Historical societies continue celebrating Butler’s heritage
America’s 250th birthday, which garnered the recognition of communities and organizations nationwide, included displays and exhibits locally that took residents back in time to a Butler of the past.
A month later, even though those celebrations are almost completely done, local historical societies won’t stop celebrating history and community any time soon.
Through this calendar year, A250 events and planning had taken up much of local groups’ time and energy, highlighting the history and triumphs of the country and Butler County communities. Moving forward, those communities’ history will continue to be commemorated.
“We encourage residents to come check out everything we put on,” said Joel Grobe, president of the Zelienople Historical Society.
Butler County Historical Society leaders are looking well into the future, already planning events for next year that celebrate Butler’s history and heritage, said director Mackenzie Herold.
“We’re still wrapping up A250 with our Heritage Fest at Cooper Cabin on Aug. 22. That will feature a French and Indian War reenactment and will kind of be our finale for America 250,” Herold said. “Then we’ve got other big events coming up after that.”
For example, the Butler County Historical Society will hold its sixth-annual “Hair Raising History” event in October, where residents can learn the harrowing stories of past residents in the darkened Senator Walter Lowrie House.
That event will be followed by the Christmas Cookie Walk in December to close out the year.
“We try to do about seven to eight events a year, and we’ll be adding one next year. Usually about one or two a quarter,” Herold said.
Leaders at the Zelienople Historical Society are looking to get back into their normal routine, focusing on promoting open-air Thursdays while planning events, such as the Fall Festival in early October and the Christmas House Tour in December.
“A250 took a lot of energy from us and from others involved. We’re going to be looking to focus on everything else the rest of the year,” Grobe said.
Elsewhere, the Saxonburg Museum is looking forward to its annual Saxonburg Artisan Market, the Saxonburg Sportsman’s Fest and Spooky Streets of Saxonburg.
In Harmony, the “Vintage Harmony Wine History Experience” is scheduled for Aug. 14, while the borough will celebrate its annual Silvester event on Dec. 31.
These events take months of planning.
“We typically plan starting in January. Our board meets and we plan out our year at the beginning,” Grobe said. “We always try to get the public to come out for everything.”
