School Time Visitors

Last Thursday (9/11) thirty students and parents from the Franklin Learning Activities Group visited the Discovery Center. After the tour they practiced with compasses and tried out the Indian pump! Thanks to Jack Graham, Joe Devilbiss, and Peter Linehan who led the tour.

Visit to the Pennsylvania Lumber Museum

Yesterday, 8/14/14, the PAFFMA board held its summer meeting at the Pennsylvania Lumber Museum on Route 6 in Ulysses, PA. In what turned out to be the coldest meeting every held in summer, the board discussed plans for the annual meeting in November, the current season at the Forest Heritage and Discovery Center, and other issues.  Below are a few photos.

Here we are at the new CCC Memorial statue.

The entrance to the Lumber Museum

Getting ready to discuss business in the breezy pavilion!

A highlight of the trip was the visit to the new recreated birch still. This type of still was commonly used in the area to distill wintergreen from black birch branches until a synthetic wintergreen was developed in the 1960's. This is a fully operational model that can process a cord of branches at a time. Wintergreen is a common flavoring used in many personal care products.

For more pictures click here. 

PA Lumber Museum board member, Sam Cooke, attended the meeting, gave us a tour of the outside exhibits, and gave valuable insights on how to make a board more effective. Many thanks, Sam. Also thanks to Roy Siefert for the hot dogs and hamburgs. And thanks to Rick Flowers for the limousine service and driving!

THE FOREST FIRE PREVENTION PLEDGE

This weathered poster in the Discovery Center is really appropriate for the Fourth of July
It's hard to read the text in the photo, but here's what it says:

THE FOREST FIRE PREVENTION PLEDGE

"I give my pledge as a citizen to faithfully protect my country's forests, waters and wildlife and to do all in my power to prevent their waste and destruction from the ravages of forest fires."

2014 Golf Tournament

Here are pictures from the 2014 PAFFMA Golf Tournament at Rich Valley Golf Course. It was a bright, sunny, and very hot day! The golf and the food was great and we are looking forward to 2015.

Hitting the Target

This summer, putting out a backback pump at the Discovery Center for children to try has proved very popular. PAFFMA president Jack Graham made a target to aim for. We put some Smoky Bear stickers on it. Below, Jack demonstrates the right way to do it.

From Our Collections

The PAFFMA has a very extensive collection that can't all be displayed in the Discovery Center. At the last board meeting the members did check out the items in storage at the Bureau of Forestry District 1 office.

Pictured above is a Forest Reserve Officer Badge. According to PAFFMA President Jack Graham:

The accompanying paperwork indicates it MAY have been the actual badge assigned to and perhaps actually worn by Gifford Pinchot. The penciled letter we found folded up with the badge had accompanied it when it was sent from (I believe) the then (1960ish) Stroudsburg District Forester Jerry Robinson to Eugene McNamara. “Mac” had been the Stroudsburg District Forester before Jerry. The letter appears to be signed “GRR” which is how Jerry signed everything. Very coincidentally, I worked for Jerry Robinson for many years after he switched to State Parks. He is now passed on, but I sent a copy of the letter to his wife to see if she can confirm the handwriting and thus the authorship of the letter. 

We will follow up when we know more about the badge.

New Flowers

Today we planted some new annual flowers in the historic planters in front of the Discovery Center. With luck they will last the whole season!

Last night we had some very strong rains which caused flooding along the Conococheague Creek. Here is how it looked in Caledonia State Park.

May Board Meeting

The May PAFFMA Board meeting was held at the PA Bureau of Forestry Division 1 office in the Michaux State Forest in Fayetteville. After the business meeting the board members took a look at the museum artifacts stored in containers at the office. Among the items are the voluminous files from Steve Cumming's house that are now in temporary storage at the Division 1 office. We have a lot of work to do to provide permanent storage!

 

Also,  the Board would like to thank member Beverly Spicer for her generous contribution to providing sales items aimed more at women and children for the Discovery Center!

Visit from the Cumberland Valley Woodland Owners Association

Yesterday, about ten members of the Cumberland Valley Woodland Owners Association visited the Center after touring the new, highly efficient, EPA rated,  wood furnace in the Caledonia Park maintenance building. This furnace also provides heat for the Discovery Center.

Thanks to PFA members Roy Seifert, Bill Parr, Jim Foose, Norm Lacasse and Peter Linehan for volunteering!

