdings near Upper Strasburg close to North Mountain.” One was a blacksmith, another became a farmer, and McCalmont “apparently located others with businesses or families throughout the county.” Stoner also noted there were two Hessian cemeteries in Franklin County and an additional writer in that article said there were three. The Hessian Cemetery in Horse Valley was a related topic at the first History Hippies meeting. Harry Foreman, in his 1950 A History of Horse Valley, stated: “The Hessian Burial Ground is on the place known as the John Gilbert place. All persons buried here were not Hessians.” Foreman was apparently saying that some buried there were former Hessian soldiers. Pennsylvania Game Lands 235 now includes this cemetery. There is a sign for it, but the cemetery is difficult to find without good directions. This writer learned of its exact location from a fellow on Upper Horse Valley

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Road who annually tends the cemetery. An employee of the Game Commission confirmed its location as being on the east side of a wooded knoll, with iron stakes being its most notable landmark.

Stone marker at Horse Valley Hessian Cemetery

To visit this Hessian Cemetery, drive to and park at the game lands gate blocking the southern end of Upper Horse Valley Road. A pleasant 1.25 mile hike along the road from the gate takes you to a fork in the road with a sign for the cemetery. Take a right at the fork and then a right on a path about 50 yards past the fork. If you reach a quarry, you have gone too far on the fork. When you reach the edge of the knoll, look for the iron stakes. The accompanying aerial photo shows this location. Those with GPS will find the stakes at N39o

58.402’, W077o 51.814’. Standing near the iron stakes, one can eventually make out twenty to thirty stones that may be grave markers, a few of which are still upright. These worn stones, along with scant recollections and local family trees, seem all that remain to remind us of Hessian soldiers in Horse Valley, and in the other sleepy hollows of Franklin County.

Further Reading: Edward Jackson Lowell, The Hessians and the Other German Auxiliaries of Great Britain in the Revolutionary War, first published 1884, republished 1970 M. H. Volm, The Hessian Prisoners in the American War of Independence and their Life in Captivity, 1937 Mark A. Schwalm, The Hessians – Auxiliaries to the British Crown in the Revolutionary War, 1984 M.K. Burgner, “Major James McCalmont,” Papers of the Kittochtinny Historical Society, Volume IX, Chambersburg Pa., 1923, pages 371–396

Hessian Cemetery off southern extension of Upper Horse

Valley Road

We offer condolences to the loved ones of members and friends whom we have recently lost:

Mrs. Elsie Secrest Mr. Paul Shockey Mrs. Annie McLucas

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Recollections from the Rock Hill Farm, 1927-1940: An Oral History

Interview with Esther Hawbaker By Dr. John C. Stauffer

Notes from visits on April 4 and June 20, 2012 Here is a summary of notes taken from these visits to obtain oral history from Esther Hawbaker about her memories of the Rock Hill farm during the time her family lived there from 1927 to 1942. This is part of our effort to record as much as possible about the history of this farm over the years from 1737 to the present. Gay Buchanan and John Stauffer were present for the oral history interviews. The Family Father – David Jones Mother – Nellie Robinson Jones Children – Dorothy, Stanley, Verdie, Carl, Claire, Esther, one younger brother, Earl Esther was Born 9 Dec 1921. The family moved onto the Rock Hill Farm in March 1927. There was a sharecrop arrangement with John O. Craig and his wife, Bess Brewer Craig, the owners. Calvin Jones brought his livestock and farm machinery of the time. The grain crops were split 50/50. In the wagon shed one side granary was for the Jones and the other was for the Craig portion. The wheat crop was also split 50/50. Each owner made the decision on the disposal or sale of their portions. All the farming was done with horses as they had no tractor at first. Also when the family moved into the Rock Hill house they had no automobile, instead using an older buggy. Later they got a car which they kept in the wagon shed The dairy operation was not big, but the cows could graze on the rocky hillside near the barn and on the other side of Bain Road. There was a bull on the farm that attacked Esther’s mother and caused some fractured ribs. An apple orchard occupied the hillside between the Rock Hill School and the barn with several varieties including York Imperial and a yellow summer apple. The supply of apples made lots of apple butter which was cooked in a large copper kettle in the fireplace of the washhouse. For the cattle to graze in the meadow on the east side of Bain Road they would pass through a stone arched tunnel going under the road. This was a well-built tunnel with stone work similar to

