Land of the Living Snowflake

 

This is an important, commemorative year for the “Land of the Living Snowflake”, now called Edinboro. The year 2015 marks the 175^th anniversary of the community's incorporation on April 3, 1840. The town then had a population of 232 citizens and a land area of 500 acres, although the saga actually began centuries earlier.

The First Peoples of the region were the Eriez, Iroquois and Cornplanter peoples. They referred to the land as Conneatutee, meaning “the land of the living snowflake”. The first known white settlers were surveyors for the Holland Land Company, Alexander Hamilton (1774 - 1847) and William Culbertson (1765 - 1843).

According to a history written by retired emeritus history professor at Edinboro University Russell Vance Ph.D :"They followed Indian trails to Waterford and to the shores of a lake the Indians called Coniate, the “Land of the Living snowflake.

They traveled to the area in 1796 and built a log cabin on the shores of Lake Conneatutee,

 now called Edinboro Lake.

According to Vance in the same history: “The surveyors reported that the area was in a beautiful valley that had excellent possibilities for the establishment of productive farms and that they planned to settle here.”

Hamilton remained the winter in the cabin that year while Culbertson returned to Lycoming County. He returned that spring with his wife and a numbers of settlers who began to clear the forests and the Edinboro saga began.

Washington Township was actually first called Conneatutee Township until the name was changed in 1834. Edinboro was likely named after Edinboro, Scotland since many of the early settlers were of Scottish decent.

 EUP Sports Management students (L) Josh Robson, Alexis Miller and Anthony Romanini met with area runner  Maria Schall of MJ's Runner Club to make plans for Edinboro's 5K Run/1 Mile Fun Walk celebration.

The Ediboro Area Historical Society (EAHS) has been planning several events to commemorate the 175 anniversary. Among the events will be; a 5 K Run and Fun Walk, a special celebration at Goodell Gardens, Founders Day on Saturday July 18, a traditional Blueberry Social on the first Sunday of August and plans are being moving forward towards a special Christmas display in mid-November.

The 5K Run and 1 mile Fun walk will be held on Saturday May 2. The event was organized by local resident and runner Maria Schall and the students of EUP's Sports Management team. The event will take place on the Doug Watts Cross Country Trail. For more information contact Rebecca Wehler at rwehler@edinboro.edu

The registration deadline is April 20. Register at 175bororun.eventbrite.com or forms can be obtained at Brink Ink, 5430 Rt.6

For more information on the 5K and other upcoming events, Edinboro Celebrates.

Special bookmarks funded by Hurry Hill Maple Farm Museum and the EAHS commemorating the contributions of Virginia Sorensen are being distributed by the Edinboro Public Library.

Miracles on Maple Hill and author Virginia Sorensen will be in the spotlight on Saturday June 27 at 2 p.m..

“We will dedicate the new Pennsylvania Historical Marker to Sorensen, Agriculture and the Maple Industry on Saturday, June 27,” Allan Montgomery of EAHS,said. :”The dedication will happen at Culberston Stables Square on Rt. 6 west just outside of town. The maple industry was very important to Edinboro throughout it's history.”

Sorensen was a resident at the time she wrote the classic children's book in 1956. The following year.she was awarded the Newbery Medal for excellence in American Children's Literature. The book is based loosely on many of the locations and people who then lived in the Edinboro area.For example, the Kreitz Sugar House on Kreitz Rd. near Drakes Mills was used by Sorensen as the setting for the Sugar House in her novel; the school nurse at Edinboro School, Anne Biehler became Annie-get-your-gun, the truant officer in the novel and Tony Beigel, the real life local hermit, became Harry the Hermit who raised bees and goats. He had a self serve stand with a sign at the end of his steep driveway which read"Take Honey, Leave money. Gone for the Day".

Hurry Hill Maple Farm Museum in Edinboro has dedicated a room to Sorensen, various artifacts about the places and people in her book. The Museum is also the repository for her Newbery Medal.

Janet Woods and the Hurry Hill Maple Farm Museum Association and the EAHS worked cooperatively over many months to win the new historical marker for Sorensen and the Edinboro region.

