We’re all looking for ways to cool off these days – this heat wave is one for the records! Grab your iced tea, sit next to the AC, and take a few minutes to read this month’s PA SHPO Shout Out. We’ll cover an unusual historic marker, a really cool Section 106 project, and a reader submitted Shout Out. If you’re still looking for something to do while you cool down, catch up on any older posts that you might have missed and, if you haven’t already, take our Community Connections online survey to help inform Pennsylvania’s next statewide historic preservation plan. We’re at 1600 responses already! I really want to break last time’s record of 2,200 and I think we can do it. Continue reading
Category: Historical Markers (Page 6 of 8)
New Historical Markers Approved
Great news for fans of Pennsylvania’s beloved blue and gold markers – there are going to be more of them soon! At the March 9th meeting, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission recently approved 23 new historical markers. Many of the marker applications and approvals were from Philadelphia County this year so we’re anxious to get some great nominations next year for subjects of statewide and/or national significance in Pennsylvania’s other 66 counties! The Marker Program encourages broad distribution, so individuals and organizations from across the commonwealth are encouraged to research their history and develop nominations for people, places, events, and innovations in their own area. We know there is more history out there to share!
Things To Do Now is an occasional series featuring tips and tricks for some of the SHPO’s most popular programs and projects.
Think there is a person, place, or event in your community that deserves some recognition? If you believe that one of PHMC’s blue-and-gold historical markers is a great way to tell that story to the world, then keep reading for some tips (in no particular order)on what you can be doing right now to prepare an application for the next round of marker nominations. The deadline is December 1, 2015. Continue reading
The mansion at Grey Towers National Historic Site.
Offbeat Outings is a bi-monthly series that highlights the travels of BHP staff as they experience history first-hand throughout Pennsylvania.
Although I’m Pennsylvania born and raised, I’m the first to (sheepishly) admit that there are many counties within the Commonwealth where I have never stepped foot. So when the invitation arose under the guise of project and covenant review to visit Pike County in the far northeast reaches, I eagerly accepted and grabbed an able co-pilot, Karen Arnold, for what turned out to be a gorgeous day in April. (Disclaimer: the musings of one mere BHP staffer does not do these places justice –if you’ve never been, add them to your bucket list – they do not disappoint [unlike my writing skills]). Continue reading
Discovering Pennsylvania’s Jazz History
Turning the calendar page from March to April is a cause for celebration on many fronts – the end of winter, the blooming of spring flowers, and an official reason to celebrate jazz! Yes, April is National Jazz Appreciation Month and Pennsylvania has a long, rich history with the musical genre. Jazz has its roots in the African-American communities of the American South, but made its way north during the Great Migration in the 1910s and 20s. Artists and organizations from Pennsylvania, especially Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, were hugely influential in the evolution of jazz and numerous communities built concert halls that hosted some of the most legendary performers on their cross country tours. Pennsylvania’s role in the history of jazz is so significant that Explorepahistory.com has a whole section devoted to the subject, including photos, recordings, and lesson plans. Continue reading
New Historical Markers Approved for 2015
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
A Place In Time is a regular feature in Pennsylvania Heritage Magazine, published quarterly by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, and available for purchase at ShopPaHeritage.com. A subscription to the magazine is a benefit of membership in the Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation, the nonprofit partner of the PHMC.
Original Little League Field, 1947. Courtesy of Putsee Vannucci.
Like many boys growing up in the 1930s, the nephews of Williamsport resident Carl E. Stotz (1910-92) were baseball fanatics. After playing countless games of “pitch and catch” with the boys, Stotz promised them that he would develop a game of baseball on a size and scale appropriate for younger players. He kept his promise. In the late summer of 1938, he gathered his nephews and other local boys in Williamsport’s Memorial Park, where he began to experiment with field dimensions for a scaled down version of the game. With folded newspapers representing each base, he took note of the running speed and throwing distance capabilities of the young players. He then determined that his game should have base paths 60 feet in length, rather than the standard 90 feet, and a distance of 46 feet from the pitcher’s mound to home plate, instead of the regular 60 feet, 6 inches. While traditional baseball games last at least nine innings, Stotz realized that was too long and planned his youth games to run only six innings. Continue reading
It’s January – Time for the 2015 Pennsylvania Farm Show!
UPDATE! The PHMC booth showcasing the Historical Markers Program was selected as the Best Educational Display by the Farm Show judges! Thank you to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and the thousands of Farm Show attendees who visited the booth to learn about Pennsylvania’s rich agricultural heritage.
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- PHMC staff Scott Doyle, Serena Bellew, and Karen Galle pose with the Best Educational Display Award.
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- The BHP 2015 Farm Show booth showcasing “History on a Stick”.
Make room on your calendars because the Pennsylvania Farm Show, the nation’s largest indoor agricultural exposition, is about to descend upon the historic Farm Show complex in Harrisburg from Saturday January 10 through Saturday January 17, 2015. The 99th Pennsylvania Farm Show includes nearly 6,000 animals, 10,000 competitive exhibits and 300 commercial exhibits. Continue reading
A Family Reunion at the Mother’s Memorial
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
Spotlight Series: Lancaster Central Market celebrates its 125th Anniversary
For some readers the onset of seasonal fall weather means bundling up for Friday night high school football games or starting the furnace, but I’m always reminded that another growing season is coming to a close. However, It is not too late to find great local produce at any of Pennsylvania’s local market houses! Continue reading
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