2007-2008 Annual Report
Serving the Commonwealth
Civil War Pennsylvania 150
The Pennsylvania Heritage Society® (PHS) has received a $500,000 grant on behalf of PHMC from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development to conduct statewide planning for the Civil War Sesquicentennial (2011-2015). Under the auspices of the Heritage Society and PHMC, the Civil War Pennsylvania 150 Planning Committee (CWPA 150) has been meeting monthly since October 2007 with major history and cultural institutions from Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Gettysburg and Philadelphia. Mr. James Pickman, a consultant who played a key role in the redevelopment of Independence Mall in Philadelphia and chaired the board of the Independence Visitor Center, was hired by the Pennsylvania Heritage Society as project manager to direct the planning efforts of CWPA 150 and is providing crucial leadership in the facilitation of the project.
CWPA 150 is developing a Pennsylvania programmatic agenda for the sesquicentennial, identifying statewide projects such as major traveling exhibitions, a collections digitization project, new media, a Web portal, and K-12 educational curricular materials and teacher professional development, as well as many regionally and locally coordinated programs and substantive commemorations grounded in the humanities.
Teaching American History participating teachers on the Antietam Battlefield
Educator Professional Development
This year brought a new crop of secondary school teachers to participate in a professional development program funded by a three-year $1.2 million Teaching American History (TAH) grant led by Program Coordinator Rhonda Newton. This year’s program, titled “Upon This Hallowed Ground,” focused on teaching the American Civil War in the classroom. Teachers attended a week-long residency at The State Museum of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania State Archives in June, as well as special field trips to the National Archives, and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.; and to the National Park Service sites at Antietam, Md., Harpers Ferry, W.Va., and Gettysburg, Pa. The project, funded by the U.S. Department of Education, began in 2005, and represents a partnership between the Heritage Society, PHMC and the Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit in Lewisburg.
Old Economy Village Custodial Guide Rita Dobson.
Signature Series
Special Excursions
Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Old Economy Village Bus Tour
On October 17, 2007, PHS members and guests traveled west to Washington County’s fascinating Meadowcroft Rockshelter, a National Historic Landmark. Site director David Scofield and noted archaeologist James Adovasio gave the group an
in-depth tour of the 16,000 year old site—one of the earliest known places of human habitation in North America. The following day, the group visited PHMC’s beautiful Old Economy Village near Pittsburgh and were given a behind-the-scenes tour by site administrator Mary Ann Landis, curator Eric Castle and interpreter Rita Dobson.
Dr. Reardon on the Getttysburg National Battlefield.
Gettysburg National Military Park Bus Tour
On Tuesday, May 13, 2008, Heritage Society members and guests enjoyed a memorable visit to the brand new Gettysburg Visitors Center and a fascinating afternoon tour of the Gettysburg Battlefield with Dr. Carol Reardon, a distinguished military historian and scholar-in-residence at the Penn State University’s George and Ann Richards Civil War Institute.
Lectures
Dr. Bluford answers questions from schoolchildren.
Approximately 1,000 adults and schoolchildren enjoyed dynamic Signature Series presentations by Philadelphia native Dr. Guion S. Bluford Jr., the first African-American astronaut to fly in space, at The State Museum of Pennsylvania. In an evening program on September 24, 2007, Dr. Bluford delivered “Flying Aboard the International Space Station,” before meeting attendees and signing autographs at a reception held in the museum’s Memorial Hall. The following day Dr. Bluford spoke to students in grades 3-12 from 14 schools in the Harrisburg area about his experience flying on board several space shuttle missions. Many of these students stayed after the program to take part in special programming held throughout the museum’s galleries, including preview showings of “Astronaut,” the new planetarium show that opened in October. Dr. Bluford’s presentations were sponsored by the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) and the Friends of the State Museum.
Dr. Daniel Richter
As part of the celebration of PHMC’s annual Heritage Week, the Pennsylvania Heritage Society hosted a Signature Series lecture by Daniel Richter, professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania, Thursday, March 13, 2008, at The State Museum of Pennsylvania. Entitled “Re-Reading William Penn’s 1681 Letter to the Kings of the Indians,” Dr. Richter explored the significance of a remarkable communication made a little over eight months after Penn first received the royal charter for his colony, and about a year before he visited it. This fascinating letter provides an interesting perspective into how late-seventeenth-century English colonizers perceived the place of Native peoples and their land in the empire they were trying to create.
PHS President Rhonda R. Cohen and PHMC Chairman Wayne Spilove
Pennsylvania Heritage® Magazine Reception at Washington Crossing Historic Park
On October 11, 2007, sixty PHS members and guests from the Bucks County and greater Philadelphia area attended a reception hosted by PHS to highlight the Fall 2007 issue of Pennsylvania Heritage®. Attendees mingled with Heritage Society board members, PHMC leadership and staff members at the event which also featured comments from authors Joe Conti and Irwin Richman, who wrote the cover story on legendary Bucks County artists Faye Swengel and Ben Badura. Mr. Conti is a former state legislator who is currently chief executive officer of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, and Dr. Richman is professor emeritus of American studies and history at Penn State Harrisburg.
Dr. Dublin (left) and Dr. Licht
Dr. Walter Licht and Dr. Thomas Dublin
Dr. Walter Licht, professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania, profiled the history and rise of industrialization in Pennsylvania, and the contrast between industry in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh at The State Museum on June 23, 2008. The following day, Dr. Thomas Dublin, professor of History at SUNY-Binghamton, discussed the decline of industrialization in Pennsylvania, specifically in coal, iron and steel regions throughout the commonwealth.
2007 Holiday Marketplace was held in the Atrium of the Commonwealth Keystone Building.
Holiday Marketplace
The Heritage Society’s 2nd Annual Holiday Marketplace, a showcase featuring stores of the PHMC’s sites and museums, drew hundreds of state Capitol-based employees and Harrisburg area visitors to the Commonwealth Keystone Building’s nine-story atrium on November 15-16, 2007. Sponsored by Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union (PSECU), the event offered holiday gift items, information about historical sites and museums, costumed interpreters, book signings and live music to promote the work and programs of PHMC throughout Pennsylvania.
New Board Members
The Heritage Society welcomed three new board members in January 2008:
• Joseph W. Certaine, director, Governor’s Southeast Office, Philadelphia
• William W. Moore, president and CEO, Independence Visitor Center Corporation,
Philadelphia
• Joesph M. Torsella, president and CEO, National Constitution Center, Philadelphia
Expanding Member Services
www.paheritage.org & www.pabookstore.com
In celebration of the organization’s 25th anniversary, the Heritage Society unveiled a refreshed and newly designed Web site in June 2008. Staff worked with Philadelphia and Harrisburg-based VQC Designs, LLCs to create the new design. The Web site now features more information about the Heritage Society’s work, such as an Education and Outreach page, highlighted Signature Series events, the latest news items and a message from President Rhonda Cohen.
As of September 2007, the Heritage Society is able to accept and process memberships online through PAbookstore.com, a new e-commerce site developed in partnership with the PHMC Publications and Sales Division. PAbookstore.com also provides members and the public online access to the State Bookstore based in Harrisburg.
