Upcoming Events at SRAC!

While we are working on a few other events this summer - I wanted to share some of the great events we have planned so far! I have also attached the fliers (click underlined titles to any event to download) for each here and hope that you will share them with any groups you are involved with!

Click here to download a brochure of these events.

May 30^th, 2008 6--8 pm - Kids Night Out ! Storyteller Night

Storyteller night will be presented by SRAC member Jack Andrus! Jack will come dressed in Native Indian costume and share interactive Native Indian children stories that all ages will enjoy! Authentic stories! Door prizes! Fun for all ages! Kids $3, Adults $5

June 3^rd, 2008 - 6:30 - 7:30 pm History’s Mysteries! The Mound Builder Myth, by Deb Twigg

When many of the ancient mounds and earthworks in North America were discovered by white settlers, they believed that they were made by:

• Aliens

• The People of Atlantis

• The Vikings

Deb Twigg will take you through time and show you many mounds that she has personally visited in her quest to unravel what has become known in the scientific world as the “Mound Builder Myth.”

Doors open at 6pm. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for SRAC members and children under 18.

June 7^th, 2008 1pm - 4pm – SRAC Roundup – BIRDSTONES!

Ralph Rataul, Archaeology Collections Technician, will provide a digital presentation displaying the Museum's varied sample of approximately two-dozen birdstones. In addition, we are calling out to all collectors to bring their birdstones from around the region. Setup for collectors is from noon to 1pm and secure storage is available. Join us for a very rare afternoon of sharing and learning. Admission is $5 Adults, $4 SRAC Members, $3 Children

June 19th, 6:30 - 7:30 pm, 2008 Wildlife Rehab Series - Barb Cole w/ LIVE Animals!

The SRAC Wildlife Rehab Series will be presented every third Thursday of the month and will include many topics throughout the year to include discussions on owls and other large birds, porcupines, deer, reptiles, bats, water fowl, garden birds and more! Live animals will be present every night! Admission is $3 for children under 18, $5 for adults and $3 for SRAC members.

August 23^rd, 2008 1pm - 4pm – SRAC Roundup Beads and Wampum!

Dr. Marshall Becker, Senior Fellow at University of PA and long time researcher on wampum will be the guest speaker and specialist for this topic. We are asking all collectors to round up their beads and wampum and to bring them to SRAC for what we hope will be the largest onsite exhibit for a day! Secure storage is available. Noon – 4pm. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for SRAC members and children.

August 30, 2008 5pm – 8pm : A Double Feature For Newtown Weekend!!

August 29, 30, & 31st is Newtown Battlefield reenactment weekend, and SRAC is hosting a special double feature at SRAC the evening of Saturday the 30th. “Why Sullivan Marched” will be presented by SRAC’s Dick Cowles 5-6pm, and then at 7-8pm, we will host a special showing of the film, "The Battle of Wyoming,” which “Sullivan’s Campaign” responded to. Members of the original cast of the film and the film's producer/director, Bill Bachman will all be on hand. Admission is $12 for adults for both or $5 for 1^st and $10 for second show, kids $5 for the whole night, SRAC members $10 for whole night!

Remember that we are always adding events and the best way to keep track of all we are up to - - visit us online at http://www.sracenter.org/events/

More Opportunities to make HISTORY! - More SRAC Workshops!

SRAC is ready to turn all of it's energies towards the final phase of the main floor of our new location...the museum and display of thousands of locally found artifacts that represent literally thousands of years of our local prehistory!

As a result, we have decided to start up our workshops each Saturday from 10am to 2pm beginning May 31st!

Do you remember the cases that Corning Painted Post Historical Society donated to us that actually originated in Waverly decades ago??


Well they are in need of a gentle cleaning and polishing and the glass needs to be cleaned...


And we need to replace the material in each.


If you want to join us in the final phases of our incredible journey to have out Center ready for our GRAND OPENING coming later this summer, please plan to attend our upcoming workshops. You will have the opportunity to be a part of something that will surely be invaluable for generations to come.

Hope to see you there !

May 15th - Barb Cole - Wildlife Rehab & LIVE Animals!

