SRAC Gold Refinery was a HUGE Success!

Debbie Menio from the Gold Refinery tests jewelry for participant Mary Perry-Rogers at Saturday's event

Last Saturday SRAC held their Gold Refinery Fundraiser and it was a great event for everyone who participated! We had 21 people come in and take part in the event and the Gold Refinery paid out $4,210 before the day was over!

Mary Beth came in twice!

SRAC made money in three different ways throughout the day - 1.) we made 10% on all sales throughout the day and bonuses for the amount of people that came to the event 2.) people donated items for SRAC to cash in, and 3.) many people were so excited with their cash that they donated money to us on their way out the door! In the end - SRAC made over $1,000 for the event and had a great time all day long! (This was on top of what the Gold Refinery paid out to the participants!)

Participants literally walked in with small bags of items and walked out with cash and it was great to watch them get so excited about it. Let's face it - this is one fundraiser that is good for everyone and the people who participate get something  (sometimes ALOT!) for taking part!

The event finished up with wine and cheese for the last few hours and we even got out some cards and many of us sat around playing cards for a few hours while they finished up assessing items. The steady flow of people through the door literally didn't stop until the event closed!

If you are involved in a nonprofit - I would strongly urge you to consider having this fundraiser event at your location. Email Debbie Menio at the Gold Refinery to get started today and tell her that you heard about it from SRAC and we get a cash reward for the referral!!

Safe Harbor, PA vs Barnesville OH Petroglyphs

Today was just one of those days that was alot of fun...Some of you received an email from me with  an awesome picture of Spanish Hill looking particularly eerie this morning....

Before I stopped at SRAC - I stopped at the post office where a huge package was waiting for me from Wayne May at Ancient American magazine. He had agreed to send SRAC books for our gift shop (which are in addition to many new titles including historical picture books on the Chemung Valley, Tioga County, Sayre and the Valley,) and I was very surprised at the amount of books that he sent to us and what great titles they were!

Once I got all of these priced and on the shelves, our book collection area in the gift shop was overflowing!

By then, it was 1pm already and then it was time to redo the layout of our gift shop with MaryAnn Taylor and Tom Vallilee who are both board members and were scheduled to volunteer today. We have gotten so much extra inventory in the past few months that we really needed to reorganize the whole area and move the table that we all love to sit and visit farther towards the front counter to give us space to show our inventory better. By the end of the day we were all bushed but the gift shop looks just GREAT!

By 4:30pm  we were sitting around talking about things to include my latest research on Spanish Hill and during that conversation I went over to our gift shop book collection and picked up a book titled "Archaeology of Ohio 1896" by M. C. Read that we just received from Wayne May at Ancient American earlier today. I was looking for a copper spiral image but instead opened it up to this page of petroglyphs (ancient Native American art carved in stone) found near Barnesville, Ohio:

Those of you that read my latest article that was published in the SRAC Journal and Ancient American Magazine can appreciate what this is -as you can see it looks like we have more matches with those petroglyphs at Safe Harbor (shown below)

As those of you who read my article know, I found matches of many of the motifs in the Safe Harbor petroglyphs in mound shapes in Wisconsin - but with this book that we have now on sale at SRAC - I found yet more actual matching petroglyphs in Ohio as well!

Feet petroglyphs from both sites:

Petroglyphs from both sites showing "turkey tracks" beside a pointed line :

Petroglyphs from both sites showing motifs of buffalo tracks :

 

 Petroglyphs from both sites showing motifs of faces :

Lastly - I wanted to point out the two different styles of feet carved in the Barnesville Track Rock:

M.C.Read states, "This is the forefoot of the bear, with the outside toe distorted and set outward at right angles."

Anyway - it is now 9:30pm and I am finishing up my day...but I just couldn't relax until I finished this up to share with you! As I have said so many times - there is ALWAYS something going on at SRAC - so make sure to check in once in a while!

