Pennsylvania Federation of Museums and Historical Organizations

PFMHO SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

With its awards program, PFMHO honors the special achievements of its members throughout the Commonwealth. This is an opportunity for the field to come together and recognize Pennsylvania's outstanding museum professionals and projects for their excellence, innovation, and contributions to the field.

Call for 2010 nominations! Click here for all the details.

2009 AWARD WINNERS

Jefferson County Historical Society
Lilly-Washington Historical Society
Please Touch Museum
Clifford Township Historical Society
Cliveden of the National Trust
Meadowcroft Rockshelter
Daniel E. Higham
Lance Earl Metz
David C. Rollenhagen
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Center for Appalachian Studies at Saint Vincent College
Kenneth B. Shockey
Nancy E. Kolb

S. K. Stevens Memorial Award

Native American Lifeways in Western Pennsylvania
Jefferson County Historical Society and
Northfork Chapter 29, Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology

Native American Lifeways in Western Pennsylvania showcased the culture and lifestyles of the first people of western Pennsylvania through evocative presentation, solid archaeological research, and the imaginative exhibition of significant artifacts. The exhibit was recognized statewide with an award from PFMHO in 2007 and nationally by the American Association of State and Local History in 2008. The 800-square-foot exhibit was an outstanding example of what can be accomplished by a county historical society with a small staff and a very modest budget. Exhibit techniques combined the creative use of visual aids, historic artifacts, innovative presentation of objects, labels produced in-house, and supporting educational materials for teachers and students.

INSTITUTIONAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

An award of merit is given for an exemplary exhibit, program, project, or best practice considered to be an outstanding model for the field. A nomination is judged on the degree to which it benefits the public, how much it enhances the professionalism of its organization, and its potential to be an outstanding example of innovation in the field. Pennsylvania is privileged to have over 1,200 museums and historical organizations of all sizes and disciplines. Projects are judged on their merits within the context of their own institutional capacity.

Award of Merit
The Spirit of a Community
Lilly-Washington Historical Society

This book, The Spirit of a Community, is a comprehensive, two-hundred-year history of the years 1806-2006 in Lilly Borough and Washington Township (Cambria County). The project began in 2001 with a realization by editor, Jim Salony, that Lilly’s bicentennial was approaching. What started as planning a typical community birthday celebration, resulted in an 836-member historical society (in an area with a population of about 1,900) uncovering their own stories. And what was supposed to be a 250-page volume turned into a “you are there” history based on journals, newspapers, and oral histories. The awards review committee was impressed with how this project mobilized an entire community resulting in a “lasting resource for anyone who wants to research this area.” As The Spirit of a Community took shape, contributing authors discovered records that had been preserved from Lilly’s centennial and first-person sources which provided stories that brought the project to life. Linking the present to the past, previously-labeled “Lilly history agnostics” found themselves converted, discovering not only did they have grandfathers, but those flesh-and-blood ancestors lived interesting lives and did significant things. They can only hope that their own descendants will say the same in another 200 years.

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Award of Merit
Please Touch Museum Memorial Hall Restoration and Relocation
Please Touch Museum

The Please Touch Museum Memorial Hall Restoration and Relocation simultaneously rescued a beloved iconic museum and a historic architectural marvel. The result is a symbol of a brighter future for children and families in one of Philadelphia’s great neighborhoods. This project transformed a museum for children into the museum of childhood, while resurrecting a dilapidated national landmark, in one of the field’s most inspiring examples of creative re-use. Not only a magical place for families with young children, the newly designed space invites an expanded audience of historians, museum enthusiasts, and other adult visitors. The museum brings its mission of learning through play to children from communities diverse in economic, social, and ethnic character. The juxtaposition of a place of play with innovative use of historic artifacts and architecture is inspired. The relocation of Please Touch Museum to Fairmount Park has had a positive impact on its community, stimulated local businesses, and increased momentum for the redevelopment of a historically important neighborhood into a family destination expected to attract approximately three million people annually.

