Through Their Own Eyes: Exhibit at the National Constitution Center Highlights Military Experience in Art Works by American Soldiers

By Catherine J. Barrier

It is what Renée Klish, the Army Curator for many years, calls, “The most famous collection nobody’s ever heard of.”

It may come as a surprise to many to learn that all branches of the military have art programs.  It is not what one first thinks of when thinking of the military, but the men and women who serve in the armed forces live a very different life, and this weekend, their world goes on display at the National Constitution Center, in Philadelphia, in an exhibit entitled Art of the American Soldier.

"War and Peace" by Peter Hurd - WWII, 1942

“[The art in this exhibit] is really amazing!” said Stephanie Reyer, the Director of Exhibitions at the National Constitution Center.  “The collection shows every aspect of the soldier’s life.  It captures camp life, eating, praying, resting, even shaving.  [Some works] reflect their sacrifice—physical and psychological.  [Others show] the aftermath of battles.  It’s really the whole experience of the soldier, as seen by those who’ve lived it.”

This exhibit, which was put together by the National Constitution Center, with the U.S. Army Center of Military History and the National Museum of the U.S. Army, includes more than 200 pieces of art work, arranged not chronologically but thematically.  “It’s laid out to reflect the soldier’s experience—life, duty, sacrifice,” said Reyer.  “The juxtaposition of pieces from all these wars allows viewers to see things they might not otherwise see, such as how the morning ritual was similar, how there were some advances in technology, how styles have changed, and even how painting changed over time—and how [art] styles influenced each other.”

“When a soldier takes his or her family to the museum, I want them to be able to say ‘That’s what it looked like; that’s what I did; that’s where I was’,” said Martin Cervantez, the Army Artist in Residence and the Combat Artist for the Exhibit.

The Art of the American Soldier will open at the National Constitution Center, located at 525 Arch Street, in Philadelphia, on September 24^th and run through January 10, 2011.  The Center is open Mon.-Fri. 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sat. 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and Sun. 12:00 noon to 5 p.m.  The exhibit is FREE with admission to the museum.  Adults: $12; Seniors (65+), Youth (13-18), and Students with ID: $11; Children (4-12): $8; Active military personnel and career military retirees with ID are free, as are children 3 and under.  iPOD audio tours cost an additional $5.  Parking is available at the Center: $5-$17, depending on length of stay.  The garage entrance is located on Race Street between 5^th and 6^th Streets.  For more information, see http://www.constitutioncenter.org/.

“It’s actually a lot of serendipity,” said Stephanie Reyer, speaking about how the idea for this exhibit first came about.  She had watched CBS Sunday Morning on November 15, 2009 and learned about this hidden art collection the Army had.  Immediately, she was excited about it and thought it would make a great exhibit at the National Constitution Center.  When she got to work the next day, others were talking about it, too, so she contacted the Center of Military History, the division of the Army responsible for the art collection, and they were very gracious.  They allowed her to go look at the art—in December—and were eager to work with her to put it on display.

“The Army hasn’t really had a National Museum of the American Soldier, a major venue of its own to have the work shown in,” said Martin Cervantez.  “They’re working on gathering funds for one in the future.”

“[This art] hasn’t been sitting in the basement by design,” said Reyer.  “The Army had the collection, and we had the resources to show it.”

“It wasn’t even a question for us,” said Reyer.  “It just seemed like a natural fit.  Since the Center focuses on the Constitution, why not focus on the men and women who have served to defend it—to have the opportunity to have them tell the story, through their eyes.”



"Combat Artist at Work" by Paul Rickert -
Vietnam, 1966

  The Army started commissioning artists to document Army life during WWI.  At that time, there were 8 captains in the Army Corps of Engineers sent out to show through art what they saw—bridges, roadways, and other things.  By WWII, the Army had 42 artists in the field capturing scenes of Army life.  The funding for this program was then cut in 1943, and there was no official art program during the Korean War (although some art pieces from this war are in the collection, having been donated by individual artists, found in various places, or later purchased on E-bay by Renee Klish).  By the time of the Vietnam War, the Army had combat art teams, of three to five soldiers, artistically capturing everyday life in the Army.  Today, there is an Army Staff Artist, Martin Cervantez, who documents what the soldiers serving our country see, hear, and live.  Cervantez will hold that position until he retires.

“I try to [capture life in the military] in a really generalized way—to capture the experience not limited to infantry, or aviation, or . . . but in general, for all soldiers to be able to identify with it,” said Cervantez.  Some of his art works that aim to do this feature soldiers pulling patrol.  One particular piece, “Tailgating over the Valley”, depicts two soldiers riding on the back of a CH-47 Shinook (the name of a Native American Indian tribe) helicopter.  There are silhouettes of the rear of the aircraft, and on the horizon, there are mountains in the background.  “Most of the people in Afghanistan travel by air because of the mines,” said Cervantez.  “I wanted to capture that.  I remember doing it.”

“The soldiers, they understand the gear they wore, the equipment they used, where they were, and those [soldiers] who’ve seen the [art] works have said ‘It’s pretty much dead on’,” said Cervantez.  “They can really identify with it.”

“I go out to wherever they send me, take photos, and come back in the studio and create the art,” said Cervantez.

Some of the combat artists in the past included Peter Verrazano, who served in the First Gulf War, and Bil Keane, the author of the Family Circus cartoon who served in the Pacific during WWII.

But the Army’s art collection also includes art work done by civilian artists, as well as the Life Magazine collection and the Abbott collection, both donated to the Army over the years.



"Bob Hope Entertaining Troops Somewhere in England"
by Floyd Davis - WWII, 1943


“The Army has been collecting this art work for quite some time,” said Cervantez.  In fact, some of the Army’s more than 15,000 pieces of art date back to the Revolutionary War.

