Sometimes Alternates Are As Good As The Originals

By Rob Taylor

There's A Lot Happening Down At The TREC

July 31 2009

• 10:00 am-11:30 am Outside the Window: Nature for You and Your Little One Location: Meet at Stull Interpretive Center

Designed especially for 3-5 year olds and an accompanying adult, these interactive programs help your preschooler discover the world "outside the window" Registration required. Fee: $2

• 7:00 pm Lagoons by Pontoon
The lagoons are even more wild as day stretches into evening! Fee may apply. Call ahead beginning the Monday before the ride for which you are registering. Registration starts at 10 a.m. on Monday for that week's rides.

August 1 2009

• 10:00 am Advanced Excursion: Guided Canoe and Kayaking Location: Meet at the Stull Interpretive Center.

Advanced paddlers with their own touring/sea kayaks are in for a treat during this guided paddle. Explore more difficult waters without leaving the safety of shore and work on those surfing skills. Paddle from Barrack's Beach to Beach 11. Along the way, stop and enjoy the view of the lighthouse while we eat our picnic lunches. Enjoy a beautiful Lake Erie summer day spent exploring the shoreline of Presque Isle. Registration and pfds required by July 25. No Fee. Pack your  own lunch.

• 10:00 am Beach Glass Creations Location: Meet at TREC
Ever wonder about the many colors of beach glass, or how it came to rest on the shores of Lake Erie? Learn the history of beach glass and how it came to rest on the shores of Lake Erie, and how to recycle the "trash" into treasure. Participants will need to bring their own beach glass and will learn a wire wrapping technique to make beach glass jewelry. Pre-Registration is required. Fee for materials: $5

August 5 2009

• 7:00 pm Lagoons by Pontoon
The lagoons are even more wild as day stretches into evening! Fee may apply. Call ahead beginning the Monday before the ride for which you are registering.

Registration starts at 10 a.m. on Monday for that week's rides.
Daily

• 11:00 am Life on the Lagoons
Eagles and osprey soar above, a heron alights in a tree, turtles slip from logs into the water....you can experience this and more during our Life on the Lagoons cruise. Beginning May 23rd thru June 28, cruises will be held Thursday thru Sunday. Then, July 1 through Sept. 2, 7 days a week! Fee may apply.

Boat limited to 18 passengers, so arrive early! Cruises at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.

Check out The Tom Ridge Environmental Center Online or visit the Tom Ridge Center at the entrance to Presque Isle State Park for more information

Warner To Host Oak Ridge Boys, Alice Cooper In September

by Rob Taylor

Through three decades of performing they bring a powerful piece of Americana to the stage which pleases and excites their audiences wherever they go.

Tickets for The Oak Ridge Boys are $38.50, Groups of 20+ $33.50

Tickets for Alice Cooper's Theatre Of Death Tour are $52.00, $38.00

Charge tickets at (814) 452-4857 or (800) 745-3000. Purchase them at the Tullio Arena box office, Ticketmaster outlets or www.ticketmaster.com.

Editor’s note: 

I saw Alice Cooper’s show a few years ago when he appeared at the Warner Theatre and the show was NOTHING like his previous shows. There was NO stage set-up, no theatrics…nothing of the Alice Cooper we grew up listening to. As a matter of fact…it was really nothing more than a show you’d see from a local band playing at Docksider’s.

Erie County Library Offer Adult Learning Programs

It Matters When You Read Things 2009: Six Summer Sessions of Literary/Historical Discussions led by Edinboro University Professors in the Admiral Room

Tuesday, August 4th at 2PM “The Man Without a Country” (Short Story) by Edward Everett Hale Facilitator, Ronald Spiller, Ph.D. History

Tuesday, August 11th at 2PM “Letters from the Earth” (Fiction) by Mark Twain Facilitator, William Hunter, Ph.D. English

Tuesday, August 18th at 2PM Spoon River Anthology (Poetry) by Edgar Lee Masters Facilitator, John Cussen, Ph.D. English

Co-Sponsored by: Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and The Erie County Public Library

Free Refreshments by Stephany Catering courtesy of: The Friends of the Erie County Public Library

Computer Classes - $5 each payable to the Friends of the Library before you sign up at 451-6927

Monday August 24th Intro to Internet 5-8 PM
Saturday Sept. 12th Intro to Computers 9-Noon
Monday Sept. 21st Intro to Word 5-8 PM
Monday Sept. 28th Intro to Internet 5-8 PM
Monday Oct. 5th Intro to Computers 5-8PM

June 1st – August 31st – Adult Summer Reading Program – “Master the Art of Reading” and earn a free book bag! Read or listen to 10 books and write the titles on the Master the Art of Reading form which you may print out. Return the form to the Information Hub at the Blasco Library, your favorite branch or the Bookmobile for a black or green book bag. (while supplies last) You can fill out as many forms as you like, but you will only receive one prize. Open to readers age 15 and up. For more information, call the Information Hub at 451-6927. Sponsored by the Friends of the Erie County Public Library.



