Volunteers of the Year, part 4 (season finale)

What are you planning for Memorial Day? If you’re inclined to get some history in between hot dog eating contests, we’re there for you. These Trails of History sites will be open on Monday, May 28: Anthracite Heritage Museum, Bushy Run Battlefield, Cornwall Iron Furnace, Drake Well Museum, Eckley Miners’ Village, Ephrata Cloister, Erie Maritime Museum and Flagship Niagara, Fort Pitt Museum, Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum, Old Economy Village, Pennsbury Manor, Pennsylvania Military Museum, Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, and Washington Crossing Historic Park. Most others will be open Saturday and Sunday, so please check if you’re planning to go.

PHMC/Drake Well Museum, photo by Brenda Reigle

The much-anticipated exhibit at Drake Well Museum is in its first phase of installation (with two more phases to go before opening in August). The Titusville Herald provided some coverage here and here. Additional photos are posted in PHMC's Flickr photostream.

And now, we bring you part 4 in our review of this year’s Volunteer of the Year honorees (part 1, part 2, part 3). We thank them all for their dedication to preserving our shared heritage and making it available and accessible to the public.

Robert J. Lawrence has been a presence at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania for many years, serving as, among other things, a board member, fundraiser, and cataloguer of historic photographs.

At Somerset Historical Center, Cindy Wickham served as chairperson for Mountain Craft Days, an annual three-day event featuring more than 125 artisans and craft demonstrators.

Beverly Lichkus had an eventful first year as a volunteer at the State Museum of Pennsylvania, working as a docent in the “Life Through Time” exhibit, assisting with the installation of the annual “Art of the State” exhibit, and sharing her artistic talent with young visitors in the IdeaZone.

At Washington Crossing Historic Park, Nancy Heyrich stepped in to coordinate care of the site’s sheep when budget cuts took their toll and also worked to relocate and reopen the museum store.





In addition to the volunteer of the year honoree from each site, PHMC presented the Outstanding Service Award to:

Clair Garman for his more than 50 years of service to Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum as a board member, craft demonstrator and teacher, and mentor, and

Edith Reisler for her 40 years of service to the Pennsylvania Lumber Museum as board member, museum store organizer, event planner, and pie baker extraordinaire.


That’s it for this year’s Volunteer of the Year awards. I can’t wait to see who we get to honor next year!