Magazine with Spanish Hill Article Now Available at SRAC

The Susquehanna River Archaeological Center SRAC is reporting that they have received extra copies of the “Ancient American Magazine” which contains the latest research concerning the local site referred to as “Spanish Hill.” The author of the article is one of the co-founders of SRAC and local historian, Deb Twigg, who is considered to be the leading authority on the topic. 

Twigg explains, “The publisher of the magazine, Wayne May came to SRAC a few months ago from Wisconsin. Immediately I started to tell him about my interest in the mounds in Wisconsin and a theory that I have been researching about the culture that made them and how they could have been the same people who made the embankments on top of Spanish Hill. In the end, he asked me to write an article for him on my research and it was published in the latest volume this fall.” She continued, “The article is 6 pages long and includes a lot of great pictures and a page telling people about the Susquehanna River Archaeological Center and what we do every day with a total volunteer staff. To spread that news through a national magazine like this is pretty exciting for us.”

Ancient American Magazine is in its 18^th year in publication and is concerned with the archaeology of the Americas before the time of Columbus.  Copies of the latest volume with the Spanish Hill article by Twigg are just $7.95 while supplies last. (Spanish Hill is private property, and trespassing is prohibited.)

"Life and Times of a PA Game Commissioner" at SRAC 12/6

Experience the history of game conservation and the Pennsylvania Game Commission at SRAC on Tuesday, December 6th from 6:30pm - 7:30pm. Dressed as an old time game refuge keeper, Bill Bower will depict the life and work of early game protectors. Bradford County is home to the lowest numbered game lands in Pennsylvania - SGL #12 located on Barclay Mountain. Sunfish Pond was once the site of a game refuge. Come and hear the stories of a refuge keeper.

In 1995 the Pennsylvania Game Commission celebrated its 100th anniversary. It was formed in 1895 when a law was passed authorizing the Governor to appoint six men to this new commission. These men were to be sportsmen and serve without salary and pay at their own expense. No money was appropriated to run this new commission, and many thought it would fail before it even got started.

The commission was very unpopular with some of the hunting public. No longer could a man hunt whatever or whenever he wanted. Now he had to obey certain laws and hunt only during the open season, and there were some animals he could not hunt at all. To say that these new game protectors were unpopular would be unjust; actually most were hated by the hunters. In the first year, 14 game protectors were shot at, seven were hit, and four killed.

The state's forests were all cut over and forest fires were a common thing. Gone were the elk, the bison, the passenger pigeon, and the beaver. The state's wildlife community was in deplorable condition and needed help, badly.

Today a Game Protector is called a Wildlife Conservation Officer. Although his job is still basically law enforcement, the type of work has changed drastically in the last 100 years.

Bill Bower is a retired Wildlife Conservation Officer for western Bradford County.

An admission donation of $6 for adults, $4 for SRAC members (free admission for students!) is requested. 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.

This Saturday (11/19) is SRAC's Gold Refinery Fundraiser

As highlighted on Good Morning America, "The Gold Refinery" will host a fundraiser at the SRAC that will allow guests to walk away with instant cash for things that have any amount of gold silver or platinum while supporting SRAC at the same time.

 The Gold Refinery has been highlighted on:

The Gold Refinery is one of the largest direct refinery brokers in the nation and a fully licensed, family run business. They are America’s pioneer in professionally organized and operated gold parties and fundraisers. They currently operate nationwide and in Canada and are rapidly expanding as the price of gold maintains its historic highs. The Gold Refinery deals in such high volume that it allows them to purchase gold at higher prices than jewelry stores or pawn shops. All gold is shipped directly to the refiner, melted and sold to various investors and institutions. As the party host, SRAC will earn 10% of all gold purchased just for hosting, and you could be amazed at the money you can make from things that are laying around your house gathering dust!

Three ways you can take part in this fundraiser:

1.) Visit SRAC on November 19th with your items, and have one of the representatives analyze and assess them. Then you decide if you want to sell them for the price they offer. If you decide to sell them, you get the cash immediately! SRAC will automatically get 10% paid to us from the gold refinery just for you coming to our event and selling your item!

