Project Support Our Troops

Below is a press release from Kim Lengling regarding the Christmas packages for our active troops overseas. Included in the release are the dates and times for packing the holiday items for the troops, a list of items needed and drop off locations.
For additional information:

Kim Lengling

Full Circle Events, LLC

814-724-9099

www.full-circle-events.com

Following the information about Project Support Our Troops, are some photos and updates on the Union American Legion and the progress of their new building.

Press Release from Kim Lengling

Project Support Our Troops is once again planning for their yearly Christmas Packing of boxes for active duty military serving around the globe.  Project Support Our Troops, now in its 16th year of sending monthly care packages, depends upon our local communities each year to help make this Christmas Season a little brighter for those deployed around the globe serving the United States.

“We anticipate shipping 800 boxes this Christmas, with postage costs running at least $6900.00” stated Kim Lengling, Co-Chairperson of Project Support Our Troops.  “One thing we would like to special request this year  is Bag Balm lotion.  With the extreme conditions that our Troops endure in certain areas, Bag Balm is “like Gold over there”.

The organization will accept donations of items and money for their boxes through November 26, 2014.

Packing dates are as follows and will take place at  the Veterans of the Vietnam War, Post 52 located on Dunham Road in Meadville PA:

Tuesday, December 2, 2014 @ 6:00 PM

Wednesday, December 3, 2014 @ 6:00 PM

Kim Lengling and Laurie Davis, co-chairs of Project Support are Troops regularly pack boxs with needed items throughout the year. 

ITEMS NEEDED:

Store bought cookies                                                     Travel Size Baby Wipes

Lunch Size Trail Mix                                                         Tuna – Cans/Packets

Batteries AA & AAA                                                        Chapstick

Long Sport Socks                                                              Beef Jerky

Crossword Puzzles                                                          BAG BALM

Hard Candy                                                                         Razors                                                                  

Lunch Size Pringles                                                          Canned Chicken                                                              

Eye Drops                                                                            Gum

Travel Size Kleenex                                                         CDs

Female Products                                                              Zip Lock Baggies (all sizes)

Pre-paid AT&T Phone Cards                                        Small Hand sanitizer

Popcorn                                                                               Tea

Small size Drink Mixes                                                    Playing Cards

Fruit Cups – Lunch Size – Pop top                             Cross Word Puzzle Books

Tobasco Sauce-Small Size

DONATED ITEMS CAN BE DROPPED OFF at the following locations:

Affordable Care Hearing Aid-3823 W 12th St, Erie

Area Shopper, Cochranton

Flick’s TV & Appliance, Mdvl.

Fox’s Sew N Vac, Downtown Mall, Mdvl.             

Jeron Jewelers, Meadville

KFC, Park Ave Plaza, Meadville

Laurie’s Embroidery, Meadville
Marquette Savings Bank in Conneaut Lake

Meadville Tribune, Meadville

DJB Group – Chestnut St, Meadville

Byham’s Insurance Service

   1098 Park Ave, Mdvl.

Byham’s Insurance Services

   3323 Liberty Street, Liberty St Plaza, Erie PA

Pederson Insurance, Cochranton            

Post 52, 13240 Dunham Rd, Mdvl.

Rolling Fields, Conneautville PA                

State Farm Insurance, Linesville

State Rep. Brad Roae, Downtown Mall, Meadville

Street Track N Trail, Conneaut Lake PA

American Legion Post 237 Union City

The Union City American Legion Post 237 will be moving to new quarters sometimes in the late spring or early summer of 2015.

“We expect our new building to be ready by early summer, maybe earlier,” Post Commander Sam Samokar said. “We had a groundbreaking ceremony in late September and the foundation and block work is now beginning. We have been planning this now for quite sometime and we are really excited about this.”

Currently the Post is located at  1 South Main Street in downtown Union City. The new location will be just east of Union City at 9225 Route 6 in Union Township. The new building will provide for more space, better access and ample parking.

Special thanks to Marilyn Miller who has been taking photos of the construction progress.

And Just for the Heck of It

 The American Legion was chartered by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic veterans organization. Focusing on service to veterans, service members and communities, the Legion evolved from a group of war-weary veterans of World War I into one of the most influential nonprofit groups in the United States. Membership swiftly grew to over 1 million, and local posts sprang up across the country. Today, membership stands at over 2.4 million in 14,000 posts worldwide. The posts are organized into 55 departments: one each for the 50 states, along with the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, France, Mexico and the Philippines.