the barnyard wall. Esther remembers sometimes horses were driven through, as well. (The tunnel was demolished in the late 1980’s when Bain Road was widened for milk trucks. The rocks were used to fill in along the east side of Bain Road). There was no electricity at this time and no milk house. The milk cans were kept cool by placing them in water baths in the spring house. The family obtained their household water at this well, carrying by hand to the kitchen. But there was a gasoline powered pump that pumped water for livestock up to a trough at the barn. On one occasion brother Earl got his hand caught in the gears, which injured his hand for life. Milking started at 4 AM with several family members doing hand milking. They had to be ready for milk pick up at 6 AM. The milk was strained into big cans which were set in the spring house. And in hot weather it would be necessary to add ice to the vats to keep the milk cool enough. It was then picked up and taken to a milk company in Mercersburg. A stone walkway connected the Rock Hill house to the barn by crossing the small stream that comes across Bain Road to the east. A large old willow tree shaded this section of the stream to the east of the path. The mailbox was attached to a white oak tree that stood at the east end of the driveway very near the road. The tree had been planted by Bess Niswander Brewer when she was a young girl and had just moved into the Rock Hill house. This tree was cut down at the time the road was widened, but the redbud that was about 10 feet behind to the west was left standing. The path over to the barn passed several structures. There was a pigpen, a horse stable and a chicken coop on the right side near the barnyard stone wall to the right and on the left on a leveled area stood a log blacksmith shop. Horses were shoed annually. Harnesses were hung on the walls of the blacksmith shop. Metal buckles were made for the harnesses and the harnesses were regularly greased. The blacksmith shop was too small to accommodate wagons of the day. In the fall of 1929 a fire which seemed to start in the hay mow, destroyed the barn, including the hay and the stored wheat, and all the adjacent structures. The barn was promptly rebuilt, as well as other needed structures. There was a house for chickens, duck, and geese. The new hog pen housed several hogs. The hogs were fed corn and leftover slop from the kitchen. Straw from the thrashing was baled and not blown into the barnyard for a haystack. Some hay bales were stored in the barn and some stacked in the

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barnyard. Luther Hawbaker brought his threshing machine for threshing the wheat. The remains of another log structure were standing at the time Esther’s family moved in, and that had been used as some sort of a mill. It stood up the stream opposite the driveway entrance. Esther remembers that the roof had fallen in. She does not remember what was inside. Calvin Jones would dig the streambed deeper to keep the house yard from being a wetlands. This seems to have been a continuing process from the time the Davies settled on the site at which time there were several branches of the stream crossing the road. Esther remembers that the Keefer and Friese families lived on the farm upstream where the stream originated at a spring on their property. Between the west end of the house and the stone springhouse stood a log summer kitchen. Esther does not remember using it for cooking but they used it for butchering and making apple butter. There was a fireplace on the west wall of the kitchen for cooking. Later tenants also used the summer kitchen building for butchering up until the 1960’s. The Jones’s used the building close to the kitchen door as a wash house. The adjacent stuccoed 12 foot square log building was then used for a smokehouse where hams were hung for curing. In the back there was a large enclosed yard including the smokehouse and the springhouse, enclosing gardens. The outhouse stood on the south side of this yard, being close to the kitchen door. There was another fenced yard on the east side of the Rock Hill house toward the Road. On the south side were several rows of Concord grape vines that were utilized in making canned grape juice for the winter and grape butter. This yard produced various vegetables including potatoes and sweet potatoes. The potatoes were piled into a bin in the cellar. Sweet potatoes needed more attention for keeping and had to be wrapped in paper before going into the bin. Some distance down a farm field lane to the east of the barn stood a stone lime kiln that had apparently been used regularly for making lime. There was a generous supply of rocks for use. However Calvin Jones used the kiln on only one occasion, then afterwards obtained the lime for his fields from somewhere else. Esther attended Rock Hill School beginning at first grade in 1927. She can remember her teachers. For first grade the school teacher was Karen Fisher; for second and third grades Edith Myers Smith, for fourth and fifth grades was

