Volunteers of the Year Part 1

Go here for the answer to the May 4 “Name That Zoom!”

This is part one in a multi-part tribute to PHMC’s Volunteer of the Year honorees.

On April 30, staff and volunteers from Trails of History sites all over the Commonwealth gathered with Harrisburg staff to celebrate all the wonderful people who volunteer their time and energy to preserving Pennsylvania’s heritage and making it come alive for visitors. As we have done every year for many years now, we honored a Volunteer of the Year from each site for their service in 2010. The ceremony and lunch were hosted by the State Museum of Pennsylvania. Today and in the coming weeks, Trailheads will highlight our honorees and share with you some of their accomplishments (and give you a link to a fuller description). We can never say “thank you” enough for the support these folks provide, but we can try.



Linda Schuller began her service at the Anthracite Heritage Museum in 2009 and has been a driving force behind the museum’s summer camp and carboniferous fossils workshop.



At Brandywine Battlefield, Rich Bowers and George Thorpe were recognized for their efforts to keep the site open to the public following the severe budget cuts of 2009.



Dave Mohr volunteered 225 hours at Bushy Run Battlefield in 2010, guiding tours, helping in the gift-shop, serving as a safety officer for the annual battle reenactment, and telling stories on the Haunted History Hayride.



A regular visitor to Conrad Weiser Homestead over the years, John Miller committed to the site as a volunteer with the Friends and the 1st Battalion PA Regiment reenactment group and never looked back. His work behind the scenes for site events may go unnoticed at times but is greatly appreciated.



In addition to lots of other volunteer work at Cornwall Iron Furnace, Don Rhoads, Jr., and Michael Trump collaborated on the research and production of a highly successful (sold out 2 printings) 2010 calendar featuring Robert H. Coleman, one of the owners of the historic iron plantation.




History professors (and sisters) Jill Greene and Jodi Greene-Kelly, along with their children Annie, Tara, and Jared, have devoted themselves individually and as a group to supporting and promoting programs and events at Daniel Boone Homestead. From research to poster design to weekly cleaning, their passion for history has been translated into action on the site’s behalf.

Stay tuned for future posts to meet the rest of our Volunteers of the Year.