The Columns Museum

The Hiawatha arrived safe and sound. We are open 1-4 Wed. Sat. and Sun. Stop in and see us!

Newsflash...Hiawatha arrival delayed due to conditions en route from North Dakota.

Soar with the Eagles at Lock House 16 The Pike County Historical Society will offer Sunday morning guided eagle watch walks with our friend in history, Courtney Barden. Dates are February 7, 14, 21, 28 starting at 9 am each day. Interested parties will meet at Lock House 16 on Towpath Road in Glen Eyre and proceed on a walk (anywhere from 3-5 miles) along the Lackawaxen River. Courtney is an avid Eagle watcher and is willing to lead a walk with up to 4 people each week. Please wear sturdy shoes, dress for the weather and conditions (wear a reflective jacket, vest, etc. for cars along the road to see you). Outdoor event and COVID-19 protocols will be followed. Continental breakfast will be served after. $15 per person. Reservations please. (570-296-8126 or [email protected])

The Museum will resume regular hours starting Saturday 1/8 Open Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday from 1-4. Research by appointment only. Happy New Year!

Breaking News....Hiawatha Stage scheduled to return tomorrow at 4:30pm! Stop by and toast it's return with us.

Happy New Year!

Don't answer! Creepy. Oh well. Merry Christmas to all!

Merry Christmas!

THE WINNING NUMBERS in our Hunt for History with Abe Lincoln.... 30, 19, 14. (1st, 2nd, 3rd) Good job everyone! We will contact you in the next few days to square everything away. Thanks to all the participants!

Meanwhile in Apple Valley Village our Schocopee Schoolhouse looks so pretty in the snow!

Our friend Vanessa sent this shot of the Museum taken this morning.

So far there are 9 finalists in the Hunt for History prize drawing! Deadline for submissions is today and we will announce the winners tomorrow. Good luck!

Thanks to all participants in our "Hunt For History" ! Deadline is tomorrow, just saying....

For all involved with the fabulous scavenger hunt for history...still getting submissions will keep you posted! Everyone did such a great job. Hope you learned something and enjoyed "the hunt for history". Thanks!

Just a note to say that the decorated trees have been moved to safety, secured and decorations taken off in anticipation of the snow storm and winds. Some trees remain lit and others put aside until we can re-run the electric across the ground without worrying about snow plows, snow etc. We hope to have a re-vamped version up by the weekend. Stay safe everyone and enjoy the snow!

Due to the soggy weather, we will not be turning the Trees on this evening.

Here we go! Our creepy Victorian Xmas and Holiday Postcard tradition seems strangely appropriate this year.

If you drive thru the Columns to look at the 18 beautifully decorated trees, don't forget to drop off a little something for the Ecumenical Food Pantry. There is a big wooden box on the left, at the bend. Thanks and Happy Holidays to all!

And more Holiday Cheer...

It's a TREE EXTRAVAGANZA! Happy Holidays!

Thanks to all who sponsored and decorated a tree for our Christmas Tree Extravaganza! Here's a few pictures...more to come!

So nice to have so many members of our community out and decorating our trees! Thanks to all our sponsors! Official tree lighting tomorrow at 5pm.

This revolutionary sled was invented right here in New Jersey. Do you remember your first sled?

Happy Thanksgiving from the folks at the Pike County Historical Society!

It's a great day for our "Hunt for History with Abe Lincoln!" Pick up your bobblehead Lincoln today and get out there and enjoy the weather! The museum will be open from 12-2 today!

Are you in the hunt? Hunt for History with Abe Lincoln. Get your bobble head today! See details at top of page.

Should I become a "travel writer"? LOL f you are visiting Milford for the day, here is an idea of some things to do and see off the beaten track. If you start the day off with a nice little hike you will feel better about drinking a few cocktails with lunch. Depending upon your enthusiasm, or lack of enthusiasm, for walking in the woods, there are options. A walk through Milford Cemetery is a stroll through time with many interesting stops along the way. The cemetery is sai...Continue reading

The Museum will be open this weekend! Saturday and Sunday from 1-4. Come and get your Lincoln Bobble Heads and participate in our Historical Scavenger Hunt- with Lincoln! See info pinned to the top of our page for details....

