Television station WBRE interviewed Taber Museum Director Gary Parks as a part of a show featuring the things to do in Williamsport during the Little League World Series in 2019.
The full show was broadcast on Sunday, July 29, 2019. In the interview, Gary outlines the best features of the Museum. See the clip below:
“The Thomas T. Taber Museum of the Lycoming County Historical Society has a rich history. It interprets the entire county. The county is the largest county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania - its over 1200 square miles. And so we talk about the development of the county from the very earliest occupation by the Native Americans, through the early settlement, and then finally through the logging and lumber era of the 1870’s, in which people made vast fortunes and built millionaire's houses on Millionaires Row.
“I think one of the highlights of the tour is our toy train collection downstairs. We have over 300 model trains that were collected by Larue Shempp. We actually have generations of families coming back to enjoy the trains.”
“Our fine art collection- Severin Roesen was a painter who came here during the logging and lumbering era. He started painting these beautiful still lives of fruits and flowers. You know, he really was not appreciated. He was kind of the local drunk, and so everyone had a Severin Roesen in their household, because he had debts all over town. But then in the 1960’s Jackie Kennedy refurbished the White House with two Severin Roesen paintings, and suddenly the price tag went up. We are very lucky to have one in our collection,
“I think I appreciate the general store. It's a recreation of the Ralston General Store. You know during the time period, the general store was the gathering place for the whole community - you come not only to pick up essentials, but the post office was in the general store, so people congregated there - they stayed to play checkers; they talked about the local gossip; and they met one another in a friendly setting”