The Oil Region Alliance is pleased to send you its newsletter. If you have difficulty viewing this format via this email, it will be posted on www.oilregion.org soon. Also, depending upon your computer system, you may need to click on "view images" to see the images. Feel free to contact me at
tkresinski@oilregion.org with questions and comments concerning the newsletter.
If you wish to be removed from the Alliance's email distribution group, please email tkresinski@oilregion.org.
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 | | A scene from last year's Franklin on Ice |
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Alliance Nominates Oil Industry Journalist and Publisher for New State Historical Marker
by Melissa Mann, Project Manager for Heritage Development
The Oil Region Alliance recently nominated Patrick C. Boyle for a Pennsylvania state historical marker. In 1868, Mr. Boyle (who grew up in Butler County, PA) began his career in the burgeoning oil industry as a laborer, roustabout and pipeline man. He also worked as an oil scout for the Union Oil Company from 1882-1885. However, Boyle made his most significant contribution to the early oil industry as a journalist and publisher. He created the industry's two most influential trade publications in The Derrick based in Oil City, PA and The Oil and Gas Journal based in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Today, Oil & Gas Journal is the world's most widely-read petroleum industry publication. Mr. Boyle set a standard for editorial integrity and factual reporting that the industry continues to follow today. His legacy lives on as the fourth generation of his descendents continues to operate The Derrick and PennWell, the oil industry's leading publishing firm.
If approved, the new Boyle marker will be installed in downtown Oil City on the south side of Center Street within Creekside Park. This spot is immediately north of where The Derrick had its late nineteenth and early twentieth century editorial office and printing plant.
The Alliance is proud to have successfully coordinated the nomination and installation of 12 previous historical markers in the Oil Region National Heritage Area. Pennsylvania's state historical marker program is operated by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC).
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Designs Progressing for Visitor Center in Oil City
By Marilyn Black, VP for Heritage Development
Venango Museum of Art, Science & Industry has been selected as the host location for a new Oil Region Visitor Center in Oil City. The exhibits and literature display area will be installed on the main floor, between the retail shop and the restrooms.
Phoenixx Design Associates has provided updated designs, which incorporate banners suspended from the tall ceiling, interpretive panels along the walls, a Plexiglas display case, free-standing panels sitting on the floor, and a wooden lighted literature holder. Exhibit colors will be complimentary to the existing ones used in the adjoining permanent gallery for the museum.
Currently, fine-tuning of the selection of historic photographs and the wording of captions are underway, assisted by an area historian recently added to the creative team for this project. Mrs. Lois McElwee of Oil City will help identify images and verify accuracy of all information depicted in the visitor center exhibits. Some of the photographs and artifacts utilized will come from the museum's existing collection.
Fund-raising has begun for the production and installation of this new Visitor Center, which will be the third established within the Oil Region National Heritage Area. Of the estimated $80,000 cost, the Oil Region Alliance is providing $40,000 from the National Park Service, and Venango Museum is providing $5,000 from its foundation. Venango Museum is filing funding requests with several area charitable trusts and foundation for the $35,000 still needed. Families, businesses, and organizations desiring to contribute toward this project are encouraged to contact Mrs. Betsy Kellner at Venango Museum, 270 Seneca Street, Oil City, PA 16301; (814) 676-2007.
Final design steps should be completed by April, followed immediately by ORA issuing Requests For Proposals for the production and installation of the Visitor Center; such work is scheduled to occur during January/February/March of 2012 while the museum is typically closed for the winter. Depending on fund-raising success, the Visitor Center would then be dedicated when Venango Museum re-opens in April, 2012.
Funding for the Visitor Center design has been provided by the Pa. Department of Conservation and Natural Resources' Bureau of Recreation and Conservation, the National Park Service, and the Edith C. Justus Charitable Trust.
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Historic House Plaques Available
By Kim Harris, Project Manager for Heritage Development Dept
This is the year to help your home, commercial building, or church that is over 50 years of age tell its story! Apply now for an Oil Region National Heritage Area House Plaque. These plaques honor the structures that are 50 years or older as being significant to the region's history.
Eligibility requirements are simply that the structure be at least 50 years of age; located within the boundaries of the Oil Region National Heritage Area, with the exception of the City of Franklin, and Borough of Rocky Grove, which are covered by the Franklin Preservation Association; and the owner(s) must submit an application. The focus of eligibility is on the exterior of the structure. The building may have undergone upgrades throughout the years including additions, as long as the original footprint of the structure is visible.
Participation in the program places no official or legal restrictions on the sale or disposition of the building, or on interior and exterior structural and decorative work. The plaque simply identifies your house as being a historical structure within the Oil Heritage Region.
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The Brundred House
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A total of 12 Oil Region National Heritage Area House Plaques have been applied for; all have been approved. Receiving plaques in Oil City are these buildings: the Deming House, the Snodgrass House, the Berry House, the J.B. Forker House, the Swedish Evangelical Zion Lutheran Church, the Brundred House and the Tait House. In addition, Worden Chapel in Sugarcreek Borough, the Gates School in Jackson Township, the H.J. Crawford House in the Borough of Emlenton, the Davidson Farm in Richland Township, and the Tarbell House in Titusville have received plaques. Each of these structures tells a unique and interesting story about its history.
Franklin Bronze Plaques in Franklin, PA, whose work is known worldwide, produce the custom bronze plaques, which weigh approximately nine pounds and measure approximately 9 inches by 9 inches.