A Fun and Educational Hunt for History -with Abe Lincoln - Offered by Historical Society and Museum Although our Museum has limited hours due to the ongoing effects of covid-19, the Pike County Historical Society is pleased to announce a fun filled and educational way to engage in the history of our area. A scavenger hunt which will encompass the village of Milford, the grounds of Grey Towers, Milford Cemetery and Firefly Park in Matamoras will be offered, with questions and... riddles to be answered by visiting these sites. The hunt can be completed at your leisure, with a deadline for all answer sheets, and a few pictures, to be submitted by December 17th, 2020 either by email or in person. The entry fee for this event is $25 and includes your very own Lincoln Bobble Head doll which is key to the contest as the hunt requires pictures of Lincoln at various locations within the hunt. All entries submitted by the deadline, with all questions and tasks completed correctly, will qualify for a grand prize raffle with first place being a private tour of our collections and dinner for 4 served in the Lincoln Room of the Museum - on a date of your choice. Second place is two Columns Artifact t-shirts. And third place is 4 passes to the museum, good for one year. Everyone who participates is a winner not only for wanting to further your knowledge of Pike County History but you get to keep the Lincoln Bobble Head as a memento of your participation and as a thank you for your support of P.C.H.S. To reserve and pickup your Abraham Lincoln Bobble Head available now and your list of tasks and questions, please email [email protected] to arrange pickup; or stop in the museum any Wednesday beginning October 11th, between 1-4pm , to register in person. The winners will be announced and notified on December 18th, 2020 via our Facebook page The Columns Museum. Good luck! See more

Jell-o ? Can you hear me? Gelatin dishes date back to medieval Europe. Throughout history jellied dishes were foods of the elite, served as elaborate molded centerpieces on the tables of nobility. The serving of these molded masterpieces often graced the tables of wealthy Victorian households; their cooks found ways to showcase ingredients in aspic or gelatin using the contents as either sinkers or floaters to ascend and descend in a shimmering mold and a curious presen...tation. The onset of the industrial revolution saw the invention of an instant type of aspic, and eventually flavored gelatin. Instant gelatin was originally flavored with strawberry, orange and raspberry and became more of a dessert than a jiggly smorgasbord of surprise. Shaped by the rise of home economics, the industrialization of the food system, World War II, and changing expectations about women's labor, few foods can tell us more about life in 20th-century America than the wobbling jewel of domestic achievement: the Jell-O salad. In the 1930’s gelled salads became a thing. It was probably an accident because I cannot imagine someone purposefully putting cabbage in Jell-O. Be that as it may, it became a trend that seemed to know no boundaries and lime Jell-O was invented to compliment the flavors being tossed into the molds. In 1950 Jell-O came out with vegetable flavored Jell-O. Celery, Mixed Vegetable and Seasoned TomatoJell-O. These flavors were eventually discontinued, although I cannot imagine why. Why stop the crazy train? Now it seemed it was a no molds barred kind of world! There were cookbooks filled with disgusting recipes that seemed to appear at every picnic, church social, dinner party and repass. No one thought twice about dumping just about anything into a shimmering spectacle. Take, for instance, the Friday night Lenten favorite Ring Around the Tuna chunks of tuna, pimientos and cucumbers all encased in lime Jell-O. Us Pennsylvanians should be proud to know that at the Knox Gelatin Cooking Contest of 1905, Mrs. John Cook of New Castle, Pa took home third prize with her Perfection Salad, an aspic filled with finely chopped cabbage, celery and red pepper, sugar, lemon and vinegar. Basically coleslaw, minus the mayonnaise, in a state of suspended animation. But do not think mayonnaise did not infiltrate the mold! Soon it would be found in it and on it. Add some food coloring and mayonnaise provided a colorful swirl in a wiggly, jiggly world where there were no rules, no boundaries, no taste buds Perhaps I am being too judgmental? I mean, I like Jell-O in its natural state, sans the crazy ingredients. But the world is a better place for the invention of these innovative and daring dishes that could be hearty and dense by adding lamb and mint jelly or light and whimsical by adding mini marshmallows and capers. Its your mold and you can do what you want. Send us your recipes! See more

Please note that the museum will be open for local residents by appointment and our volunteer staff will be available for walk-in research appointments on Wednesdays between 1-4pm. Please email [email protected] with any questions about visitation or research.

It is with great sorrow that the PCHS acknowledges the passing of two past Board Members - Fern Lutfy and Sheila Gabriel. Both were lovely, intelligent women who devoted much time and energy to our museum and society. Fern served as Vice President and Sheila served as Secretary of the Board in years past. They will be missed and remembered fondly. Our heartfelt sympathies to their families and friends.

Due to the increase in Corona Virus cases in Pa. and surrounding areas, the museum will once again close its doors to protect our staff and volunteers as of October 31st. As many of our guests are from out of state and other parts of Pa. where there is an increase in cases, we feel it better to be safe than sorry - and hope for better news in the near future. Stay well, everyone.