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Honorable Mention
Clifford Township Chautauqua 2008
Clifford Township Historical Society

Melding local history and creative arts, Clifford Township Historical Society hosted a modern-day Chautauqua on a rainy weekend in July of 2008. In the tradition of nineteenth-century Chautauqua, this 21st century version brought overwhelming community involvement in a sparsely-populated area, using every available resource: individual legwork, in-kind donations, local business support, historical research, and grant funding. Spectators arrived at a local cemetery – in the rain – to experience the stories of those who slept below their lawn chairs. To expand their reach beyond the actual place and time, DVDs with educational supplements were distributed to local school districts, libraries, historical societies, and homes for the elderly. This effort has been credited with increasing, in fact doubling, the membership for the historical society, and with generating local funding and support to develop the project into an annual signature event. A small, rural historical society with no paid personnel, energized by enthusiasm and talents of volunteers, set an example of interactive community involvement with the arts and history.

Honorable Mention
Building Bridges, Linking Lives: The Walnut Lane Bridge at 100
Cliveden of the National Trust

Beginning in 1906, a diverse workforce of largely local residents worked for nearly three years to build the Walnut Lane Bridge – at the time the largest concrete span in the world. It forged links between the communities of Germantown and Roxborough in profound ways and spurred local economic growth during the 20th century. In 2007, Cliveden began a two-year project to commemorate the centennial of this community landmark. Funded by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, the Institute for Museum and Library Services, and private donors, Cliveden launched a series of new exhibits and programs related to the bridge and its affect on the Germantown community. Using the bridge as a conceptual anchor, Cliveden highlighted Germantown’s historic sites and their core preservation work by utilizing rare historic collections and the power of community volunteers as “Bridge Brigades.” The overall goal of the commemoration was to draw attention to the historic and cultural resources of the city’s northwestern neighborhoods, and to open a civic dialogue about the role of art and culture in creating and maintaining a community identity.

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Honorable Mention
Meadowcroft Rockshelter Preservation and Public Access Project
Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Museum of Rural Life

In 2008, the Meadowcroft Rockshelter unveiled a new enclosure to preserve its world-renowned archaeological site allowing large groups to explore the deepest parts of the excavation. Meadowcroft Rockshelter, known throughout the world as the oldest and continually used camp site occupied by humans in North America, dates back 16,000 years. The new enclosure protects this National Historic Landmark while accommodating public visitation. The new structure also allows the development of enhanced exhibits, improved interpretation, and educational programs. The project converges with revitalization projects in Washington County and provides a focus for tourism development in the region. Already enjoying a noticeable up-tick in visitors since the construction, Meadowcroft Rockshelter’s visitor-friendly, state-of-the-art enclosure preserves and secures this site of worldwide significance for future generations to study and to wonder.

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INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

Leadership Award

This award recognizes exceptional leadership service to a PFMHO institutional member at the board or community level.

Daniel E. Higham, Immediate Past President
Crawford County Historical Society

After serving in other volunteer roles over the years, Daniel E. Higham took the helm of the Crawford County Historical Society in 2002 as its President at a critical and difficult time in the organization’s history. Since that time, the Society established its own identity, separating from the 1871 Meadville Library Art and Historical Organization, and moving to a new space. Under his guidance, the Society has increased its programmatic offerings, numbers of projects, quantity and quality of volunteers, and has doubled membership. Mr. Higham’s leadership style is defined by his example and his is a vision of an inclusive community resource, giving to and getting what it needs from many constituencies. The Society has become a magnet for other historical organizations throughout the county, working together, and supporting each other. Mr. Higham has encouraged every member to develop “ownership” of some aspect of the county’s past, to amplify his or her commitment, leading to a stronger organization.

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Professional Award

This award recognizes excellence in professional accomplishments and service made to a PFMHO institutional member by a salaried employee.