Sorsensen loved the Edinboro area, the people, maple sugaring and the long, snowy winters. From the Erie Hall of Fame Web page on Sorensen, who was nominated for the honor by Janet Woods of Hurry Hill Maple Farm Museum:

“Virginia loved living in Edinboro and commented in one newspaper article that she wanted to stay here forever. From Virginia Sorensens Newbery Award acceptance speech, she writes:
We arrived in Pennsylvania in September, and enjoyed passionately what happened almost at once to the maple trees. That breathless, unbelievable inner light! But soon they faded, the leaves fell and were burned along the village streets on smoky, chilly evenings. Then, one morning, the piles (of leaves) were white. Winter set in. Edinboro, old-timers told us with an odd, fierce pride, had the worst winters in the world. The name the Indians had left in the valley, Conneautee, meant, Land of the Lingering Snow. And it did linger, from late October on steady and white and deep. The village was isolated by muddy roads and dangerous pavement and sudden blizzards.”

The location for the historical marker is close to the Edinboro Library where Sorsensen visited frequently with her friend Marian Kelley who worked there. She would always be there, according to Janet Woods when the Bookmobile would arrive from Erie.

The new Historical Marker will read:

Miracles on Maple Hill

This award winning novel for children was inspired by author Virginia Sorensen's time in Edinboro. In it, she illuminates the centuries-long agricultural traditions of the rural maple syrup industry in Erie and Crawford Counties and the restorative qualities of country life. Miracles on Maple Hill won the 1957 Newbery Award for its distinguished contribution to American literature for children.

Most years during the annual March Maple Taste and Tour weekend there's plenty of outdoor activities, such as horse drawn wagon rides at Hurry Hill, but this March was the Land of the Living Snowflake throughout the Edinboro and northwest region of Pennsylvania.

Last Fall several of us visited Hurry Hill Maple Farm Museum https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1059723177971313563#editor/target=post;postID=4252214385039170055;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=10;src=postnameeum

For more information on Hurry Hill Maple Farm Museum, go to their Web Page, Here.

We also visited Hurry Hill March 15 for the annual Maple Taste and Tour Open House but this year because of the deep snow it was impossible to get to the Sugar House back in the woods. Winter 2014-15 sure lived up to it's Native American history! But there was plenty to see and do, sample and learn at the Museum. It was great fun and hundreds of people enjoyed a weekend visit.

And for more information on the Edinboro Area Historical Society, Here.

March is Maple Month in the Edinboro region which enjoys a rich heritage in maple syrup and products. In October, EAHS will be at Hurry Hill Maple Farm Museum serving real maple sundaes every Sunday in the month.

 

Celebrate Mud Season

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Thanks to Cal Robinson of Edinboro for  sharing the photo.

 

Celebrate the end of a brutal winter and attend the Open House Taste and Tour Maple Syrup weekend in the northwestern Pennsylvania area, March 14 and 15. This year will be the 12^th annual event sponsored by the Northwestern Pennsylvania Maple Syrup Association. This year 15 local sugar houses throughout a multi-county area are participating in the popular activity.

Maple syrup production in the region has played an important role in the history of the area, according to Allen Montgomery of the Edinboro Area Historical Society and Janet Woods of Hurry Hill Maple Farm Museum also in Edinboro. As the sap was collected and boiled, it was a time for families and neighbors to congregate and welcome spring, catch up on local news and just relax. The syrup also provided many farms with extra cash for spring planting.

The Route 6 Alliance is also promoting the region, it's heritage, beauty and resources.

The Alliance wrote in a recent Press Release: “Maple Producers are a key part of the history and heritage along PA Route 6. These skilled craftsmen have passed along traditional production methods and developed an extensive product line that proves that maple syrup is just not for breakfast anymore. Declaring that Pennsylvania has the best maple syrup and products in the country, the PA Route 6 Alliance is recognizing March as Maple Month across Route 6.”

There are a wide range of maple products available at the participating Sugar House; there's maple mustard, barbeque sauce, candies, maple coated nuts, maple cotton candy, even tea and much more. Maple Syrup is a good, organic choice. Ongoing research indicates that maple syrup is a natural and healthy food, according to the International Maple Institute.

“Pure Maple Syrup is a unique and natural product produced exclusively by the concentration of sap from the maple tree. It is a natural sweetner that contains no added sugar, coloring agents, artificial flavorings, preservatives or other additives, and is a superior source of important nutrients and vitamins when compared to other sweetners.”

 

In most years, the sap begins to run in mid to late February. This winter has been late leaving. There's plenty of snow on the ground, although it is melting. It's Mud Season. But there will be plenty of maple syrup and products.

“We are ready and have plenty of syrup and products and some of the sap is beginning to flow,” Bill Phillips the president of the northwestern PA Maple Producers Association, said. “Some years, it has been warm and dry, but it is going to be important for people to dress appropriately for the weather. Boots are going to be important.”