Roll Out of the Barrel With social distancing all the rage these days, many people may have passed on their usual summer travels and opted for a day trip and an outdoor experience to make sure they stay within the various guidelines set forth due to you know that virus thing. Annie Edson Taylor came up with the perfect activity! It is done alone, involves the outdoors, can satisfy the thrill seeker in you, and only takes about 20 minutes. On October 24, 1901 Annie became... the first person to survive a trip over Niagara Falls in a barrel. Annie was a poor, widowed schoolteacher who thought this feat would lead to financial security and perhaps a bit of fame. She had read about the unsuccessful daredevils of Niagara Falls and set her sights on making history. She used a pickle barrel made to her specifications. The inside was lined with a mattress and there was a harness to hold her in place. She added a 200lb anvil to the bottom of the barrel as a ballast to keep it upright throughout the endeavor. Air was pumped into the barrel through a hole which was later plugged for the journey. Just to make sure the design had what it took, she sent her cat over the falls in the barrel first. The cat, named Iagara, survived and seemed no worse for wear. Annie climbed into her barrel at 4:00 p.m. on her birthday, October 24th, and was towed by a boat to the middle of the river before being cut loose. Observers watched as the barrel bobbed through the water before disappearing in the mist as it fell. A few minutes later, she re-emerged and floated to a stop on a rock. She only suffered a small cut to her head, which might have happened while her handlers were helping her out of the barrel. Annie’s first words after the stunt: I prayed every second I was in the barrel except for a few seconds after the fall when I went unconscious. Annie would later comment that she would rather put her face in front of a firing cannon than do the barrel thing again. Just about a month earlier a variety actress named Maud Willard tried to shoot the rapids of the falls in a barrel with her dog. But the barrel got caught up in the whirlpools and rescuers could not get to her for hours. Folklore says that her dog stuck his nose out the air hole to breath, blocking Maud’s air, and she died in the barrel. The dog survived. See more

Collections Corner: Four Freedoms Everywhere and Anywhere The Museum is fortunate to have a fine collection of original World War II Bond Posters that we have exhibited in house and shared at multiple venues. These posters, which gave people all kinds of reasons to invest in the war effort, are reflective of the time and sentiment surrounding WWII; as well as an excellent example of a highly successful advertising campaign. Among the many gems of colorful and thought provoki...ng posters, there are four in particular that are sought after by collectors. "The Four Freedoms" were originated in a series of four 1943 oil paintings by the American artist Norman Rockwell. The four freedoms refer to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's January 1941 Four Freedoms State of the Union address in which he identified essential human rights that should be universally protected. The theme was incorporated into the Atlantic Charter, and became part of the charter of the United Nations. The paintings were reproduced in The Saturday Evening Post over four consecutive weeks and made into War Bond Posters by the U.S. Treasury. The exhibition and accompanying sales drives of war bonds raised over $132 million. Here are the words that inspired Rockwell's paintings. In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expressioneverywhere in the world. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own wayeverywhere in the world. The third is freedom from wantwhich, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitantseverywhere in the world. The fourth is freedom from fearwhich, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighboranywhere in the world. That is no vision of a distant millennium. It is a definite basis for a kind of world attainable in our own time and generation. That kind of world is the very antithesis of the so-called new order of tyranny which the dictators seek to create with the crash of a bomb. Franklin D. Roosevelt, excerpted from the State of the Union Address to the Congress, January 6, 1941

Filling up quickly! Reserve your place today by emailing [email protected] or calling 570-296-8126

The Pike County Historical Society and Museum would like to invite all to celebrate the end of another successful season for the Milford Farmer’s Market by hosting FREE music from 12-2 by Leo B., a hometown favorite and human juke box! THIS SUNDAY. The museum will be open from 1-4 and we will be hosting a barbeque. Burgers , dogs and libation! After shopping the Market, why not relax, bring a lawn chair and listen to some music? Thanks to all the vendors for providing us wit...h their delicious goods through the season. The Columns is happy to support local procurers of produce, poultry, meats, sweets and then someplease show your support! Farmers Market 10-2 Live Music 12-2 Museum Open 1-4 Thank you!

