Arts & Entertainment
Dolly Madison Comes to Forks
Madison's story to be told at Historical Society meeting
Dolly Madison will make an appearance tonight in Forks Township. No, not the real Dolly Madison but a historical re-enactor, Gloria Miller.
Miller is slated to appear at the Forks Township Historical Society at 7pm in the township Community Center, 500 Zucksville Road. The society meets on the fourth Monday of each month.
“Gloria Miller will be telling Dolly Madison’s story in the first person at this month’s program,” said Melissa Rabinski, the society's vice president.
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Miller is quite active in dressing the part and telling the stories of America’s historical women.
“She has done the Heritage Days in Easton in the past,” said Rabinski.
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Everyone is invited to attend the meeting. The society will also hold its regular business meeting after the storytelling.
Current members of the society, which was founded in 2002, collect documents, papers, letters, photos, artifacts and anything else about the history of Forks.
“We restored the Spring House near Tatamy,” said Rabinski. “It’s the little stone building right beside the road.”
The Spring House, at 3300 Bushkill Drive, was built over free-flowing spring water and is sandwiched between the road and Bushkill Creek. There is a small parking area and a picnic table. The society has an opening once in a while for the general public, Rabinski added.
The organization also participates in Forks Township Community Days each year with tours of the Michael and Gertrude Fraisz log and stone cabin. Members assist with tours of the restored building, which is in the township park. They dress up in period costumes and show visitors what it was like to live in the area in the 1700s. To see this building, enter the Community Center from Zucksville Road. The log cabin is on the right.
Frick Transfer, a township moving and rigging company, donated $30,000 for the restoration. The Historical Society schedules tours and offers lectures on this earliest example of Forks homes.
Another project that the society took on was the restoration of a merchant’s wagon. The restored wagon can be seen in the entrance lobby of the township municipal building. It is a one-horse wagon with roll-up curtains on the side. The Amish in Lancaster did the restoration.
For more information on the society and future events, contact Rabinski at 610-253-1035.