by Deb Twigg, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Susquehanna River Archaeological Center of Native Indian Studies (SRAC) located at 345 Broad Street, Waverly, NY
Dr. Karen Guenther will present "The History of Sports in Pennsylvania"
at the Susquehanna River Archaeological Center (SRAC) at 345 Broad
Street, Waverly, NY on Tuesday, January 7th from 6:30 - 7:30pm.
The
history of sports is something that closely relates to many themes of
American history as well as ignites our own local rivalries and interests. Dr. Karen
Guenther, Professor of History at Mansfield University with
specialization in early American history and sports history.This
presentation will focus on how sports reflect themes such as the rise of
big business, labor-management relations, westward expansion,
immigration, and nationalism, focusing on sports in Pennsylvania.
A
general admission donation of $6 for adults and $4 for SRAC members is
requested.(Free admission for all students everyday at SRAC.) Free
admission to the SRAC exhibit hall is included in this donation. For
more information, visit www.SRACenter.org, email info@SRAcenter.org, or
call the Center at 607-565-7960.
Remember that this Friday, December13th is the annual Tinsel and Lights event and this year the Broad Street shops will stay open from 5-8:30pm in tandem with Tinsel and Lights as well - so come down town and get warmed up and continue your night of fun!
There will be a Santa's workshop in the former village firehouse at 358 Broad Street where kids can warm up inside with hot cocoa and make free Christmas ornaments! At The Price is Right, everyone will get a free book! At SRAC Ted Keir will be giving free tours and we will have the kids doing a free coloring contest to win great prizes! The Broad Street Pizzeria will also be open and serving up fresh hot pies and for those adults, the Railhouse restaurant will be doing special drink specials! Just about EVERY shop will be doing a raffle where you can all win prizes too - so mark your calendar and plan in visiting downtown Waverly during or after the Tinsel and Lights event to get warmed up and to win great prizes!
AND the winners will be announced for the Christmas Artwalk storefront mural contest at the end of the night!
Spread the word!
“Einstein and Religion" by Ron Palmer
Tuesday, December 3rd
from 6:30 - 7:30pm
at SRAC, 345 Broad Street Waverly, NY
To many, science and religion seem to be as far apart as night and day. But what did the greatest scientist to ever live think about religion? Attend SRAC's next “History’s Mysteries” presentation on Tuesday December 3rd from 6:30 – 7:30pm to find out as Dr. Ron Palmer brings the loveable scientist to life in this one-man show asking us to join Albert Einstein as he muses on religion, spiritualism, and pacifism.
This presentation is sure to be enlightening ,entertaining and a “don’t miss” this holiday season (and on the seventh night of Hanukkah!)
A general admission donation of $6 for adults and $4 for SRAC members is requested.(Free admission for all students everyday at SRAC.) Free admission to the SRAC exhibit hall is included in this donation. SRAC is located at 345 Broad Street in Waverly, NY. For more information, visit www.SRACenter.org, email info@SRAcenter.org, or call the Center at 607-565-7960.
(WAVERLY, NY) The Susquehanna River Archaeological Center of Native American Studies (SRAC) located at 345 Broad Street in Waverly, NY recently hosted the entire fourth grade for the Waverly Area School District as a part of their American Indian studies curriculum. The field trip for over 125 students was broken up into a morning and afternoon session which allowed the five classes to take in the field trip in smaller groups. Each session included 4 stations to include “Hunting the Woolly Mammoth” with Ted Keir, “Native American Children Stories” by Jack Andrus, “Early Trade” with Dick Cowles, and even a rotation through the SRAC gift shop which is always popular with the kids.
SRAC Co-Founder Deb Twigg commented, “Doing field trips for the 4th graders in the area is one of the highlights for us. When the kids start coming in the door and Jack is dressed in Native American attire and pounding the drum, it still gets me every time.”
After the students finished the stations, they were gathered back in the SRAC lecture hall where they played the “Stump the Chump” contest where each team tries to stump the other teams on questions about what they learned throughout the event. This year the winning team won the opportunity to be involved with a Christmas art contest that will take place on Broad Street Waverly’s storefronts in tandem with this year’s Tinsel and Lights celebration by getting one of SRAC’s front windows to paint their scene on.
