NORTHUMBERLAND — The Joseph Priestley House Museum will reopen on Oct. 3, staffed by volunteers from a local friends group who refused to let the historic site remain shuttered due to state budget cuts.
On Thursday afternoon, officials from the state Historical and Museum Commission and officers of the Friends group inked the agreement at the museum at 472 Priestley Ave.
“We’ll be open Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 4,” said Susan Brook, a member of the friends board of directors. “We’re holding a grand reopening on Heritage Day, Nov. 1, with costumed docents in each room and demonstrations in the lab by Ron Blatchley, who portrays Joseph Priestley.”
Stephen Miller, director of the Bureau of Historic Sites and Museums, said the agreement allows the historic home to be reopened by the Friends group.
“This is an arrangement for the Friends to continue operations for public visitations,” Miller said. “The agreement will keep the site open until a longer term contract can be arranged.”
The site was closed in mid-August due to the state budget crisis, and its only paid employee was furloughed.
Michael A. Bertheaud, chief of interpretation and placed properties for the Historical and Museum Commission, said a management agreement with the Friends would allow the group to operate the entire site. Several other sites also were closed.
“It involves different responsibilities and obligations,” he said.
The management agreement is renewable yearly and permits the friends to schedule programs, set fees and be in charge of all the business aspects of running the site.
Miller said similar agreements are being put in place at five other state historic sites that were closed in August. The state will retain ownership of the site and maintain the grounds, while the friends will be responsible for insurance, utilities and programming.
Tom Bresenhan, president of the Friends, signed the agreement for the group.
“This is really good news for the Friends,” he said after the signing.
In addition to Bresenhan and Brook, also attending the signing was Edward “Ted” Lyon, vice president of the Friends and a direct descendant of Priestley.
Bresenhan announced the agreement during the organization’s annual dinner meeting on Thursday night, where Phillip K. Wilson, a professor at Penn State’s medical school in Hershey, spoke about the friendship between Joseph Priestley and Erasmus Darwin, grandfather of Charles Darwin.
The Friends of Joseph Priestley House is a nonprofit organization established to promote interest in Priestley and his work and research and to restore the home. The members conduct fundraising events and provide educational programming. The Web site is www.josephpriestleyhouse.org.
Priestley was a British theologian, scientist and political philosopher who settled in Northumberland in 1794 after his beliefs brought him into conflict with the Anglican Church and the British king. He is noted for his Unitarian beliefs, his discoveries of several gases, including carbon dioxide and oxygen, and his political beliefs, which influenced Thomas Jefferson when the latter wrote the Declaration of Independence. Priestley died in Northumberland in 1804 and is buried in Riverview Cemetery.
News
Friends group to reopen Priestley House
- News
-
-
Storms pound region
A series of thunderstorms prompted flash-flood warnings across the Susquehanna Valley Sunday night.
-
Drizzle doesn't stop Mazeppa parade, service
MAZEPPA — Small-town American spirit was on display in Mazeppa at the community’s annual Memorial Day parade on Sunday.
-
Lions raffling premium tickets
Two lucky people will win Philadelphia Phillies Diamond Club seats for a September game.
-
Dial 211 matches callers, agencies
SELINSGROVE — The Union-Snyder Community Action Agency is preparing to launch Dial 211 in July, but if you call it now, it works.
-
Pastor: Some twist Scriptures for own ends
During the 2012 United Methodist Church General Conference held in Tampa, Fla., earlier this month, church leaders chose to maintain the wording in their Book of Discipline, voting down motions that would have approved same-sex marriages and the ordination of homosexual ministers.
-
Burgers, people sizzle
SUNBURY -- Under clear skies Saturday, the temperature felt like 100 degrees, more like the Fourth of July than the Memorial Day weekend, according to a meteorologist who said the sticky, stifling conditions will persist for several days.
-
It pays to monitor accounts
Several people responded to the scam alert story which appeared last Sunday in The Daily Item to say they too have been recent victims of scams involving the theft of their identities and bank card information.
-
Teens go for baroque
A sonata plays from a Mac book in the music room at Lewisburg Area High School. It’s a baroque-style composition with flavors of Beethoven’s First symphony. Senior Sean Swartz, 18, hums along and does a little conducting with a pen as the music plays.
-
'To Do': Concert
WEST MILTON - Buffalo Valley Singers presents a concert at 7:30 p.m. May 27 at Central Oak Heights, 75 Heritage Road.
-
Firefighter union may char pacts
LEWISBURG — Paid members of the William Cameron Engine Company have voted to unionize under the International Association of Fire Fighters, a move believed to stem from internal tension between paid and volunteer members of the department, according to various sources.
-
M-W rule on drug testing is area’s boldest
MIDDLEBURG — Midd-West is the only school district in the Central Susquehanna Valley that requires students interested in participating in extra-curricular activities to agree to submit to random drug testing.
-
New shelter exec gets busy
When Cathy Teisher stepped down as executive director of Haven Ministries, in March, Pamela Steffen stepped up.
- More News Headlines
-
Storms pound region