Lance Earl Metz, Historian
Hugh Moore Historical Park and Museums

Lance Metz, as his nominator described, IS the National Canal Museum. A student and teacher of history, over thirty years ago Mr. Metz began collecting materials significant to the history of canals in America and the industries those canals supported. While publishing, lecturing, and often involved with other worthy public causes in his community, Mr. Metz tirelessly gathered artifacts, archives, and allies to create a premier museum dedicated to the history, relevance and impact of canals. He is the “go to guy,” even now as Historian Emeritus, if the media, academics, or colleagues in the field need a source with a deep knowledge of canals, industrial history, or local history.

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Heart and Soul Award

This award recognizes outstanding or long-term, hands-on volunteer activities that have benefited a PFMHO institutional member.

David C. Rollenhagen, Volunteer Miller
The Mill at Anselma Preservation and Educational Trust

David Rollenhagen, fascinated by mills his entire life, jumped at the opportunity to become involved when he learned a mill was being restored near his home. Serving as a volunteer on the board at The Mill at Anselma since 2001, Dave has immersed himself in the activities of the organization. Hands-on projects that need attention; restoration and collections care; website creation; benchmarking with other historic mills on the east coast; establishing policies and procedures; operating the mill; establishing consistent, safety-first volunteer training; earning income from milling; writing A Miller’s Guide, a training manual; organizing a miller’s forum to network and share with similar organizations – Dave has done it all. His efforts have created the visitor experience at The Mill at Anselma, and he has set the tone for organizational excellence. With thousands of volunteer hours under his belt in leadership roles and humbly doing the work at hand, David Rollenhagen has helped significantly to ensure the long-term sustainability of The Mill at Anselma.

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SPECIAL PFMHO AWARDS

An Executive Director’s award is given at the discretion of the Federation’s Director to recognize work being done in the Commonwealth that rises above the ordinary and raises the standard of expectations in the museum and public history field. This year’s awards honor Charles H. Glatfelter, Director Emeritus of the Adams County Historical Society. Dr. Glatfelter’s lifetime of academic and civic accomplishments embodies the level of leadership exhibited in the awardees’ achievements.

Charles H. Glatfelter Executive Director Award - Museum
Accessible Programs
Philadelphia Museum of Art

The Philadelphia Museum of Art’s dedication to accessibility is a far-reaching, long-term commitment to the public from the Commonwealth’s largest and most comprehensive art museum. Not only are ADA requirements in all of its public spaces met or exceeded, initiatives to provide full and equal access to permanent collections, special exhibitions, and outreach activities have been aggressively developed and implemented. PMA’s model programs have provided case studies presented at the American Association of Museum’s Annual Meeting and to the Pennsylvania Board of Education. The broad mix of practices include touch tours, Braille, and other tactile resources; audible descriptions of the art; sign language tours, tours designed to accommodate visitors with Alzheimer’s disease as well as individuals with autism. Form in Art engages partially-sighted adults in the process of making art, outreach lectures travel to area hospitals, nursing homes, and mental health centers, and telephone art history courses provide access to those who cannot leave their homes. The priority placed on accessibility by the PMA raises the bar for museums as they consider not just ways to accommodate diverse audiences but how to attract people of all abilities.

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Charles H. Glatfelter Executive Director Award - Public History
Publications and Contributions to Pennsylvania History
Center for Northern Appalachian Studies at Saint Vincent College

Since its inception in 1991, the Center for Northern Appalachian Studies at Saint Vincent College has distinguished itself through oral history publications, lecture series, advocacy for historic preservation, and passion for sharing community history. Through extensive and wide-ranging partnerships with local, regional, and national historical institutions, the Center’s public programming has developed increasing impact over the years. Generations have been bridged in classrooms and through public programs. Young people’s lives have been enriched by their seniors whose oral histories are collected as cultural artifacts. Ethnic histories and minority community memories – rarely explored in rural locations – have been preserved along with their urban aspects. The Center’s recent activities, collecting oral histories of World War II veterans published into a series of books, have generated public excitement and gratitude. The Saint Vincent College Center of Northern Appalachian Studies instills exuberance and passion into the field of historical research giving people in the community a sense of their place in actual history.

