Hidden Figures, Facts On Yardley At Gather Place Sunday

YARDLEY, PA —Shirley Lee Corsey, conservator and executive director of The Gather Place, has a birthday in January. She said she shares the month with Dr. Martin Luther King, Oprah Winfrey, and former First Lady Michelle Obama.

"I feel I’m in very good company," Corsey said.

Corsey will also share the history of King this Sunday in honor of the federal holiday at the South Canal Street museum dedicated to African-American history.

From 2-3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 15, Corsey is hosting "Remembering Dr./Rev. Martin Luther King Jr's 1963 "I Have A Dream" speech in a theatre-like setting with the film documentary being presented on "our super big screen."

On Saturday, the Gather Place will hold a walk-through exhibit on Yardley Borough from 1682 to current times. That event from Noon to 2 p.m. will include a documented historical timeline of Yardley Borough’s Quaker founders, supported by photos of its landmark structures, its people, and its industry.

Corsey appeared before the Yardley Borough Council at its recent meeting to discuss some upcoming events at the museum, housed in the A.M.E. Church, which was established in 1817 and built in 1877. The museum held an open house in September.

"We're open for the general public," she told the council. "We started out slow and steady."

Corsey, a third-generation African American resident from Yardley, is also promoting events for Black History Month in February and will focus on women's suffrage and Quaker women in March.

Corsey, who took over as conservator in July, said she plans for a more formal ribbon cutting and grand opening sometime this year once fundraising and refurbishing of the church —which is located in the Yardley Borough Historic District —progresses.

February is Black History Month and March is Women’s History Month.

Corsey said she looks forward to sharing knowledge about how Quaker women worked with African Americans, including Frederick Douglas, Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Tubman - first with the anti-slavery movement, then founding the Women’s Suffrage Movement, with several connections to Bucks County.

Here are some upcoming events at The Gather Place:

Saturday-Sunday, Jan. 21-22

• Sunday, 2 p.m.-3 p.m. —Historic Yardley Borough's Hidden Figures and Facts In Plain Sight Powerpoint presentation

Sit down on one of our comfortable seats in Gather Place Museum’s theatre-like setting and watch this presentation on a super big screen. The program is authored by Corsey. Recollections, conversations, and photographs illustrate the activities, traditions, events, and landmark buildings of the borough.

Saturday-Sunday, Jan. 28-29

• Saturday, Noon - 3 p.m. —Let's Play, About Yardley History Trivia Game

Join us for a family-oriented, fun way to test your knowledge about what you have learned by your Gather Place Museum visits this month. We will play 3 rounds of interactive questions, multiple choice, and true & false activities. Winning individuals and/or teams will receive donated meaningful, useful gifts.

• Sunday, Noon-3 p.m. —About Yardley Borough 1682 to Now, a Walkthrough Exhibit

Landmark structures, its people, and its industry. Learn about Yardley Borough’s diversity of people including African Americans who trace their lineage from the 1700s to current day decedents still residing here.

Saturday-Sunday, Feb. 25-26

A performance at the Gather Place Museum and also the Pennsbury Manor Auditorium. Performances are 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

A historical re-enactment: Harriet Tubman, the Underground Railroad, and the Freedom Fighters is a first-person presentation about Tubman's escape from slavery up to Philadelphia, her return trips to the Maryland plantation and the Bucks County's Underground Railroad "stops." and the Pennsylvania Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway.