Monroeville Heritage Day spotlights appreciation of history, preservation

The Monroeville Historical Society’s mission is to share the community’s history with the community, and its Heritage Day does just that, by bringing part of the community’s past back to life.

“Visitors take a step back to frontier days when they visit the McGinley and McCully houses,” society corresponding coordinator Scott Philpot said. “Back to the time when our community first began.”

Philpot and his wife Nancy, who is the current treasurer, have been with the historical society for about eight years.

On Sept. 27, the historical society hosted its annual Heritage Day at the McGinley Stone House and McCully Log Home, which are staged to look like they would have back in the mid-1800s. The community that was once dotted with farms is now home to about 28,000 residents and is a shopping mecca of the eastern Pittsburgh suburbs.

In addition to guided tours of the landmarks, guests enjoyed various demonstrations such as leather tanning and bread making in the McGinley outdoor oven. A demonstration of flax scutching – a critical part of linen production which entails removing impurities, like straw and stems, from raw flax – also was offered.

Children’s activities included apple stamping, pumpkin painting, scarecrow making, pony rides and a petting zoo.

Local fiber artist Jennifer Lis once again spun yarn from wool. She has been sharing her craft with Heritage Day visitors for more than 20 years.

Society member Marina Elms displayed authentically constructed Victorian-era costumes that she made for herself and her family; Nancy Delverny of the Monroeville Arts Council also was on hand to provide calligraphy lessons.

Historic Barn and Farm Foundation Director Doug Plance was in attendance to discuss the importance of history and conservation. The nonprofit foundation is “dedicated to providing educational resources for the long-term preservation, protection and documentation of historic barns in Pennsylvania, and the agricultural heritage of the commonwealth.”

Plance has been involved with many museums and historical societies, and worked to preserve an 1820s log farm house in Boyce Park. He has conducted programming for both Historic Hanna’s Town in Hempfield and Depreciation Lands Museum in Allison Park.

The McGinley and McCully Homes, at 2381 McGinley Road, are two of the sites that the historical society oversees – along with the Old Stone Church and the McGregor Stone Bridge. Private tours are available for community groups.

For more information visit MonroevilleHistorical.org or MonroevilleHistoricalSociety on Facebook.