“What we did [in the exhibit], because it was about the soldiers, we tried to reunite ‘voices’ (actual Army veterans) from each of the specific wars, missions, operations,” said Reyer.  “For instance, military personnel from the Panama operation, from Rowanda, from peace time operations, from Hurricane Andrew, from the 1980’s, [and from] ‘Reforger’ training exercises.”

“We also have audio tours in our exhibition,” said Reyer.  For these, veterans from all branches of the military were shown the art work and then responded to it on tape.  “They all have phenomenal stories!”

“The American soldier part, focusing on the face—on portraits—captures the men and women bearing the brunt of it all,” said Reyer, referring to their sacrifice to maintain our freedom and safeguard our way of life, as outlined in the U.S. Constitution.

"Landing Zone" by John Wehrle -
Vietnam, 1966

The exhibit also includes a theater piece, Through Their Eyes, which will be shown twice an hour Wednesday through Saturday between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. and between 12:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. on Sundays.  This profound theater piece tells the stories of soldier artists on the front line.

The U.S. Constitution is the oldest and shortest written constitution in the world, and few people realize that the first national “Thanksgiving Day”, established by George Washington on November 26, 1789, was created to “give thanks” for the Constitution.

The National Constitution Center, the museum in Philadelphia “dedicated to increasing awareness about the Constitution and its relevance in Americans’ daily lives” is the result of more than 100 years of planning.  A memorial to that great document of freedom was first proposed in 1887, at the centennial of the Constitution.  Little was done to realize the proposed plan for the next century, but on September 16, 1988, then President Ronald Reagan signed the “Constitution Heritage Act of 1988”, establishing that “a national center for educating, studying, and interpreting the Constitution” was to be build in Philadelphia, near Independence Hall.

Construction of the Center, an independent, non-partisan, non-profit organization, began on September 17, 2000, on the 213^th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution.  The location of  525 Arch Streetwas chosen because it was on May 25, 1787 that the Constitutional Convention began (in Independence Hall) in Philadelphia.  The building is made of American products, including Indiana limestone, and has been the site of several debates, town hall meetings, and political events over the past few years.  The Center annually celebrates Constitution Day on September 17.

The museum’s permanent exhibit has over 100 exhibits, film, photographs, texts, sculpture, and artifacts, and the Center has a restaurant, the Delegates’ Café, and a Museum Store.

At the National Constitution Center, visitors are first introduced to the Philadelphia of 1787—to the people, ideas, and time of the Constitutional Convention, when Philadelphia was America’s largest city.

Next, “Freedom Rising”, in the Center’s Kimmel Theater, is a state-of-the-art multimedia theater experience, which delivers a 17-minute production that orients visitors to the Center’s experience and tells the story of “We the People” and the story of the U.S. Constitution.  It explores how the basic American principle of “popular sovereignty” shaped our nation’s history, and attests to the importance of active citizenship. 

The American Experience, on the 2^nd floor, highlights people and ideas, all presented in an architecturally unusual—for a museum—circular gallery.  There are three pathways through The Story of We the People.  On the outer wall, the historical story of “We the People” is told.  The central pathway, the Preamble Path, is about the Constitution today and how it works.  And the third pathway is along the inside wall and asks visitors to comment on a series of questions about war, justice, and other significant issues.

Signers’ Hall houses 42 life-like bronze statues of the delegates working on the final version of this key historical document, each based on portraits and written descriptions of the actual appearances of these men—with the exception of Jacob Broom, whose face is partially covered because no specific information about his appearance had been found.  The room has the exact dimensions of the Assembly Room in Independence Hall, where the delegates met, and is styled to resemble that room.  A rare, first printing of the U.S. Constitution is on display in a side alcove.  It took 18 months and 50 artists to produce the statues in this room, and although 55 delegates attended the Constitutional Convention in 1787, only 39 actually signed the document on September 17, 1787; the other three remaining delegates, dissenting, chose not to do so.

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The National Constitution Center also houses the Annenberg Center for Education and Outreach, which offers educational programming and provides study resources.  For this Art of the American Soldier exhibit, the Annenberg Center is developing a variety of programs.  See http://www.constitutioncenter.org/.

“We don’t typically have art exhibits,” said Reyer.  “We hope this exhibit will also draw artists in [to see these specific examples of art].”

“[The art work] is incredibly relevant now,” said Reyer.  “It’s not just history, as we’re [currently] engaged in [several ‘theaters’ worldwide].”

“I think and hope the same way the exhibit opened conversation for staff [at the Center] it will for family and friends [among the viewing public],” said Reyer.

“I think there’s a large portion of the population in the country that is interested in the military and in military history—and many have someone in their family who’s served, and so I think they’d all be interested [in seeing this collection],” said Cervantez.

Whether one’s specifically interested in the military or not, especially as Americans, it is important for us to realize the sacrifices made by others that enable us to continue to live free.  And the best way to do that is to view what they experience through their own eyes.

* Photos Courtesy of the National Constitution Center

© 2010 by Catherine J. Barrier.  All rights reserved.

Traveling Back to 18th-Century Living is an Option This Fall--at the Peter Wentz Farmstead in Montgomery County

By Catherine J. Barrier

Two hundred and thirty-four years have passed since our country declared its independence in the late 18^th-century, and our lives and world have been modernized by increased knowledge and technology, but the simpler 18^th-century lifestyle continues at the Peter Wentz Farmstead in Worcester, PA—and especially during numerous upcoming weekend events.

“We’re an 18^th-century historical site with a German flair,” said Kimberly Boice, the Museum Educator at the Peter Wentz Farmstead.

The 90-plus-acre Peter Wentz Farmstead, located on Shearer Road, near the intersection of Routes 73 and 363 in Montgomery County (Worcester, PA), has not only a main two and a half-story Georgian-style stone house, with many German heritage architectural features, but a rear kitchen with a bake oven and numerous outbuildings.  There’s a bank barn—a barn built up with a bank of dirt, which allows wagons access to the barn’s threshing floor, a sheep fold—the sheep’s “home”, a grist mill, an ice house, a smoke house, chicken coops, a kitchen garden, orchards, a woodshed, and a privy, or outhouse.

