The Taber Museum hosted Mark W. Avery at its May Coffee Hour on Thursday, May 14, 2026. He discussed the life and death of Boyd Cummings, who donated the land which would become Brandon Park, named in honor of Cummings’ sister Jane Cummings Brandon.
Mark Avery was born in San Diego but his family is firmly rooted in Lycoming County. He reminisces, “The bulk of my childhood was spent living in the Williamsport area and my fondest memories are from Baldwin Street (where my grandparents lived) and Brandon Park.” He admits he loves all historic things which led to he and his cousin Shane Collins ‘re-discovering’ the Allegheny crash site from 1959, facilitating a memorial to the site and developing a website dedicated to the crew and passengers. His current project is to honor Boyd Cummings with a tombstone in Wildwood Cemetery, the burial site apparently never having one.
The lecture, part of the Museum’s celebration of America250 was sponsored by a grant from the Lycoming County Visitors Bureau Travel & Tourism as well as a generous grant from Catherine Burns Insurance Services of Muncy.