Girard Museum Hosts Civil War Warriors Aug 8-9

The Erie County Historical Society hosts the Battle for Yellow House Civil War encampment and battle reenactment during the Dan Rice Festival weekend in Girard, PA. Battle for Yellow House is a two-day re-enactment and encampment offering something for every member of the family…demonstrations of 1860s crafts, the opportunity to drill with the regiment, a ladies tea on the lawn, two battle re-enactments, a great list of speakers and a visit from Dan Rice!

Experience the encampment by candlelight! Be escorted through camp by a military guide and witness battlefield surgery, grave diggers, freedom seekers on the Underground Railroad and more. Tours depart from the C.E.B. Memorial Museum (white house) every 20 minutes. Tickets may be purchased in advance by calling 814.454.1813 x24 . Tickets are $4 Adults, $3 Seniors, $2 Children and $10 Family. The Battle for the Yellow House Candlelight Tour is a collaborative effort between the Society, the Harry T. Burleigh Society and the 111th PVI Civil War re-enacting group, which is the host regiment for the event.

Event proceeds go to the preservation and interpretation of the Battles Museums of Rural Life, a division of Erie County Historical Society. For additional information, visit the Society website at www.eriecountyhistory.org or call (814) 454-1813 Ext. 24.

Battle for the Yellow House will take place on the grounds of the Battles Museums of Rural Life, 436 Walnut Street, Girard. Camp opens daily at 10 a.m. and is FREE to the community.

Did you know this about Erie Pennsylvania?

