A Foxhowe Feature Film

In anticipation of Ben Bradlee, Jr.’s visit, Foxhowe presented the film Spotlight, winner of the 2015 Academy Award for Best Picture. The film chronicles The Boston Globe’s “Spotlight” investigative journalism team, the oldest such  team in America, and its revelations of systemic child molestation and cover-up within the Boston Catholic Archdiocese. The stories brought long-hidden abuse to the national consciousness and netted a Pulitzer Prize for the team that pursued the story. The film stars Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams. Movie Preview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwdCIpbTN5g

Investigative Journalism – Ben Bradlee, Jr.

Ben Bradlee, Jr.’s position as The Boston Globe’s Deputy Managing Editor put him at the helm of its 2003 Pulitzer Prize winning team investigation into the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston’s repeated cover-ups of sexual abuse of children by priests. Most of Bradlee’s life-long career in journalism was at The Boston Globe, where he worked as a reporter and editor from 1979-2004. In 2013 Bradlee published his biography of Boston Red Sox icon Ted Williams, an effort which took ten years of in-depth research. Bradlee will discuss the evolving importance of newspapers and investigative journalism.

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Editorial Cartoonist – Signe Wilkinson

Quaker Signe Wilkinson found a target for her piercing wit through editorial cartooning, where she became the first female cartoonist to win the Pulitzer Prize in that genre. From a happy freelancer at the Philadelphia Inquirer to a full-time job at San Jose Mercury News and, since 1985, at The Philadelphia Daily News, Wilkinson has crafted pithy, cartoons. Now retired, Signe continues to chronicle and critique the issues of the day in her cartoons, syndicated nationally and internationally. Signe gave us her unique take as a Quaker and humorist on today’s issues in her talk,  “A Cartoon Guide to Politics, Life and Also Some Important Things.”

Kettle Creek Environmentalist

The Conservation Foundation joined Foxhowe in bringing a speaker from the Monroe County Conservation District’s Kettle Creek Environmental Education Center to reveal some of the misinformation and mysteries of Pennsylvania black bears, with tips on what to do when you encounter them. Roaming the forests of Buck Hill, as well as sometimes denning underneath the porches of its cottages, these bears both thrill and annoy their human neighbors. Children were enthralled by this presentation, which was followed by the Lot and Cot Ice Cream Social.

Stargazing at Metztgar’s Farm – Rich Grebb

In partnership with the Buck Hill Conservation Foundation, Foxhowe offered a night of stargazing for adults and children. Astronomer Rich Grebb aimed his telescope and his laser pointer at the galaxies beyond for this family-friendly event. From atop Metzgar’s Farm, we viewed Saturn and its rings; the Hercules Star Cluster; the constellations Scorpius and Sagittarius; the Summer Triangle and star patterns; and bright stars Vega, Deneb, Altair, Arcturus, and North Star Polaris. Grebb taught astronomy for 33 years in the Pennsylvania public schools and directed the E.F. Groner Planetarium in Stroudsburg.

The State of the World – Lord Mark Malloch-Brown

Mark Malloch-Brown’s Twitter timeline taps him as “Following the world: through its politics, development and conflicts.” Such a generalization is the tip of the categorical iceberg for an international, live action-figure. Development Specialist at the World Bank and United Nations; Minister of State for Africa, Asia and the United Nations; 2nd Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations; Administrator of the United Nations Development Program; and Member of the House of Lords, Buck Hill’s own Malloch-Brown has held weighty titles to headline his even weightier lifetime of global work. He took charge of field operations for Cambodian refugees in Thailand and has consulted on election campaign methodologies in such countries as Chile, Peru, Columbia and Bolivia. A man of vocalized conviction in every role, from the United Nations to the government chambers of the UK Malloch-Brown discussed the state of the world from an international perspective.

Snake Handler & Wildlife Expert – Pete Mackevich

Wildlife expert Pete Mackevich has over forty years of experience sharing his passion for forest-dwelling creatures. Mackevich is a popular local figure who uses stories and humor to teach groups how to identify (and avoid) the timber rattlesnake and copperhead, the two poisonous snakes indigenous to the Pocono Mountains. He thrills onlookers with his traveling menagerie of all sorts of creepy-crawly critters, including an alligator!

Jammin’ and Pickin’ with Lindsay Lou & the Flatbellys

A fellow musician describes Lindsay Lou & the Flatbellys’ music as whispering, thumping, and hollering listeners into “a feeling of happiness that formerly only dusty dance-floors, the sweeping shuffle of boots, and the afterglow of moonshine could conjure up.” This Michigan-rooted group has toured from Scotland and Germany to bluegrass-lovin’ festivals throughout the USA. Their outpouring of soul, blues, folk, jazz and even traces of techno-beat pulses from a musical toolbox that includes a mandolin and banjo. Named one of NPR Music’s 12 best live performance sessions of 2015, this ensemble will raise the bar and the roof at the Tennis Tea.

Hike: Geologic History of Buck Hill – Jeff Fox, Geologist

The rock layers exposed on the walls of the Upper and Lower Falls are like chapters of a great novel containing important insights about our planet’s history  in this case, a chapter about the Appalachians several hundred million years ago. Jeff Fox offered his insights about the geologic history of Buck Hill on an amble along the Falls. Fox received his PhD from Columbia University, spent 42 months at sea in pursuit of Earth’s secrets, and for almost 40 years has worked in academia at SUNY Albany, Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, and Texas A&M University. He also served as Director of Science Operations for a series of international science programs that had as a goal to read the record of Earth’s history.

Climate Change Peeling Back Earth’s History – Jeff Fox, Geologist

The international scientific Ocean Drilling Program (ODP), supported by a collaboration of more than 20 countries, harvests the record of Earth’s history that is written with great clarity in the rocks and sediments of the global ocean floor. By deciphering this record, scientists have peeled back the pages of Earth’s history over the last 80 million years. Fox, who served for 13 years as Director of Science Operations for ODP, will discuss two major aspects of our planet’s history: a record of the last days of the large reptiles 65 million years ago, and the history of our planet’s climate.

Labor Day Picnic with Wyoming Valley Barbershop Harmony Chorus – In Memory of Rob Dalziel

The sounds of Broadway soared from atop Metzgar’s Farm as we bade farewell to the 2017 summer season. In memory of Buck Hill cottager Rob Dalziel, former chair of the Buck Hill Community Services Committee and a barbershop singer himself, the Community Services Committee and Foxhowe presented the Wyoming Valley Barbershop Harmony Chorus. The group enlivened the annual Labor Day picnic with its a cappella music in the uniquely American barbershop style.