(One of our unusual summer guests coming in August 2025….)
Summer is here! The Wednesday night sailing races have started at the Century Club and Pymatuning Yacht Club. The pontoons and fishing boats are chugging across the water day and night (even in the rain). There is a line of people waiting to buy ice cream at Hunger Busters in Jamestown, PA (she is only open in the summer) and barbecued ribs at the new rib food truck next to Dollar General. The line of RV’s and campers heading for the state park begins on Thursdays and can be seen on every route connected to the park from Ohio, New York and all parts Pennsylvania. Ice is being sold by the bag at every ice machine in town. Bait and fishing licenses at Richter’s….the line has been forming for weeks.
We see the happy faces of people on vacation or newly retired or visiting family here that they haven’t seen in years because they live far away. They are driving into our Gibson House Manor parking lot in Jamestown, PA and walking in to find out what events we have planned for the week. Our favorite visitors are our regulars…who stop in at least once a week for a cup of coffee and to talk about history to anyone who has the time (new “Spillway espresso café” opening at the Manor this week 11 am to 2 pm)…. Or to donate a piece of furniture or decor they think we might need. Or to attend one of our daily events as a repeat guest. Our other favorite is first timers who have never been to the Manor or Mercer County but they heard about us somehow (miraculously since we don’t always know which marketing dollars are actually working). Last week it was Pat and Marie from Erie who want to bring their car club for a summer drive to Jamestown, PA in August. They also wanted to see if our parking lot could hold 12 to 15 Model A Fords (only built from 1928-1931). They were satisfied it could. And they wanted our Underground Railroad tour and a leisurely lunch and recommended stops on the way up and back. Yes….we can do that.
Our other favorite visitors are the curious people who have been through Jamestown PA thousands of times over the years, but the house was closed…or abandoned….or simply not open for months at a time because there were no events on the schedule and volunteers were traveling themselves. But they see our new sign that says “Museum Cafe and Gift Shop” “Events Daily” “724.456.4983 for Reservations”. And they see cars our parking lot and flags flying on our front porch, our parking lot gate is open and they stop in. Because it is summer they are here on vacation or camping or just driving through on their way to somewhere else and we are open and ready to greet them and talk.
Abby, our college history intern, is still working on histories of each country for our International Dinners and Rita Kania spent many hours building our first ever scrapbooks with pictures and newspaper articles about the house over the years. Eight scrapbooks already! We finally have a place for all the photos, menus and memorabilia donated to us. We are doing it because these particular guests are trying to pinpoint the last time they were inside the building and “what was here.” It has been great fun to patch together the history of the house based on input from previous visitors and previous owners. And in the leisurely hours of summer, a scrapbook project is evolving. Finally, we are truly blessed with new visitors who have a huge impact on us…corporations, foundations, institutions and families who like what we are doing and want to help us with financial contributions (that go into our fund being used to maintain and endow this property and other historic properties in Mercer County PA). A few weeks ago the entire leadership team from Seneca Valley School District and their Superintendent came to the Manor to do our Underground Railroad Tour, enjoy a leisurely lunch and drive home on a guided tour slowly through our local Amish community to learn about a simpler life. We all thought it was amusing that last year they learned about robotics and AI and this year they learned about life in 1856. A credit to their curiosity and leadership.
We also are attracting authors, historians and history re-enactors who brilliantly keep history alive. Jim Brown has captured the writings and thinking of Mark Twain (one of the most famous abolitionists in the world) and shares his thoughts with new visitors every month (especially our student tours). Last week John King brought President Abraham Lincoln to the Manor to present the riveting story of his short presidency and decisions he made before and during the Civil War that forever changed our future as a United States. Jill Meszaros is a brilliant and experienced quilt historian who is curating our first ever National Historic Quilt Exhibit (August 27-September 30). As she explains, the truly fascinating historic quilts tell stories. She is curating and hanging them all through the Manor for the show. The oldest quilt is from 1880. First Glimpse will be after the British High Tea on Friday August 27th, 1:30 pm start.
Highlighted events for July—we are offering Underground Railroad Museum tickets and lunch from 11 am to 2 pm daily. Tickets are available in advance on our website…GibsonHouseManor.org or by calling 724.456.4983). We opened the Manor for the Annual Jamestown PA Yard Sale (Saturday, June 28). That is when we actually opened our doors of the “Spillway Espresso Bar and Café”. We let our neighbors sell their items in their own yards. We had breakfast, lunch, cappuccino, lattes, iced coffee and lots of side treats all day.…..we are offering a buffet champagne brunch every Sunday in July for our tour guests (11 am to 2 pm) reservations please call 724.456.4983….we are repeating our International Dinner series with a full dinner from Hungary including chicken paprikash and stuffed cabbage and spaetzle …Ladies Regional Luncheon will feature quilt expert and historian, Jill Meszaros. The topic for this month’s presentation is “Quilts as Material Culture: Objects That Speak.” We’ll take a gentle journey through the world of quilts as material culture, exploring quilts not just as functional textiles but as meaningful objects that tell personal, social, and historical stories. Jill will be bringing a few quilts to reference during her talk …our July British High Tea will experiment with a whole new group of sandwiches and sides to reflect the local produce and vegetables from the region…Private lunch and tours also available in July…call for menus and special tour guides…Young Student Time Travelers Summer Camp 10 am to 2 pm Monday to Friday week of July 21st to learn about life in the 1800’s…..scholarships available…724.456.4983 for reservations.
We hope you enjoyed the beautiful month of June and look forward to spending time with you in July. Watch for new updates coming soon! AFB MMS JEB