Twigg added, “Every year we try to do something bigger and better for the kids, and this year by adding the Christmas scene opportunity we hopefully are getting the sense of community added to what they learn at our field trips at SRAC.”
2013 is winding down, but their is still time to get some tax deductions while supporting a a great cause!
Please consider giving what you can to the Susquehanna River Archaeological Center in 2013 – Our survival depends on you.
Ways to Give:
- Monetary Gifts
- Employer Matching Gifts
- Items for Resale*
*SRAC is selling donated antiques in the Crooked River Co-op and other donated items at an upcoming tag sale! Donate items anytime - it's tax deductible and allows us to keep doing what we do in the community!
Mail donations to:
SRAC Giving Campaign
PO Box 12 Sayre, Pa 18840
Thank you for whatever you can do!
SRAC is a 501c3 and donations to our organization are tax deductible. Need more answers? Please contact Deb Twigg, Executive Director and Co-Founder of SRAC at 607-727-3111
The migration paths that may have brought people across the Bering Strait Land Bridge. Photo: State Historical Society of North Dakota
More than 15,000 years ago the first people came to the Americas, walking across the Bering Strait on a land bridge from Siberia, or maybe sailing east along the coast. These people spread down and through North, Central and South America, with early civilizations like the Clovis people taking root. As the theory goes, early Americans originated from a small group of people that made it over from Asia. But when researchers dig into the genes of some Native American people, unexpected genes, genes with a European heritage, jump out.
The common assumption is that these genes were picked up, mixed into the gene pool from European colonialists. But new preliminary research, reported on by Science Magazine, tells a different story. Some early Americans came not from Asia, it seems, but by way of Europe.
From the complete nuclear genome of a Siberian boy who died 24,000 years ago—the oldest complete genome of a modern human sequenced to date. His DNA shows close ties to those of today’s Native Americans. Yet he apparently descended not from East Asians, but from people who had lived in Europe or western Asia. The finding suggests that about a third of the ancestry of today’s Native Americans can be traced to “western Eurasia,” with the other two-thirds coming from eastern Asia.
(WAVERLY, NY) "Underwater Archaeology in the Finger Lakes" will be presented by archaeologist Ron Heines at the Susquehanna River Archaeological Center at 345 Broad Street in Waverly, NY on Tuesday November 5th, from 6:30 - 7:30 pm.
With over 50 years experience in underwater archaeology in the Finger Lakes region, Ron Heines will take us back to a time of the great ships like the "Half Moon" of Henry Hudson to the times of the "Horse Drawn Navy" - otherwise known as canal ships. Both historical and archaeological in nature, this presentation will show us the remains of these great ships now found covered in leopard mussels at the bottom of our great lakes.
A general admission donation of $6 is appreciated from the general public with students and SRAC members always attending SRAC events for free. Visitors are invited to come early as there is limited seating for this event, and to take time to visit the SRAC Exhibit Hall for free before the presentation. A general admission donation is requested of $6, with SRAC members $4, and students free.
We want to thank Polly Steele for her generous donation of her Duncan Piphe dining room set. It is available to be looked at the Teaoga Building across the street (firehouse) and is also being advertised at the Crooked River Co-op.
We hope to sell that set at $1,200 and the mirror separately at $400. The buyer can claim this as a donation to SRAC too. Please share this with anyone who might be interested! Thanks!
I am sorry to report that recently, SRAC lost one of their own. Mary Ann Taylor was a dear friend to all of us at SRAC, as well as a long time board member and volunteer. In fact she was the one who took the gift shop under her wing and made it work, while I was still working full time at the hospital...
Mary Ann was one of those people that although having tough times of her own, was dedicated to having fun and making people find the humor in just about anything...She would go to the Salvation Army regularly to find items for SRAC to use for table toppers and displays, and while she was there would find outrageous items for herself, like gold glittered sneakers that she would wear quite often and as many of those singing, animated toys - like Santa's reindeer on a motorcycle or whatever that she could find....
She also was loaded with artistic talent - able to sing, play instruments, paint, sew, sculpt, and create jewelry with ease, she even gave jewelry making classes and was always eager to create something for us to sell in the gift shop to raise funds.
