ALLEGANY, N.Y. — Canticle Farm officials provided a few updates on the all natural farm which is making plans for its 20th anniversary and will welcome an archeology dig later this month.
Sister Melissa Scholl, president of the farm, said the non-profit organization, located on Nine Mile Road and Old State Road in Allegany, is doing well and preparing for its 20th anniversary celebration in August.
“We’ve been very satisfied and happy with what we’ve been doing,” Scholl said.
Owned by the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany, the farm provides produce to shareholders in the Olean area as well as in nearby communities that include Bradford, Pa. The farm market is also open to the public from noon to 6 p.m Tuesdays and Fridays,
“We are going to have our 20th anniversary celebration on Aug. 12 at the Old Library Restaurant,” Scholl continued. “We don’t have a lot of details yet, but when we have ticket prices planned out” the information will be publicized.
Scholl said anniversary activities are being planned for the restaurant, as opposed to the previous Farm to Table event at the farm, to give the staff an opportunity to enjoy and celebrate the event indoors.
“People will have the option to eat at the Old Library and participate in our program or to take-out” their food, Scholl added.
On another note, Scholl said the farm staff looks forward to this month’s visit by Dr. Steven Howard, an archeologist who will return for an archeology dig from July 26 to Aug. 14.
For the past several years, Howard of the Allegheny Valley Project archeology dig, has supervised volunteers in excavations conducted on the back farm field of Old State Road that is owned by Canticle Farm. Howard and his volunteers have excavated artifacts dated from as long ago as the Archaic Period, between 8,000 B.C. and 2,000 B.C. The digs have been funded through donations to the non-profit project headed up by Howard, field director at the Gault archaeological site near Florence, Texas. He also teaches classes at Austin Community College.
When contacted, Howard, a native of Olean, said he will be running a scaled-down dig this year, with no international students due to pandemic restrictions.
“Volunteers will be welcome, and we will require any out-of-state volunteers to be vaccinated,” Howard said. “Local volunteers can just show up at the farm, and masks are recommended for those who are unvaccinated. We will be focused on a small area in the southwest corner of the site this year, gathering more data on the ceramics of the site.”
Howard said the group will welcome volunteers of all ages and abilities. In addition, children under 14 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Mark Printz, manager of the farm, said he has received calls from area residents who are eager to volunteer at the archeology dig this year, therefore it is hoped there will be a number of helpers available.
For more information, contact Howard by email at avp.archeology@gmail.com or call the Canticle Farm office at (716) 373-0200 ext 3358.