1. The model for the flying ace, Flip Corkin, in the comic strip “Terry and the Pirates” was Erie’s Colonel Philip Cochran.
2. Erie is named after the Eriez Indian Tribe, which disappeared before the arrival of the white man. During their last year they were ruled by a peace-loving and wise queen, named Yagowanea. Before the bloody and decisive battle with the Senecas, against overwhelming odds that annihilated them around 1634, the Eriez were known as the “neutral tribe.” Fighting was forbidden in the Eriez territory. Warriors of all tribes visited them freely and peacefully. But, neutrality, then as now, was difficult, and a misunderstanding led to their destruction.
3. The United States Brig Niagara, restored and moored on Erie’s bayfront, is the only ship of her type which is still in existence from the War of 1812. Now the official Flagship of Pennsylvania, the Niagara, with homeport in Erie, she was re-commissioned August 1990. The Niagara is the tallest “tall ship” on the Great Lakes. She was the relief flagship of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry from which he won the Battle of Lake Erie.
4. The Brig Niagara was one of six original warships constructed in Erie with native Pennsylvania materials in 1813. She was part of the fleet built to regain control of the upper Great Lakes from the British. It was during the Battle of Lake Erie that the United States defeated the British and provided the U.S. with a permanent northern border.
5. Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, with his fleet of Erie-built warships, not only the first Unites States Navy fleet action, but the victory at Lake Erie, he defeated and captured an entire British squadron for the first time in British history. The Brig Niagara, with which the battle was won, is now restored and moored on the Erie waterfront at the foot of Holland Street, and $6 million has been allocated for construction of a new maritime museum and berth for the famous ship.
6. When Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry’s fleet, including the Brig Niagara, won the battle of Lake Erie in September 1813 during the War of 1812 against the British, approximately one fourth of his sailors were African-American. One naval officer recorded, “…I have yet to learn that the color of the skin or the cut and trimmings of the coat can affect a man’s qualifications or usefulness. I have nearly fifty blacks on this boat, many of them are among the best of my men…”
7. Erie is known for its plastics industry with four of the top fifty plastics companies in the nation located here. Area plastics companies manufacture over 10,000,000 plastics parts a day. One-third of the area’s manufacturing jobs is plastics related.
8. Over ten percent of the plastics injection molding done in the United States is done in Erie, where the first commercial injection molding operation was established in 1928.
9. Erie has the highest concentration of toolmakers of any place in the United States.
10. Employment figures for Erie County show 32 percent of the county’s workers are in manufacturing compared to 18 percent for the nation as a whole. Area manufacturing employment accounts for 45 percent of total personal income.
11. Carter’s Little Liver Pills, a concoction of the early Erie pharmacist, became well known around the world.
12. Erie is called the Walleye capital of the world, and has the best walleye, small mouth bass, steelhead trout and salmon fishing in the state. There are over 65 licensed charter captains operating out of the Erie port. Back in the 19th century, the Erie fishing industry averaged an annual catch of 15 million pounds.
13. Erie County leads Pennsylvania in export dollars per capita.
14. Erie’s Presque Isle State Park, located on peninsula jutting into the now clean and clear water of Lake Erie, is Pennsylvania’s top tourist attraction, drawing around four million visitors a year with seven miles of sandy, fresh-water beaches. Some year’s attendance averages have seen more visitors than Yellowstone National Park, yet Presque Isle never seems crowded because of the number of beaches and activities available. Visitors enjoy the peninsula for swimming, sunbathing, picnicking, hiking, biking, boating, fishing, nature walking, cross-country skiing, wind surfing, bird watching (over 300 species), or just relaxing while watching the beautiful sunset over Lake Erie.
15. Presque Isle and the bay were discovered in the spring of 1753 by a French Army from Montreal with 1,500 men headed by a Captain Marlin. A patrol that went out ahead returned, reporting a beautiful bay and harbor, much low land for a settlement, several small creeks to supply water, and low hills to the southward. “The most beautiful by in nature,” exclaimed the patrol leader.
16. The Dickson Tavern, a historical site at 2nd and French Streets in Erie, had honeycombed walls and secret passages to hide runaway slaves. Erie’s “Underground Railroad” in the 1800’s was an escape route for slaves.
17. Futurist Joel Barker, in his keynote speech to 1,300 delegates at the 1990 Labor-Management Conference in Washington D.C. said that Erie “Is the city to watch in the 1990’s.” He said, “Erie is the city that has dedicated itself to excellence…This single vision should make Erie’s economy and quality of life grow.” He told members of the Chamber’s Erie Excellence Council (EEC), “If Erie can galvanize around the EEC vision for continuos improvement, it can be one of the world’s most excellence communities, drawing thousands of people to visit and see what you are about.”
18. The ornamental domes on developer Donald Trump’s Taj Mahal Casino Resort in Atlantic City, NJ, were manufactured by a Molded Fiberglass Company in nearby Union City.
19. General Electric’s Transportation Systems Division, Erie’s largest employer, won about 61 percent of all new locomotive orders in 1989. In 1990, Erie’s GE operation produced its 1,000th Dash 8, a high tech locomotive, linking sensors to measure speeds, temperatures, voltages and pressures throughout the unit.
20. Bob Hope and his wife Delores were married in Erie.
21. The Erie area is known nation-wide in quality management circles as the first local region to develop quality councils based on committees related to community activities. The Excellence Council division of the local Chamber of Commerce has 28 committees actively pursuing quality improvement in such widely diverse areas as the arts and industry, sports and retail business “Erie, PA is setting a precedent for cities in the United States and around the world,” the American Society for Quality Control’s Quality Progress magazine reported in Jan. 1990.
22. General LaFayette said “Erie - a name which has a great share in American glory…may this town ever enjoy a proportionate share in American prosperity and happiness.”

