By JULIA F. SWAN

Instead of a regular monthly meeting, the Upper Milford Historical Society will hold its summer picnic at Jasper Park 6 p.m. July 28. Everyone is invited to bring items, pictures or stories of historical interest to share, as was done at an earlier meeting this year; this has proved to be a popular activity for members. In case of rain, the picnic meeting will be held in the township building.

It seems summer has barely started, but Upper Milford Youth Association fall sports registrations are now open. UMYA offers the following sports in the fall: soccer, micro soccer, baseball and softball. Visit www.umya.org to register.

St. Peter’s Union Church will hold its community picnic 2 to 9 p.m. July 16, on the church grounds, 7863 St. Peters Road, Macungie. There will be food, music, raffle prize drawings and more.

Food selections will include turkey barbecue, hamburgers and hot dogs, ice cream, soups, baked goods and much more. Music will be provided by the Majestics 6 to 9 p.m.

For parking, donations of money or a non-perishable food item for the local food pantry are requested. For more information, call the church at 610-966-3030 or go to stpeterspa.org.

Weekly gospel concerts are taking place 7 p.m. every Saturday evening at Milford Park. Following is the July schedule: July 9: “Sunnyside” bluegrass band; July 16: Damaris Carbaugh, former soloist with the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir; July 23: Christopher Wright, of Exton; July 30: The Stevens Family, of Warren, Ohio.

All programs and services are open to everyone. A freewill offering will be collected at each concert. Milford Park is located on Route 29/100. For information, call 610-966-4240. View the entire summer schedule at www.milfordpark.org.

Upper Milford Western District Fire Company serves an all-you-can-eat breakfast 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. the first Sunday of every month. There are senior, adult and children’s prices. The August breakfast will be Aug.7. For information, call the fire company at 610-966-3541 or Carol Shade at 610-966-3902.

The Upper Milford Fire Company’s ladies auxiliary meets the first Monday of the month, 7 p.m. New members are always welcome.

Vera Cruz senior citizens meet 1 p.m. July 7 and 21 at the Vera Cruz Fire Company. All are welcome.

Upper Milford supervisors will meet 7 p.m. July 7 and 21.

The Emmaus-Upper Milford Joint Environmental Advisory Council meets in Upper Milford 7 p.m. July 25.

The Upper Milford open space committee meets 7:30 p.m. July 13. The committee will continue to prepare educational material for township residents about the open space referendum which supervisors have approved for inclusion on the November ballot. Find the complete wording of the referendum on the Upper Milford Township website.

The recreation commission meets 7:30 p.m. July 18.

Lower Milford Township board of supervisors regular meeting will be 7:30 p.m. July 20 in the township building. Lower Milford supervisors recently welcomed a new member: John C. Quigley. Quigley served for many years on the Southern Lehigh School Board, so is no stranger to public meetings and public service.

Following is the schedule of other Lower Milford meetings in July. All meetings are 7:30 p.m. in the township building unless otherwise noted: historical commission, July 12; recreation and open space committee, July 13.

Looking ahead: Lower Milford Township will hold its annual fall festival 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 24, rain or shine, on the township building grounds, 7607 Chestnut Hill Church Road.

For more information, call 610-967-4949. Vendors are wanted. Find more information on reserving a spot on the township website.

Kudos to Citizens Fire Company #1 of Vera Cruz, which partnered with the Red Cross last month to install free smoke alarms in township residences. At the last supervisors meeting, Chief Joe Sherman reported 124 alarms were installed.

The fire company hopes to have another event of this kind in the future. If you are interested in more information about this program, call 610-865-4400.

If you have news or information for this column, which runs the first Wednesday of every month, please call 610-838-8923 or email me at bruce.swan@rcn.com.