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The Johnstown Area Heritage Association hosts a broad range of special events throughout the year. Check back often for updates on our calendar of special events, and other JAHA news.
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| | Special Events & News | Updated May 7, 2008
For more news about JAHA museums, programs and events, visit the Press Releases section of this Web site.
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JAHA holds press conference to name the "Galliker's Cafe" -- A press conference was held on May 7, 2008 to name the new cafe at the Heritage Discovery Center for Galliker's, in recognition of their support of JAHA's current capital campaign. Happy preschoolers were on hand to enjoy the first "ceremonial scoops" of Galliker's ice cream, served by Ray Cassidy and Susan Angeletti of Galliker's. The cafe features a stainless steel ice cream fountain and marble front from the Linderman's Elite at Market and Main, and has been decorated with historic Galliker's photos. The cafe will open for regular business when the Johnstown Children's Museum opens later this summer. |
"Doors of Johnstown" poster now available -- and Johnstown Magazine contest now underway! -- Georgann Grusky Carnevali photographed more than 60 doors in Johnstown, including landmark buildings, private residences, churches and more! Thirty-six of these doors are featured in a new poster, which is now available at the gift shops of the Johnstown Flood Museum and Heritage Discovery Center, or in our online store. In the May issue of Johnstown Magazine, you can test your knowledge of Johnstown in a special contest! The editors of the magazine selected several of the doors from the poster, some well-known and some more obscure. The first five readers to accurately identify the locations of the doors will receive a free poster, courtesy of JAHA. Johnstown Magazine is available at locations all over the city, including the Johnstown Flood Museum and Heritage Discovery Center, so pick up a copy today!
JAHA Gala, "Adventure Around the World, to be held on May 16 -- Save the date! On Friday, May 16 JAHA will host our annual black-tie event, and this year we'll be showing off the new spaces in the building! The theme, "Adventure Around the World," will take you to contrasting countries set up in different parts of the newly-renovated Heritage Discovery Center. An invitation has gone out to JAHA members and friends, but let Patti Genovese at 814-539-1889 x309 know if you're not on our mailing list and would like to be! Visit the Gala page on this website for more about the event, including some of the silent auction items available. See you at the Gala!
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JAHA holds open house for members and friends to showcase new spaces at Heritage Discovery Center -- On Dec. 2, JAHA welcomed members and friends for tours of the new renovations at the Heritage Discovery Center. Visitors started at the top of the building, the new fifth floor galleries; the social club on the fourth floor; the third floor, where the exhibits for the Johnstown Children's Museum will soon be installed; the rooftop terraces; the cafe; and the education center. Click here for an update on the progress.
Wagner-Ritter House & Garden opens for the season -- On April 1, 2008, the Wagner-Ritter House & Garden re-opened for the visitor season! It will be open on a regular 7-day-per-week schedule, from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. daily. Tickets are $6 for adults, $5 for seniors and $4 for students, and are part of JAHA's regular combination ticket -- one ticket gets you into all three of our museums. Welcome!
Richard Burkert, JAHA's executive director, receives prestigious award -- Richard Burkert was awarded the prestigious Katherine Coffey Award by The Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums, a museum association that covers the District of Columbia, Delaware, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The Coffey Award recognizes distinguished achievement in the museum field, and is awarded to museum professionals who have demonstrated accomplishment in their role and a record of service to the profession on state, regional, national, and/or international levels. Burkert received the award at a special reception on October 26, 2007 at the Frick Art and Historical Center in Pittsburgh.
JAHA capital campaign continues -- JAHA is continuing the public phase of its capital campaign, "Preserving Our Heritage: Revitalizing Our Community." For more information about the capital campaign and how it relates to all areas of JAHA's mission, visit the capital campaign page on the Johnstown Children's Museum portion of this website.
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The lineup for the AmeriServ Johnstown FolkFest 2008 is now posted! It's going to be another terrific year for the FolkFest, which is celebrating its 15th anniversary! The event will take place Aug. 29-31, 2008. Highlights include the legendary alternative country act Jason & the Scorchers (pictured), the return of Latin music with Del Castillo, zydeco from Dwayne Dopsie & the Zydeco Hellraisers, and many, many more. Visit the 2008 Performers page to learn more about this year's lineup.