May 15th, 2008
Wildlife Rehab Series - Barb Cole and LIVE Animals! The SRAC Wildlife Rehab Series will be presented every third Thursday of the month and will include many topics throughout the year to include discussions on owls and other large birds, porcupines, deer, reptiles, bats, water fowl, garden birds and more!

This month's topic is the white tail deer. Come and listen to stories from the perspective of someone who has spent many years interacting with the deer in our area.

Also, Barb brings wild animals each night for the kids to enjoy! ( I personally asked her to bring her owl again this month as well!)

Doors will open at 6pm, event runs from 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Admission is $3 for children under 18, $5 for adults and $3 for SRAC members.

Hope to see you there!

The Frances Slocum Story: A Recap

This past Thursday night, Srac hosted the Frances Slocum Project. Around 40 people attended and it was a huge success on all accounts. Florence Howanitz who played Frances Slocum in the film featured that evening gave me a big hug after that show and told me that she loved being at SRAC, because it was "so full of energy and excitement." I smiled and thanked her for such a warm compliment not unlike what we so often hear from people who have not visited us before...

Below is a report on the night by SRAC's summer PR specialist and friend, Emma Miran!


The Frances Slocum Story: A Recap, by Emma Miran

How much does our culture and upbringing make us who we are? On November 2, 1778, a red haired Quaker child was stolen from her family in Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania by a Delaware Indian raiding party. The child’s name was Frances Slocum, and she would not see her biological family for the next sixty years. Instead, she was taken to Fort Niagara and given to a Native American family who had lost a child. Frances was renamed Maconaquah or “Little Bear Woman.” She spent the next sixty years of her life living in Native American culture and society. She married a Miami Indian Chief and had four children, two sons who died in infancy and two daughters.

On Thursday, May 6, SRAC held an event dedicated to telling the story of Frances Slocum. The event involved the showing of a film production of the Frances Slocum’s story. Commentary was provided by the producer of the film, Bill Bachman, who is a professor at Penn State University. He spoke of the enthusiasm he had for the story and how important he felt it was to make this film. Bachman spent time answering questions about Frances Slocum and the film.

Also attending the event was Jonathan Pineno, who wrote and arranged the music for the Frances Slocum film. He played the Indian flute for the audience and spoke of his experiences with Native American music.

A highlight of the event was the appearance of Florence Howanitz, the actress who portrayed Frances Slocum in the film. She introduced the film through a monologue as Frances Slocum. Speaking as Slocum, she told the audience how pleased she was to be able to see the area she was born and the Susquehanna River.

Towards the end of France Slocum’s life, she was reunited with her biological family. Slocum related her story to a tradesman and colonel, who then sent a letter to the editor of a newspaper in Lancaster, Pa. At first, the letter was not printed since the editor believed it to be a joke. However, eventually another editor did print the letter. It was read by a minister who knew Slocum’s brother. The Slocum family traveled to Peru, Indiana to see their sister. While her family encouraged her to return to white society, she declined saying “You cannot re-plant an old tree.”

This lecture and film leaves us with some interesting and important questions. It leads us to look deeper into our history and social background. The lecture at SRAC was inspiring and encouraged those attending to research family and local history.

To learn more about the Frances Slocum Project, visit: http://www.francesslocum.org/

DVD's and CD's of the Francis Slocum Story are available at the SRAC gift shop which is open weekdays 1-5 and Saturdays 11-3.

To learn about upcoming events at SRAC - please visit http://www.sracenter.org/Events/

We hope to see you soon at 345 Broad Street in Waverly, NY!

Kid's Night at SRAC - by Emma Miran

Ashley Baumunk playing Dino Bingo at Kid's Night at SRAC

SRAC is so very lucky to be manned by so many talented people. Emma Miran is one of our newest volunteers who is a college student and wanted to do something meaningful with her summer. Lucky for us, she chose SRAC as the place to do it! One of the many tasks she has volunteered to take on is helping me with PR duties, and below you will see her write up for last night's kid Night held at SRAC:

May 2, 2008 - Kid’s Night Out at SRAC

On May 2, 2008, the Susquehanna River Archaeological Center (SRAC) for Native Indian Studies held its monthly Kid's Night Out. Think of it as a night at the museum, filled with stations for kids consisting of erupting volcanoes, fossil dig, dinosaur bingo, plaster fossils, and fossil identification. Pam from Waverly, along with her grandson Felix age 6, said it was exciting to see all the fossils. So what made the night so special?

As the name suggests, Kids Night Out was not only intended for kids, it was run by kids. Amanda Kllvekorn and Maggi Mohonski, both age 12, helped manage the Fossil Dig. The girls assisted in sifting sand to find shells and small fossils. Maggi said, “It’s great to come and help out. I really like to see all the other kids.”

Kids were invited to identify different fossils
and to look at them under magnification

Another key participant was Ariel Walter, age eleven, of Athens, PA. Ariel is a member of the Junior Girl Scout Troup 386 of Sayre and Athens. A few months ago, Ariel was looking for a project that she could complete for her Girl Scout bronze medal. One thing she found interesting was science and volcanoes. So she built an erupting volcano. The volcano was originally displayed at the Gem and Mineral Show, and now it is at SRAC. Ariel enthusiastically showed how the volcano worked and explained the other stations at the event.

Ariel Walter, age eleven, of Athens, PA with her erupting volcano

Raffles were also drawn using admission tickets all night long and many walked away with great gifts as well as their own self made fossils and other goodies from the "dig"area! Here are SRAC's Inga and Kyle announcing one of the winners last night:


There were around 60-some kids and 40-some adults in all that attended the first Kid's Night at SRAC.

Ingenuity, education, and science were the overall mood. Importantly, Kid’s Night Out was made possible through dedication of volunteers who facilitated and planned. The event illustrated the passion and dedication of people and community. For more on future Kid’s Nights and other upcoming events, visit http://www.sracenter.org/events.

Hope to see you there!

( ;

~~Special thanks to Emma Miran for a wonderful job writing up the event for us!

SRAC May 2008 Events!

We have some very exciting events coming up in May - so mark your calendars!

May 6, 2008 7-8pm- History’s Mysteries! Stone Piles by Ted Keir It is not uncommon when hiking in local conservation lands, town forests, and state parks in northeastern United States to discover old stone cairns and stones piles. It is estimated that there over 100,000 just in New England alone. Who built them, when, and why? Ted Keir, local archaeologist and historian will take us back in time with a slide presentation and lecture on "Stone Piles." This is one of the great mysteries in both New York State and Pennsylvania. Presentation 7-8pm. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for SRAC members and children.

May 8th, 2008- 6-8pm The Frances Slocum Story - Frances Slocum, a white child of the American Revolution, was stolen from her Quaker family in 1778 by raiding Delaware Indians. Her family would not be reunited with her for nearly 60 years. The film production of the story documents history of Revolutionary War times in our region. Producer Bill Bachman and the actress who portrays Frances Slocum later in life, Florence Howanitz, will come to present the film and answer questions about this important piece of history. The film's musical composer /director /arranger, Jonathan Pineno, will also be with us and even doing demonstrations on the Indian flutes used in the film. Presentation is from 6-8 pm! Admission is $10 for the public, $8 for SRAC members, and $6 for children.

May 15th, 2008
Wildlife Rehab Series - Barb Cole and LIVE Animals! The SRAC Wildlife Rehab Series will be presented every third Thursday of the month starting in May and will include many topics throughout the year to include discussions on owls and other large birds, porcupines, deer, reptiles, bats, water fowl, garden birds and more! Live animals will be present every night! Doors will open at 6pm, event runs from 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Admission is $3 for children under 18, $5 for adults and $3 for SRAC members.

May 19th, 2008 7-8pm SRAC and the Andaste Chapter of PA Archaeology Present – The Lamoka Site - Charles Van Buskirk Anyone who has collected artifacts in this region is quite familiar with points referred to as “Lamoka.” Charles Van Buskirk was born not far from Lake Lamoka. His natural curiosity later developed into a fascination with these ancient people which prodded him into a private research hobby. He made a trip to the Albany museum and photographed the Lamoka diorama and used his photos to produce large posters for use with his lectures. Presentation is 7 – 8pm, and admission is free to the public!

May 30th, 2008 6-8 pm - Kids Night Out ! Storyteller Night
Storyteller night will be presented by SRAC member Jack Andrus! Jack will come dressed in Native Indian costume and share interactive Native Indian children stories that all ages will enjoy! Authentic stories! Fun for all ages! Kids $3, Adults $5