2.) Drop off your items at SRAC or send them to us in the mail and we will put them in a special envelope and have the Gold Refinery representatives assess your items and send you the cash! Again, SRAC will automatically get 10% paid to us from the gold refinery just for you coming to our event and selling your item!
3.) Donate your items to SRAC and WE will have the representatives assess and donate the cash directly to SRAC!

Let's face it, virtually everyone has unwanted silver, gold or platinum laying around their house that they no longer want. So don't wait - gather up it up and do something good for yourself and SRAC this year! It's a great way to make some extra cash AND support a community organization!

Thank you for taking part in this event in whatever way you choose!
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call (607)727-3111 or email me!

Holiday Christmas Basket at SRAC!

SRAC's Mary Keene stands next to the HUGE Family Christmas Basket!

With more that 40 items for mom and dad as well as for the kids, the Family Christmas Basket is worth a chance to win! With items donated together from the Red Door Thrift Store and SRAC, anyone could enjoy winning this prize for yourself if not for the ability to re gift many of the items in time for Christmas!

Chances to win the basket which is on display currently at SRAC are available at SRAC and the Red Door and are $1 per chance,$5 for 8 chances, or $10 for 20 chances. No purchase is necessary and all proceeds will benefit both the Red Door and SRAC equally. From bath towels to historical DVD's, Origami to toy trucks, and dolls to hurricane lanterns - there is alot to win and something for everyone!

Stop in SRAC between now and mid December and see for yourself why supporting two great nonprofit organizations in Waverly, NY can be a great way to spend your day!

JJ's Jigs Products now on Sale at SRAC!

"JJ's Jigs" now on Sale at SRAC

 
Whatever your soul's out there quietly casting to, let's just call this fishing thing what it really is:  Beautiful Magic!  Young, old, guy or girl - anyone who has ever gripped a rod has been in that collective joy known to those who fish.  This is precisely where JJ's Jigs shines!  At the end of each leader loop, tippet, or perfect cast, a notoriously selective mouth has to open up and suck down the dinner your putting in the water for them.  Time to serve up that gourmet supper, my friends, and JJ's Jigs has you covered with over fifty versions of "the secret sauce".

Our number one product is the legendary "Booger Jig".  Our very own version of the "hair jig".  What?  You have never heard of the "hair jig"?  It has only brought in more smallmouth, largemouth, striped bass, and walleye than any other artificial lure in history.  Yet somehow the hair jig has become terribly underrated since the introduction of affordable rubber and silicone dressings.  Only after that mean old cold front passes and the bass seem to all but disappear will anglers tie on the dependable hair jig from their "panic box".

Well, anglers from all over the U.S. and Canada have learned a thing or two from using JJ's Jigs when fishing for trophy gamefish.  JJ's Jigs are virtually ALWAYS better than what your normally using!  Yep!  It's true!  There's no need to wait for the fish to stop biting to throw a trusty JJ's Jig.  If the fish are biting decent on a rubber worm or soft-plastic creatures on a jig, then you can bet your boat that the bite is AWESOME on a JJ's Jig.  And when the fish are going crazy over everyone's rubber and soft-plastic stuff...  you can bet your momma's boat that you are in for the the TIME OF YOUR LIFE when you tie on a JJ's Jig!

We specialize in creating and fabricating the finest, most innovative jigs and flies available anywhere - BAR NONE!  Our sound philosophy with our handcrafted jigs and flies means this:  "We understand that you, the customer, should be 100% satisified with any product you receive from us...  Period!"  This is a store for anglers ran by anglers.  We have lengthy experience in freshwater and saltwater fishing.

At JJ's Jigs we don't offer our products for the sake of offering a variety or what is currently being pushed as "the lastest and greatest".  We offer jigs and flies that have proven themselves by passing the test of the most critical judges of all - THE FISH!  If you're planning on getting on the water to go after some prized gamefish, make sure you have a full selection of JJ's Jigs with you.  Then get ready to catch some fish!  With JJ's Jigs... YOU WILL!!