Chemung River Walks and Talks begins on Friday, June 6th at 12 p.m. with The Chemung River and You.  Join Scott Rodbaugh, from the Department of Environmental Conservation, and Jim Pfiffer for a discussion about the river. 

Bird Talk is the second program on Friday, July 11th.  Ever wonder why the ring-billed gulls are here?  Join Bill Ostrander of the Audubon Society as he presents an up-close view of ring-billed gull island. 

The third program on Friday, August 1 is Life Along the River.  Learn about daily life in 19th Century Elmira through diaries and images from the Booth Library. 

The series concludes on Friday, September 5th with River Jam.  Come and see local artists at the Grove Street Landing as they share their work inspired by the Chemung River.  Transportation to Grove Street will be provided. 

Each one-hour program begins at 12 p.m. and is free.  Participants are encouraged to wear comfortable walking shoes, and bring a lunch and portable chair, if desired. Space is limited to twenty people; please call 734-4167 to make reservations. 

 For more information contact: call 734-4167, email cchs@chemungvalleymuseum.org or visit www.chemungvalleymuseum.org 
Kerry Lippincott 
Education Coordinator 
Chemung Valley History Museum 
415 E. Water St. 
Elmira, NY 14901 
phone: (607) 734-4167, ext. 205 
fax: (607) 734-1565 
educator@chemungvalleymuseum.org

Get on the Bus begins on Friday, June 20 with Elmira’s Prison Camp.  Follow in the footsteps of Confederate Prisoners of War as Steve Teeft, from the Sons of Confederate Veterans, leads a tour of Elmira Prison Camp sites.  Call for reservations by Friday, June 13. 

On Friday, July 25 visit the Big Flats Historical Society and the Zim House in Horseheads. Call for reservations by Friday, July 18. 

The last tour will be on Friday, August 22.  Join Gary Emerson as he takes you along portions of the original Chemung Canal Route.  You will briefly stop in Horseheads, Millport, Montour Falls, and Watkins Glen.  There will be very minimal amount of walking.  Call for reservations by Friday, August 15. 

Each two-hour tour will start from the Chemung Valley History Museum at 10:00 AM and return at 12:00 PM for lunch at the museum.  The cost is $15 for members of the Chemung County Historical Society and $20 for nonmembers.  Space is limited to 45 people for each tour; please call 734-4167 to make reservations.

For more information contact: 734-4167 or email cchs@chemungvalleymuseum.org or visit our website: www.chemungvalleymuseum.org

"Thursday Night at the Museum" is a series of monthly programs that have been scheduled for the upcoming summer and fall seasons at the Bradford County Historical Society. Each program will begin at 6 p.m. in the BCHS Great Room, 109 Pine Street, Towanda, PA. 

Prior to each program, the museum will be open beginning at 5:30 p.m. until 6 p.m. We hope that you will plan to attend these educational and entertaining programs, and while you're here, see everything the society has to offer. 

Programs scheduled for this year are as follows: 

June 19
Spanish Hill - The History, The People and The Politics, presented by Deb Twigg of the Susquehanna River Archaeological Center of Native Indian Studies. Located in South Waverly, PA, Spanish Hill is both mysterious and facinating. Come and experience this interesting presentation. 

July 17
Tree Army - a video presentation highlighting the history of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). This evening we will commemorate the 75th Anniversary of President Roosevelt's New Deal program that created the CCC and the Works Progress Administration (WPA), both important in the history of Bradford County. 

August 21 
David Wilmot - presented by Guy Abell of the BCHS Board of Trustees. This program will examine the life of a well-known Bradford County Citizen and author of the Wilmot Proviso. 

September 18 
Harry Davenport - Canton's Famous Actor - presented by Matthew Carl, BCHS Curator. As an actor in such movies as Gone With the Wind, Meet Me in St. Louis, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Davenport was much loved by his hometown in Bradford County, and his friends across the United States. This program will feature a presentation of information and photos that will highlight the life of Davenport, who was the oldest actor in the nation at the time of his death. 

October 23 
Voice from the Civil War - A Living History Presentation - presented by Eileen Patch. Because a grieving mother saved the Civil War letters her son wrote home from his service in the 89th New York, Eileen Patch of Endwell, NY inherited them. She transcribed, researched and annotated the 59 letters. Dressed as her great grandmother, Sarah Englis in historically accurate 1880s clothes, Ms. Patch will look back 20 years to the war and read excerpts from the soldier's letters.

The Susquehanna River Archaeological Center (SRAC) is proud to announce the next installment of their educational series, “History’s Mysteries” will be another little known and mysterious piece of our local history titled, “The Great Detour,” presented by Dick Cowles. Cowles will present research that he and his father, Ellsworth Cowles did concerning yet another French explorer in our region, Rene Robert De La Salle. Cowles believes that in the 1670’s LaSalle searched for the corridor to the Mississippi River through our region, and as a result leads us to some interesting questions: 

- "Did LaSalle actually discover the Mississippi River two years before the Jesuits, Marquette and Joliet made the claim?" 

And even more importantly to local historians: 

- "Does the the Cowles' research prove that LaSalle visited Spanish Hill's “Carantouan” nearly 60 years after Brule?" 

Please plan to attend this thought provoking presentation Tuesday, July 1st, from 6:30 – 7:30pm at SRAC, 345 Broad Street, Waverly, NY. 

Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for SRAC members and $3 children under 18. 

To learn more about upcoming SRAC events, visit www.SRACenter.org/Events, or call 607-565-7960. 

Deb Twigg 
Executive Director 
Susquehanna River Archaeological Center (SRAC) 

This presentation by John Orlandini, past president of the Luzerne County Historical Society, is directly related to his 1996 book, “The Ancient Native Americans of the Wyoming Valley: 10,000 year of prehistory.” The five years it took to accumulate the information for the book left him with an over-all knowledge of the early Native Americans who lived, hunted, and traded in the Wyoming Valley. 

An unbelievable number of Native Americans lived there in prehistoric times during the Woodland Period according to archaeological evidence found throughout the Valley. When the Europeans arrived and started moving west from the East Coast, many of the early woodland dwellers were forced from their homelands. The Iroquois granted their brethran; the Nanticokes, Shawnee, and Delaware permission to settle in the Wyoming Valley with the agreement that they would protect the Valley in the name of the Iroquois. 

Contact trade goods have been found at these sites during topsoil removal. Similarities and differences of the early and later cultures will be discussed. 

John’s newly released book is entitled, “Indians, Settlers, and Forgotten Places in the Endless Mountains.” It covers Bradford, Sullivan, Wyoming, and Susquehanna Counties, with discussions on the Wyalusing Path, stone tools used in everyday activities, flintknapping, Indian graves and petroglyphs, medals presented to the Indians by the English, In search of the Goose, the French Azilum, Friedenshutten, and twenty other interesting topics relating to the Endless Mountains. 

The book will be available at our meeting for $17.95 and signed by the author. 
Executive Director 
Susquehanna River Archaeological Center (SRAC) 
P.O. Box 12 
Sayre, PA 18840 
www.SRACenter.org