History

Adult Programs Survey Results

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In October 2021, we emailed our newsletter subscribers four questions to help us plan programs for adults in 2022.

Our survey identified four essential points that help us address the needs and wants of the community:
● Who is interested in adult programs?
● How do people want to participate in programs?
● When are people available for programs?
● What kind of programs are of interest?

We received 215 responses and are excited to share what we learned.

Graphic of survey responses from 2021 program survey showing age, preferred time, format, and types of programs.

 

Your responses will help us plan and react to the needs and interests of the community. Furthermore, we can continue to provide programs that align with the PA Forward Literacies: Basic Literacy, Information Literacy, Civic & Social Literacy, Health Literacy, and Financial Literacy. For example, the survey responses revealed that you are interested in Physical Health. Knowing this, we can leverage our community partners and continue to have programs like Medicare 101 (11.17.21), upcoming Nutrition Myths (12.9.21), and add new classes and events to the mix.

If you responded to the survey, you may receive follow-up emails from our staff as we continue to explore your responses and share programs that may interest you.

Didn’t see the survey? You can sign up for our e-newsletter and select the kind of updates you would like to receive.

Do you want to present a program at PTPL? Read our program policies and fill out a program proposal to share your ideas.

If you have any questions or want to know more about programs at PTPL, please get in touch with Sydney Krawiec, Program & Outreach Coordinator. You can reach her via email at  skrawiec@pt-library.org or call 724-941-9430 ext. 3260.

Revisit the Past with Resources from PT Library

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Peters Township Public Library is in the process of formalizing the library’s local history resources into the Peters Township Public Library Historical Archives (PTPL Historical Archives). Through funding from The Peters Township Library Foundation, Carolyn Friedrich, Consulting Archivist, is leading the work to preserve and increase access to these historical materials assisted by Margaret Deitzer, Reference Librarian.

PTPL Historical Archives
The archives will document the evolution of Peters Township from a sparsely populated rural farming and mining community into a regional treasure – recognized for its outstanding quality of life and excellent school district. In the Local History Room at the library, Friedrich and Deitzer are recording the development of the township through the identification, collection, and preservation of materials with historical significance to the community. Each collection in the PTPL Historical Archives is first organized and described according to archival best practices. Once this meticulous work is completed, the public will be able to access the archival collections. Finding aids are under development to help anyone learn more about the content of each individual collection. When this work is complete later in 2021, visitors will be able to view the collection by appointment only.

Train traveling on the railroad line through McMurray. This rail line later became Arrowhead Trail. PTPL Historical Archives Hutchison family papers.

Pa Photos & Documents
Beginning in December 2020, the library launched an impressive collection of digitized archival materials on the statewide resource PA Power Library called Pa Photos and Documents. Pennsylvania Libraries have contributed treasured historic and cultural materials digitally to this remarkable collection. Friedrich and Deitzer will continue to digitize and add photographs and documents representing highlights from the history of the Township to the library’s new online collection.

The late John Opeka being interviewed in 2004 for “Life in Peters Township.”

Oral History Recordings
In addition to the photographs and documents available in this online resource, the library has added oral history recordings and transcripts from the project “Life in Peters Township” to the collection. The library worked with the Senator John Heinz History Center Oral History Service on this project beginning in 2003. Interviewees shared stories about their life, memories, and experiences about growing up, working, and living in Peters Township. While the transcripts have been publicly available in the library for years, this addition to library’s materials in Pa Photos and Documents will increase access to this rich resource on Peters Township History.

Peters Township High School Class of 1940. PTPL Historical Archives Lansdown-McMurray family papers.

To Donate Original Materials
We are extremely grateful to the many individuals and families who donated their original historical items to form the collections that now comprise the PTPL Historical Archives. These collections consist primarily of photographs, programs, business and legal records, deeds, maps, scrapbooks, and other ephemera. For those interested in donating original materials to these archives, please email MDeitzer@PT-Library.org to learn more.

To visit the Peters Township Public Library’s collections in PA Photos and Documents, visit ptlibrary.org and select the drop-down menu under “Resources”. Go to “All Resources – A to Z” and scroll down and select PA Photos and Documents. Enter “Peters Township Public Library” in quotations to review the collections.

Donations Keep Local History Room Thriving

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Preserving local history has been a goal of the Peters Township Public Library since its founding over 60 years ago. To go beyond clipping newspapers, in early 2003 the library staff began an Oral History Project with funding from Taste of the Township. The goal was to record and preserve the history of the township through audio interviews with past and present residents.

Community Day promotional materialsThe library worked with the Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center Oral History Service Department to conduct the interviews. By April 2004, the collaboration had produced twenty-two interviews. They reflected various facets of the history of Peters Township – farm life, education, government, recreation, transportation, churches, and industry. Next, the interviews were transcribed, edited, printed, bound, and added to the library’s Local History collection. You can search the library catalog for “Life in Peters Township: an oral history project” and request any of the bound volumes to check out and enjoy.