“The house was built in 1758 by Peter Wentz, the son of German immigrants who came to the area in the early 1700s,” said Boice. During the American Revolutionary War, the house was used twice by General George Washington, and in 1794, Melchior Schultz, a Schwenkfelder minister, purchased the farm. The Schwenkfelders were a Christian group that left what is today Southern Germany in the 1730s, fleeing religious persecution.  They arrived in the Philadelphia area and brought the spice saffron to the Americas.  Schultz’s family lived in the home until 1969, when Montgomery County bought the property.

Today, the farmstead is an historical site listed on the National Register of Historic Places (since 1973) and is managed by Montgomery County as a fully restored historical site that serves as an example of a prosperous 18^th-century German farmstead.  Admission is Free, and the Farmstead is open year round on Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.  It is closed Mondays. For more information, visit http://www.peterwentzfarmsteadsociety.org/, or call (610) 584-5104.

“About 40 percent of our visitors are people out sightseeing,” said Boice. “People who live in older homes often visit [us] as well, [and] we do get a number of groups [visiting]—school groups, camp groups, quite diverse groups.”  Groups are requested to register in advance.

While the Farmstead is not a petting zoo, it is home to a number of animals.  “We have horses, cows, chickens, sheep, and guinea fowl,” said Boice.

“I’ve had a passion for museum work since I was thirteen—and I worked hard in school [to realize my dream of making a career out of it],” said Boice.  “I was fortunate enough to get a job in the field shortly after I graduated.”  She has been with the Farmstead for the past seven years.  “I see education at the museum as education in a non-traditional classroom setting.  I have an 18^th-century house, animals, gardens, and nature trails [to teach with].”

The Food Ways Program’s Fall Harvest Event Returns on Saturday, September 25th, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“The Fall Harvest program is a continuation of a [larger] Food Ways Program we’ve had going on for the past few years,” said Boice.  “The Fall Harvest program focuses on the seasonality of food and on work on the farm.  [The seasonality of food] is a very hot topic now, and this program is on a smaller-scale [than some of our other programs throughout the year], but the guided house tours [during this event] show what the family would be doing to get ready for this season.”

Pressing apples into cider and cooking on the open hearth, using 18^th-century recipes (pronounced like the modern word “receipts”) from this region and this time of the year, will both be demonstrated. “We have the hearth to show the cooking, and we have a kitchen garden, where the food is grown that we use in the kitchen [demonstrations],” said Boice.

Non-food-related 18^th-century fall preparations would include putting extra blankets on the beds, pulling up wool bed curtains, and processing the flax plant, by scutching, or scraping the straw away from the fibers, & combing the flax—both to extract the fibers, which would eventually be spun into linen thread.  Volunteer staff will be on hand to show how the flax plant was processed.

“We have an amazing corps of volunteers, including junior volunteers,” said Boice.  Some of these will be hosting the Fall Harvest demonstrations on September 25, and some of the younger volunteers use their volunteering at the Farmstead to fulfill various school community service project requirements.

“We’ve had a very positive reaction to [all] this,” said Boice. “It’s [all] clearly something people are interested in.  They’re staying for hours and asking more in-depth questions.”

The Secrets of the Farmstead Tours Are Scheduled for Saturday, October 2nd, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“[The Secrets of the Farmstead Tours] is an opportunity for people with an interest in old buildings to see much more than you’d usually see in taking a house tour,” said Boice.  “We also go into the attic and the basement—and get to look at the roof joints in the attic and the floor joists in the basement.  Our basement has a dug-out trough along three of the sides that we believe was used to hold water to keep things cool.  We also go into depth about the restoration work begun in the early 1970s and still going on today.”

In particular, there are several German features about this house, such as the inside paint decoration and the German 5-plate stove, which was used for heating, not cooking.  “We believe the [paint decoration] dates to the family because it’s not the kind of thing one would find in this area,” said Boice.

The home also features a number of corner cupboards and corner fireplaces, and people who live in older homes, those interested in restoring older buildings, students of architecture, history buffs, and those simply curious about older structures tend to sign up for these tours.  Registration is required.  Call (610) 584-5104.

The Farmstead Focuses on Washington’s Headquarters at Wentz’s on Saturday, October 16^th from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“General Washington was headquartered here for approximately six days in October 1777, and we wanted to highlight this a bit,” said Boice.  Washington planned his strategy here, from October 2-4, for what became the Battle of Germantown on October 4, 1777.  The battle was a defeat for the Americans, but because the Continental Army believed the defeat was due to bad luck—for example, dense fog and thick smoke (which were both present)—instead of believing the truth: that the defeat was due to poor tactics—the battle served to boost American morale and self-confidence.

Washington returned after the Battle of Germantown—from October 16-21, 1777.

It was at this location that General Washington learned, on October 18, of British Major General John Burgoyne’s surrender to General Horatio Gates at Saratoga, New York the day before. Washington celebrated the news here.

“We will have a first-person interpretation of the General, ongoing house tours—especially of the first floor [set up as when Washington was here], and re-enactors on-hand, portraying everyday camp life and 18^th-century military maneuvers,” said Boice.

The Peter Wentz Farmstead Society has researched Library of Congress records that indicate that the Wentzes did not leave their home when Washington headquartered there. They merely moved into a smaller part of the house, making room for the General.  They were also reimbursed for a number of things taken, or used, by the Continental Army.  Many of these were food items, such as cabbage, milk, potatoes, and crèmes, but the Wentzes were reimbursed for some broken dishes as well.

There was undoubtedly some conflict at times in the kitchen during General Washington’s stay here.  “Ajena Rogers, who has a Masters in Resource Interpretation and portrays the General’s cook, Hannah Till, actually believes that when the General was here, Hannah was still working with him,” said Boice. “She believes that that probably led to some friction in the kitchen—between Hannah Till and the regular cook(s).”

