Dr. Langley to Discuss War of 1812 Maritime Archaeology at Society on April 13

(WoCCP) Star-Spangled Archaeology: Commemorating the War of 1812 Through Maritime Archaeology, a recently added lecture, will wrap up the inaugural year of the Society’s Winter Speakers Series. Taking place on Saturday, April 13th at 2:00, the speaker, State Underwater Archaeologist Susan Langley, is sponsored by the Maryland Humanities Council and the Maryland War of 1812 Commission.
The waters of the Chesapeake conceal many hidden treasures, and Dr. Langley will help us dive into the subject of those submerged cultural resources. Continued

Train show is running at Harford Historical Society

(Aegis/Sun) The Historical Society of Harford County has two Christmas events happening this month at the society's headquarters in downtown Bel Air.
The society's popular Model Train Show is running Fridays from 4 to 8 p.m., Saturdays from noon to 8 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. through Dec. 16.
Admission to the train show is $4 for adults, $2 for children and free for children under 4. It's one of at least three train gardens on display locally during the holiday season. Continued

The Dust Bowl: Tonight on PBS

Watch The Dust Bowl Intro on PBS. See more from The Dust Bowl.

Harvest Moon Dinner and Auction to Benefit the Harford Land Trust

(Aegis/Sun) The Harford Land Trust, a nonprofit organization that helps protect farms and forests and create community parks in Harford County, will hold its first Harvest Moon Dinner and Auction fundraiser on Saturday, Oct. 27, at the Bel Air Reckord Armory. The Harvest Moon Dinner and Auction will begin at 5:30 p.m. with live entertainment from The Wallis Brothers Band with Dar Coomes, cocktails, hors d'oeuvres and a silent auction that will continue throughout the evening.
Dinner will be served promptly at 6:45 p.m. and will consist of seasonal and local menu items, including a preset salad bar, pasta station, carving station and seafood station provided by MacGregor's Restaurant of Havre de Grace. A live auction will follow dinner at 8 p.m. Continued

'Lord Baltimore' to reminisce about My Lady's Manor land he once owned

(North County News) As the 300th anniversary of the deeding of My Lady's Manor draws near, the Manor Conservancy has invited a special guest to its annual meeting on Oct. 23 in Monkton.
Charles Calvert, Third Lord Baltimore, will speak about the 10,000 acres he once described as "a faire land" and gave to his fourth wife, Margaret, in 1713.
J. Scott Watkins, a Baltimore actor, historian and horseman, will portray Lord Baltimore. Continued

York Factory Whistle Concert to continue despite New York Wire closing

(YDR) It was with mixed emotions that Jeff Hines discussed the future of the York Factory Whistle Concert.
On one hand, the event's chairman wanted to assure the public that the Christmas tradition - one held at New York Wire's East Market Street plant for the last 57 years - will continue. On the other hand, he wanted to show compassion for the employees at the plant.
All 170 of them are scheduled to lose their jobs by the year's end as the facility closes its doors, said Michael Smeltzer, executive director of the Manufacturers' Association of Southcentral Pennsylvania. Continued

Stewartstown Railroad Station Museum plans open house for Aug. 5

(YDR) The Stewartstown Railroad Station Museum will be open to the public Aug. 5, according to a news release. It will be open from 1 to 5 p.m.
Visitors will be able to view an early 20th century small town train station waiting room and ticket agent's office.
A collection of historical artifacts from the Stewartstown Railroad is on display at the museum. The gift shop will be open. Continued

Some facts behind the Fourth of July

(YDR) The Fourth of July commemorates that historic day in 1776 when the Declaration of Independence gave freedom to 13 colonies to become a sovereign nation.
The United States of America has grown to include more than 50 states and territories, and the celebration of the nation's roots is marked by cookouts, parades and, of course, fireworks at venues big and small. Continued

America's Journey Stories on display at Abingdon library beginning Saturday

(Aegis) For the first time, Harford County will host an official Smithsonian exhibit when Journey Stories, a look at how and why Americans have traveled since the country's inception, opens at the Abingdon library Saturday.
The exhibit, which will be open though July 6, focuses on themes of immigration, migration and transportation and how these aspects shaped the nation.
The exhibit, which will open at 9:30 a.m., will be divided into different sections for each theme and include items such as panels, photographs and maps, Bethany Hacker, community relations specialist for Harford County Public Library, said. Continued

Join River Sweep and cleanup along the Lower Susquehanna Heritage Trail

(Aegis) Lower Susquehanna Heritage Greenway 12th annual River Sweep, a volunteer shoreline and roadside clean-up in honor of Earth Day, will take place in Havre de Grace, Perryville, Port Deposit and on Garrett Island on Saturday April 21.
Registration begins at 8:30 a.m., with the cleanup from 9 a.m. to noon, rain or shine. Continued