Peters-Township NewsIn the spring of 2008, a two-story addition expanded the building with space for a Local History Room on the second floor. Over the past 12 years, the room has acquired copies of the bound oral history interviews and many photographs and documents received from various donors. Along with several volunteers, Head Reference Librarian Margaret Deitzer and Information Technology Librarian Ed Wolf continue preserving the donations that tell the story of the township from the late 1700s to present.

Carolyn Friedrich and Ed WOld with historical donationsLast year The Peters Township Library Foundation committed to channeling contributions received from the Washington County Community Foundation’s Day of Giving toward the library’s local history efforts. This donation supported the ongoing work of library staff and archivist Carolyn Friedrich to make the collection searchable from anywhere in the world.

Mr and Mrs Ed LybargerA recent donation from Edward and Janis Lybarger added extraordinary resources to the collections. The Lybarger family connection to the library began in the 1950s with his mother, Alberta Myers Lybarger. As president of the Women’s Club of Peters Township, her efforts helped to make the dream of a community library for the township become a reality. Their new donations cover topics like local schools, churches, civic organizations, businesses, and the development of the library through blueprints, photographs, newspapers, and artifacts. The library welcomes items like these to continue to document the past and present growth of Peters Township. Please call the library at 724.941.9430 for more information.

Line drawing of the Peters Township Public LibraryThe Lybargers have also financially supported The Peters Township Library Foundation, which continues to support this archival work, covering the costs of making this collection accessible to the public. Is preserving Peters Township history important to you? The WCCF Day of Giving is Thursday, September 10, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Your online donation that day to The Peters Township Library Foundation continues to support our efforts to preserve, arrange, scan, digitize, and store our growing collection of Peters Township Local History. Your tax-deductible gift will also benefit programming and resources not covered by the library’s operating budget. AND you will help us become eligible for added support from the WCCF’s $100,000 bonus pool. For more information, visit the WCCF Day of Giving web site.

Museum Experience Kits

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UPDATED: August 3, 2021

The Peters Township Public Library offers WAGGIN library cardholders access to a variety of local historical sites and museums through a “Museum Experience Kit.”

The sites in the kits include:

 

You can check out a kit for one week. Each offers complimentary admission for up to four people to each site. Kits include educational support materials and itinerary suggestions tailored to each site. Check availability at the Information Services Desk.

Budd Baer Subaru in Washington, Pa. is sponsoring the kits through a partnership with the History Center Affiliates Program (HCAP). The program includes more than 125 regional historical societies and organizations dedicated to preserving local history.

Air Force One with author John L. Haigh

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Join John L. Haigh on Monday, October 21 at 7:00 p.m. as he talks about his 12 plus years serving as a crew member aboard the Air Force One flight crew.

More about the author:

“As a young person growing up in a small coal mining community in western Pennsylvania, I dreamed of traveling and seeing the world. Upon graduation from high school, I enlisted in the United States Air Force, not knowing where my travels would take me. I volunteered for flying duty and was sent to McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey in 1963. From there, I traveled all over the world transporting troops. In 1973, I volunteered and was accepted into the 89th military airlift wing, special air missions organization at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, which required a top-secret clearance, and was the home of Air Force One. After experiencing my first Air Force One backup trip with President Nixon to Europe and the Middle East, I set another goal to become a permanent member of the Air Force One flight crew; but it did not happen right away. Meanwhile, I was privileged to fly missions that included a 33 day presidential goodwill trip with the Apollo 17 astronauts, (the last men to walk on the moon), around the world, the prime minister of India, premier of China, Chancellor of Germany, President of Turkey, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, President Carter’s mother, Ms Lillian, cabinet-level officers, members of Congress, high ranking military officers, Vice President’s Ford and Mondale. On September 1, 1979, I was selected as a permanent member of the Air Force One flight crew, during the last 16 months of the Carter administration, 8 years with President Reagan (19 months of which were served as his Chief Steward), 3 1/2 years as chief steward for President Bush SR. To quote President Bush Sr., “It was great to travel with the First Team”. The Presidents I was privileged to serve were ordinary folks like you and I, who did extraordinary things to be elected. Personally, I had the time of my life, fulfilling my dreams of world travels, and it truly was a privilege and pleasure to serve the Presidents aboard Air Force One.“

Register at https://tinyurl.com/y6j4ds9m to attend this program.

Alexander Hamilton: Immigrant, Patriot, Visionary

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A National Traveling Exhibition from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, made possible by the Rockefeller Foundation, is coming to your library!

Visit this exhibition during library hours from Friday, June 15 through Saturday, July 7. The library is closed on Sundays, June 17 and 24; Sundays, July 1 and 8; and Wednesday, July 4.

Using primarily reproductions from the Gilder Lehrman Institute’s renowned collections, and drawing on recent scholarship about Alexander Hamilton, this traveling exhibition will examine Hamilton’s role during the Revolutionary War and Founding period (1774-1804) in creating the economic, constitutional, social, journalistic, political, and foreign policy templates for modern America. It will acquaint visitors with a statesman and visionary whose life inspired discussion and controversy and shaped the America we live in two hundred years after his death.