The program has a current fee of $100, which includes a non-refundable $25 application fee (due at the time of application submission), and $75 upon approval of the application (due prior to ordering of the plaque). This reduced fee will increase to $200 once the remaining initial wave of plaques is issued.
Additional information regarding the program can be obtained by contacting Kim Harris, Project Manager at 814-677-3152; or email kharris@oilregion.org. An application and brochure may be downloaded soon from www.oilregion.org .
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The Alliance Thanks These New and
Renewal Members
Oil Creek Family Campground
Amazing Foods Catering Co. & Cafe
Robert W. McFate, esq.
FICDA
Penn State Cooperative Extension
Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites
Kozy Rest Kampground
Hager's Peach Basket B & B
Friedhaber's
Caldwell Printing Services
IPEG/Conair
Kapp Alloy & Wire Co. , Inc.
University of Pittsburgh at Titusville
Cranberry Mall
Venango County Fair
Friends of Drake Well
Prototyping Rapid
Crawford & Fitch - ENT
Baytree Farm
Gill Consulting
Herbert, Rowland & Grubic
Bert Klapec, Inc.
Titusville Redevelopment Authority
Specialty Fabrication & Powder Coating
Morrison Funeral Home
National Fuel Gas
Keith Pemrick, esq.
Pumping Jack Museum & Historical Assoc.
Central Electric Cooperative
Oil City Arts Council
Oil City Warehouse Mall
Seneca Printing Express
Titusville Historical Society
Stubler Drive-Thru Beverage
Stifel Nicolaus
Allegheny Valley Trails Association
Matric Limited
Small Business Development Center
The Reiland Farm & Shoppe
Struxures LLC
First United National Bank
RenovEx (Goss Gas)
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Toni Kresinski, Meetings & Events Manager
814-677-3152 extension 110
Oil Region Alliance of Business, Industry & Tourism
217 Elm Street, Oil City, PA 16301
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| | Get out in the great outdoors and enjoy wintertime fun in the Oil Region! |
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January 2011
Volume 7, Issue 1
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 Wintertime Getaways in the Oil Heritage Region
By Betty Squire, VP of Tourism
As you may have already discovered on your own, the warmest family moments don't always happen in the summer! Pennsylvania's unique four-season changes make us want to get out and enjoy the sun on a snowy day.
Our Oil Creek State Park offers a great winter playground. You can go cross-country skiing; try winter geocaching; bundle up and walk the recreational trail; or just enjoy the beautiful winter landscape. For more information visit http://.dcnr.state.pa.us/or phone Oil Creek State Park at 814-676-5915.
Two Mile Run County Park also offers many exciting ways to enjoy the cold-weather outdoor fun! It is the perfect place for a wintry adventure! Take the sled for a spin, strap on your cross country skis or for the more adventuresome folks, do a little ice fishing on the lake. For an even better adventure, check out the rental of the farmhouse. For more information visit www.twomilerun.net or phone 814.676.6116.
And wintertime is not just for the outdoors excitement. Art warms the soul and what better place to visit than the National Transit Building where the Oil Valley Center for the Arts has an array of art to suit everyone's special tastes. Also make plans to attend the Oil City Arts Council 3rd Annual Bluegrass Festival on February 18, 19, and 20 at the America's Best Hotel (Arlington Hotel). And on the second Saturday each month open studio is held at the National Transit Building.
Or if you want to celebrate Valentine's Day, why not make reservations today to spend a special evening at one of our local Bed & Breakfasts or National Chain Hotels for a retreat close to home.
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Tarbell House Exterior Finally Gets a Makeover
By Mike Henderson, Project Manager for Heritage Development Department
 | Tarbell House
January, 2011 |
With all of the major exterior renovations complete on the Tarbell House, the time finally came to put a fresh coat of paint on Ida Tarbell's lovely childhood home at 324 East Main Street, Titusville. So last fall, with the help of funding from the Fleming Family Foundation and the Phillips Charitable Trust, the team from Vince's Painting and Wallcoverings restored the house to its original colors. Based on a paint analysis performed by Welsh Color & Conservation, Inc., the original colors were pale yellow with trim in grayish reddish brown, and sashes in strong reddish brown. Still sporting its original wood clapboard siding and now over 140 years old, we are very pleased with our preservation efforts.
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Follow the Alliance on Twitter at http://twitter.com/oilregion
and on Facebook
Oil Region Alliance
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To see upcoming events
in the Oil Region, go to www.oilregion.org
and check out the
"Event Calendar" on
the home page.
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If you have suggestions or new ideas you would like to share, feel free to email them to
chairman@oilregion.org.
We welcome input from you, the Oil Region community.
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Alliance Board of Directors
The Alliance is fortunate to call on some of the most distinguished citizens of the area, its Board of Directors, for guidance. Their visionary reach and wise counsel are among its greatest assets. For a listing of the board members, visit www.oilregion.org, click on "About ORA," then "Board Directory."
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FLY FKL
Gulfstream International Airlines serves Venango Regional Airport with daily flights between Franklin and Cleveland -- Continental Airlines' hub -- with connections to more than 60 locations. Travelers can park for free at the airport
while on their trip. There are same day departure and arrival capabilities.
The Alliance urges business and pleasure travelers to use this valuable asset when planning trips.
To FLY Franklin (FKL), simply work with your travel agent, go to your favorite travel web site, or call O.C. Bell at the airport at (814) 432-5333.
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Thanks to the Oil Region Alliance's Major Members.
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