15

Making Connections September 15-17, 2013

Quality Inn & Conference Center

Franklin, PA

Mobile Workshops

Sunday, September 15th—12:00 pm-4:00 pm

(.1 CEUs)

Trains, Trails and History in the Valley that Changed the World Dr. Dave Howes, University Professor, Department of Anthropology, Geography

and Earth Science, Clarion University; Kim Harris, Project Manager, Oil Region

Alliance of Business, Industry & Tourism; and Steve Schenck, Allegheny Valley

Trails Association

This mobile workshop includes a tour through the beautiful Oil Creek State

Park where the modern oil industry was born. The workshop consists of a

tour of the newly renovated Drake Well Museum (www.drakewell.org), a

ride on the Oil Creek and Titusville Railroad (OC&T) (www.octrr.org), a

stop at the former oil boom town’s Petroleum Center, and a 10 mile bike

ride on the Oil Creek State Park bicycle trail

(www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/findapark/ oilcreek/).

The museum is operated by the PA Historic and Museum Commission on the

site of a working replica of the 1859 Edwin Drake oil well. Participants will

travel by personal transportation to the Drake Well Museum, 202 Museum

Lane, Titusville, PA, 16354 on Sunday, September 15th, meeting there at

12:00 pm for a one-hour tour of the museum and grounds.

Petroleum Centre Train Station

Passengers with Bicycles

photo by Betty Squire

At 1:15 pm, the OC&T Railroad train arrives at the museum; participants will

travel back in time by either riding the train from the 1892-vintage freight

station or biking themselves 10 miles through the Oil Creek Valley. The

bicycle trail is on the first rail tracks in the region and includes many

interpretive signs regarding the early industry. Bikers will complete their ride

at the Petroleum Center where they can tour the train station, see historical

displays, an exciting diorama, and an interactive computer information center.

They can also walk the boardwalk through the ghost town, reading

descriptions and viewing historic photos of the town in its boom days. The

train riders will rendezvous with the bikers at the Petroleum Center, cyclists

can put their bikes on the train, and both groups will return to Drake Well.

Ambitious cyclists can bike the 10 miles back to Drake Well if desired. The

total train ride is three hours and is narrated by tour guides.

Sunday, September 15th—12:00 pm-4:00 pm

(.1 CEUs)

Bridges and Tunnels on Rail-Trails Jim Holden, President, Allegheny Valley Trails Association

This mobile workshop consists of a bicycle ride that begins at the hotel,

travels through Bicycle Friendly Franklin on a Safe Route to School, and

continues either 16 miles or 36 miles on two paved rail trails constructed

and maintained by the all-volunteer Allegheny Valley Trails Association

(www.avta-trails.org). The ride will cross three former railroad bridges and

explore two tunnels, one original and one rebuilt for trail use. Participants

will mount personal or borrowed bicycles in the hotel parking lot and

be escorted through Franklin by sheriff’s deputies on bicycles along a

designated bicycle route to the Allegheny River Trail (ART). The Allegheny

Valley Railroad hauled both freight (lots of oil) and passengers to and from

Pittsburgh for more than 100 years and is now the ART, which parallels the

Wild and Scenic Allegheny River. Five miles downstream from Franklin,

the ART intersects the former Jamestown, Franklin, and Clearfield Railroad,

now the Sandy Creek Trail (SCT), which crosses over the ART on the 1907

Belmar Bridge. Riders will climb a stairway to the SCT, explore the mammoth

Interior tunnel along the Allegheny River Trail

photo by Michael Henderson

bridge and enjoy the view of the river and valley, and then ride two miles east on the SCT. The trail crosses two former railroad

bridges over East Sandy Creek and then encounters a 1,000 foot 1907 tunnel. This tunnel was reconstructed in 2005 by building a

12x12’ concrete tunnel inside the badly deteriorated 30x30’ timber and brick lined original. The void was filled with recycled tires and

sealed into the mountain, resulting in a national design award.

The ride then returns to the ART at the Belmar Bridge, where riders may opt to return to the hotel (a total 16 mile ride), or turn down

river to the Kennerdell Tunnel, a 3,350’ brick and timber lined 1915 structure with a bend – so it is really dark and requires a good

light to explore. This ride adds 20 miles to the ride for a total of 36 miles.

Monday, September 16th—1:30 pm-5:30 pm

(.1 CEUs)

Canoe or Kayak the Wild and Scenic Allegheny River,

Franklin to Fishermen’s Cove Dr. Sue Ann Curtis, Board Member, Fisherman’s Cove Preservation Foundation;

Steve Schenck, Allegheny Valley Trails Association; and

Bill Weller, Owner, Franklin Service & Supply, Inc.

This mobile workshop is an 8 mile, three hour, leisurely float (depending on water

flow) by canoe or kayak on the Wild and Scenic Allegheny River.

Participants will meet in the hotel lobby and be shuttled one mile to the Franklin 8th

Street launch. A description and photos of this section of the river are available on

the website of the local outfitter (www.oarsontheallegheny.com). The float will pass

under the spectacular Belmar Bridge, a former railroad bridge that is now a pedestrian

crossing on the Sandy Creek Trail (www.avta-trails-org) and pass Indian God Rock,

which is on the National Register of Historic Places. French explorer Celeron placed a

lead plate at the site in 1749 to claim the region.

Allegheny River Kayakers

photo by Michael Henderson

The destination is a PA Fish & Boat Commission boat launch at Fisherman’s Cove, a 207 acre parcel of archeological and historical

significance. The land was previously owned by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and is now held by the non-profit Fisherman’s

Cove Preservation Foundation. Studies of the property show that it was intermittently used over the past 9,000 years by the region’s

indigenous American Indian populations as well as by early settlers and their descendants

(www.ermanscovepreservationfoundation.webs.com). The outfitter will meet the participants at the boat launch and bus them back to the

hotel.

