Member Lecture: Lancaster County Grist Mills
Lancaster County Grist Mills
They were hubs of the local economy, where are they now?
This presentation features Lancaster County’s water-powered grist mills. This is a summary of my book, Mills of Lancaster County published by Masthof Press. Lancaster County’s mills were once extremely important contributors to the Lancaster County economy. They were hubs of the local economy. The location of the early mills often dictated the formation of the road networks. Many of them served as local post offices. The local mill was where people went to get their mail and catch up on the local news while delivering their corn or wheat to be processed into animal feed, cornmeal, or flour. Today, most of them are long gone, but about 100 still stand as testaments to a bygone era. Two of the mills in the county are set up as museums and are worth a visit. Others have been converted into residences or businesses. Still others have been abandoned and are slowly decaying. The presentation begins with a brief history of milling and water-powered mill technology. Then we will hear stories from a few of the mills. Finally, we will wrap up with a summary of the current uses for the mills that still exist today.
Presenter Donald Kautz is a retired software developer, amateur photographer, and local historian. Don has given numerous talks in the local area about the history of the Conestoga River. He has written a book entitled “The Conestoga River: A History”. Don has done extensive research on Lancaster County grist mills and has recently published a book entitled “Mills of Lancaster County”. Don lives near Lancaster with his wife and has three grown children and two grandsons.
This is a Member event. Non-members are welcome with a small fee.
Members: FREE REGISTER HERE
Non-Member: $5 REGISTER HERE
Member Lecture: Aviation
Aviation
Air Defense in the Cold War
Presenter John Sibole will discuss Air Defense in the Cold War. This presentation will include the geopolitical origins of the Cold War, the weapons systems deployed to defend North America from nuclear attack by Soviet bombers, and the personal experiences of a young fighter pilot in the Air Defense Command in the 1970's.
Presenter John Sibole is President of Eagle II Aeronautics Inc and recently retired from his position as Aviation Director at Eastern Mennonite University. Mr. Sibole’s career has included serving as a military pilot in fighters, transports, and helicopters. He had a thirty-year career with a major airline, during which time he founded a flight school that trained airplane and helicopter pilots. After retirement, John served as a safety inspector in the FAA, directed the aviation program at Eastern Mennonite University, and now conducts STEM outreach under his company, STEM hands-on. He holds a mechanical engineering degree, as well as an FAA mechanic certificate.
This is a Member event. Non-members are welcome with a small fee.
Members: FREE REGISTER HERE
Non-Member: $5 REGISTER HERE
Member Lecture: Chinese New Year
UPDATE: Due to weather conditions, this lecture has been switched to a virtual event. Attendees will receive the event link via email upon registration. If you have already registered, a link to the virtual link will be emailed to you.
Chinese New Year
Discover the historic origins and cultural significance of CNY in China and other Asian countries.
In this lecture, we will discuss the original tales that have been passed down through generations with oral history, and how they led to the authentic names and nomenclature commonly used for Chinese New Year today. Why have those stories taken root and sprouted different folk customs and practices between Northern and Southern China? And how has the rest of Asia and the world remained culturally linked China and these unique celebrations, commonly called Lunar New Year?
Presenter Xiaowei (Susan) Song, MSc., was born and raised in Nanchang, Jiangxi, China. She is a keen traveller and has extensive experience living in different countries. While obtaining two Master’s degrees in the UK, Susan worked in the international experience team at the local universities, where she became immersed in many different cultures worldwide. This experience helped her get her first job at HACC Lancaster after moving to the United States. It also inspired her to start sharing her own culture within the community, especially after she gave birth to her daughter. Susan joined Lancaster AAPI after volunteering to teach toddlers and kindergarteners a year-long cultural programme at Montessori Academy of Lancaster. This coming February, after the Chinese New Year(CNY) celebration, Susan will share some in-depth history content about CNY and its celebration with us.
This is a Member event. Non-members are welcome with a small fee.
