Overview

You know the Carnegie Institute and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, but have you ever visited the Toy Robot Museum in Adamstown or Bill's Old Bike Barn in Bloomsburg? The Tom Mix Museum in Mix Run? The Houdini Museum in Scranton? Pennsylvania's many small museums are easy to miss in an age of instant information and superhighways. After reading Therese Boyd's guide, however, you'll rush to get off the beaten track to find them. Pennsylvania's little wonders are as entertaining as they are educational. Unlike large museums, which display masterpieces of art and other important items, small museums feature objects that would otherwise be thrown away and forgotten-everything from spittoons to high button shoes and trolley cars. Some small museums, such as the Richard Allen Museum, serve a serious purpose; others are playful, even eccentric. All offer a fresh perspective on how people have lived and worked. Boyd, who has visited small museums throughout Pennsylvania, concentrates on the forty-two museums she considers most worth a detour. These range from Kready's Museum, where visitors can savor the simple pleasures of a country store, to the Vocal Groups Hall of Fame and Museum, where music fans can listen to golden oldies and pore over memorabilia (including sequined dresses once worn by the Supremes). Boyd's personal favorite is the museum in the home of Christian Sanderson, a man who collected literally hundreds of historical relics, not the least of which is the purse found in the apron pocket of Jennie Wade, the only civilian killed at the Battle of Gettysburg. Boyd's book is a comprehensive, illustrated guide to the best small museums in Pennsylvania. It weaves amusing anecdotes about Boyd's own visits to the museums along with descriptions of their histories and collections. Her guide provides travel directions as well as complete information about each museum's visiting hours, website, and contact information.

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9780271022765

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Reviews

Pennsylvania's many small museums would otherwise feature objects that would otherwise be thrown away and forgotten--everything from spittoons to high-button shoes and trolley cars. Some small museums, such as the Richard Allen Museum, serve a serious purpose; others are playful, even eccentric. All offer a fresh perspective on how people have lived and worked.Boyd's book is a comprehensive, illustrated guide to the best small museums in Pennsylvania. It weaves amusing anecdotes about Boyd's own visits to the museums along with descriptions of their histories and collections. Her guide provides travel directions as well as complete information about each museum's visiting hours, web site and contact information. --Gazette News

This is a very cool book. . . . Take the book, get a road map, pile the kids into the SUV, and do a weekend ramble. Heck, do lots of weekend rambling to all 40 of the Best Places You ve Never Seen. The book s fun by itself, and the destinations are all plucky and gritty. Ted Byrne, Lancaster Business 2 Business

Part travel guide, part tales of the road, Therese Boyd s The Best Places You ve Never Seen: Pennsylvania s Small Museums. . . takes the reader on a journey through some of the state s more interesting, lesser-known museums. Pocono Record

Author Information

Therese Boyd is a (nearly) lifelong Pennsylvanian. When she's not driving the back roads looking for somewhere fun or writing about where she's been, she edits books, writes book reviews, and teaches writing at Penn State York.

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