Partnerships play important role in preserving history The Public History and Museum Studies program at Mercyhurst University is part of the Thomas B. Hagen Department of History. Established in 2003, it works with partners throughout northwestern Pennsylvania to advance the preservation, interpretation, and appreciation of the rich history of the people and places of the region. In recent years, students in the program have undertaken other projects of note, including “You Are Here, We Are Here: An Illustrated Walking Tour of Erie’s Historic East Side.” Students collaborated with the Sisters of St. Joseph Neighborhood Network to create a portrait of Erie’s historic eastside multicultural community. In another project, students traveled Erie’s streets, photographing historic buildings and gathering oral histories from local experts to create “Erie Places, Erie Stories,” contributing to the frst countywide survey of historic buildings in more than three decades. In the summer of 2019, then-senior Rose Pregler ’19 ’20M presented fndings of her historic archaeological investigation of the Spring Creek farmhouse of U.S. Supreme Court Justice and Nuremberg Trials Chief Prosecutor Robert H. Jackson. More recently, students made signifcant contributions to two wayside interpretive markers — Russell’s Log Cabins and Open for the Season — which celebrate stories unique to Harborcreek history. The panels were slated for installation this past summer at the Giford-Blanchfeld House. Home to seven generations of the same family, the historic homestead has since become the home of the Harborcreek Historical Society.
Melinda Meyer, chair of Preservation Erie, at left, historian Johnny Johnson, center, and Mercyhurst History Professor Chris Magoc gather at the Erie Cemetery in August 2020 to unveil “African Americans in Erie: A Trail of Shared Heritage.”
featuring historic points of interest, public art, and businesses that pay tribute to the City of Erie’s African American heritage. For its part, Mercyhurst’s Thomas B. Hagen Department of History continues to supplement its work on the project, thanks to an Anti-Racism Grant from the university that department chair Dr. Benjamin Scharf secured last semester. As a result, students will script and produce video spots highlighting some of the sites, which will be featured on the Shared Heritage website. Further, Scharf said the project will be highlighted in the plenary session of the Pennsylvania Historical Association’s annual meeting in October. “Being selected as the plenary session at the Pennsylvania Historical Association’s annual meeting is a great honor for the Department of History, the university, and the City of Erie,” Scharf said. “While most conference sessions are run concurrently with other sessions, dividing up the audience, the plenary session is run alone and kicks of the conference proceedings. As a result, the focus of the entire Commonwealth will be on this project. The decision to highlight this endeavor is a testament to the important work undertaken by Dr. Magoc, the history department, students enrolled in the public history concentration, and a number of important community partners.”
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