OTHER INTERESTING FACTS

• According to the 2000 Census, the county’s population is 280,843. There are two cities in Erie County – the City of Erie and the City of Corry; their respective populations are 103,717 and 6,834. The second largest municipality in Erie County is Millcreek Township, which has a population of 52,129. The County of Erie is 803 square miles, and the county borders the state of New York and the state of Ohio, along with Lake Erie.
• Erie County is the third largest grape growing area in the U.S.
• Erie is home to the Erie Otters (OHL Hockey) and the Erie Sea Wolves (AA Baseball).
• Both the Seaway Trail and historic Route 6 travel through the county, both providing scenic views during your travels. Interstate 90 and Interstate 79 meet in Erie County, providing easy access to Canada, New York, Ohio, and the Eastern Seaboard.
• Erie is centrally located and is only a two hour drive to Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and Canada.
• The restored U.S. Brig Niagara, which was a relief flagship of Commander Oliver Hazard Perry during the War of 1812, makes the waters of Presque Isle Bay her home.
• A registered national natural landmark, recognized internationally as an ecological gem, Presque Isle State Park offers a unique mix of nature and recreation and is located within Erie County. It is a 3,200-acre sandy peninsula that arches lakeward into Lake Erie and contains over 7 miles of beaches. Over 4 million visitors come to enjoy the beauty of Presque Isle each year. Presque Isle creates Presque Isle Bay, a wide and deep harbor for the city of Erie. Presque Isle Bay attracts many pleasure boats and worldwide freighters, making Erie an important Great Lakes shipping port. Diverse and rare plants and animals attract naturalists: Presque Isle contains a greater number of the state's endangered, threatened and rare species than any other area of comparable size in Pennsylvania. As Pennsylvania's only "seashore," Presque Isle offers its visitors a beautiful coastline and many recreational activities, including swimming, boating and hiking.
• Erie has been home to many famous people including: Pat Monahan of the band “Train”; Homeland Security Director and former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge; Ann B. Davis who played Alice in “The Brady Bunch”; Harry T. Burleigh, composer, arranger and musician who wrote Swing Low, Sweet Chariot; Caryn Kadavy, Olympic figure skater; Paul Weitz, astronaut; and Bruce Baumgartner, Olympic wrestler
• Erie has a number of colleges and universities, including: Penn State Erie – The Behrend College, Mercyhurst College, Gannon University, Edinboro University, LECOM – Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, and Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CAMtech).
• Some of the best fishing in the Region takes place in Lake Erie and it’s tributaries. Field and Stream Magazine ranks Presque Isle “one of the top 20 family fishing spots in the nation.” An average of 1.5 million fish are caught each year in the area.
• Erie is also experiencing substantial growth as a regional shopping center, with visitors from nearby states and Canada taking advantage of the lack of state sales tax on food and clothing.
• Waldameer Park and Water World is a family-fun complex that combines a beautiful amusement park with one of the greatest water parks in the entire country offering over 75 rides, slides and attractions ranging from roller coasters, to waterslides. Waldameer is located near the entrance to Presque Isle State Park.
• When you are in Erie, you must stop at Discovery Square, with its children's and art museums, restored Perry Memorial House and Dickson Tavern, which was a stop on the Underground Railroad before the Civil War. Some other places of interest are the historical museum and planetarium, and the General "Mad" Anthony Wayne Memorial Blockhouse.
• The Erie Zoo has more than 300 animals in natural habitats, with a focus on the African jungle and is situated on more than 15 acres. The Wild Asia exhibit opened in the Spring of 2002, featuring orangutans, Asian deer, simangs and Asian insects and snakes.
• The Blasco Library is the main library in the Erie County Library system, and is also the third-largest library in Pennsylvania. The Blasco Memorial Library is the largest public library built in Pennsylvania in the 20th century. The library is located on the bay front facing Presque Isle State Park and shares it’s home with the Center for Maritime Studies.
• Erie was founded in 1795 after purchase of the Erie Triangle
• Flagship city- used to be called Gem City, some say for the sparkling bay
• Home port of the Brig Niagara (reconstructed flagship of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry)
• Helped win the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812
• Reconstructed Niagara launched in 1989, floating museum and ambassador of Pennsylvania
• Fourth largest city in Pennsylvania
• 127th safest American City
• Pennsylvania's only lake port city
• More than 25% of jobs are in manufacturing
• Over 10% of the nation's plastic injection molding is done in Erie and 4 of the nation's Top 50 plastic companies are located in Erie
• An average of 1.5 million fish are caught each year in Lake Erie, its bays and tributaries
• Erie is home to the oldest land lighthouse on the Great Lakes
• The Land Lighthouse at the foot of Lighthouse Street in the City of Erie, built in 1818, replace in 1867
  Presque Isle Lighthouse, built in 1872, is also a park employee residence
• "Millionaire's Row," along W. 6th St. are a collection of 19th century Victorian homes/mansions
• Erie means "raccoon", the Erie tribe is sometimes referred to as the Cat nation, the raccoon being a wild cat that appears as the main figure on the Erie totem pole.

(Source: www.visiterie.com)

Celebrate Erie, Erie City Hall Lobby, August 14th - 16th

Over the past few years, SafeNet has been part of the "Hands are not for Hitting" project. During "Celebrate Erie," which is from August 14th to the 16th, our Children's Department will host a display of artwork from the children in our shelter in the lobby of City Hall, entitled "From the Heart." The artwork, done by the children in our shelter and non-residential programming, expresses how they feel about witnessing or being involved in domestic violence. Over the past few years, we have seen an increase of children coming into our emergency shelter with nothing other than the clothing on the back, leaving behind family, pets, toys and their home. Every child in our shelter has taken the "Hands are not for Hitting" pledge, which stands behind the statement that "my hand will never hit or hurt any other person."

"Gotta Love Summer"