October: Sunchokes and Pollinators

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October is a colorful month in northwestern Pennsylvania between the leaves and wildflowers. One of the more brilliant yellow flowers blooming are the sunchokes or sometimes called Jerusalem artichokes. Sunchokes are a native North American vegetable, hardy, nutritious and flavorful.

The name Jerusalem artichoke is the result of some language misunderstandings during the early settlement days of America. They have nothing to do with Jerusalem or artichokes. Sunchokes, called by some Native Americans, were also called sun roots. They were cultivated by these early people who introduced them to the early settlers.

Sunchokes are easy to grow in a dedicated spot in the garden. A couple words of caution, they can reach upwards of ten feet and once planted they are there to stay. So it’s best to plant them in a special location.

Like their relative, the sunflower, sunchokes do best in a sunny location in fertile well drained soil. Sunchoke tubers are planted in the spring about 4 to 5 inches under the soil and about two feet apart. They do best with a neutral ph 7.0. The sunchoke is a vigorous grower and doesn’t require a lot of nitrogen. Actually, too much nitrogen will result in smaller tubers.

It’s best to dig the valued underground tubers after the first of second frost. The knobby tubers look like deformed potatoes.Somewhat similar to a potato, any part of a missed tuber left in the ground will promptly re-grow the following spring.

Sunchokes have a sweet taste when eaten raw and used in a dish replacing water chestnuts. They can also be boiled or baked like a potato or used in soups casseroles and salads.

Sunchokes are a low fat food, high in iron, thiamine and potassium. They are often recommended for people with diabetic conditions and there are some indications that sunchokes can help control blood sugar levels. For some individual, sunchokes can cause flatulence so it’s best to start with small portions. For those individuals, it best not to eat them raw but cooked by boiling or baking.

Since sunchokes get tall they can be used as a living fence at least during the summer months in the north. The flowers also attract many pollinating insects and some birds such as hummingbirds and yellow finches, as well as butterflies.

October is the month, after a frost or two to dig the tubers and begin to make some garden plans for next spring. A dedicated pollinator garden is beneficial to both our important native pollinators and for the home grown vegetable garden.

Pollinator populations have dwindling for many years now and some species are in danger of extinction. Loss of habitat and pesticide use are the many culprits, although some invasives are also to blame.

Our native pollinators coexisted with our native flowers for eons. One of the first steps to take is to obtain the seeds of our native wildflowers. They can be collected or they can be purchased. There are several reputable companies online which sell the seeds.

In addition to planting native wildflowers for the pollinators, there are many plans to construct nesting boxes or sites for the pollinators. The Xerces Web site has some very good information and detailed plans, nesting sites.

Pollinator Conservation Handbook: A Guide to Understanding, Protecting, and Providing Habitat for Native Pollinator Insects

Perhaps, the most dramatic decline in pollinators have been the honey bees, bats and the monarch butterflies. Some estimates claim that we have lost somewhere around ninety percent of the Monarchs. There are currently efforts underway to have the Monarchs placed on the endangered species list.

If a pollinator garden is in the cards for next spring, think of planting milkweed essential to the Monarchs.  Milkweed is much more than a weed but rather an elegant plant which when blooming also attracts many bees and other pollinators.

The bees have been in trouble for quite some time, particularly the honeybee. One of the main culprits in honey bee declines has been a mysterious disease called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Pesticides have also a toll on honeybees and other native bee species. Mites have been another consistent problem for the beekeepers.

Weather has also created havoc for honeybees. Last winter was harsh and many hives were lost. A wet cold spring following the frigid winter also took it’s toll. In some areas of northwestern Pennsylvania, the situation was so dire that honey shortages were widespread.

The honeybees, the 4,000 other native bee species, butterflies, bats and a host of other pollinators are essential for the foods we eat and for agriculture. It’s important to take a stand and act. Think Pollinator Garden this October.

And Just for the Heck of It

A tiny fly no bigger than a pinhead is responsible for the

world's supply of chocolate. Midges, tiny flies that live in damp, shady rainforests, are

the only animals that can work their way through the complex cacao flower and pollinate

it;

source: https://pollinator.org/Resources/facts.Gardeners.pdf

A Rare Gull, A Moon Crater, and a Pine Tree

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Sabine Gull

Meadville, PA photographer Shawn Collins took the photograph above and throughout this post of a rare Sabine Gull near the spillway at Pymatuning State Park in early September.

