Lunch and learn series honors heritage of Grey Towers

The Grey Towers Heritage Association (GTHA) brings the legacy of Grey Towers, built in 1886 by James and Mary Pinchot, and the U.S. Forest Service to life through lectures, historical reenactments and music. It takes modern day audiences back to the time when the conservation movement started in this country and shows how the Pinchot family influenced and still influences the American identity. GTHA was established in 2007 to assist the U.S. Forest Service in educating the public, promoting conservation values, and maintaining the historic integrity of the estate.

A legacy continues

Barbara J. Buchanan was the first non-Pinchot family member to run this 501 (c) 3 organization. After several others, Eileen Smith re-activated it and was its president for five years. Last year Jeff McQuaid took the helm and is enthusiastically growing the organization. McQuaid is an ardent conservationist himself and is passing his enthusiasm on to the community.

“Our membership has grown more than 800 percent over the last five years, and we recently received the largest single donation in recent history,” McQuaid shared. This allows GTHA to continue to sponsor events like the Festival of Wood, Edgar Allan Poe and Christmas Carol Readings, The Ice Cream Social, and many other beloved community events.

Grey Towers events attract attendees of all ages

In addition to the Lunch and Learn Series, one of the events McQuaid promoted is the Boy Scout Merit Badge, now held at Grey Towers where children learn about forests, forest management, tree identification and get to meet forest rangers. This is a very popular program and fills up quickly.

The Lunch and Learn series also fills up quickly. The first session this year featured Jared Simister from the U.S. Forest Service talking about the Pinchot Legacy in Pike County and its path to America’s 250 birthday.

The February lunch featured the Gardens of Grey Towers and showed how they were an extension of mansion life. Horticulturalist Beth Hawke provided tips for attendees’ own garden life.

Upcoming events highlight history, architecture and music

The March 14 lunch is a dramatization of the relationship between prominent landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead and a young Gifford Pinchot and how their collaboration at George Vanderbilt’s Biltmore Estate helped ignite the American Conservation movement. The “Biltmore Experiment” became a proving ground for modern forestry and shaped Pinchot’s lifelong mission as the first Chief of the U.S. Forest Service and Governor of Pennsylviania.

On April 14, “Music & Stories of Pennsylvania” will be the featured Lunch and Learn. Dave Matsinko, a singer and educator from Northeast Pennsylvania will blend history and song through traditional and modern acoustic music.

Both these sessions will be at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 110 West Catharine St. Milford, Pa. Tickets required: $20 for the public, $15 for members, $10 for students. Visit at https://shorturl.at/Zave8.