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PFMHO Special Appreciation Award
Kenneth B. Shockey, PFMHO Photographer

Since 2004, Ken Shockey has aimed his camera with remarkable skill at participants and locations of PFMHO events. Ken has provided a photographic chronicle of Federation statewide museum conferences and events that many have seen in Tapestry and on the Federation website. At conferences, photographic slide shows of people, sessions, conversations, and historic locations appear on a laptop for attendees to enjoy even as the event is unfolding. PFMHO thanks Ken Shockey with this Special Appreciation Award, recognizing his generous contribution to the history of the Federation.

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President’s Award

From time to time a leader emerges as truly exemplary. The President’s Award allows the entire Federation – its board, its membership, and the museum field across the Commonwealth – to publicly recognize sustained excellence and distinguished service. The recipient is notable as an inspirational leader who has made lasting and substantive professional contributions.

Nancy D. Kolb, President and C.E.O.
Please Touch Museum

After over 30 years in the museum field, 21 of those at the helm of the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia, Nancy D. Kolb is recognized for her long and distinguished career. Ms. Kolb has been a responsible and respected collector, preservationist and historian, a caring community advocate, a responsible neighbor, and a top-notch museum professional. She has inspired so many of her peers with her capacity to get things done, her ability to identify opportunities where others only saw challenges, and for building a stronger and more memorable future for all of us in the field. Ms. Kolb will retire this year, but not before her unflagging determination realized the relocation of Please Touch Museum and the restoration of Memorial Hall. Her ongoing efforts to collect and restore memories of Philadelphia childhood history were fueled by her belief that a children’s museum can coexist with a centennial relic. Ms. Kolb’s efforts leave behind a healthier community, an institution defined by innovation, a historic landmark brought to new life, and a model of a museum’s transformative power.

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2008 AWARD WINNERS

Soul Soldiers
Centre County and the Civil War
GeoKids
A Kiowa Odyssey
Clifford Township Two Hundred Years
Alan Sweeney
Charles H. Glatfelter
2007 Winners

S. K. STEVENS MEMORIAL AWARD
Soul Soldiers: African Americans and the Vietnam Era
Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center

The S. K. Stevens Memorial Award was created in 1975 by the Historical Foundation of Pennsylvania to honor the memory of historian Sylvester Kirby Stevens. This prestigious award recognizes outstanding accomplishments in the field of Pennsylvania state and local history. The winner receives a cash prize and a certificate. This award does not fall under the typical nomination procedure. To qualify, the project must have received an award from the Pennsylvania Federation of Museums and Historical Organizations as well as national recognition from the American Association of State and Local History. In 2008, Soul Soldiers: African Americans and the Vietnam Era met those criteria.

The exhibit is curated by Senator John Heinz History Center’s Samuel W. Black, and was created by him and other history center staff with the help of local Pittsburgh-area veterans. Soul Soldiers tells the story of the Vietnam War's impact on African American life and culture by examining both Vietnam and the Civil Rights Movement.

The exhibit includes the stories of dozens of Western Pennsylvania men and women who played a key role in the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War, accompanied with powerful and evocative photographic testimony. It contains a rendition of Washington D.C.’s memorial wall listing names of Western Pennsylvanian African American war casualties, a theater designed to mimic a “hooch” showing a 13-minute documentary film, panels recounting the history of Vietnam and the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, and artifacts, documents, art, and personal possessions of front-line African American soldiers. An audio installation offers musical snapshots of the time: from the likes of the romantic Soldier Boy; to the music of a more conflict-ridden era like that of Jimi Hendrix and Edwin Starr’s iconic War (What is it Good For?); to recordings popular during the withdrawal of troops, such as Marvin Gaye’s, What’s Happpening Brother.

A companion book, Soul Soldiers: African Americans and the Vietnam Era, edited by exhibit curator Samuel W. Black, looks at black life through the eyes of veterans by bringing together essays, poetry, oral histories, and riveting recollections that recall the horrors of war, the complexities of race, and the duality of African American life.

