Grey Towers recreates old-time ice cream social in anniversary celebration

MILFORD, PA — A re-creation of Gov. Gifford Pinchot’s community ice cream socials at his Milford home, Grey Towers, is one of several events planned to mark the 45-year anniversary of public ownership of the National Historic Site on Saturday, September 27.

A free open house of the 19th century French chateauesque mansion also is planned to commemorate National Public Lands Day. And a special video presentation of President John F. Kennedy’s September 24, 1963 dedication of Grey Towers will be shown throughout the day.

The Ice Cream Social, sponsored by the Grey Towers Heritage Association, will be held from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

“The Ice Cream Social is just one of the many ways we are trying to re-create how the Pinchots welcomed the community to their private home at Grey Towers,” said Barbara Buchanan, president of the Grey Towers Heritage Association. “Strengthening the community connection is key to our mission at Grey Towers, and it’s so appropriate to offer this on National Public Lands Day.”

The U.S. Forest Service will open all three floors of the mansion to visitors from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at no charge.

“In the Shadow of a Man,” the video that documents President Kennedy’s 1963 dedication of Grey Towers as a conservation center to carry forward Gifford Pinchot’s legacy, will be shown throughout the day. In addition to his two terms as a popular Pennsylvania Governor, Pinchot was an eminent conservationist, founding and serving as first chief of the U.S. Forest Service.

For more information visit greytowers.org or call 570/296-9630.