To view the Society's 2008 Winter newsletter, please click here.

Click here for a printable 2008 Local History & Preservation Awards nomination form.
Completed forms may be mailed to 419 State Street, Erie PA 16501 by May 31st.

Click here for a printable Erie's Heritage Festival Art Contest & Scholarship form and guidelines.

April/May 2008 Calendar of Events

African American Families of Erie Documentation Project
Saturday, April 5th 11a.m. -4p.m.
History Center, 419 State Street, Erie

Quest for Freedom Live & Learn Weekend
Friday, April 4th & Saturday, April 5th
Watson-Curtze Mansion, 356 West Sixth Street

Draft Horse Days at the Battles Family Farm
Saturday, April 19th 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Battles Museums of Rural Life, 436 Walnut Street, Girard

Lost Erie: Fifteen Years Later” Presented by Author & Historian John Claridge
Saturday, April 19th 2 p.m.
History Center Library & Archives, 419 State Street

The Epic Battle of Ida Tarbell and John D. Rockefeller
Discussion & Dinner with Author Steve Weinberg
Saturday, April 26th 7 p.m.
at the Watson-Curtze Mansion, 356 West Sixth Street

Market at the Mansion
May 2nd – 4th, 2008
at the Watson-Curtze Mansion, 356 West Sixth Street, Erie

National Astronomy Day Celebration
At the Erie Planetarium, 356 West Sixth Street
Saturday, May 10th, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

The 2007 Journal of Erie Studies, co-sponsored by Edinboro University, is now available!
Erie's Nordic immigrant community is the issue theme. It was compiled by guest editor
Dr. Ihor Bemko, Associate Professor of History, Edinboro University; and includes transcribed oral histories, the history of the Finnish community in Erie, a brief biography of Eugene Iverd, and more.
Call 814.454.1813 Ext.0 to order your copy.

Talk of the Town: The Evolution of Erie’s Telephone Service
Exhibit Runs Through April 27th

Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876. In 1877 the Bell Company installed the first four telephones in Erie. In 1897 Mutual Telephone Company was formed to compete with Bell. Competition between the two companies ends in 1926 when Mutual purchases Bell. Mutual’s first office was on the fourth floor of the Downing Building at East 10th and French Streets.

As you move through the exhibit you will learn about the changes in technology, the types of companies involved in the telephone industry, when the telephone service was first established in Erie, by who and how the Mutual Telephone Company started and evolved over time. You will also learn how the “telephone industry” is addressing current issues of competition for customers.To learn more about this and other temporary exhibits click here.

Dreams Afloat, Dr. Frew's June 2007 release, is now available. The book presents Erie's ship building heritage through an indepth look at the Nolan family. Saturday, June 30th 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Dr. Frew will be available for a book signing at the Erie History Center, 419 State Street. Book signing visitors will receive a 10% discount off the price of "Dreams Afloat."