Currently, the exhibit is enjoying an extensive traveling schedule having just closed in Chicago and is currently in the African American Museum, Dallas. In 2009, it will go to the African American Museum in Philadelphia, the Virginia Historical Society in Richmond, and the Birmingham (Alabama) Civil Rights Institute. In 2010 it will be showcased at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee.

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Institutional Awards

Institutional Achievement Awards are judged on three primary criteria: the degree to which a project benefits the public, how it enhances the professionalism of its organization and increases capacity, and its potential to be an outstanding example of innovation in the field.

Award of Merit

Centre County and the Civil War
Centre County Historical Society

In 2007 the Centre County Historical Society mounted an exhibit utilizing primary resources from its own archival collections. The goal was to illustrate how the Civil War affected the people of Centre County, both on the home front and on the battlefield. Focusing on the unique composition of Centre County’s population at the time, the historical society brought the Civil War to the local level, making a connection to both veterans’ ancestors and current residents in the community.

The historical society “mined” their collection, not only drawing upon materials they had used before, but also mounted a search for previously undiscovered or underutilized materials from its archival and museum collection.

Richard Pencek, Emeritus Teaching Scholar at Penn State University said, “It successfully told the story of the complexities of the war, effectively corrected the simple notion that all Northerners were supporters of the war and on the ‘the winning side’. The exhibit did not focus on military battles, but rather highlighted the impact on individuals, both in battle and at home, offering a much deeper understanding of that military conflict and of any military conflict.”

Centre County Historical Society is to be commended for its outreach. They hosted members of the Pennsylvania Historical Association while at their annual conference in State College, with Dr. Mark Neely, a prominent Civil War historian giving the opening remarks. The exhibit provided an uncommon opportunity to create a dialogue among professional historians and other museum and public history professionals. Additionally, they collaborated with Penn State University, offering intern research opportunities and hands-on experiences. Students had an opportunity to witness first-hand the benefits of archives research and the use of first-source materials.

This exhibit was professionally composed and mounted on a very limited budget. Reviewers commented, “It is amazing what they were able to do with $7,000. The panels jumped off the page; as good as a major museum.” and, “This was a good example of what a county historical society can do: not huge, just a focus on their own county’s involvement with Civil War. It was a great use of limited resources.” As Pennsylvania prepares for the 2011 sesquicentennial of the start of the Civil War, Centre County Historical Society added their county’s voice to the dialogue of commemoration.

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Award of Merit

GeoKids
Wagner Free Institute of Science

GeoKids is the Wagner Free Institute of Science’s most successful partnership with its neighborhood. In one of Philadelphia’s most economically depressed areas, GeoKids enriches the lives of students who discover that learning outside the classroom is an exciting experience. They also find out that a museum isn’t a just stuffy place full of “old stuff.” Utilizing the Institute’s collections and resources, GeoKids advances science education among low-income children in a creative, interactive fashion.

Each year, the program serves 350 first- through fifth-grade students in four schools with a yearlong, inquiry-based science curriculum tailored to the needs of the students. GeoKids participants regularly visit the museum for an opportunity to learn in a hands-on setting, working with objects from nature. Assignments combine scientific concepts and emphasize reading, writing, and skills such a observation and analysis.

The Wagner encourages students to interact and explore the natural world and then gain a greater understanding by close-up examination of artifacts and specimens. Because students return for multiple visits, educators are able to develop concepts over time. In curricula for grades one through five, students explore living things, cycles and systems, rocks and minerals, wetland ecosystems, and the scientific method of observation. Through the integration of the curriculum and hands-on activities, students become excited about exploration, experimentation, and education. As collaborators, teachers who had been reluctant to teach science find new confidence in their ability to present appropriate activities and elicit positive student responses.

GeoKids is a collaboration between the Wagner Free Institute of Science, Saint Joseph’s University, and four north Philadelphia elementary schools. It is based on the idea that children have a natural curiosity about many topics in the earth and life sciences and the study of these subjects at an early age can increase subsequent interest in science, as well as learning ingeneral. The program earned AAM’s Excellence in Programming Award, which recognizes exemplary creativity and innovation in museum education programming.

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Award of Merit

A Kiowa's Odyssey: A Sketchbook from Fort Marion
The Trout Gallery, Dickinson College

The Trout Gallery at Dickinson College created A Kiowa’s Odyssey: A Sketchbook from Fort Marion, a national museum exhibition, catalogue, website, symposium, and K-12 educational program. The project explores the acculturation of Native Americans of the Kiowa tribe during the late 19th century through drawings made by one of their warriors, Etahdlueh Doanmoe. These extraordinary pictures were drawn when Etahdlueh and 71 of his fellows were held as prisoners of war in Fort Marion, St. Augustine, Florida. The illustrations tell the story of their capture on the Southern Plains, their journey to the Florida coast, and their three years in captivity under the authority of Lt. Richard Pratt where they were compelled to adopt Western values, appearance, behavior, language and beliefs. The events at Fort Marion provided the basis for the subsequent development of the Carlisle Indian School.

A partnership between The Trout Gallery of Dickinson College and Yale University’s Beinecke Library brought together Etahdlueh’s drawings, captioned by Pratt, which had originally been created as a single work but was disassembled and divided between the two institutions. The project also drew together descendants of the 72 Kiowa warriors and those of Lt. Pratt. It introduced today’s school children in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, St. Augustine, Florida, and Canyon, Texas to historic events and ideas that bind these three communities. Additionally, it encompassed two area museums – the Cumberland County Historical Society and the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center, which organized complementary exhibitions.

The sketchbook, whose illustrations are nothing short of extraordinary – simple, beautiful, and heart-rending – is just one facet of this project. In addition to the sketchbook exhibition and the two local complementary exhibits, Trout Gallery produced a catalog, designed for scholarly readers, and an interactive CD/website to accelerate wide availability of the project’s contents. A symposium brought together leading specialists on the history and art of Fort Marion. An extensive educational program aimed at K-12 was delivered to over 1,000 students.

This was a huge undertaking for a relatively small museum. The cooperative aspect of the project stretched its institutional reach and sharpened skills of its staff as it exposed them to a wide range of professionals and disciplines. It also served its local audience, generating over 2,300 visitors. This is a stellar example of a small collegiate museum having great vision, using all its resources to perform at the highest professional levels.

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Honorable Mention
Clifford Township Two Hundred Years: 1806-2006
Clifford Township Historical Society

Clifford Township Two Hundred Years: 1806-2006 is the product of a local historical society whose modest resources are overshadowed by enormous dedication. The historic retrospective commemorates the 200th anniversary of Clifford Township, located in Susquehanna County in the far northeast corner of the state. Clifford Township’s rich history has been carefully chronicled by a dedicated group of volunteers who solicited oral histories and archival materials by door-to-door canvassing throughout the township.

Clifford Township Two Hundred Years has an interesting and inclusive text complemented by numerous photos, each credited to the source from which it came. The index provides usable material for researchers of local history. There is a well-documented bibliography and the layout of the photos and graphics is clear and professional.

Clifford Township, with a population of only 2,400, provides proof that good things can come in small packages. The publishing of this book confirmed the collaborative commitment of a cadre of three dozen volunteers who spent a year and a half collecting material. The authors, Sally Fischbeck and Patricia Peltz each spent 1,000 hours of their time researching, writing, fact-checking, and assembling over 600 photographs, maps, and diagrams to produce a comprehensive local history. With a large and diverse working group, they found among themselves skills such as graphic design and photo editing, making this a true community project.

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Individual Awards

Leadership Award

Alan Sweeney
Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority

The Leadership Award recognizes exceptional leadership service by an individual to a PFMHO institutional member at the board or community level over an extended period of time. Such leadership shall be determined based on the institution’s continual growth and development, positioning it as a valuable community asset.

Alan Sweeney has been on the Board of Directors of Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority since 2000, and its president since 2004. He was one of the earliest voices raised in support of the Pennsylvania Heritage Area program; and Mr. Sweeney was instrumental in the development and implementation of LHVA, designated the first Pennsylvania Heritage Area in 1991.