Rachel Seltzer, and for sixth, seventh and eighth grades was Margaret Dietrick. Esther recalls that a family yellow cat “babe” would follow her to school and lingering in the classroom on warm days. Esther recalls walking to Sunday School at the Robert Kennedy Memorial Presbyterian Church where the lessons were given by the church minister, Rev. Densmore. When she stayed for worship service, her next door neighbor, Dorothy Royer (later Seibert), would play the organ. And then all would stay for a Sunday dinner at church. Esther’s grandfather, Elmer, attended the Welsh Run Church of the Brethren and cultivated a very long beard. Esther married Luther Hawbaker in 1940, and soon moved away from Rock Hill. The remaining family then moved on from Rock Hill farm in 1942. There is a gap in our knowledge of who occupied the house during the 1940’s. In the 1950’s up until 1968 the Daniel Byers family rented and farmed the Rock Hill property. Esther remembers that her father would like to entertain the children by telling ghost stories and would take his children to the cemetery to have them hide as a game. The lane passed by the Negley house. However it seems they did not visit there. In 1927 a widow lived in the Negley House. Then a Mrs. Sanders moved in in 1929. A few years later there were Frank and Nellie Draper. In the latter part of the 1930’s the house was occupied by a family with many children, the Fred and Bertha Koser family. Several of their children attended the Rock Hill school at the same time as Esther. In 1940 the Todd family moved into this Negley house. There was also an Ambrose family that lived in the Negley house in the 1940’s. The fathers of these families were hired hands to help with the farming duties on the Rock Hill Farm. We thank Esther for sharing these memories from so long ago with us. Esther is presently residing at Mennohaven on Scotland Road in Chambersburg. She lost her husband, Luther, two years ago.

Thank you, Dr. Martha Stauffer, for funding the honoraria for our three lecturers at the 8th Annual Colonial

Fair, and for your continuing leadership toward ensuring a

permanent endowment to generate income dedicated to scholarly humanities research, exhibit

development, and a world-class

speaker series at C.I.

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LIBRARY NEWS By Dr. Joan M. McKean

Doris Goldman, long-time friend and supporter of the Institute, has contributed a comprehensive listing of BIRDS OF ROCK HILL FARM (CONOCOCHEAGUE INSTITUTE). There are more than 100 birds identified in bold type as regularly seen and light type is rarely seen. If you have a secret yen to start bird watching as a hobby or to return to it after years of neglect, please visit the library to pick up a copy of Doris’s List and to browse through Dewey classification 598.2, where 40 books await your inspection. Titles include: Audubon, John James, Birds of America, (1937 facsimile of the original 1827-30 edition). Cleary, Margot Keam, John James Audobon (2004: selected prints and biographical information) John Gould’s Birds, a biography and prints of this famous English Bird Man, 1801-1881. Birds of America, (reference book, 289 pages), 1936. Chapman, Frank M.,Our Winter Birds; How to Know and How to Attract Them, 1919. Pettingill, Olin Sewall, Jr., A Guide to Bird Finding East of the Mississippi, Second Edition, 1977. Simpson, Marcus B., Jr., Birds of the Blue Ridge Mountains. 1992. Geffen, Alice M., A Birdwatcher’s Guide to the Eastern United States. 1978. Erickson, Laura, Bird Watching Answer Book; Everything You Need to Know to Enjoy Birds in Your Backyard and Beyond. 2009.

Schutz, Walter, How to Attract, House and Feed Birds. 1970. And, especially for the young and young in heart: All Color Book of Birds, “all the most beautiful, interesting and unusual species”, 1972. Cooper, Ann C., Owls on Silent Wings. 1994. Bonforte, Lisa, Fifty Favorite Birds Coloring Book. 1982. You guessed right: our mission is to make a bird watcher out of you, or, a more enthusiastic one! REMINDER: Sidetracks of History Book Club meets on Thursday, October 18, to discuss THE FIRST FRONTIER, by Pennsylvania historian and naturalist, Scott Weidensaul, published in 2012. Bring your appetite. Lunch will be provided. R.S.V.P. to Nancy via e-mail or by phone, 717-328-3467.

Coming up…

10/9 – History Hippies (7-8:30 pm) 10/13 – Annual Membership Meeting with potluck, silent auction and F&I War Seminar on The Life and Times of James Smith (11 am – 5 pm) 10/18 – Sidetracks of History Book Club (1-2:30 pm) 10/20 – Penn Trails French & Indian War Bike Tour 10/27-28 – C.I. Bake Sale at Whitetail Outdoor Festival (10 am-5 pm both days) 11/10 – F&I War Seminar, Springhouses (tba) 11/13 - History Hippies (7-8:30 pm) 11/14 – Volunteer Appreciation Potluck Luncheon (12-2 pm) 11/15 – Sidetracks of History Book Club (1-2:30 pm) 11/22-23 – Closed for Thanksgiving 12/11 – History Hippies (7-8:30 pm) 12/15 – Christmas Open House (1-4 pm) 12/20 – Sidetracks of History Book Club (1-2:30 pm) 12/24-25 – Closed for Christmas 12/31-1/1 - Closed for New Year’s 2013!