Monday, September 16th—1:30 pm-5:30 pm

(.1 CEUs)

Discover Regional History Through Interpretive Panels on the

Allegheny River Trail Jim Holden, President, Allegheny Valley Trails Association

Participants in this mobile workshop will discover some of the history and

natural heritage of the region while biking on the Allegheny River Trail

(ART) (www.avta-trails.org). The ride of approximately 15 miles on

paved rail-trail will encounter five interpretive panels at critical historical

sites to view, study, and discuss.

Allegheny Valley Trails Association

Installing Interpretive Panels photo

by Debra Frawley

The tour begins at the hotel, rides through Bicycle Friendly Franklin on a

Safe Route to School, crossing the Wild and Scenic Allegheny River to

the ART. Riding upriver to Oil City, the tour guide will provide

information on three historical sites interpreted by panels including how

the panels were researched, located, and constructed. The panels include

information about the Eclipse Refinery, which was at one time the largest

in the world, the estate of oil baron and United States Senator Joe Sibley,

and the Wolfs Head Refinery.

Riding down river on the return to Franklin, cyclists will encounter the former Big Rock Bridge for both trolley cars and automobiles,

and the site of an oil well owned by John Wilkes Booth just prior to the assassination of President Lincoln. The ride should take 2.5

hours and will end at the hotel.

Monday, September 16th—1:30 pm-5:30 pm

(.1 CEUs)

Hike in Clear Creek State Forest, Kennerdell Tract Judy Hanninen, Treasurer, Allegheny Valley Trails Association; Jim Holden, President, Allegheny Valley

Trails Association; Karen Counselman, Treasurer, Franklin Industrial & Commercial Development

Authority; and Caryl Holden, Allegheny Valley Trails Association

This mobile workshop is a 2-mile hike (round trip) to the Kennerdell Overlook, which provides a

spectacular view of the Allegheny River Valley and the village of Kennerdell. Download the map at

www.dcnr.state.pa.us/cs/groups/public/documents/document/D_000873.pdf .

Participants will meet in the lobby of the hotel and be shuttled to a trailhead on State Game Lands

(off the Dennison Run Road). The hike is on a trail through the State Game Lands 39 and the State

Forest Kennerdell Overlook Trail, which are both relatively flat. The significance of this parcel of

State Forest is that it is actively managed for multi-use by equestrians, mountain bikers, hikers,

hunters, and primitive campers. Hikers will be joined by horseback and mountain bike rider(s).

Information about the management of the Forest and its trails will be provided by a PA Department

of Conservation & Natural Resources State Forest Ranger.

Hikers

photo by Michael Henderson

Monday, September 16th—1:30 pm-5:30 pm

(.1 CEUs)

Explore French Creek by Kayak, “One of the Last Great Places,” and

Tour a Conservation Easement Jim Holden, President, Allegheny Valley Trails Association

This mobile workshop combines a 4-mile canoe/kayak ride on French Creek with a hay

ride tour of a farm under a conservation easement.

Whitewater Kayaker on French Creek

photo by Michael Henderson

French Creek “is arguably the most ecologically significant waterway in Pennsylvania,

containing more species of fish and freshwater mussels than any other comparably

sized stream in the Commonwealth and possibly the northeastern United States,”

according to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy

(www.paconserv.org/78/). Participants will meet the outfitter at the lobby of the Quality

Inn and travel by bus to Utica, (about 8 miles), for launch. The one-hour float

(depending on water flow) is through a mostly pristine section of this extraordinary and

historic stream where a 21-year-old George Washington traveled by canoe in December

of 1753 on a mission from the Governor of Virginia to inform the French of the British

intention to establish control of the region.

The canoes/kayaks will be beached at Takitezy and participants will load onto a hay wagon for a short ride to the Holden Farm, a

122- acre conservation easement held by the French Creek Valley Conservancy. Besides being a donated conservation easement,

this family farm is an organic operation with beef cattle, pigs, chickens, wood heat and solar electric. The “no surface disturbance”

gas lease may be of interest as well.

Tuesday, September 17th—8:15 am-10:30 am

(.1 CEUs)

Tour a Biomass Densification Facility Using Switchgrass at Ernst Seeds Dan Arnett, Biomass Coordinator, Ernst Conservation Seeds, Manager, Ernst Biomass, LLC, and Vice Chairman, Biomass Thermal

Energy Council

This mobile workshop will visit and tour an innovative research project using native switchgrass to produce a biomass suitable

as a fuel for biomass boilers in power generation facilities, greenhouses, schools, and even some residential settings. The

workshop will also visit at the trailhead of the Ernst Trail.

Ernst Conservation Seeds is one of the largest and most experienced switchgrass seed producers in the world with more than 20

years of experience in establishing, managing, and harvesting switchgrass seed and biomass (www.ernstseeds.com). In recent

years, this native warm season grass has attracted much attention as a potential source of alternative energy.

Beginning in 2008, Ernst Seeds purchased equipment to begin research in a process they call “Biomass Densification,” converting

switchgrass with a low bulk density to a more dense form suitable as a fuel source. They have purchased equipment called a

“biomass briquetter” to compress switchgrass into briquettes or “pucks” (www.ernstseeds.cm/biomass).

Calvin Ernst has also been a trail supporter, donating abandoned railroad property for what is now the Ernst Trail, a 6-mile paved rail-

trail (and growing) through Ernst property.

Participants will be transported to the Ernst Seeds facility near Meadville, a ride of about 30 minutes, stop briefly at the trailhead,

tour the facility, be informed about the current status of the project and the process, and ride back to the hotel