Lancaster Region

What is the historical novel and where did it come from? Some claim that Sir Walter Scott wrote the first novel based on a true event or a real-life character in 1814 with his popular book, Waverly. But others believe the genre goes back much further, to ancient times, almost 3,000 years ago. Follow author Sherry V. Ostroff as you explore the elements of this popular genre and the history behind the historical novel.

Through a long life and career in medicine and research at Yale, I have not only continued to believe in the God of the Bible, but that belief has been strengthened by the findings of science from 1950 to the present. Along the way, I had questions in the areas of philosophy, theology, cosmology, and biology, but increasingly these have been answered. Even the philosopher called “the world’s most notorious atheist” (Anthony Flew) was converted to believe in a creator God by the strength of the current scientific evidence. This class will give an orderly presentation of findings in many areas that I believe are strong evidence for the reality of the God of the Bible and of the reliability of the Bible as a witness to truth. Feel free to ask questions!

Do you feel “ripped” off in the marketplace? Do you understand Pennsylvania’s amusing and confusing sales tax applications? When you pump a gallon of gas, how do you know that you received it? Have you noticed that packages are shrinking the amount of product we get for the price we pay? When selecting merchandise, do you have to hunt for the price? Have you ever been overcharged at a scanner checkout register? Your shopping trips will never be the same after this entertaining and educational presentation packed with important consumer information!

The course will present the stories and the backgrounds of 6 persons who assassinated U.S. presidents and two other political figures (Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley, John Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Robert Kennedy).

This course will explore the state of the news media and their audiences today, attempting to examine whether or not truth can be found there, and if so, how people of faith and people in general might be more successful in extracting it.

The American westerns represent the quintessential contribution of American film history. In this course we will follow the rise of this genre from the B-Film days of the silent era and the 1930s, the emergence in the 1940s with darker, serious films, the golden era of the 1950s and the revisionist shift in the late 1960s and beyond. We will examine the iconic characters of these remarkable films: the rugged men and the strong women. We will also look at the core issues of the mythical American West and pioneering spirit that infused this real and imagined world.

The course will be conducted in five sessions. Each one-hour session will include a display of a few of the “inventions” created by the presenter since moving to Landis homes (participants guess their function), discussion of at least one aspect of creativity, a tale of how that aspect applied in the presenter’s life, and a hands-on creative challenge.  Questions and other interactions are encouraged. The person who has the most correct identifications of the displayed “inventions” (over all five sessions) will receive free consulting (and possible construction assistance) on solving a problem of personal interest.

In 1942, the United States government made serious plans to seize a large portion of Western Lancaster County to install a TNT ammunition plant following Pearl Harbor and the start of World War II. Residents of the farms and houses in the area began to realize that they might have to move and find another place to live and work. However, an unexpected turn of events thwarted the proposed project. Strange as it may seem, 10 years later in 1952, the government again made serious plans to seize the same area to build Air Force maintenance and supply depot. This proposed project was also thwarted -- but for a different reason.

The course will present the stories and the backgrounds of 6 persons who assassinated U.S. presidents and two other political figures (Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley, John Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Robert Kennedy).

Lancaster City's architecture has been shaped by the talent, expertise and vision of architects from Philadelphia, Baltimore, New York, Chicago and of Lancaster. This course will introduce the audience to their works, their personalities and their impact from 1738 to 1968. The two hundred year span has graced the city with over thirty six styles of architecture from Georgian to Art Deco. The course will progress through the architectural history chronologically describing each architect and their body of work. Historic photographs and newspaper accounts obtained from Lancaster History and LNP bring each story to life in a way that is entertaining and educational.