But more than all of her talents and work she did at SRAC, Mary was our friend and you cannot imagine the horror we felt when she went last February for a seemingly routine procedure and spent the rest of her life trying to recover from it...Over that time we would visit, send her cards and pictures, and would call her when we had group meetings when she was able to talk just to try to raise her spirits...And recently we really did think that she was going to make it...as she was using a walker and was finally having surgery to close wounds that were left open since February....
You can imagine our heart break when we received the news that she passed away last Saturday...
Today the SRAC family will meet and go to Mary Ann's services at the Waverly Methodist Church and mourn the loss of our dear friend. We had these cards made for the services for everyone to have and remember her and what a special person she was in our lives. Rest in peace dear friend -in our suffering your loss, your suffering has ended.
Mary Keene (left) Mary Ann Taylor (right)
This time of year I think about how Halloween was one of Mary Ann's holidays. In fact she talked us into hosting several Halloween events over the years - and she would make sure to dress up in the most incredible costumes that she made from scratch usually.
Always one to laugh and make fun, here is a video she loved that we did years ago that sums up our silliness and love for one another. Happy Early Halloween from the SRAC Gang with this video that Mary Ann "starred" in in 2009 ! (Cast: Dr. Frankenstein: MaryAnne Taylor, Frankenstein: Ted Keir, The Bride of Frankenstein: Susan Fogel, Wolfman: Dick Cowles, Dracula: Tom Vallilee.)
(WAVERLY, NY) "Underwater Archaeology in the Finger Lakes" will be presented by archaeologist Ron Heines at the Susquehanna River Archaeological Center at 345 Broad Street in Waverly, NY on Tuesday November 5th, from 6:30 - 7:30 pm.
With over 50 years experience in underwater archaeology in the Finger Lakes region, Ron Heines will take us back to a time of the great ships like the "Half Moon" of Henry Hudson to the times of the "Horse Drawn Navy" - otherwise known as canal ships. Both historical and archaeological in nature, this presentation will show us the remains of these great ships now found covered in leopard mussels at the bottom of our great lakes.
A general admission donation of $6 is appreciated from the general public with students and SRAC members always attending SRAC events for free. Visitors are invited to come early as there is limited seating for this event, and to take time to visit the SRAC Exhibit Hall for free before the presentation. A general admission donation is requested of $6, with SRAC members $4, and students free.
The Crooked River Co-op is owned by Deb Twigg and is in the former Waverly Village Hall across the street from SRAC. It just opened last week and is jam packed with artisans and their wares in the former courthouse space with the adjacent office filled with antiques being sold by several local antique dealers.
After the huge antique auction event this summer for SRAC, it was a no-brainer to add SRAC's left over antiques to the antiques being sold at the Co-op and so we are offering our supporters yet another way that you can support SRAC, by donating antiques that we can then sell to raise funds, and as usual we will be sure to give you a donation letter at the end of the year for your taxes.
So come and check out the co-op and consider donating an antique and or collectable item too to help support the Center! We'd appreciate it if you could print out this flier and share it in your community to help us get the word out too!
Have you ever wished that you could find that one necklace or bracelet that would go with that special sweater or outfit that you like to wear? Have you ever wanted a special necklace that could show off a family heirloom or pendant? Have you ever just wanted to find a necklace made of that special gemstone or color scheme that you like so much? Many jewelers are adding custom jewelry making to their services to fill this need, but SRAC is offering the opportunity for people to create their own beaded jewelry at a fraction of the cost and with high quality gemstones! On the Second Saturday of each month, Ellen Sisco holds classes at SRAC in basic and intermediate beading. Supplies include beads and all accessories to complete a necklace or bracelet. Hundreds of precious stones, clips, glass beads and polished glass chips are among the variety of items that the attendees will be able to choose from.
You can also call SRAC and request specific colors and/or gemstones that you want to make your jewelry with! Ellen will facilitate your needs and help you make the perfect piece of jewelry for yourself or for a gift for someone else. Fees for this two hour beading class is $25. RSVP's are greatly appreciated by calling the Center at (607)565-7960 or by emailing info@SRAcenter.org.
I want to personally thank everyone who attended this year's annual event, which was simply amazing! From good friends and new friends, great food, great speakers, to incredible private collections on display to the Buffalo Creek Dancers closing the event - it was a memory maker for many of us.