“I’ve been a birder for years,” he said. “This gull is just amazing and very rare for our region. There was quite a bit of excitement and a rather large group of people watching this unusual gull.”

There are numerous fun facts about this small gull. For example, the Sabine Gull was first discovered by explorer and scientist  Sir Edward Sabine in 1818. He sent the bird to his brother Joseph, a naturalist, who named it, Sabine’s Gull (Xema sabini) in honor of his brother. Edward Sabine was born in Dublin, Ireland on October 14, 1788.  He was a very accomplished explorer and scientist; he died June 26, 1883.

Sources and some additional good reading: Alaska Seabird Information and  Edward Sabine

According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the Sabine Gull is an unusual and distinctive gull which breeds in arctic areas but likes to winter in warmer climates. It can be identified by it’s unusual forked tail, long pointed wings and a short black bill with a yellow tip. It is a striking gull, according to Cornell, because of it’s striking plumage at either time.

Many local observers believe the gull was pushed into the northwestern Pennsylvania region because of very stormy conditions in the Arctic and western regions of it’s habitat.

Shawn Collins is sharing more photos of this rare gull at his photo album

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pghdjshawn/sets/72157647314128636   

and you can also get more news and photos on his Facebook page at

www.facebook.com/Shawncollinsphotography

Last Winter, Another Rare Visit

The discovery of the Sabine Gull at Pymatuning is not the only guest visitor within the year. Last winter, observers also reported a snowy owl, another rare bird which also drew crowds of observers. Shawn Collins was able to get the above photograph in a field in southern Erie County,as well as other at the spillway at Pymatuning. Both the gull and the snowy owls are residents of the Arctic, Alaska and northern Canada.

Some Hummers are Coming

According to Sarah Sargent of the Meadville Audubon, another unusual bird could soon be in the region so keep the hummingbird feeders up until the end of October.

“We get some late migrants including the Rufous Hummingbird that now seems to be migrating through Pennsylvania more frequently in the fall,” she said. “So it’s best to keep the hummingbird feeders up for a few weeks in the late fall.”

Linda Armstrong, the environmental specialist at Pymatuning State Park, who is aware of the Sabine Gull is uncertain if the snowy owls will migrate through the region this winter again.

“Anyone’s guess is as good as the next one,” she said.
Pymatuning State Park offers a whole range of opportunities and Linda Armstrong always has some fascinating fun events planned. If your unfamiliar with the park, Pymatuning.

Audubon Climate Change Report

Just weeks after the sad anniversary of the death of the last remaining passenger pigeon, Martha, 100 years ago on September 1, the National Audubon Society release a rather grim report. According to the new report, nearly half of the bird species in North America, and in our region of northwestern Pennsylvania, could disappear. The culprit is basically climate change. For a National Geographic summary of the study which used 30 years of Audubon citizen-scientist observations and climate data, click, Extinction.

The Audubon report can be found here at Bleak Future.

The photograph of the trumpet swan posted above was taken by Shawn Collins at Pymatuning State Park. According to the Audubon report, trumpet swans could be facing a rather bleak picture because of global warming.

Monarchs

Regarding species which fly through the region during the fall: On September 15, I saw my first Monarch butterfly this year. I wasn’t quick enough with the camera but it was feasting on the blooming goldenrods and purple asters,(pictured above).

The Monarch have been in decline for years now and perhaps there is some encouraging news, according to an article in the Sunday, September 14 issue of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, A Rebound?

Monarchs need  milkweed, a perennial North American wildflower. Milkweed has been eliminated in many areas because of herbicides, loss of open space and landscaping practices.

Some organizations and landowners are now taking action to help the most famous of all North American Butterflies. Discover more and opportunities that you can do at Monarch.

And Just for the Heck of It

In addition to the Sabine Gull, there is a crater on the moon named after Edward Sabine as well as the California grey pine (Pinus sabiniana).

Take Your Time at Hurry Hill

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Hurry Hill Maple Farm Museum  has been on the bucket list for a few years. Janet Woods, the owner, has invited me on numerous occasions over the last several years.

I have been to other Sugar Houses and enjoyed the visits and the free samples and the syrup I always brought home, well, and sometimes candy and maple mustard. Equally important were the maple producers; hardworking, friendly and informative.

Hurry Hill has the added attraction of the Maple Museum; a unique niche anywhere around northwestern Pennsylvania.