Phillips Sugar House, Fort LeBoeuf Maple, is located in Waterford. They are planning on cooking a lot of pancakes and sausages this year.
UPDATE : The weather forecasts are calling for rain on Saturday the 14th followed by some periods of snow on Sunday the 15th. According to Phillips this is agriculture and we are use to the weather. A Saturday trip to a Sugar Shack, well, take some rain gear.

“Each Sugar House has different activities and demonstrations,” he said. “Visitors can check our Web page to see what events and demonstrations will be held at each Sugar House.”

The Web page for the Association is, PA Maple.

Janet Woods of Hurry Hill Maple Farm Museum is ready to welcome visitors.

 Deep winter snow surrounds Hurry Hill Maple Farm Museum where the decorative keelers await the mild March temperatures that will produce "mud and snow". Photo and caption by Allen Montgomery

“We are as ready as ever,” Woods said. “We have a lot of activities planned at the Museum for children and adults. We'll also have our sampling room open for visitors.”

The Pennsylvania Hardwoods Council will also have their WoodMobile at the Museum open for tours.

The Museum is also open every Sunday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. through the end of May.

Laura Dengler of How Sweet It Is SugarHouse in Saegertown is also ready to greet visitors all weekend.

“It's been difficult getting into the woods with all the deep snow, but we are ready,” she said.

Dengler gives frequent workshops on backyard sugaring for home use. One of the most recent demonstration on backyard sugaring was held at the recent Lake Erie Maple Expo held several months ago in Albion.

For more information on the Taste and Tour Weekend, Open House.

And Just for the Heck of It

We’re not the only creatures who practice sugar maple tapping. The North American squirrel, Sciurus carolinensusk, also taps during sugaring season by gouging the bark of young maple trees with their two front teeth and drinking the sap that flows.

 

Winter begins It's Departure...Hopefully

Chances are it is going to be a few weeks before anything happens at the picnic table. January and February have been brutally cold with plenty of snow.

But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The forecasts for this upcoming weekend indicate a warm-up with temperatures rising into the forties and then into the fifties next next.

Today March 5 is the Full Moon often called the Worm Moon or the Maple Moon. Earthworms can generally be seen this month once some rain begins to fall and the snow melts. March is also the month when the maple trees are thawing out in the warmer sun and the sap is flowing. March means the Mud Season and it will likely be impressive this spring.

March 8 is also an important date; the day when we move the clocks ahead an hour.  The photo above was taken several years ago. The sun dial has been buried now for quite sometime but it is under the snow somewhere.

The 12th annual Maple Taste and Tour Open House is scheduled for the weekend of March 14 and 15. It is sponsored by the Northwestern Pennsylvania Maple Producers Association. It's a great time to discover more about maple syrup, how it is made, the history of maple syrup, and much more. There will be plenty of various activities for people of all ages at the participating Sugar Houses; plus free samples of maple products and products for purchase. For more information, Taste and Tour.
It's a sign of winter's Exodus and some new, fascinating, but ancient  things to come soon.

Wildflowers

Wildflowers, those native to a particular region, are a critical link to our natural world.  While native wildflowers produce a dazzling display throughout the growing season, their role is essential to our food supply, medicine, folklore, culture and wildlife. In short, the native plants are essential for our very existence.

Native plants are uniquely related to life on our planetl. Some 3,000 plants are or have been used for human food. However, an estimated 90% comes from only 20 plant species. Three in particular provide much of the world’s food supply: rice, wheat and corn. Forunately, these ancient plants have adapted over the centuries to climate and environmental changes, soil and pests. (source http://www.nps.gov/plants/cw/variety.htmhttp://www.nps.gov/plants/cw/variety) It is estimated that every third bite of our food is the result of insects, or pollinators, and economists estimate their value in the trillions of dollars worldwide.

Amazingly, the vast majority of our medicinal prescription drugs originated from plants.  Medical researchers continue to unlock obscure bits of important information about human health as they probe the unique relationships and characteristics of life and human health of which wildflowers are a key element.

Luckily, the ancient plants have also developed amazing relationships with the pollinators.  The flowers provide a food source, nectar and pollen for the pollinators, and in turn, the seeds of the fowers are fertilized and the plant species is guarenteed a future.

Ongoing research seems to indicate that the flowers also provide medicinal beneifits for the pollinators such as helping bees with dangerous mites. New research is planned to determine the best medicinal and food plants should be planted near and around apiaries http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/flower-pharmacies-help-bees-fight-parasites

And Just for the Heck of It.

Ever notice those lumps of galls on a goldenrod?  The galls are where the female gall fly laid her eggs and where the larvae will hatch and spend about a year. The fly’s entire life is spent on the goldenrod.

Summer's really coming this year.