All these highlights of the day will help the public to understand what things were like for General Washington, his men, and the Wentz family at this farmstead during those important historical days.

In the afternoon of October 16, John Nagy, the author of Rebellion in the Ranks: Mutinies of the American Revolution (Yardley, PA: Westholme Publishing), will present an 18^th-century code and ciphering class at 1 p.m.  “He’s done a lot of [coding and ciphering],” said Boice.  No registration is needed for this class, and it will be followed later in the day with a John Nagy book-signing of his newest work: Invisible Ink: Spycraft of the American Revolution (Westholme Publishing).

There is a Museum Shop on location at the Farmstead, where a handcrafted box loom, attractive redware—especially the scrafitto plates with German quotations, wooden toys, crafts, books, and prints are all on display and available for purchase.

Some people come to this working 18^th-century farmstead, with its fields of cultivation farmed using 18^th-century techniques, for the history.  Some come to see the demonstrations. “People can just walk around and have a picnic lunch,” said Boice.  (There are no food facilities on site, but there is a picnic area.)  Whatever their reasons for coming, those who visit the Peter Wentz Farmstead have the opportunity to travel back in time and enjoy—at least for a day—a place and a lifestyle that have remained for more than two centuries—since the 18^th-century and the founding of America.

* Photos courtesy of the Department of Parks & Heritage Services - Peter Wentz Farmstead

© 2010 by Catherine J. Barrier.  All rights reserved.

Scarecrows at Peddler's Village Attract Visitors to Annual Fall Festival

By Catherine J. Barrier

For many people, as Labor Day comes to a close, it unofficially kicks off the fall season.  Pools close, swim suits are stored away, and sweaters and jackets are readied for the cool mornings that so often accompany the month of September.  Peoples’ thoughts turn to the fall harvest season as school and post-vacation work resume, and especially as the leaves on the trees start to exhibit their beautiful fall colors.  The harvest season approaches and bundles of dried corn stalks, pumpkins, and straw-stuffed decorations begin to appear displayed in front of homes and businesses.  The new season is ushered in, and once again it is time for the Annual Scarecrow Festival and Competition at Peddler’s Village.

For the past 31 years, Peddler’s Village has hosted this scarecrow event.  This year, the 32^nd Annual Scarecrow Competition and Display debuted on Labor Day and will run through Sunday, October 24.  More than 100 scarecrow creations—in six categories—are displayed outside, competing for over $5,000 in cash prizes.  The categories include The The Keystone Krow, Traditional/Whirligig Scarecrow, Kids Only! Scarecrow, An Extraordinary Contemporary Scarecrow, Group Scarecrow, and Quite the Character Scarecrow.  Visitors can vote for their favorites through September 24, and the winners will be announced by Saturday, October 2—and posted on the Peddler’s Village Web site.

These superb creations of American folk art can be seen and voted on at Peddler’s Village, located at routes 202 and 263 in Lahaska, Bucks County, during its 32^nd Annual Scarecrow Festival on Saturday, September 18, and Sunday, September 19, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., rain or shine.  The weekend’s activities are expected to be full of family fun and a number of them are free.  There will be numerous children’s activities, scarecrow-making workshops, pumpkin-pie-eating contests, pumpkin painting, and a variety of live entertainment.  Free parking is available.  For more information, see http://www.peddlersvillage.com/, or call (215) 794-4000.

“I think every year I’m just so amazed at the creativity and skill executed [by the people] coming up with these designs for the scarecrows,” said Eve Gelman of Peddler’s Village.  “[And] we have so many [scarecrow designers] interested in using recycled items in the creation of their scarecrows.”

“We have some really interesting scarecrows from Bucks County [this year],” said Gelman.  “One of the entrants in The Keystone Krow category, a category that focuses on a person, place, or thing historically connected to Pennsylvania in some way, is ‘Neil ArmSTRAW’, a scarecrow entered by  the Johnsville Centrifuge and Science Museum in Warminster.”  The museum houses the largest human centrifuge ever built and is where Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo astronauts trained for their missions.  “There are new things I discover in our scarecrow competition each year,” said Gelman.

But the Scarecrow Festival is about more than just viewing these incredible pieces of creative art.  It will also feature numerous Scarecrow-Making Workshops on both Saturday and Sunday—at 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m., and 4:30 p.m.  These will teach participants how to create their own unique, life-sized scarecrows, which can be taken home and used as fall decoration.  There is a maximum of four people per scarecrow and a $25 fee for the scarecrow building materials.  For reservations, call (215) 794-4000.

A daily pumpkin-pie eating contest will be held both Saturday and Sunday at 3 p.m., on the Main Green.  Only the names of six people from each of the three age groups—10 and under, 11 to 14, and 15 and over—will be pulled from hats to determine who will participate in these pie-eating contests.  Those interested should sign up at the Hospitality Booth on the Main Green by 2:45 p.m. each day.  “It’s a great tradition, so old-fashioned, but people love it!” said Gelman.

“Each year, students from Central Bucks volunteer to run the pumpkin-painting event,” said Gelman. “They bring lots of pumpkins, and no reservations are needed for the event, but people should come early.”  This event, which gives children and families the opportunity to create their own pumpkin creations, will be held on Sunday, September 19, at 11 a.m.  It will continue until all the pumpkins run out.  Paint and brushes will be available and pumpkins provided for a nominal fee, based on their weight.  “There’s always a lot of great community spirit involved in this event,” said Gelman.

