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Blue Heron Decoration Day at Big South Fork, May 7
STEARNS, KY — Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area will hold the second annual Blue Heron Decoration Day event on Saturday, May 7, from 12:00 to 4:30 p.m. (ET). The event is hosted at the Blue Heron Interpretive Center. Park visitors and families that once lived and worked in the Stearns Coal mining communities will join together for an afternoon of food, music, and fellowship.
Participants are encouraged to bring their own picnic lunch or food and drink will be available from a concession stand. There will be presentations from National Park Service resource experts, coal mining interpretative programs, as well as live music from the South Fork Jammers.
The park’s museum collection contains over 300 oral histories from local people and many historic photographs relating to the area. The National Park Service is interested in obtaining additional copies of historic photographs of the people, places and events that occurred in the Big South Fork area prior to the park's establishment.
If you have photographs that you would like to have added to the National Park Service’s museum collection, please take them with you to the event. During Decoration Day, park staff will be available to copy historic photographs of the Big South Fork area. Photo scanning will occur at the Blue Heron Depot (Mine 18) from 12:00 to 4:30 p.m. It would be most helpful if photo owners can identify the places or people in the photograph, and you will need to sign a release for the Park Service to use the photos in documenting the area’s history. In return for scanning a photo, the park will provide the photo owner with a free archival copy of the photograph and a digital copy of the photo if desired (please bring a CD, flash drive or provide your email address). The Big South Fork staff expresses its appreciation for the opportunity to help preserve the rich cultural history of the area.
Decoration Day is free of charge and wheelchair accessible. Everyone is welcome. This program is accessible by car or by the Big South Fork Scenic Railway. For directions or additional information, please call the Blue Heron Interpretive Center at (606) 376-3787. For tickets on the Big South Fork Scenic Railway, please call (606) 376-5330. For more information about Decoration Day, please visit www.nps.gov.
Published May 4, 2016 |
