Author: Karen Galle (Page 2 of 2)

Karen Galle is the Historical Marker Program Coordinator for the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC). On staff at the PHMC since 1995, she was born and currently resides in Cumberland County.

National History Day inspires a new generation

June 3, 2015 / Karen Galle / 0 Comments

National History Day in Pennsylvania judges hard at work at the 2015 competition.

Several weeks ago I had the opportunity to serve as judge at the National History Day in Pennsylvania competition at Millersville University. The National History Day Program started in 1974, and is an excellent educational opportunity for students in grades 6-12 to learn about the research, analysis, and presentation of history. Students compete at regional, state, and national levels. The National History Day in Pennsylvania program is coordinated by Jeff Hawks, the Education Director for the Army Heritage Center Foundation in Carlisle. There are two divisions – junior and senior – and the categories include: individual paper, individual and group documentary, individual and group exhibit, individual and group performance, and website (individual and group judged together). Utilization of primary sources is emphasized in all categories. Continue reading

The Dream Garden mosaic by Maxfield Parrish and Louis Comfort Tiffany. Photo by Bruce Andersen used under the Creative Commons license.

New Historical Markers Approved for 2015

April 1, 2015 / Karen Galle / 7 Comments

The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) approved 22 new historical markers at its March 4, 2015 meeting. There are currently more than 2,000 PHMC markers throughout Pennsylvania and the program is one of the most popular and visible aspects of the Commission’s work. The Commission has standard approval criteria that, among other things, require marker subjects be of statewide and/or national historical significance. The majority of the newly approved markers are in Philadelphia (9), which is also where the most (20) nominations came from. With such a long and rich history, it is no surprise that Philadelphia has the largest number of markers of any county in the state (over 250). The Marker Program encourages broad distribution, so individuals and organizations from the other 66 counties are encouraged to research their history and develop nominations for people, places, events, and innovations with statewide and/or national historical significance in their own area. Continue reading

Elizabeth McShane and Alma Siebern Puglia admire the Ashland Mother's Memorial in October 2014.

A Family Reunion at the Mother’s Memorial

November 19, 2014 / Karen Galle / 8 Comments

At the end of October I had the opportunity to take a trip to Ashland, PA for the first time. It was a beautiful fall day, near the peak of the fall foliage season, and the drive up I-81 from Harrisburg afforded me great views of the nearby mountains. The purpose of the trip was to visit the Mother’s Memorial that I had featured in a blog around Mother’s Day of 2013. Continue reading

Nominating Historical Markers

June 25, 2014 / Karen Galle / 4 Comments

The Historical Marker Program is one of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission’s (PHMC) most popular public programs. Since 1913, well over 2000 markers have been erected throughout the Commonwealth.

New Markers approved for 2014

March 5, 2014 / Karen Galle / 1 Comment

The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission recently approved 21 new historical markers. Approval Criteria require that marker subjects must have statewide and/or national rather than local or regional historical significance. After the jump is a quick look at this year’s approved markers. Continue reading

Preserving Pennsylvania’s Aquacultural Heritage: Ralph W. Abele

January 8, 2014 / Karen Galle / 1 Comment

Every year at the Pennsylvania Farm Show the Bureau for Historic Preservation has a booth presenting our role in the preservation of the Commonwealth’s agricultural history. We have launched the third annual Marker Scavenger Hunt at the Farm Show. Continue reading

Summertime Marker Round-up

September 11, 2013 / Karen Galle / 0 Comments

The summer of 2013 has been filled with interesting marker dedications. In June The Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades received a historical marker. This unique institution in Delaware County was founded in 1888 in response to the decline of the apprenticeship system in the late 19^th century. Still offering all of its students full scholarships, the institution provides many of its students vocational opportunities they might not otherwise have been able to afford. It served as a model for the Thaddeus Stevens School and Milton Hershey among others, and is credited with establishing the “Williamson Model for Change.” It boasts a beautiful campus rife with original Frank Furness buildings.

Spotlight Series: The Ashland Mother’s Memorial

May 8, 2013 / Karen Galle / 7 Comments

The Spotlight Series is an occassional series that highlights interesting people, places, programs, and partner organizations working on historic preservation issues.

Erected in 1938, the Mother’s Memorial is situated prominently in the town of Ashland, PA, in the anthracite coal region of Schuylkill County. The Ashland Boys’ Association (A.B.A.), an organization of men and boys born in Ashland, raised the funds for the fabrication and erection of this monument in 1938. Continue reading

Replica of the John Beale Bordley marker being set up at the 2012 Farm Show photo by CHRIS KNIGHT, The Patriot-News

Scavengers, Markers, and Ice Cream at the PA Farm Show

January 2, 2013 / Karen Galle / 0 Comments

To celebrate PHMC’s 2012 annual theme “The Land of Penn and Plenty: Bringing History to the Table,” Historical Marker Program staff developed a scavenger hunt featuring markers related to Pennsylvania’s rural and agricultural history for the 2012 Pennsylvania Farm Show.