Historical Society and Museum to Host Spooky Private Tours for Halloween The Columns Museum is chock full of history and a good majority of it is rather macabre. From dead birds and morbid stories of murder, to blood stained artifacts and pesky entities possibly residing within the museum the stories are borderline creepy; definitely odd, to say the least. On The last two Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays of this month the museum Director will host two tours each night, sh...aring tales of murder, decapitation and blood and guts with guests. All true! (kinda) Reservations are required and the cost is $15 per person. Each tour will be limited to six people and masks must be worn. For more information or to reserve your spot please call 570-296-8126 or email [email protected] Dates: October 21, 23, 24 October 28, 30, 31 Times 7:30pm and 9:00pm See more

Irish Music - Polish Food - American Museum! Please support PCHS and attend our end of the season party which will be hosted by Tara Minstrels from 4-6pm. THIS SATURDAY OCT. 10th Tara Minstrels A collaboration of musicians offering traditional Irish and folk music. The Tara Minstrels are a group of six musicians who are from Milford and Hawley, PA, and Port Jervis and Hugenot, NY and specialize in Irish Traditional Instrumental/Folk music. ... More about the Minstrels... Founding member Maryanne Ford(tin whistle, flute, bodhran, guitar, and vocals)comes to Irish music through her late father from Ireland, accomplished button accordian player, Sean Mac Mahon. He named the band when Maryanne was struggling to come up with one. He sadly passed late last year. Father and daughter enjoyed many years of playing Irish music together. Maryanne has been playing music since childhood starting on piano. She was put in touch with local fiddler, Bill Ramagosa in early 1998, Right away Bill and Maryanne started getting together weekly to play Irish tunes for hours at a time. Before long, The Tara Minstrels were "born", playing locally at Irish Cultural functions, restaurants, bars, music festivals, art galleries, farms, etc. . Rich Northup of Hugenot, brings the tenor banjo, octave mandolin, and vocals. He's currently working on fiddle and bodhran too. Rich is also the "Bard of the Hills" when performing solo. He can be seen at Foundry 42 on Sat. mornings playing original songs for the children's story hour. Mike Zimmerman of Milford brings years of experience as a guitarist/singer to the group. A lifelong lover of traditional and modern folk music made his transition to Irish music an easy one. When not playing he is busily involved in local musical events like the Ann Street Park's summer concerts BRING A LAWN CHAIR - WEAR A MASK $10 DONATION FOOD AND BEVERAGES AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE Featuring kielbasa sliders and pierogi from Adam's Polish Market located in Wallington, NJ (the Polish Capital of the U.S.!)

Music at the Museum this Saturday (October 3rd) 4-6pm Featuring Will Hoppey and the Key West Experience! $10 donation BRING YOUR OWN LAWN CHAIR... Food and beverages available See more

Music at the Museum will return on October 3rd and October 10th. Please note the change in time to 4pm - 6pm. October 3rd Will Hoppey and the Key West Experience October 10th 2nd Annual Polish St. Patrick's Day Bash with the Tara Minstrels Bring a lawn chair, wear a mask, practice social distancing. ... $10 donation Food and beverages available for purchase See more

The Anthem Road Trio 5-7 tonight at the Museum. Bring a lawn chair, wear a mask $10 donation - food and beverages available.The Anthem Road Trio 5-7 tonight at the Museum. Bring a lawn chair, wear a mask $10 donation - food and beverages available.

A great example of how to maintain a state park and recreation area.

Let’s take this momentous milestone as an opportunity to reflect on our history and the important role women have played in so many aspects of our state and nat...ion. It is imperative that we respect and support each other, and always lift each other up in a strong effort to encourage productivity and solutions. It is paramount every citizen practices their right to vote and participates in the political process to ensure an informed and prosperous society.

This Saturday from 5-7 pm MUSIC AT THE MUSEUM with THE ANTHEM ROAD TRIO bring a lawn chair - wear your mask! $10 donation... Food and beverages available for purchase. See more

A recent chat with our friend Lisa Mazzarella of WVIA about the Columns.

Another date confirmed for Music at the Museum... Saturday October 3rd. 5-7pm Will Hoppey and the Key West Experience... Save the date and hope to see you there!

Music is good for you! August 15th - The Little Big Band followed by Patrick Jones 5-8 August 22nd - The Anthem Road Trio 5-7 More dates and talent to be announced shortly. Bring your lawn chair, wear a mask, and have a blast!

Thanks to all who attended our Canal Dinner. We hope you enjoyed it! Thanks to Courtney and Mark for being wonderful hosts on their beautiful property and Lock House 16. Thank you "Canaller Dan" Engvaldsen for sharing your love of the history of the canal and your musical talents. Congrats to "Dirty Harry" for running a fine race. And a great big "thank you" to the PCHS Board members for all your hard work...you guys are rock stars!