I Like Pike: News and notes from Pike County, Pa.

volunteer now and harvest love later

The Milford Garden Club Community Garden club, in partnership with Home Depot and Milford Township produced over 300 pounds of fresh vegetables, herbs and flowers for the benefit of the Ecumenical Food Pantry last year.

Home Depot has renewed its grant to the club this year. Now the club is able to quadruple the size of its growing space in Milford Township.

The club needs volunteers to water and nurture the garden throughout the summer. This volunteer service could be one day a month, one day a week or just one day. It is a great experience for all ages.

The club will soon plant the flower urns throughout Milford, and is preparing for the Secret Garden Tour  later in the growing season.

To help with the garden project or join the club, call  570.296.5326

Did someone say cake?

The Malibu Dude Ranch is hosting a Rodeo Kickoff Party Saturday, May 4 with TLC’s Cake Boss revealing a rodeo-inspired cake, and a bull and bronc Clinic open to the public.

The Cake Boss reality show is filming an episode for the American Pro Rodeo Association. The cake will be delivering the cake to Malibu Ranch on Saturday and revealed at 5 p.m.

It kicks off the 2013 rodeo season at the ranch.

Riders from the American Pro Rodeo Association will participate in a bull and bronc clinic between 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. Participants will learn the skills of riding a bull in a rodeo. Registrations still accepted Saturday morning.

Ranch owner Dr. Allan Detweiler welcomes the public to watch the clinic for free.

The ranch is also offering special weekend accommodation packages during the event, which includes meals and use of all amenities like horseback trail rides, indoor heated pool, rowboat on the lake, shooting range, tennis courts and more.

Malibu Ranch is an authentic working ranch at 351 Foster Hill Road, three miles from Milford.

Look for the summer series American Pro Rodeo Association shows at the ranch every Saturday starting June 29 through Labor Day.  Rodeos will start at 7 p.m.  Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for kids age 12–12 under 5 free starting Jun 29- through Labor Day.

An original documentary film, “Seeking the Greatest Good,” to air on WVIA Television, chronicles the legacy of Gifford Pinchot’s conservation philosophy, and celebrates its value for understanding and solving the conservation challenges of our own era. 

The broadcast premiere of “Seeking the Greatest Good” is Monday, April 22 at 7 p.m. on WVIA-TV.

Milford native Gifford Pinchot was the first American forester, and helped establish the National Forests and the US Forest Service, where he served as its first Chief under President Theodore Roosevelt.  Pinchot advocated for the sustainable management of natural resources for the continuing benefit of the nation as a whole, “the greatest good to the greatest number for the
longest run.”

These principles of practical conservation have emerged
as an effective way to address the kind of complex conservation
issues we face today.

This one-hour high definition film cinematically tells Pinchot’s
life story, career achievements, development of his principles and
connection to the Grey Towers National Historic Site in Milford,
through archival documents, film photographs, and interviews
with historian Char Miller; New York Times contributing reporter and award-winning author, Tim Egan; Theodore Roosevelt IV; Yale
University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies Dean (retired),
John Gordon; Forest Service Chief, Tom Tidwell; Pinchot Institute
president Al Sample; Grey Towers director Allison Stewart; and Pinchot
family representatives.

On September 24, 1963, President Kennedy addressed a crowd on the lawn of Grey Towers, the Pinchot home in Milford, Pennsylvania, hailing Gifford
Pinchot as “a practical idealist.”  The President was there to recognize
the Pinchot family for their gift of Grey Towers to the nation, and
dedicate the Pinchot Institute for Conservation Studies. 

Grey Towers serves not only as a national landmark, but also as a metaphorical covenant to the conservationist values of Gifford Pinchot and a haven for the democratic ideals engrained in his legacy. 

To ensure the continuation of these values, the Pinchot family, the Forest Service, and leading environmental thinkers of the time established the Pinchot Institute to do research, policy analysis, and conservation education.

“Seeking the Greatest Good” also showcases the value of the Pinchot
Institute’s research and outreach programs to communities and the
sustainable management of local resources, from the waters of the Delaware
River to the forests of the Pacific Northwest and Ecuador.

Encore presentations of “Seeking the Greatest Good” can be seen on
Thursday, April 25 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, April 28 at 3 p.m. on WVIA-TV.

“Seeking the Greatest Good” was produced by Via Studios Global, a division
of WVIA Public Media and distributed by American Public Television.

Jane Mangini, who has spent 12 years touring with Trans-Siberian Orchestra and has a home in Pike County, will kick off this year’s Winter Wednesdays music series, hosted by The Columns Museum in Milford.

Mangini began playing music on a toy piano given to her by her grandfather.  She says she tortured her parents playing it until they finally bought her a real one.

Although she has taken a few lessons Mangini is mostly a self-taught musician.

The Trans-Siberian Orchestra has sold more than 7 million albums.

Mangini will perform with Terri Dixon and drummer Sandy Bookie, Feb. 27th at 7p.m.  Tickets are $30 and include wine and cheese served at your table in the intimate cabaret setting of The Foundation Room of the Columns Museum.  Reserve a space by calling 570-296-8126.