In addition to his contributions to LVHA, Mr. Sweeney’s energy has fueled myriad other historical and community organizations over many years.

As a member of the Board of Directors of the Lackawanna Historical Society since 1995, Mr. Sweeney has been instrumental in building an exceptionally strong board, expanding the Society’s outreach, spearheading multiple successful fundraising campaigns, creating new and strengthening existing partnerships, and improving the overall organization of the Society. He has initiated numerous successful programs, including the annual Civil War commemoration, and has overseen the meticulous restoration of the Society’s headquarters at the historic Catlin House.

Mr. Sweeney’s support of Steamtown National Historic Site goes back 20 years, when the concept of such a park was just developing into reality. He recognized the importance of steam railroading not only to the nation’s growth, but also its historic and industrial significance to northeastern Pennsylvania. His extensive knowledge of the history of the Lackawanna Valley region and his association with numerous museums at the state and local levels have contributed significantly to enhance interpretive and educational programs at Steamtown.

For three decades, Mr. Sweeney’s tireless contributions of time and talent have served the Scranton Public Library. He became involved at a time of fiscal difficulty and proceeded to work tirelessly and effectively to raise funds and public awareness of the library’s value to the community. He is a popular speaker on both the Civil War and local heritage, he has enriched their local history collection with several notable books that he authored or co-authored, and he has been instrumental in creating institutional partnerships resulting in better historical research services for the public.

Mr. Sweeney’s efforts were instrumental in the restoration of Scranton’s Soldiers and Sailors Monument. As such, he was commended by the City of Scranton, the Lackawanna County commissioners, and the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

The nomination document for Mr. Sweeney claims he has set the standard for community service; his long-term community contributions bear this out. His activities in his work and volunteer service speak volumes about the positive impact he has had on northeastern Pennsylvania in economic and community development, education, and historic preservation. The Awards Review Committee was enthusiastic and unanimous in its determination to confer this award on Alan Sweeney. Said one reviewer, “When does he sleep?”

Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority, Lackawanna County Historical Society, and Steamtown are institutional members of PFMHO.

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Executive Director's Award
Charles Glatfelter
Adams County Historical Society

The Executive Director's Award is presented from time to time at the discretion of the director. It honors sustained excellence and distinguished service to the museum or public history field. A recipient is notable as an inspirational leader who has made lasting and substantive professional contributions.

Dr. Charles H. Glatfelter is a native of Glen Rock, York County, Pennsylvania, but spent most of his lifetime in nearby Adams County. He graduated from Gettysburg College with a Bachelor’s Degree in history in 1946 with the intent of becoming a teacher. However, for the next six years, he continued his education and completed a Ph.D. in history in 1952 at the Johns Hopkins University.

Glatfelter joined the faculty at Gettysburg College in 1946 before he finished graduate school and remained a professor until 1989, a career that encompassed forty years of service to the College. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Glatfelter held a number of administrative posts during his tenure, including Chair of the History Department and Dean of the College.

Outside of the classroom, Glatfelter has been part of numerous historical bodies and organizations including the Pennsylvania German Society, the Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania, and the Casper Glattfelder Association of America to name only a few. Enjoying a long tenure at the Pennsylvania Historical Association, he was an officer for 25 years.

He was the executive director of the Adams County Historical Society from 1959 – 2001 and in this capacity built and maintained an outstanding research and artifact collection related to the history of Adams County which now constitutes over one million items.

A prolific lecturer and writer, Glatfelter has penned over 35 publications. His many works – most of which concentrate on Pennsylvania, local, and college history – include A Brief History of Glen Rock, York County, Pennsylvania, The Pennsylvania Germans: A Brief Account on their Influence on Pennsylvania, A Salutary Influence: Gettysburg College, 1832-1985, Yonder Beautiful and Stately College Edifice: A History of Pennsylvania Hall (Old Dorm), and "Gettysburg, Pennsylvania: A Brief History.” He also co-authored Ideas and Institutions of Western Man, a work published in 1958 by a group of Gettysburg College faculty.

