March is Women’s History Month. We know many groups are exploring the suffrage movement this year, and with that in mind, you may wish to check out “Let Our Vote Be Cast:” African American Women and the Suffrage Movement in Virginia and Fighting the Long Fight: West Virginia Women and the Right to Vote. Colonial Williamsburg is also hosting a bevy of programming for March, which can be found on their website. For more general topics related to women’s history, the National Trust has put together a page of Distinctive Destinations: Women’s Heritage sites across the country.
The Virginia Museum of the Civil War will present a History Day program from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 28 at 8895 George Collins Parkway, New Market. This event is open to families seeking a day of fun, exploration and learning for hands-on activities for all ages such as joining the army and learning to drill, dancing the Virginia Reel, have fun with 19th-century games and crafts, watch the Emmy Award-winning film “Field of Lost Shoes,” take a guided tour through the battlefield, learn 19th-century cooking techniques, visit displays from local history and ecology organizations, enjoy lunch and home-baked goodies from the food booth. Registration is $5 per person for ages 6 and older and required before March 20. Call 866-515-1864 or visit the website.
In Richmond, you can experience some of the finest ornamental ironwork in the state. If the article piques your curiosity, check the Vintage Virginia website to see if a tour will coincide to your next visit to Richmond, or just enjoy more photos of the finely-crafted wrought iron in our state’s capitol. You can also see more photos inspired by the book Cast and Wrought – The Architectural Metalwork of Richmond, Virginia: in this blog, or purchase a copy from Amazon. (Don’t forget to use AmazonSmile and make PHW your charity of choice if you’d like to help us out a bit, too!)
The American Battlefield Trust is once again organizing Park Day across the nation on April 4. As stated on their website, “Since 1996, the American Battlefield Trust has sponsored Park Day, an annual hands-on preservation event to help Civil War — and now Revolutionary War & War of 1812 — battlefields and historic sites take on maintenance projects large and small. Activities are chosen by each participating site to meet their own particular needs and can range from raking leaves and hauling trash to painting signs and buildings trails.” Visit the site to find volunteer opportunities near you!
For our West Virginia members, the Old Opera House Theatre Guild, a volunteer organization essential to running the historic theater in Charles Town, WV, is now offering night meetings for those who cannot attend the standard lunchtime meetings. These nightly meetings will alternate with the luncheons. The first night meeting was held March 12 in the Old Opera House Theatre, 204 N. George St., Charles Town, WV. If you are interested in volunteering, you may want to watch the Guild’s Facebook page for information.