“We’re excited to have the School of Rock, out of Doylestown, with us on Saturday from 12:30 to 2:30,” said Gelman, beginning to highlight the weekend’s live entertainment.  The other entertainment will include the “Give & Take Jugglers”, returning this year to be featured on Saturday, on the Main Green, from 3:45 p.m. to 5:45 p.m., and then on Sunday, guitarist Jim Rowland, in the Courtyard, from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and the “Blue Roots Bluegrass Band”, in the Gazebo, from 12:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.  A strolling stilt walker will entertain on both Saturday and Sunday.

The School of Rock is a performance-based program for young people seven to 18 of all levels of ability.  Its curriculum focuses on classical rock and on teaching not only how to be musicians but also how to be rock stars.  http://www.schoolofrock.com/.

The “Give & Take Jugglers” offer not only impressive juggling, but also traditions from vaudeville, circus arts, and theater, as well as live music, an antique calliope (an instrument that sounds something like a hurdy gurdy), and comedy that is sure to please—and get the audience involved. http://www.jugglers.com/.

Jim Rowland has been delivering acoustic, meaningful, funny, and touching guitar-driven music in a rock setting around the Philadelphia area for a number of years.  He has performed and/or collaborated musically with the poet Allen Ginsberg, Pure Prairie League, Annie Haslam of Renaissance, and Bob Miles of the TV show “Miles of Music”.  He is also a songwriter lecturer for The Bob Miles School of Jazz, Blues, and Beyond. http://www.jimrowlandmusic.com/.

The “Blue Roots Bluegrass Band,” a high-energy ensemble of artists who have been playing traditional bluegrass for some 20 years, will offer a musical mix of blues, country, folk, and rock music.  http://www.blueroots.info/.

Peddler’s Village was founded 48 years ago by the late Earl Hart Jamison on only six acres of land, with only 14 shops and the Cock ‘n’ Bull Restaurant.  Inspired by the quaint village of Carmel, California while on a trip there, Jamison decided to begin his own colonial-style Peddler’s Village in 1962.  Over the years, the Village grew; winding brick pathways were added; and Jamison designed the lovely, award-winning gardens.  Today, well-known throughout Bucks County, Peddler’s Village sits on 42 acres, boasts 70 unique specialty shops, and offers fare in five different restaurants, accommodations in its 70-room Golden Plough Inn, year-round family fun at its Giggleberry Fair entertainment center, and year-round festivals and events.

“Lazy Crow”, a 2009 merchant’s entry for the Group Scarecrow category, is resting in his chair, content.  He’s been to the Peddler’s Village Scarecrow Festival and must have enjoyed it, for he appears relaxed and is smiling.  Come on out to this year’s Festival, enjoy the fun, and vote for your favorite scarecrow.  It is sure to put a smile on your face as well.

* Photos Courtesy of Peddler's Village

© 2010 by Catherine J. Barrier.  All rights reserved.

The 11th Annual Scottish-Irish Festival in Green Lane Park, a Celebration of Culture and Tradition

By Catherine J. Barrier

The name “Scotland” derives from a Gaelic word for “wanderer”, and the Scots have both wanderlust and a strong affection for Scotland. The Scotch-Irish trace their ancestry to Scotland as well—through Northern Ireland. In the 17th-century, the English government encouraged Scottish Lowland Presbyterians to migrate to Ulster, in Northern Ireland, to strengthen England’s control there. Then while large-scale Scottish immigration to North America started in 1718, it was in the 18th-century that about two million Scotch-Irish descendents migrated to the American colonies, the Scots usually in groups, the Scotch-Irish more often individually.

Many Scotch-Irish came to the New World because of the Potato Famine of the 1840s, simply to work in industry in the 19th-century, or because of the difficult economic conditions in Scotland, especially in the 1920s. Many early immigrants settled in Pennsylvania because of the religious freedom there. Later, some moved down to the southern colonies—especially to Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina—despite the fact that the Highland Scots strongly protested against slavery. Today, the Scotch-Irish in the United States number about six million, and each year the Montgomery County Department of Parks and Heritage Services at Green Lane Park hosts one of the largest Scottish-Irish Festivals in Eastern Pennsylvania.

“The Festival is in its 11th year,” said Mark Shope, the Green Lane Park Supervisor. “People can really enjoy themselves. It’s a beautiful park of 3,000 acres, and in past years, nice days have drawn as many as 10,000 daily visitors.”

“It’s a good family event. There are things here for everyone,” said Terry Corona, one of the administrators at the park. “And people can picnic; they can bring their own food; stay all day.”

This year’s Annual Scottish-Irish Festival will be held at Green Lane Park, located at 2144 Snyder Road in Green Lane, PA (18054) from September 10th through September 12th (Friday night, September 10th, from 5:30-10:00 p.m.; Saturday, September 11th, from 9:30 a.m. until 10:00 p.m.; and Sunday, September 12th, from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.).

The Festival will feature a plethora of pipe and drum bands and both Scottish Highland and Irish Step-Dancers, as well as sheep dog demonstrations, a falconry demonstration, Highland games, and various children’s activities, such as Celtic Face Painting. Classic and Celtic food vendors and merchants of authentic Scottish and Irish items, including Celtic jewelry and knives, kilts, swords, paintings, clothing, and crafts, will also be present. Admission is free, but there is a $5 parking fee. The event will take place rain or shine. For more information, call (215) 234-4528 or visit http://parks.montcopa.org/sifestival.

“We would encourage car pooling, as parking is scattered all over,” said Shope. There are shuttles from the three shuttle lots. Check the Visitor Parking Map on the Web site for more details.

Dog rescue organizations will also be part of the festival. “Originally, we started out looking for the Celtic dog rescue organizations, organizations rescuing Collies, German Shepherds, Irish Wolf Hounds, the dogs usually used to herd sheep,” said Corona. “Other [animal] rescue groups then asked to be included, and today, there are about 20 rescue organizations participating. It gives them a chance to get various donations and to find homes for some of the animals. We knew there were a lot of animals out there needing homes.”

One of the participating bands will be Loch Rannoch Pipes & Drums, which will perform as the first band of the day on both Saturday and Sunday. “They’ve been with us for a long time,” said Corona.

