Editor’s Letter

Posted by on Jan 14, 2026 in | Comments Off on Editor’s Letter With this edition of Pennsylvania Heritage, we begin our commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the year of American independence. In the coming months, the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission and its Trails of History sites will be offering an array of related programs, exhibitions and events that you’ll hear about in these pages. This winter, The State Museum of Pennsylvania...
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Editor’s Letter

Posted by on Dec 1, 2025 in | Comments Off on Editor’s Letter What comes to mind when you think of Pennsylvania? The features in this edition spotlight perspectives on commonwealth culture through a painter’s scenic landscapes, a sculptor’s three-dimensional portraits of historical and folkloric figures, the state animal, and a popular food product. In the early 1970s, artist Nick Ruggieri was commissioned by the Harrisburg Patriot-News to select a...
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Editor’s Letter

Posted by on Jun 11, 2025 in | Comments Off on Editor’s Letter This edition of Pennsylvania Heritage brings us to the 250th anniversary of the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War in the spring of 1775. Two of the features included here commemorate historic milestones in the pursuit of liberty and a third serves as an introduction to Pennsylvania’s involvement in the Revolution. Following the conflicts at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts,...
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Editor’s Letter

Posted by on Feb 21, 2025 in | Comments Off on Editor’s Letter In the Spring 2024 edition of Pennsylvania Heritage, we looked at the World War II experience of Steelton’s Thomas Mosley, one of the first Black men to serve in the U.S. Marines since the Revolutionary War. In this issue we continue our focus on World War II as we approach the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge and highlight the role of Pennsylvanians in that decisive conflict. In the...
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Editor’s Letter

Posted by on Aug 9, 2024 in | Comments Off on Editor’s Letter This issue of Pennsylvania Heritage, our 200th, is dedicated to Michael J. O’Malley III, who passed away on January 26, 2024. As many longtime readers know, Michael was the editor of this magazine for 30 years, and in that time, he played a crucial role in its development. He began working at the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission as a public information officer in 1978 and joined...
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Pennsylvania Heritage at 50

Posted by on Dec 1, 2023 in | Comments Off on Pennsylvania Heritage at 50 For 50 years, Pennsylvania Heritage has played a significant role in bringing the history of the Keystone State to a public audience. Like its parent agency, the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission (PHMC), the magazine operates with the vision that “Pennsylvanians see history as relevant to their lives.” *** I was only 12 when I first held an issue of Pennsylvania Heritage in my...
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Editor’s Letter

Posted by on Dec 1, 2023 in | Comments Off on Editor’s Letter Fifty years ago, the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission published its first issue of Pennsylvania Heritage. It’s been a long journey — 198 editions with more than 700 features and hundreds of shorter department articles collectively recounting the compelling saga of Pennsylvania. You can read about the history of our history magazine in “Pennsylvania Heritage at 50.” On this golden...
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From the Executive Director

Posted by on Dec 1, 2023 in | Comments Off on From the Executive Director Pennsylvania Heritage is the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission’s flagship publication, so within the masthead, you will find PHMC leadership listed. The commission is made up of 14 commissioners who play an important role in the governance of PHMC. With this issue, you may have noticed that some of the individuals listed as commissioners have changed. The composition of the...
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Editor’s Letter

Posted by on Mar 17, 2023 in | Comments Off on Editor’s Letter This April 3 marks the 75th anniversary of President Harry S. Truman’s signing of the European Recovery Program, better known as the Marshall Plan. Pennsylvania native and former Army chief of staff George C. Marshall, Truman’s secretary of state, first articulated the need to rehabilitate the economic structure of Europe following the devastation of World War II in a speech at Harvard...
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Editor’s Letter

Posted by on Dec 15, 2022 in | Comments Off on Editor’s Letter As Pennsylvania Heritage moves into its 49th year of publication with this issue, we present three features about Keystone State phenomena that are marked by longevity and progression through the years. One of the highlights of the first wave of the movement for women’s rights in Pennsylvania was the 1897 founding of the Plastic Club for women artists in Philadelphia. At the time, most women who...
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