Glatfelter was named Adams County Historian by the county’s commissioners in 2001. In 2005 he was named Adams County Citizen of the year. He resides in Gettysburg with his wife Miriam of 61 years. The couple has two children a daughter Chris and son Philip.
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PFMHO 2007 SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

S. K. Stevens Memorial Awards

Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
a consortium of the American Philosophical Society, The Franklin Institute,
the Library Company of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Museum of Art,
and the University of Pennsylvania.
Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World

This 8,000-square foot traveling exhibition interprets the life of Benjamin Franklin in the context of his many economic, political, and scientific innovations. The exhibit consists of the largest collection of historic items related to Franklin ever amassed and includes interactive technology, a striking 350-page illustrated history, and extensive curricular materials. It was the anchor of a larger public celebration which included, public lectures, symposia, musical events, and writing workshops.

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Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center
Clash of Empires: The British, French & Indian War, 1754-1763

This comprehensive exhibit presents the story of the French and Indian War and its impact as a turning point in early American history. It features a collection of nearly 300 artifacts from around the world, period paintings, and life-size models of the war’s most fascinating characters. The exhibit uses new scholarship, inspires teachers to rewrite curricula, and supports a region-wide initiative showing the role played by central Pittsburgh in the balance of political power in the eighteenth century.

Stenton and the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America -
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
History Hunters Youth Reporter Program

With awards by PFMHO in 2004 and AASLH in 2005, this is a highly successful literacy-based education program focuses on students from underserved communities in Philadelphia. A ground-breaking collaboration among five historic sites, History Hunters uses the resources of the Germantown community to provide a year-long American history lesson through site visits, on-site activities, pre- and post visit assignments, and Act 48-approved teacher training. It is recognized as a model for regional collaboration.

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2007 Awards of Merit
(listed here in alphabetical order)

Fonthill Museum
Intimate Henry Tour

Instead of focusing on Henry Mercer’s public accomplishments, this tour emphasizes the qualities of his personal life that made him exceptional as well as creates an understanding that Fonthill was a home, not always a museum. It clearly accomplishes its goal of providing new research and training to guides and eliminating undocumented stories. Recognizing the challenges of interpreting a historic house, the development of this tour relies on sound historical research while focusing on non-traditional themes. “Very well done,” said one reviewer, “it is a fine example to be used throughout the field.”

Hugh Moore Historical Park and Museums, Inc.
National Canal Museum

This new exhibit was cited by the National Science Foundation as a “national model for how history museums can integrate science into their exhibits and programs.” It's use of hands-on components minus the blinking lights and electrical buzzers prompted one reviewer to remark, “They are really walking the walk and talking the talk of 21st-century interactive exhibits.” In addition to a 90-foot-long model canal and lock systems through which visitors move boats and cargo, the project includes web-based canal games and a traveling component that will be regionally available.

Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center
Soul Soldiers

Using more than 100 artifacts, original photographs, graphics, ephemera, text, publications, art, and audio and video installations, this is a comprehensive examination of the Vietnam War from an African American perspective. Illustrating parallel issues of fighting a war abroad and struggling for civil rights at home, it impressed reviewers with its breadth of coverage, research techniques, excellent school materials, use of music to tell history, and gut-wrenching relevance. “This one just took me to the heart of it.”

2007 Honorable Mentions

Historic Yellow Springs, Inc.
History and Children's Discovery Trail

This set of interpretive tools includes a brochure, maps, and “passport” stations, while a walking tour guides visitors through Historic Yellow Springs village.

Jefferson County Historical Society, Inc.
Native American Lifeways in Western Pennsylvania

This 800-square-foot exhibit provides a good example of a smaller institution’s ability to produce a cost-effective yet significant exhibit, using archaeological research and artifacts from local Native American cultures.

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2007 Individual Awards

Professional Award
Michael J. Ripton, Executive Director
Mechanicsburg Museum Association

Heart and Soul Award
Katherine A. Holter, volunteer
Senator John Heinz History Center

Executive Director's Award
Senator Jane Clare Orie

President's Award
Robert A. Gingerich

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