The Schuylkill County Historical Society and the Salvation Army are joining forces to host a history program for local students.
The Schuylkill County History Safari will be held from at 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 13 and 14.
Participation is free to provide an opportunity for all students, including those of underprivileged families, to experience the history and culture of the region during their summer vacations.
"We have a lot of kids in the county right now whose parents may not have the opportunity to take them around to some of the historical sites in the county," Dave Derbes, historical society executive director, said. "They're not getting the same history that we used to get when I was a kid, the local history. That's what we're trying to do."
The safari begins Aug. 13 at the Schuylkill County Historical Society, 305 N. Centre St., where the students will tour the Schuylkill County Gallery, the General Joulwan Exhibit and the Civil War Exhibit, and view PowerPoint programs that will give them a bit more information than the exhibits.
In the afternoon, the children will take a bus tour with Stu Richards, local historian, of the northern part of the county, seeing sites such as the Wadesville stripping pit, the Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine and the Centralia mine fire.
On Aug. 14, students will join Patrick M. "Porcupine Pat" McKinney, educational coordinator for the Schuylkill County Conservation District, to travel the southern part of Schuylkill County. They will visit the Reading Northern railroad, the Fort Lebanon historic site, the waterfalls at Sweet Arrow Lake and other historical sites.
The historical society partnered with the Salvation Army in order to get the word out to the children of Schuylkill County so that they may participate in the event.
"I talked to Capt. (Adam) Hench two or three months ago and he thought it was a great idea," Derbes said. "I had asked him if they (the Salvation Army) could find children to do this and he said yes."
Although Hench died shortly after that conversation took place, his successor stepped into the position to finish the work.
"I think it's a wonderful opportunity," Lt. Staci Ferreira, leader of the Salvation Army Corps, Pottsville, since July 3, said. "It's something that Capt. Adam had started and when I came in to step up and help Capt. Tammy, she mentioned this to me and I called right away to figure out what it was. These kids are going to learn where they came from and where their families came from and what they did to build this town and this area up."
Derbes is hopeful for the future of this program and its popularity among the children of the community.
"We want to try to and see what kind of reception we get and hopefully at some point in time, we could do this on a regular basis," Derbes said.