The amount of time and effort that ALL of our volunteers give to make this a success year after year is staggering - and I want to thank all of you as well for all of the hard work that you put in in planning, setting up, running and closing down the event. What a wonderful family we have built here, I am so proud of all we have created for our community!
Credit Unions have the ability to offer better rates to their members - but the problem for most people is that you have to be a member, and you cannot just walk in and become a member either. Instead you need to be employed by or be a member of a partner organization.
Thanks to Mike Viselli and the IR Federal Credit Union adding SRAC on their list as a partner organization, SRAC members are now able to join the IR Credit Union and take advantage of lower rates than you probably ever considered available. So the next time you want to finance a car, take out a personal loan, or make your next home improvement, if you are a current SRAC member, call the IR Credit Union and see the difference they can make.
We want to thank Mike and everyone at the IR Credit Union for giving our members this great opportunity!
(WAVERLY, NY) The Susquehanna River Archaeological Center
(SRAC) is announcing their tenth annual “Drumbeats Through Time” event which is planned for Saturday, October 5th
from 11- 4pm at 345 Broad Street in Waverly, NY. The event, which is a
celebration of their Center, their mission, their supporters and the region’s
Native American past begins at 11 am with a SRAC membership luncheon that will
be catered by the Waverly Methodist Church, and includes prizes and gifts exclusively
for the SRAC members.
At 1pm, the doors open to the public and the first speaker
of the event will be Dr. Barry Kass, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at
Orange County Community College, S. U. N. Y., in Middletown, NY,
where he has taught various courses in anthropology, sociology, and human
geography for more than forty years. Dr. Kass will present, “Quarry Caves
Site near Florida, N.Y.: Key Archaeological Discoveries of the Earliest Inhabitants
of the Lower Hudson Valley in New York State.” The site yielded an
extraordinary archaeological assemblage ranging from the PaleoIndian to the
Woodland stage. Most noteworthy was the discovery of a classic Cumberland
fluted point, dated through association with caribou bones found at the site,
which provided one of the earliest carbon dates for human occupation in the
Americas. The archaeological material will be illustrated and described, and
historic photos of the early excavations will be shown.
At 2pm, SRAC advisory board member,Dr. Deeanne Wymer, professor of Anthropology
at Bloomsburg University will give a presentation on the excavations she led in
2012 on a Hopewell ceremonial mound site that had numerous significant features
that will be discussed and shown on screen. SRAC’s Deb Twigg commented, “Dr.
Wymer has been with SRAC for many years and has given a handful of
presentations in that time that always are popular and in fact I still refer to
in many of the tours that I give at SRAC.”
At 3pm, SRAC welcomes back the national award winning Seneca
“Buffalo Creek Dancers”, who regularly close the Drumbeats event and have become the ambassadors of the Native
Americans during the event, sharing their history, culture and friendship with
the audience who are invited to take part in some of the dances as well.
The whole event is free to attend and the SRAC Exhibit Hall
will also be open and include several local private collections that are not
normally on public display.Twigg added,
“This truly is a huge celebration of SRAC and what we stand for, filled with
friendships, education, and of course representation of the Native Americans
that we all include as a part of this region’s local heritage. There’s just
nothing like this event anywhere else around, and I hope the public comes out
and supports our efforts.”
(WAVERLY, NY) "JFK at Guadalcanal" will be presented by Greg Grund at the Susquehanna River Archaeological Center at 345 Broad Street in Waverly, NY on Tuesday October 1st, from 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Lieutenant John F. Kennedy's encounter with a Japanese destroyer on the night of August 1, 1943, may be the most famous small-craft engagement in naval history, and it was an unmitigated disaster. At a later date, when asked to explain how he had come to be a hero, Kennedy replied laconically, "It was involuntary. They sank my boat."
The Grunds embarked on their incredible journey and actually found out the 2 natives were still alive and subsequently made it a point to visit them and thank them for their services during WWII. This presentation includes slides and video of the Grunds meeting with Biuku and Eroni and stepping foot on the 2 islands that the PT-109 crew swam to after their ship sunk. as well as Rendova , the island were JFKs PT boat was based out of. This presentation promises to be insightful to even those who have followed this incredible part of WWII history as the Grunds claim that the natives told them things about the rescue that have never been written in any history books. Visitors are invited to come early as there is limited seating for this event, and to take time to visit
