Blacksmithing, storytelling, woodworking and stained glass are among the skills and crafts from the days of yore, but that doesn't mean modern-day Western Pennsylvanians can learn these trades.

Such old-fashioned skills will be taught at the new Heritage School in Butler County, which begins classes Monday under a mission to promote preservation of the region's heritage. The school, which is part of the Succop Conservancy at Butler County Community College, will allow people to learn various folk art disciplines that represent Western Pennsylvania culture in hopes that they won't disappear, said Nancy Lawry, conservancy director.

Cyndi McCabe helped inspire the creation of the Heritage School, thanks to a search for a unique present. While looking online for a surprise anniversary gift for her husband, Ms. McCabe, director of Adult and Community Education at the community college, known as BC3, discovered the John C. Campbell Folk School. The Brasstown, N.C., school provides year-round weeklong and weekend classes for adults in craft, art, music, dance, cooking, gardening, nature studies, photography and writing.

After receiving a brochure from the school, she suggested to Bill O'Brien, vice president for continuing education and off-campus centers at BC3, that a similar project be created for the conservancy, a 50-acre plot of land donated to the college by the Succop family. A visit last year by the folk school's director, Jan Davidson, clinched the decision to go ahead, said Mr. O'Brien, noting that Mr. Davidson loved the site.

Hands-on knowledge

The Heritage School will feature hands-on, weeklong classes for adults in various fields of study in a non-competitive, non-credit atmosphere. "It's really talking and doing versus reading and writing," Mr. O'Brien said.

Courses offered include "Native American Storytelling," "Woodcarving" and "Civil War Quilting." The sessions meet 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily and include breakfast, a catered lunch and time for socializing with peers and roaming the grounds of the conservancy. Cost ranges from $360 to $390 per class, plus the cost of materials.

"I think people who are looking for a unique way to spend some quality time in a beautiful spot in the country, outside of the noise and hustle and bustle of their normal life" will enjoy it, Ms. McCabe said.

The school will use existing buildings from the conservancy property. Two buildings have been modified to serve as blacksmith and woodworking shops, and the school will continue to renovate various buildings on the site. The barn is undergoing renovations for a new roof, and a new pavilion is under construction. Both are slated to open by September, Mr. O'Brien said.

As more buildings become available, the program will add classes for families and teens, Ms. Lawry said.

Original funding for the project came from donor funding raised through the BC3 Education Foundation. Although the foundation supplied initial funding, the school is expected to be self-sufficient once enrollment increases, Ms. Lawry said.

The Heritage School has roughly 20 instructors on board to teach various skills. Dr. Carl Robertson, a woodworking veteran of 20 years, will teach traditional woodworking classes. He said that he hopes the school will allow people a unique opportunity to learn something they won't necessarily find elsewhere in the county.

Other schools

Heritage might be the only school of its kind in Butler County, but it is not the only organization that teaches folk art trades in Western Pennsylvania.

The Pittsburgh Center for the Arts in Shadyside, Sweetwater Center for the Arts in Sewickley and Touchstone Center for Crafts in the Laurel Highlands all offer classes in varying types of folk arts. Although the organizations offer similar classes, Karen White, artistic director at Sweetwater, said there is no immediate competition among schools because of the various locations. Instead, the schools often share artists and teachers and work together. Sweetwater wants its own space but wants to work together with other organizations, she added.

The Heritage School hopes to reach out to not only the immediate area but also to share Western Pennsylvania culture with other parts of the country.

"I think we'll have some interest [from the Butler area], but I think the biggest interest is going to come from probably Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Erie and beyond," Ms. McCabe said.

For more information or to schedule a class, contact the Heritage School at 724-586-2591 or visit www.bc3.edu/conservancy/heritage.htm.