“We’re in Fountainville, PA,” said Lucien Nantista, who joined Loch Rannoch Pipes & Drums a few years back. “We have 12 pipers and 7 drummers. The band is great! We play all kinds of music, and we like this festival; it’s a lot of fun.”

“[All] the music’s great!” said Shope. “We book some really great bands.”

The fiddle and the harp are two traditional Celtic instruments, but hammered dulcimers, pedal steel guitars, and electric mandolins are also prevalent. Bagpipe music is an especially important part of the Highland games but also for any celebration of clan identity.

The traditional family structure, especially in the Highlands, centered around the clan, of which there were originally about 90. Here in the U.S., both the Scots and the Scotch-Irish have been drawn to the land as farmers and herders, just like back in their countries of origin.

One of the most unique parts of this festival will be the Highland games. “Back in feudal times, when the clan was going to war, [the men] would have a contest, and the biggest, meanest guy—the strongest at throwing stones or tossing a tree trunk—[. . . would] end up as the captain of the army,” said David McKenzie, the director of the Mid-Atlantic Scottish Athletics, a Virginia-based group that will present the 7 standard events that today make up the “Highland games”. “The strongest man would [then] lead the clan, or army, and the speedy guys [the fastest men] ended up being the messengers. The games were used to get ready for war.”

Some of the seven standard events in the Highland games include the competition stone throw of a 16-pound rock, where the athlete moves and spins around to help in throwing the rock, and the throwing of a Braemar stone (a 25-pound stone) while standing still. There’s also a competition throwing a caber, a 16- to 20-foot tree trunk made out of oak, beech, or poplar. In this latter game, the caber must flip over and away from the athlete at a 180-degree angle at 12 o’clock for it to be a “perfect throw”. The caber throw must pass at least 90 degrees in order to count.

“[The Highland games], it’s not a sport many Americans get to see,” said Shope.

“All these [games] come from the Scottish military, or from agriculture, and the weights are derived from commerce—from weights on the balance,” said McKenzie. Fore more information about the rules for these games, see http://www.heavyevents.com/.

Another special part of this festival is the sheep dog demonstrations. “We try to get across to people that these are working dogs,” said Maggie Chambers, who herds sheep competitively. “They are extremely intelligent, and we use whistles and verbal commands [to get them to aid with herding the sheep].”

“The dogs are British Border Collies and are different than the Lassie Collie,” said Chambers. “They’re the easiest all around utility dogs. They are bred to work closely with humans and for intelligence and work ability. Sometimes they’re bred for specific traits.”

“We’ll be bringing about 6 to 10 sheep [as well as the Border Collies] and will explain the usage of the dogs and demonstrate it,” said Chambers.

“The Festival is phenomenal!” said Chambers, who has held sheep dog trials at many of the previous Scottish-Irish Festivals at Green Lane Park. “They have great bands, and the people that put [on the Festival] are terrific!”

Saturday and Sunday will also be full of ethnic dancing--from both Scotland and Ireland. One of the featured Highland dancing groups will be the Caledonian Highland Dancers of Bucks County.

“Scottish Highland dancing was started by men—different clans used dances to choose the strongest warrior,” said Sandra Weyman, the director of the Caledonian Highland Dancers. “As the years went on, the Scottish regiments used the dancing as part of their [military] training. Today, more girls than guys dance, but there are a fair number of boys [as well].”

“[Scottish Highland dancing] is predominately a competitive sport,” said Weyman. “The Official Board of Highland Dancing in Scotland has set up the standards.

“The dancing is extremely technical,” said Weyman. “The hands and feet are [to be kept] in particular positions [during the dancing]—within one half inch of a position. It’s very exacting! The dancers are judged by their technical positions—and for their timing to the music.”

“The Scottish dancing has stayed very true to Scottish culture,” said Weyman. Part of this adherence to the culture can be seen in the retaining of the traditional, strictly regulated tartan, Scotland-made kilts, standard jackets, and soft glove-leather shoes. While the Irish step-dancers have modernized some of their costumes, the Scottish dancing has changed very little.

“I have competitive dancers that compete locally and at a distance,” said Weyman. “The girls start as young as 4 or 5 and many will compete right through college—and some up to 30 [years of age].”

“Highland dancing is solo dancing,” said Weyman, “[but] sometimes groups dance at festivals. I try to vary the dances. Among our dances are ‘The Sword Dance’ and ‘The Highland Fling’, a dance of joy.” The Sword Dance was originally done by warriors, and there are two interpretations of it: first, that if a warrior touched the sword while dancing, it was a bad omen, and the other that it was a dance of victory, a triumphal dance.

“I think Highland dancing just sums up everything that’s great about Scottish culture—music, kilts, interpreting the pipes and fiddles. The energetic dancing brings it all together,” said Weyman.

Various Irish step-dancing groups are also scheduled throughout the two full days of the festival.

“Irish step-dancing has been around for centuries,” said Kathleen Murray, an instructor at the Fitzpatrick School of Irish Dance. “It’s routed in tradition, even though some things have changed. Some of the choreography has changed—and the dancers going up on their toes for example. Their shoes now have square tips—similar to ballet shoes—which allow the dancers to stay on their toes. This was not done hundreds of years ago, but the dancing is still around to be shown to the community.”

“There are two kinds of dancing,” said Murray. “There’s step-dancing, which is more of a solo type of dancing, with fancy dancing steps—this is sometimes done in a line—and the arms staying down at the side, and there’s Ceilidh dancing, which is a group dance similar to square dancing, where one uses the arms. All the dances include two basic Irish steps—the “two-threes” and the “sevens”—all moving in different formations, as in such dances as the ‘Sweets of May’ and the ‘Trip to the Cottage’. Some dances seem more complicated than others, but they’re basically all made up of two basic steps.”

