Mifflin County’s Liberty Bell sculpture, now displayed in the historic courthouse, was painted by local artist Jennifer Hartzler. The bell depicts scenes from parades held in the county across generations. (JUNIATA RIVER VALLEY VISITORS BUREAU)

LEWISTOWN – As America turns 250 this year, the Juniata River Valley Visitors Bureau is leading an effort to make sure Mifflin County’s role in the celebration feels both local and lasting. Executive Director Jenny Landis has spent months bringing together organizations, artists, and volunteers to shape what she calls a “community-wide reflection” rather than a single event.

“Our goal has always been to get everyone involved,” Landis said. “Businesses, schools, churches, historical groups, each of them has a story to tell about what this county has been and where it’s going.”

The Visitors Bureau serves as the official representative for Mifflin County’s America250 celebration, while the Juniata County Historical Society coordinates its neighboring county’s efforts. Landis said the plan is to fill nearly the entire year with events, allowing each community to highlight its history and identity.

“So far, November is the only month without something scheduled,” she said. “We have a soiree hosted by the Chamber of Commerce, a movie and discussion event, a parade and fireworks.”

For Landis, history is personal. She’s quick to point out that Mifflin County’s story didn’t begin with the Revolution and doesn’t end there. Two figures she hopes residents learn more about this year are the Logan Guard and Dorcas Buchanan, whose lives tell very different parts of the American story.

“The Logan Guard was one of the first militia groups to answer President Lincoln’s call at the start of the Civil War,” she said. “And Dorcas Buchanan’s life here in the Juniata River Valley spans before, during, and after the Revolution. She’s known as the first European woman settler in the county, and she lived to be 93 on what was then the frontier.”

The Mifflin County Historical Society and St. Mark’s Episcopal Church hosted a presentation on Buchanan’s life by former Patriot-News editor Cate Barron in February. Landis hopes events like that will reveal how local people helped shape national history.

If there’s a symbol tying the entire effort together, it’s Mifflin County’s Liberty Bell sculpture, now displayed in the historic courthouse. Painted by local artist Jennifer Hartzler, the bell depicts scenes from parades held in the county across generations.

“When we met with Historical Society president Forest Fisher and Jennifer to look through reference photos, we realized the oldest pictures in the archives were of parades,” Landis said. “It made sense; those moments of community pride were important enough to capture back then, even when taking a photo took real effort.”

Hartzler’s design uses sepia tones to represent early celebrations and full color to highlight modern ones, including the county’s Babe Ruth Baseball National Championship. “She did a fabulous job capturing the uplifting, celebratory feeling parades bring to a community,” Landis said.

Beneath the bell will sit one of the most imaginative pieces of the county’s America250 project: a time capsule filled with postcards to the future.

Residents can pick up official “Postcard to the Future” cards from the Visitors Bureau, write a message, attach a photo, or draw something and return it by Dec. 31. Each submission will be vacuum-sealed into protective bricks and placed inside the base of the Liberty Bell, to be opened in 2051, 25 years from now.

“We liked the idea of a shorter time frame,” Landis said. “If grandparents write a postcard this year, their grandkids might actually be the ones to open it. We want people to see familiar names and faces when it’s unearthed.”

The official postcard encourages people to “share a memory, send a prediction, or just say hello to the future,” turning each submission into a small personal artifact of 2026.

The America250 celebration has changed shape since the first community meeting last year. Landis said new ideas and partners continue to emerge as word spreads. Another planning session in February will finalize additional details and expand the event list.

“This is a living project,” she said. “People are adding ideas all the time, and our role is to help them find the support they need to make those ideas real.”

Part of that support comes from the bureau’s promotional work, helping groups get the word out through social media, tourism outlets, and the America250PA-Mifflin County Facebook page. Once the schedule is confirmed, Landis and her team will step up those efforts, so residents know what’s happening and when.

The Visitors Bureau’s headquarters in the Historic Courthouse in downtown Lewistown will serve as an information hub throughout the year, with brochures, updates and exhibits connecting the public to ongoing events.

For Landis, America250 is about more than commemorating the past. It’s a reminder of how small communities contribute to the larger national story and how those communities evolve over time.

“What excites me most is the mix of voices,” she said. “You’ll see the historical societies working alongside school groups, artists, and businesses. Each event tells a piece of who we are.”

That collaboration mirrors Landis’s own career, which has always blended history and hospitality. Before taking the helm at the Visitors Bureau, she worked on community engagement projects that connected tourism with storytelling. That background helps her see America250 as both an economic opportunity and a cultural one.

“Tourism isn’t just about attracting visitors,” she said. “It’s about showing residents why their home matters, and that’s what this anniversary is really about.”

By the time the fireworks fade and the final postcard is sealed into the bell’s base, Landis hopes the year will leave something lasting behind: a clearer sense of identity and pride in place.

“If people come away with a stronger connection to Mifflin County and to each other, that’s the real success,” she said.

The Mifflin County America250 Kickoff was held in January. The full schedule of events was unveiled and time capsule postcards distributed. Updates will continue throughout the year at jrvvisitors.com and on the America250PA – Mifflin County Facebook page.