The Hurry Hill Farm Museum is located just outside of Edinboro on a scenic road which wanders through picturesque farms and rolling hills. It’s difficult to mention Edinboro and omit...snow. Residents pride themselves in the amount of snow and the duration of winter.

But it wasn’t snowing on Sunday September 7, when we visited. It was an awesome autumn afternoon.

Think Maple Syrup this Fall

Hurry Hill is open every Sunday during the months of September, October and November from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. The museum is a fun place to visit for both young and old. For the kids there are plenty of activities, for older people there are plenty of maple artifacts such as a display of  colonial day maple tools and history, Sabbath Buckets, other even earlier equipment, cooking utensils,  an early 1900’s kitchen, and many other intriguing exhibits featuring maple syrup production.

There is a unique section of the museum devoted to Virginia Sorensen which includes her prized 1957 Newbery Medal for her book Miracle of Maple Hill. Sorensen lived in Edinboro, enjoyed the frequent heavy snows, and used many local residents as characters in her novel based around another nearby Maple Sugar House. Although the book was written as  children’s book, it a fun read for people of all ages. The book is available for sale at the Museum as are many other maple products. In addition to maple syrup, there are maple peanuts, maple candy, maple mustard and barbecue sauce, maple herbal tea and a range of other products.

“Many people are running low on maple supplies they purchased in the spring and the holiday season is in just a few months,” Janet Woods said. “ Autumn is really pretty here and it’s a good chance to take a Sunday drive before the snow gets here.”

For those thinking about tapping their own maple trees, or for those small producers in need of supplies, Hurry Hill is a good first stop for information, advice and supplies.

Special October Sundae Sundays

The Edinboro Area Historical Society (EASH) will be at the Museum every Sunday during October. They will be serving up Maple Sundaes every Sunday for $ 3, greeting visitors, answering questions and conducting children’s activities

According to Allan Montgomery of EAHS, was a time of celebration; winter was over and people could enjoy the friendship and company of their fellow neighbors. It was also important to many farms since “sugaring” brought in much needed cash for spring planting. Maple trees also provided many rural families a healthier and less expensive alternative to cane sugar.

Take a ride at Hurry Hill Into the Sugar Bush

A short ride on a golf cart or wagon from the Hurry Hill Museum is the Sugar House where the maple sap is boiled in a large, wood fired evaporator during the sap run. On the less than five minute ride are views of fields and stands of newly planted maple trees with patches of goldenrods blooming here and there and dozens of bluebird nesting boxes.

Walking into the Sugar House, is akin to stepping back in time. There is a deep sense of history, and long hours of work.

Or as William Faulkner wrote: “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”

Hurry Hill Farm Museum has a certain sense of peacefulness, a oneness with nature.

Details for a Sunday Visit

The website for Hurry Hill is well worth the visit. It can be found at http://hurryhillfarm.org/

There is a wealth of information, history and other facts about maple syrup and about the farm museum itself. For example, under the Walking Trail menu bar, discover how the farm got it's name. And be sure to watch the video the First Boil.

Contact Information

Museum: 814-572-1358

Email: hurryhillfarm@verizon.net

Museum location:

11424 Fry Road

Edinboro, PA 16412

Janet Woods is a member of the Northwestern Pennsylvania Maple Association. The organization sponsors a spring Maple Taste and Tour Open House during which many other Sugar Houses in the region open their doors for demonstrations, activities and serve free maple products which are also available to purchase. The organization also sponsors a popular Lake Erie Maple Expo which will be held in Albion this year on November 7 and 8.

For more information on the Expo, or the spring Taste and Tour Open House, or to find a Sugar House close to your neighborhood, visit PA NW Maple Association

One of Many Good Recipes from Janet Woods

Maple Raspberry Vinaigrette

1/3 cup of olive oil

1/3 cup pure maple syrup

1/3 cup red raspberry vinaigrette

½ tablespoon dried basil or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

¼ teaspoon salt

Combine ingredients in a bowl and whisk. Store in the refrigerator. When ready to use, let the mixture come to room temperature. Shake well before using.

Wonderful on fresh green salad, garden leaf lettuce or cucumbers, grape tomatoes, and feta cheese.

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And Just for the Heck of It

The northern section of North America is the only place in the universe where maple syrup is produced from the amazing sugar maple tree. Eighty percent of the maple syrup produced comes from Canada while the remaining 20 percent is produced in the United States. While the maple tree provides healthy maple syrup in the spring, it is an attractive and colorful tree throughout the fall.