From staff reports
Drake Well Museum will hold a Winter Academy with two Zoom sessions planned in January and February.
The academy program will begin at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 5, via Zoom with interactive presentations on things that take place in the Oil Region.
Registration for each individual program is required and is free.
On Jan. 5, Mitch Littler will present “In Your Blood.” Littler, an Oil City native and former oil field worker, will share his story working in the oilfields of Crawford and Venango counties.
Littler will read selected writings about his formative experiences as an oil worker and discuss the stories, culture and lessons he learned in the northwestern Pennsylvania oilfields.
The second program of the Winter Academy will be held Thursday, Feb. 9, and will feature a Zoom presentation on “Birds of Venango County” by Jeffrey Hall.
Hall, a retired biology teacher, is president of the Bartramian Audubon Society and an active member of Seneca Rocks Audubon Society.
For more than four decades, a group of birders have been observing, documenting and studying local birds.
Their efforts culminated in the publication of “Birds of Venango County” in 2020 by bird expert Gary Edwards, with the collaboration of Hall.
Drawing on his own experiences as well as the book and illustrating his points with his photographs, Hall will share surprising facts and stories about the birds seen in the area, highlight some of the birds that are “specialties” of Venango County and introduce some of the rare birds that visit the county only occasionally.
To register for either program, email ra-phdrakewell@pa.gov to receive the Zoom meeting link.
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