Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation Newsletter

Posted by on Jun 13, 2017 in | Comments Off on Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation Newsletter Topics in the Summer 2017 Newsletter: Third Annual Giving Circle Dinner The Giving Circle PHF-Held Endowment Funds Whiskey Still for Fort Pitt Museum Collection PHF Welcomes New Board Member PHF Receives Grant in Partnership with Eckley Miners’ Village Join the Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation  ...
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2016 Trails

Posted by on Dec 13, 2016 in | Comments Off on 2016 Trails In 2015 the Pennsylvania Lumber Museum in Galeton, Potter County, officially opened its expanded visitor center to the public. The museum also debuted Challenges and Choices in Pennsylvania’s Forests, an artifact-rich exhibit exploring the history of the lumber industry, the rise of the conservation movement and professional forestry, the Civilian Conservation Corps, and current best practices...
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Editor’s Letter

Posted by on Sep 9, 2016 in | Comments Off on Editor’s Letter Forgotten human history exists beneath us in Pennsylvania, from as far back as 20,000 years ago to as recently as the previous century. In the last 50 years, many lost worlds have been recovered as a result of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA). A provision in NHPA, popularly known by its number in the document, Section 106, calls for the heads of federal agencies to “take...
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Keystone Flagship: USS Pennsylvania Leading the Navy through Two World Wars

Posted by on Sep 9, 2016 in | Comments Off on Keystone Flagship: USS Pennsylvania Leading the Navy through Two World Wars “Air raid on Pearl Harbor. This is not drill.” The message went out from the headquarters of the United States Pacific Fleet in Hawaii on December 7, 1941. Its brevity belied the gravity of the event it reported. The White House released the information shortly before 2:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, and many people learned the news throughout the afternoon as radio programs were...
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The Pennsy Guns at the Pennsylvania Military Museum

Posted by on Sep 9, 2016 in | Comments Off on The Pennsy Guns at the Pennsylvania Military Museum State Museum curator Robert D. Hill’s article about the USS Pennsylvania (see “Keystone Flagship: USS Pennsylvania Leading the Navy through Two World Wars”) mentions that the ship underwent a significant refit in 1945. The ship’s wartime armament included a dozen 14-inch guns, arrayed in four 3-gun turrets (“14-inch” refers to the diameter of the projectile). Among other work, the...
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Remember Dec. 7th

Posted by on Sep 9, 2016 in | Comments Off on Remember Dec. 7th After the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and Congress’ declaration of war on Japan the following day, the U.S. officially entered World War II. As the nation moved into full-force mobilization, the government initiated a propaganda effort to boost morale and patriotism. Several wartime agencies produced and disseminated propaganda, including the Office of War Information (OWI)...
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Ship’s Silver Shines in State Museum

Posted by on Nov 30, 2013 in | Comments Off on Ship’s Silver Shines in State Museum The custom whereby a state presented a silver service to the U.S. Navy battleship bearing its name is commemorated by a major exhibit, “The U.S.S. Pennsylvania and Her Silver,” which opened at the William Penn Memorial Museum in Harrisburg on September 26, 1981 and will remain in place through July 11, 1982 (see “Silver Service Set for William Penn Memorial Museum...
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Preserving Pieces of Pennsylvania’s Past: An Inside Look at the Building of the Commonwealth’s Collections

Posted by on Nov 30, 2013 in | Comments Off on Preserving Pieces of Pennsylvania’s Past: An Inside Look at the Building of the Commonwealth’s Collections Associations between butterflies and buttons, Conestoga wagons and cannon, sculpture and arrowheads, or fossils and founder William Penn’s original Charter may seem tenuous, even obscure and, perhaps, nonsensical. But a relationship does exist: they are among the one and a half million objects and thirty thousand cubic feet of manuscripts, records, maps and photographs in the custody and...
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Lost and Found

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Lost and Found Lost Battleship Number 38, the third vessel christened USS Pennsylvania, was launched in March 1915. Between stints in World War I and World War II, she served as a flagship and took part in fleet exercises. USS Pennsylvania sustained only minor damage in the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, where she was dry-docked. After assisting in eight World War II campaigns, the ship was...
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Pennsylvanians-at-Arms: The Pennsylvania Military Museum

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Pennsylvanians-at-Arms: The Pennsylvania Military Museum From provincial militia units that predate the American Revolution to this very day, Pennsylvanians have mustered their courage and taken up arms to defend their homes, defeat tyranny abroad, and champion the freedom of people at home and throughout the world. By accepting their call to duty, Pennsylvania’s brave citizen-soldiers have built a proud military tradition that, ironically, grew...
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