Get Away to Rural Butler County and You May Even Learn Something
By Grace Palsgrove, Editor
The AAA Touch

If all "schools" were as beautiful as the Succop Conservancy in Butler, PA, no one would ever have a problem sending their children each morning. With other odd, albeit charming, draws to the area, Butler is a relaxing and interesting getaway.

Of course, the conservancy isn’t teaching reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmetic, but it does offer some interesting two-day Heritage classes that would be fun to take with friends or family members in lovely surroundings. For people who want to "do something" while they’re on vacation, this is a perfect fit.

Heritage classes run from making knives and weaving to American Indian story-telling and drumming to putting together family histories or cookbooks to learning the social graces of afternoon tea. The classes run from 8:00am - 4:00pm each day and a gourmet lunch on tables dressed in linens is included. Occasional sample weekends are offered, where the participant can sample any or all of the classes offered that weekend.

The conservancy, part of the Butler County Community College, covers 50 acres, with walking trails and two ponds on lush, well-groomed grounds. Some classes are held in the various rooms of the 1830 mansion. Others are held on the grounds or in the barn, depending on the topic of the class and the weather. When school’s out, visitors can explore the great outdoors, quaint towns and some things that will down right make you scratch your head. 724-586-2591.

For instance, in Butler, which is the county seat, but still small in some circles, you will find the Maridon Museum. This modern building on a residential street certainly stands out. The collection of Asian art is impressive. The pieces are arranged from the most modern to the most ancient (third millennium B.C.) and include intricate and rather large 20th-century jade sculptures to tiny Japanese "netsukes" carvings. 724-282-0123.

Watch and appreciate a craftsman or take a lesson from him at the Glass Blowing Center. Groups can go in for demonstrations or just stop in and watch Tom Doner work. The fun gift shop offers everything from glass animals to fishing lures to fine jewelry. Classes are held in the evenings. 724-791-2100.

Visit an alpaca farm to meet the animals that may have provided the wool for your sweater. Travelers can even stay at the Four Points Alpaca Farm and Inn, which offers a comfortable and beautifully decorated room in the 106-year-old home’s former servants quarters, that features a queen bed, full bath and kitchen with a view of the meadow and the gentle alpacas that not only provide their fleece but also some good ol’-fashioned entertainment. After a while, you can recognize their personalities! 724-586-9677.

Want to step back in time? Visit Betty Sabo at Baldinger’s. This store, started before 1933, has been through a lot of changes. From selling stamp collections to fruit, adding and then closing a restaurant, and then introducing bulk candy around 1943. This is the place to find the treats of the past. The building is huge and the shelves are filled with colorful penny - a few are still a penny - candies. The large antique cash register only adds up to $9, so if you come in for a large order, be prepared for a long stint at the counter.

Butler County has some towns with crazy names. Mars has a flying saucer parked in the town square. Slippery Rock, most known for its university, offers a quaint town with shops and restaurants including the North Country Brewing Co., which makes its own ales and sodas as well as offers interesting and filling meals. The décor is as interesting as the menu, with woodcarvings and sculptures. Even the rest rooms are worth a look. 724-794-2337.

Harmony sounds like a quiet place, and it is, for the most part, but its history is full of intrigue. Started by celibate German Separatists, it was a successful communal group, but didn’t last. Their history can be discovered at the Harmony Museum. The Harmony Society Cemetery has the largest revolving door in the United States but not one stone marker for the 100 people buried there. Walking tours are offered in this small town that was where the first shot of the French & Indian War was fired and where the Mennonites resettled what is now the oldest meetinghouse west of the Alleghenies - and where an 1810 clock by John Eberman of Lancaster can be found. Grab a very filling bite at the Harmony Inn and ask the owners or staff to share a story or two about the evidently active ghosts who linger there. 1-888-821-4822.

In Butler County, visitors have all sorts of opportunities to go out and play. The Jennings Environmental Education Center is a state park that offers hiking on five miles of well-marked trails and educational opportunity in the only protected and preserved prairie in Pennsylvania. The 20-acre area is in peak bloom at the end of July through mid-August. Spring wildflowers peak in May. This is also home to about half of all the remaining massasauga rattlesnakes, an endangered species, and countless birds and other wildlife.

Moraine State Park is home to the 3,225-acre Lake Arthur and offers fishing, many methods of boating (rentals available), swimming, biking, hiking, bird watching, hunting and more. On the North Shore, visitors can take a boat tour of the area in a fully-enclosed pontoon boat. Learn about Mount Zion Baptist Church that broadcasts services over the lake so the boaters can take part in the service! The boat tour is a great way for even landlubbers to learn about the park, see some wildlife and enjoy the views.

Discover your perfect getaway in Butler County. For more information, contact the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau at 1-866-856-8444.

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