Discovery Center Volunteer Signup for 2014

The Discovery Center at Caledonia State Park is open Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from Memorial Day to Labor Day. We rely entirely on volunteers. Please considering volunteering. Click here to see the calendar. (It will open on today's date. Use the arrows on top to advance to the right month. You can also choose a week or day view.)


Pick your times to volunteer by clicking on the month. This will take you to a Doodle poll. Just type in your name for the date you would like.

• May
• June
• July
• August
• September (Labor Day) 

A few people signed up at the last board meeting without using the poll. I have put all the dates in a calendar.  Click here to see it.

Not too seriously...

We do know how to have fun at the PAFFMA annual meetings.

 John Bitzer is ready with his "groaners"

To which the audience reacts.

 

Which was followed by the Lumberjack serenade.

     

And here is the original...

Annual Meeting for 2013

Here is the group photo for the the 2013 PAFFMA annual meeting held at the Mont Alto Volunteer Fire Department Hall on November 16, 2013

George H. Wirt and Presidential Awards

Board member Bev Spicer received the George Wirt award at yesterday's annual meeting for her service to the PAFFMA. Paul Sebasovich is making the presentation.

PAFFMA President, Jack Graham, made four Presidential awards, a new presentation, to PAFFMA Secretary Lisa Lasalle, PAFFMA 1st Vice President Peter Linehan, Board Member Bill Parr and Sharon Sebasovitch (who has made the banquet centerpieces for many years.)

Remembering Dut

At yesterday's PAFFMA annual meeting at the Mont Alto Volunteer Fire Dept. Hall Anne Dutlinger gave a presentation on remembering her grandfather, Forrest Dutlinger. Dutlinger was in the first graduating class from the Pennsylvania State Forest Academy. Anne is posing with John Bitzer, who put together the display.

12th Annual Golf Outing

The 12th annual PAFFMA Golf Outing was held this past Friday (6/28) at the Rich Valley Golf Course in Mechanicsburg, PA. Although it was a cloudy, muggy day, the 41 golfers had a great time!


Registration.

Our sponsors.

 

Starting out.

Hole 1.

Everyone wants to get into the act.

 

 

Another hole sponsor.

The awards dinner.

Paul Sebasovich announcing the winners.

PAFFMA President Jack Graham thanks the golfers and describes the work at the Forest Heritage Discovery Center.

Paul congratulates the leader of the winning team, Terry Felty.

The high scoring team: Steve Kline, John Risser, Marc Chritzman, and Terry Felty.

The second place team: Tom Marion, Diane Marion, Jack Brubaker and Gary Bauer.

The middle scoring team got PAFFMA t-shirts.

We hope to see everyone again next year!

Keeping Up Appearances

The Forest Heritage and Discovery Center at Caledonia State Park was built back in the CCC days. It is still a very solid building! The entry porch has been starting to show a little wear. This week we stained the porch using an oil-based stain. Now it is good as new, although a second coat in a few weeks wouldn't hurt at all.

Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign

Over the years State Forests, State Parks and other conservation programs  have used different kinds of signs over the years. We have samples of several of them in the Discovery Center.

This metal sign is on the inside of the entrance.

Here' a Pennsylvania variation on the tree farm sign.

The Department of Forests and Waters is now known as the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR).

You can find this colorful sign on the rear of a backpack pump.

There are very few firetowers left in PA to bear this warning.

Shoaff's Mill Visit

During the annual meeting we had the opportunity to visit Shoaff's Mill at Little Buffalo State Park. Thanks to our guide from the PA State Parks.

Annual Meeting 2012

This year's meeting was held at Little Buffalo State Park in Newport, PA. It was a cold day, but we had a warm time in the meeting hall at the campsite.

Here is the picture of the attendees.

Founders of the PAFFMA who attended the meeting are pictured above. Back row: Mike Ripton and Paul Augustine. Front row: Steven Cummings, Paul Sevasovich and John Bitzer.

Among the issues discussed during the meeting were:

• PAFFMA annual business meeting.
• Status of prescribed fire in PA and developments at the PA Bureau of Forestry.
• Review of the 2011 workshop discussions. Where are we a year later/
• Thoughts from the 1895 Rothrock report.

 

After the banquet Paul Sebasovitch was presented with the George Wirt award.