The Fitzpatrick School of Irish Dance was named after Murray’s grandfather, Michael Fitzpatrick, and started by her sister down in Lower Bucks County in 1994. Murray started the Upper Bucks County branch in 1996, and a third, the Central Bucks County branch has since opened as well. Michael Fitzpatrick was a fiddler back in Ireland, and Murray and her four sisters all started dancing when they were young. They dedicated the school to their grandfather and today are, as Murray said, “. . . passing on the culture and tradition to the next generation.”

“We’ve been part of the Festival for at least five years,” said Murray. “I think it’s great! It’s gotten more popular each year, and the whole reason for [our] doing this kind of dancing is for people’s enjoyment.”

“People hear the music, and it sort of draws them. It’s so lively,” said Murray. “[The Festival] is an event that the dancers love to dance at—probably their favorite all year. It’s always a nice weekend.”

“[People should] come out and enjoy themselves. There’s good food and good entertainment,” said Mark Shope.

So, indulge your Scotch wanderlust and wander out to the Green Lane Park Scottish-Irish Festival this weekend, whether to celebrate your Scotch-Irish heritage, to discover the Scotch-Irish culture in-depth, or just to enjoy a day in the park.

© 2010 by Catherine J. Barrier.  All rights reserved.

Architecture at Every Turn, Walking Tours Reveal the Heart and Soul of Philadelphia Through the Ages

By Catherine J. Barrier

Philadelphia is known as “the City of Brotherly Love” and as “the Cradle of American Democracy”, but it is also rich in architecture.

The City of Philadelphia offers outstanding examples of architecture, from works by the Colonial-era and carpenter-architects to modern masterpieces by Howe and Lescaze, Louis I. Kahn, and Rafael Vinoly. Through its centuries of history, the city has been home to an ever-increasing number of distinct businesses and ethnic communities, each erecting its needed and preferred buildings and creating its desired landscaped areas, until today Philadelphia is teeming with a wealth of architectural and landscaped beauty. One organization, the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia, the so-called “principle public steward of the historic landmarks of the Philadelphia area”, is not only working to safeguard these treasures but to help others learn more about them and appreciate them more. One way the Alliance does this is by offering regular architectural walking tours.

While this award-winning tour program offers architectural walking tours through October 31, this Labor Day weekend, three (maybe four) specific 1-1/2- to 2-hour tours will take place, all designed to interpret the past, present, and future of the Philadelphia area. On Saturday, September 4, at 10:00 a.m., the Littlest Streets Fitler Square tour will begin at the southwest corner of Fitler Square, 24th and Pine Streets. That same day, the Gilded Age Philadelphia walking tour will commence at 2:00 p.m., departing from the steps of the Bellevue Stratford Hotel at 200 South Broad Street. On Sunday, September 5th, at 10:00 a.m., those interested in taking the Society Hill Stroll tour will meet at the northeast corner of 2nd and Spruce Streets, and later in the day, at 2:00 p.m. another architectural walking tour will be offered (to be determined; check Web site, see below). The tours will focus on the architecture, urban design, and social history of the specific areas. No reservations are needed; go directly to the tour starting points; tours are conducted rain or shine. Adults: $10; Students: $8; Children 10 and under: Free with an adult; Preservation Alliance Members (with membership card): $5. Payment: cash or check made payable to “Preservation Alliance”. Other self-guided tours are also available (see the Web site) and private tours as well. For more information, see http://www.preservationalliance.com/, call (215) 546-1146, or e-mail to tours@preservationalliance.com.

“Philadelphia is not just the Liberty Bell,” said Paula Spilner, the Preservation Alliance’s Volunteer Tour Coordinator. “It’s a museum of 18th-to 20th-century architecture.”

“The tours don’t assume any knowledge; they’re not for professionals but for the average person,” said Spilner, who moved from New York to Philadelphia in the early 1990’s when her husband got a job in the area. She started taking the architecture courses given by the Center for Architecture and soon became a guide for these walking tours even before they were managed by the Preservation Alliance. “Five years ago, I took over the managing of the walks, handling the scheduling of the walking tours and the guides and fielding questions about them.”

“Originally, the tours were started by the Foundation for Architecture, probably over 20 years ago,” said John Gallery, the Executive Director of the Preservation Alliance. “The Foundation then went out of existence in the early 1990’s.” Several other organizations then managed the tours for several years. “Last year, we took them over because I’d wanted to run them for a long time. The mission of the Preservation Alliance is to educate people about the value of the architecture in Philadelphia. [Running the walking tours] fit really well with our mission.”

“I’ve been on and given some of these tours,” said Gallery. “What’s interesting about these tours is that they’re given by volunteers, by people who love Philadelphia and are personally connected to these places. It’s like a neighbor giving a tour. The out-of-towners seem to especially appreciate the personalized nature of the tours—having someone who really knows the area [as a tour guide].”

“The volunteer tour guides are usually ‘self-selected’, [but they must then] take a 10-week course which covers architecture from William Penn in 1682 through the 20th-century,” said Paula Spilner, who herself has been a guide for 17 years. “The tour guides are people from all walks of life; they are enthusiasts, lay people who are usually quite passionate about Philadelphia and architecture.”

“[As a guide] you’re also meeting people,” said Gallery. “[. . .] you show up at the appointed spot. You never know how many people will show up, but usually, there are about 15 or 20—it’s a good size [group]. You can really engage with [the] people.”

“The tour program was named ‘Best in Philadelphia’ by Philadelphia Magazine in 2008,” said Spilner.

“Many people know the big places [in Philadelphia], but we have several ‘Littlest Streets’ tours, and these tours, with the charming 2- and 3-story homes, that’s the thing that gives Philadelphia its distinctive character,” said Gallery. “It gives you a different glimpse of Philadelphia as a city.”