Members: FREE REGISTER HERE
Non-Member: $5 REGISTER HERE
CANCELED - Member Lecture: “Curiouser and Curiouser: The Peculiar Popularity of the Wunderkammer Aesthetic in Twenty-First Century Museums"
THIS LECTURE HAS BEEN CANCELED DUE TO UNFORSEEN CIRCUMSTANCES. OUR SINCERE APOLOGIES FOR THE INCONVENIENCE.
“Curiouser and Curiouser: The Peculiar Popularity of the Wunderkammer Aesthetic in Twenty-First Century Museums"
Presented by Dr. Nicholas E. Bonneau (Visiting Scholar of Science, Technology, and Society at Franklin and Marshall College)
Join us for a look at cabinets of curiosity and how these displays have seen popularity in recent years. “Kunst-und wunderkammern” translates to “cabinets of art and marvels,” is often shortened to “wunderkammer,” meaning “room (or cabinet) of wonder.” Dr. Nicholas Bonneau, traveling professor at Franklin and Marshall College will discuss this and more in his talk.
There is much to say about museums lately. Over the last decades, cultural institutions around the Anglo-American world faced hard truths about their most treasured artifacts and specimens. Admirably, many have owned up to the colonial structures of violence and control that facilitated their collection and have embraced change. From the encyclopedic Smithsonian Institute to the specialized Mutter Museum of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, they have either divested themselves of these ill-gotten gains or are in the public process of doing so. But is this the whole story?
In the museum world, aesthetic choices are as much performance as opportunities for progress. Loud and well-funded virtue signaling can camouflage the distain of museum leaders and professionals for the ethical and artistic sensibilities of the plebian. Overfilled shelves and dusty wood-paneled rooms have been found guilty of imperialist sympathy and were summarily executed in the “Place de la Social Media.” True, the minimalist designs and clean white walls that took their place provide well-needed room for active and engaged learning, but they leave uncomfortable questions in the minds of onlooking patrons and donors. “Was there something perverse in our enjoyment of these collections?” “Did our curiosity make us guilty of complicity?” “Was the problem the collections or is it collecting itself?” The persistent popularity of museums who have rejected changes suggests that the answers are at best contested and complex. Join Dr. Bonneau as we explore this ethical and aesthetic revolution, the peculiar popularity of those institutions who have ignored its call, and the questions such active or passive resistance raises for museum scholarship and management in the future.
Member Lecture: “Who Needs a Doctor? This Elixir Will Do!” A Primer on U.S. Private Die Proprietary Medicine Revenue Stamps & Nostrums
“Who Needs a Doctor? This Elixir Will Do!”
North Museum of Nature and Science President, Charles J. DiComo, PhD will be presenting, “Who Needs a Doctor? This Elixir Will Do!” A Primer on U.S. Private Die Proprietary Medicine Revenue Stamps & Nostrums.
Dr. DiComo will discuss the proprietary tax enacted during the U.S. Civil War, what led to the 1906 Food & Drug Act, and an overview of the firms and products they manufactured and the beautiful stamps they had produced and affixed to their nostrums to market, advertise, confirm authenticity, and pay the government tax. He will share several scarce & unique packages, bottles & wrappers of the era with contents & revenue stamps still adhered from his 3D exhibit and display, along with product labels, billheads, trade cards, advertising covers, etc.
Philatelic Bio: Dr. Charles DiComo is a lifelong philatelist, postal historian and award-winning author and editor. He enjoys researching, restoring, writing, publishing, and presenting on a broad array of philatelic & postal history topics. He is President of the Philatelic Society of Lancaster County (PA); President of the Empire State Postal History Society (NY), Editor-in-Chief of the U.S. Philatelic Classics Society (USPCS) award-winning The Chairman’s Chatter and Life Member, on the Board of the Pennsylvania Postal History Society (PaPHS) and an emeritus member of the Council of Philatelists of the Smithsonian National Postal Museum. A native New Yorker, he resides in Lancaster, PA with his wife Kathleen and their two daughters, McKenna & Mia. Charles is a seasoned executive leader with a distinguished career in Healthcare, the Life Sciences, Cancer Diagnostics, Biotechnology, and the Global Clinical Trials sector.
This is a Member+ Event.
Members: FREE REGISTER HERE
Non-Member: $5 REGISTER HERE