A Movable Feast for the Eyes

(NYTimes) Like the family it chronicles, “The Steins Collect: Matisse, Picasso and the Parisian Avant-Garde,” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is fragmented and contentious, with flashes of brilliance.
The exhibition, which comes to the Met by way of the Grand Palais in Paris and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, explores the closely intertwined collections of the siblings Leo, Gertrude and Michael Stein (and Michael’s wife, Sarah). It casts these wealthy American expatriates as ahead-of-the-curve art patrons, whose tastes and social networks shaped Modernism as we know it. (They introduced Matisse to Picasso. Enough said.) Continued

Leap Day

(Wikipedia) February 29, known as a leap day in the Gregorian calendar, is a date that occurs in most years that are evenly divisible by 4, such as 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016. Years that are evenly divisible by 100 do not contain a leap day, with the exception of years that are evenly divisible by 400, which do contain a leap day; thus 1900 did not contain a leap day while 2000 did.
Years containing a leap day are called leap years. February 29 is the 60th day of the Gregorian calendar in such a year, with 306 days remaining until the end of that year.
... There is a popular tradition that a woman may propose marriage to a man on February 29. Continued

Hike along Gunpowder Falls and see ruins of mills

(North County News) Gunpowder Falls State Park ranger Robert Bailey will lead a Mill Hike on Feb. 25 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Winter is the best time of year to see the ruins of mills that once operated along the Gunpowder Falls. The hike begins at the Paper Mill Road parking lot of the Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail. Participants will visit the site of Ashland Furnace, an anthracite-fired furnace active in the mid-19th century, as well as other buildings from that same time period. Continued

Hays House Museum series to start

(Aegis) Visit the Hays House Museum on Sunday, March 11, at 1 p.m. for a rare opportunity to closely examine the timeless furniture at home in Bel Air's oldest house. The inaugural event of the Preserving our Past series at the Hays House features local furniture restoration expert Arthur Benser, who will engage visitors in a discussion about the historic construction and provenance of the major pieces in each room.
The presentation also includes ways to determine the age of a piece of furniture through design and types of construction. Continued

Groundhog Day

(Wikipedia) - An early American reference to Groundhog Day can be found in a diary entry, dated February 4, 1841, of Berks County, Pennsylvania storekeeper James Morris:

Last Tuesday, the 2nd, was Candlemas day, the day on which, according to the Germans, the Groundhog peeps out of his winter quarters and if he sees his shadow he pops back for another six weeks nap, but if the day be cloudy he remains out, as the weather is to be moderate."

In the United States the tradition may also derive from a Scottish poem:

As the light grows longer
The cold grows stronger
If Candlemas be fair and bright
Winter will have another flight
If Candlemas be cloud and snow
Winter will be gone and not come again
A farmer should on Candlemas day
Have half his corn and half his hay
On Candlemas day if thorns hang a drop
You can be sure of a good pea crop

This tradition also stems from similar beliefs associated with Candlemas Day and Groundhog Day. Candlemas, also known as the Purification of the Virgin or the Presentation, coincides with the earlier pagan observance Imbolc. Continued

Photo: Marumari/Wikipedia, some rights reserved.

See a national park for free this weekend

(NPS) Start your new year with a free visit to a national park! All 397 national parks across the country will offer free admission from January 14 through 16 to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
You can literally walk in Dr. King's footsteps at Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site in Georgia, the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail in Alabama, or the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC – just a few of the many national parks that have direct ties to Dr. King or the Civil Rights movement.
Other parks that will hold special events honoring Dr. King that weekend include the new Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, DC, Morristown National Historical Park in New Jersey, Fort Donelson National Battlefield in Tennessee, and Frederick Douglass National Historic Site in Washington, DC. Continued

New Year's Eve 1906

See also: New Year's Eve 1910

York's Factory Whistle Concert set for Christmas

York, PA (YDR) In previous years, people showing up just as Christmas broke used to see a big cloud of steam rising from the roof of the New York Wire Company to accompany the annual Factory Whistle Concert in York.
There's no longer a cloud of steam anymore. But the whistle is just as loud, and the tradition that dates to 1925 remains otherwise unchanged. Continued

Harford, Cecil counties tell their stories from War of 1812

(Baltimore Sun) ... on May 3, 1813, the British fleet sailed up the Chesapeake Bay and set fire to Havre de Grace homes and businesses. The invaders razed the nearby Principio Furnace, which had manufactured some of the first cannons for the U.S. Navy.
The counties and their towns will tell such stories through their museums, battle recreations, site tours and a Star Spangled trail. Continued

Historical Society planning two-day Veterans Day celebration

(Aegis) Instead of one day, Harford's veterans will have two, thanks to the Harford County Historical Society's Veterans Day celebration Nov. 10 and 11 in Downtown Bel Air.
The Historical Society's two-day event will honor Harford's strong connection to the U.S. military, as well as the men and women who serve, dating as far back as the French and Indian War. This will be the town's first Veterans Day parade in more than 50 years, the Historical Society said. Continued