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WJAC TV-6 and The Tribune-Democrat present check to JAHA at FolkFest -- Pam Dennis, news director for Channel 6, and Chip Minemyer, editor of The Tribune-Democrat, presented a check for more than $17,000 to JAHA board chair Ron Carnevali at FolkFest. The presentation took place on Saturday, Sept. 1 before the zydeco performance on the Toyota stage. The money represents the proceeds from a DVD produced to commemorate the 30-year anniversary of the 1977 Johnstown flood, and will be used to support JAHA and its programs. |
JAHA presents Beale collection as part of flood commemoration activities on May 31, 2007 -- The Rev. David Beale was one of the most famous survivors of the 1889 Johnstown flood, and acted heroically in the disaster's immediate aftermath. He wrote the best memoir of the catastrophe, "Through the Johnstown Flood," before leaving town permanently in 1890 in the wake of a bitter controversy. In 2006, an unknown collection of Beale's personal papers was discovered in a carriage house in Philadelphia, including: about 80 photographs of flood destruction, some of which were previously unknown; letters; receipts; and perhaps most significant of all, 30 diaries in Beale's hand. JAHA has acquired this highly important collection, and presented it to the public for the first time on May 31, at 7:00 p.m. at the Heritage Discovery Center. Attended by about 200 people, the presentation was conducted by Nathan Koozer, an AmeriCorps member who has been reading the diaries and analyzing the collection.
JAHA received a great deal of media attention for the unveiling of the Beale collection. Here is a sampling of non-local media coverage:
- Associated Press -- This article, "Newly Found Diaries Shed Light on 1889 Flood, Aftermath," ran in papers and Internet sites across the country. Here is the article as it appeared on the International Herald Tribune website; many versions of the article also included excerpts from the diaries.
- The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette -- "Minister's Diaries Offer Eyewitness Account of the 1889 Johnstown Flood" was also picked up by the Scripps-Howard News Service, and may be read here.
- Pittsburgh Tribune-Review -- "Johnstown Flood Diaries, Photos Surface" may be read here.
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Blacksmith Shop website is launched -- The Blacksmith Shop was built in 1864 and is the most historically significant structure left in the Cambria Iron & Steel National Historic Landmark. Stabilization repairs to preserve the building were begun in 2004 with funding JAHA obtained through a Save America's Treasures grant from the National Park Service; this project includes stabilization of the brick walls using historically appropriate materials, roof replacement, repairs to the wooden cupola atop the structure, and replacement of the doors and windows. Currently, JAHA is working to develop a business model, identify and attract a suitable operation, and prepare a business plan for the preservation and reuse of the shop, with the long-term goal of opening it as a working shop and visitor experience; for more, visit the new Blacksmith Shop section of this website. Funding for these activities was obtained from the Commonwealth Financing Authority First Industries Tourism Planning Grant Program with the help of State Senator John Wozniak.
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"Made In Johnstown" exhibit opens at Heritage Discovery Center -- From beer to barbed wire, cast iron to cut glass, railroad cars to radios - an amazing variety of products were once made right here in Johnstown. A selection of these wares, along with information on the companies that made them and historic photos, are highlighted in the new "Made in Johnstown" temporary exhibit, in the second floor galleries of the Heritage Discovery Center. Admission to the exhibit is included in the ticket price; JAHA members are admitted free. Bring your holiday houseguests out to see this exciting new exhibit; click here to read more. |
Help JAHA every time you do an Internet search! -- The Johnstown Area Heritage Association is now a member of GoodSearch, an Internet search engine that makes a direct donation to us for every Internet search our supporters perform! The concept is simple: all search engines are funded through advertising revenue, and GoodSearch directs 50% of its advertising revenue to the charities designated by its users, including JAHA. You can even download a special toolbar so that GoodSearch (which is powered by Yahoo) becomes your default search engine, and profits are automatically directed to JAHA. Visit www.goodsearch.com to get started -- just type "Johnstown Area Heritage Association" in the box that says "Who do you GoodSearch for?" You can bookmark the page, or download the toolbar to have GoodSearch available at the top of your browser window. Thank you!
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New information added to www.jaha.org -- JAHA is working to make this Web site a valuable resource to anyone interested in our museums, programs, or themes covered in our museums. Recent additions to the site's content include the Visitor Resources section with information on nearby heritage attractions, links of interest, driving directions, walking tours and other information designed to help visitors get the most out of their visit to the Johnstown area; and an essay on the History of Coal in Cambria County, illustrated with JAHA archival images like the one shown here. |
The Johnstown Flood in national news-- National media outlets continue to contact JAHA to discuss the Johnstown flood of 1889. Below is a sampling: |
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