{"id":9422,"date":"2013-12-14T15:45:25","date_gmt":"2013-12-14T20:45:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=9422"},"modified":"2013-12-14T15:51:15","modified_gmt":"2013-12-14T20:51:15","slug":"citys-history-helps-feed-into-2013-christmas-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=9422","title":{"rendered":"City’s history helps feed into 2013 Christmas season"},"content":{"rendered":"

Band, residents, carolers help celebrate Coatesville past, present, and future<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

By Kyle Carrozza<\/strong><\/span>, Staff Writer, The Times<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"South<\/a>

South Brandywine students sing Christmas carols, giving the night a sense of festivity.<\/p><\/div>\n

COATESVILLE \u2013 The National Iron and Steel Heritage Museum held its annual Holiday Open House on Saturday night in the Lukens National Historic District.<\/p>\n

Candles illuminated First Ave. as The Lukens Band performed in the Lukens Executive Office Building, and carolers from South Brandywine Middle School sang in the Terracina.<\/p>\n

Donating food to the Coatesville Emergency Food Cupboard allowed residents access to these buildings as well as the Brandywine Mansion and the Graystone Mansion.<\/p>\n

Cookies were spread, Santa Claus made an appearance, and dining rooms were dressed up with place settings, candles, and chandeliers. Attendees decorated cookies and learned of the history of the district, which played a part in the nation\u2019s longest continuously-running steel mill.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of amazing history within these walls,\u201d said Museum Programs Director Juliette Honsinger.<\/p>\n

The Brandywine Mansion was once the home of Rebecca Lukens, while the Graystone Mansion was the home of Abram Francis Huston, who was president of the Lukens Iron and Steel Company in 1897.<\/p>\n

Skip Huston, former Vice President of Government Relations for the mill and a descendent of Rebecca Lukens, said that he would like to see more people learn about the mill and the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease come here and see the history. It\u2019s a living history,\u201d he said, pointing out that through the years, the mill has played an important role for the country, producing steel for The World Trade Center, the New Jersey Turnpike, and vehicles currently being used by the military.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A train chugs its way through the Lukens Executive Office Bulding.<\/p><\/div>\n

Food for the Coatesville Emergency Food Cupboard was packed under a Christmas Tree as The Lukens Band played Christmas carols. The decorations and music was a demonstration of how the city\u2019s past feeds into present-day camaraderie between residents.<\/p>\n

Cathy Franciscus, who worked at the mill for 30 years and now works in the museum, reminisced on this past while also appreciating the festive atmosphere of Saturday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing here for 30 years, I jumped at the chance to come here and work with the history. I feel like I\u2019m part of the history,\u201d she said. \u201cThey [Coatesville\u2019s young people] need to know the heritage of the city of Coatesville and where they live. I think that will be a basic, integral part of the [city\u2019s] revitalization.\u201d<\/p>\n

Honsinger said that she believes that the facilities are an integral part of the city\u2019s culture, and events like Saturday\u2019s help to reinforce that culture.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it really helps the sense of pride in the community. Coatesville\u2019s a place that\u2019s been through a lot,\u201d she said. \u201cOpportunities like this give the community a chance to come together and do something fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the night went on, carolers moved from building to building, ensuring that the history in the National Iron and Steel Museum will not be forgotten in future generations\u2019 sense of Coatesville Pride.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Band, residents, carolers help celebrate Coatesville past, present, and future By Kyle Carrozza, Staff Writer, The Times COATESVILLE \u2013 The National Iron and Steel Heritage Museum held its annual Holiday Open House on Saturday night in the Lukens National Historic District. Candles illuminated First Ave. as The Lukens Band performed in the Lukens Executive Office […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":9435,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[3336,2641,3335],"class_list":["post-9422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-featured","tag-coatesville-emergency-food-cupboard","tag-lukens-national-historic-district","tag-the-national-iron-and-steel-heritage-museum"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9422"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9422\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9434,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9422\/revisions\/9434"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}