Littlest Streets Fitler Square Walking Tour

The first Labor Day weekend architectural walking tour takes place in one of the “Littlest Streets” areas—Fitler Square, located 5 blocks east of the Schuylkill River and just a few blocks southwest of Rittenhouse Square. “It’s a neighborhood with a fascinating history,” said Spilner.

Fitler Square was originally a textile-manufacturing and transportation center. In the 1830’s and 1840’s, Irish immigrants began to make the neighborhood their home—as workers in the coal trade, as weavers, and as textile workers—making cloth and rugs. At that time, poverty was rampant in the area. When the Reading Railroad began to shift the coal work from the area east to the Delaware River at Port Richmond, the neighborhood’s focus became residential housing; it became the home of some of the city’s most prominent citizens. Some of the area’s surviving historical residences include the home of the naturalist Edward Drinker Cope, the home and then library and museum of the Rosenbach brothers, and the home of the popular war journalist Richard Harding Davis. And the Naval Home is also just a few blocks south and west of Fitler Square.

In 1896, by city ordinance, Philadelphia created a brickyard at Fitler Square and named the area to honor Edwin H. Fitler, a popular mayor of Philadelphia (1887 to 1891). Fitler was also a Republican presidential elector for Pennsylvania in 1876, the vice-president of the Manufacturer’s Club, and an active member of both the Philadelphia Club and the Art Club of Philadelphia. But the neighborhood had deteriorated again by the early 1920’s, only to be rehabilitated again later, with changing styles and remarkably varied architecture. “Now, [the area]’s pretty gentrified,” said Spilner.

There are several other “Littlest Streets” tours scheduled for this fall, namely the Littlest Streets of Broad [Street] on Saturday, September 11 at 10:00 a.m. and the Littlest Streets of East of Broad on Saturday, October 23 at 10:00 a.m.

These “Littlest Streets” areas of the city hold seldom-seen architectural treasures and charm. “You can walk by [these littlest streets east of Broad] and completely miss this neighborhood of tiny little alleys and Trinity houses,” said Spilner.

Gilded Age Philadelphia Walking Tour

The next scheduled Labor Day weekend walking tour is the Gilded Age Philadelphia tour. In the late 19th-century, wealthy industrialists started amassing huge fortunes and turned to architecture to express their increasing money and power. They began to display their wealth in opulent buildings during this period, which American author Mark Twain called “The Gilded Age”. During this time, the now famous architects Richard Morris Hunt, Stanford White, and Frank Furness designed palatial homes and elegant hotels mirroring the ostentatious European style known as Beaux Arts.

“[The Gilded Age Philadelphia walking tour] features three of the older buildings in Center Philadelphia that have become hotels,” said Spilner. “These include the Hotel Atop the Bellevue, or the Bellevue Stratford, from the early 20th-century, the Ritz Carlton—the former Girard Trust Bank building, and the former PSFS building [now the Loews Hotel]—as well as other late 19th-century buildings, such as the Union Building.”

This tour provides explanation as to how these buildings have been architecturally maintained and details the history of the transformation of some of these into buildings with completely new uses.

Society Hill Stroll Walking Tour

The first Sunday, September 5th tour is entitled Society Hill Stroll. “Society Hill is one of the oldest neighborhoods of Philadelphia, and it is a unique story of urban revival,” said Spilner. “There are two facets to its history: first, it has the largest collection of late 18th- and early 19th-century Federal and Georgian architecture in the United States—it shows the variety of residential architecture from the Revolutionary War to about 1820—and second, [the homes] have all been beautifully restored.”

Society Hill was named after the 18th-century Free Society of Traders, which had offices on Front Street, on the hill. “Society Hill was the first stop for immigrants—Polish and Jewish especially—in Philadelphia,” said Spilner, “and many of the older homes were eventually divided up into small apartments. The area deteriorated over time. Then in the 1950’s, when Edmund Bacon was the Chairman of the Planning Commission in Philadelphia, the city of Philadelphia spearheaded an improvement program, a campaign to upgrade and revive the area. The city sold the homes—many times for just a few thousand dollars—to private owners who would renovate them and live in them. The area soon began to improve, and the properties began to increase in value, until today Society Hill has become one of the most conveniently located, affluent areas in Philadelphia.” This 1950’s improvement program was part of the first national urban renewal programs aimed at the preservation of historical buildings.

The Preservation Alliance was formed in 1996, by a merger of the Preservation Coalition, originally a grassroots organization founded by a group of women concerned with protecting certain structures in Center City Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia Historic Preservation Corporation, an organization created by the Old Philadelphia Development Corporation to pool the cooperative efforts of business, civic and government leadership in order to rehabilitate and develop historic properties through the creation of a façade easement program, a program to assist historic religious properties, and the management of certain historic sites. The merger took place with the help of both the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the William Penn Foundation

The mission of the nonprofit Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia is to promote the appreciation, protection, revitalization and appropriate use and development of the Philadelphia region’s historic buildings, communities, and landscapes. Its 2002 strategic plan was drafted with the cooperation of preservation organizations in all the Pennsylvania counties adjoining the city.

Some of the other architectural walking tours offered through October 31 are City Hall to City Hall, Up and Over the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, Victorian Philadelphia West of Broad, Rittenhouse Square East, Powelton, Jewish Philadelphia-Colonial Times, Underground Philadelphia, Beaux Arts Philadelphia, Around Washington Square, Avenue of the Arts, and even out-of-Philadelphia walking tours, such as one in Merion on Sunday, October 10 at 2:00 pm. and another in Phoenixville on Sunday, October 24 at 2:00 p.m. (check Web site for more details).

“I love Philadelphia architecture because Philadelphia is unusual as a city in the U.S.,” said Gallery. “It has some of the finest examples of all styles of architecture produced in the United States. No other city can say this.” This being the case, an architectural walking tour in Philadelphia this Labor Day weekend may be just the right “something different” to enjoy.

© 2010 by Catherine J. Barrier.  All rights reserved.