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Homecoming
I come from a place in south central Pennsylvania that, over the years and depending on who's listening, I've called Middletown, Hummelstown, Hershey, and Harrisburg. In reality, where I come from is...
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"Does anyone here object to this marriage..."
I've seen a lot of reenacting in my time. From the summertime kepi brigades of my Pennsylvania home to the weird guys in tricorn hats that lurk nearly everywhere in Williamsburg, VA where I spent my...
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The Boardwalk and Beyond
While watching New Jersey Public Television just a few days after arriving here in Philly, my wife Hilary and I discovered that the Jersey shore's famously kitschy beach front boardwalk communities are...
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Proximity Value
People love to touch old stuff. It's like an involuntary reflex. I'm sure that at some point in your life you or somebody you were with picked up an old piece of junk at an antique store or a garage...
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Living History
The phrase "living history" usually invokes visions of chubby guys in funny costumes bent on making you taste their hardtack. There's certainly a lot of that in and around the mid-Atlantic states, but...
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George Washington and the Problem with Replicas
Although not necessarily of local concern, the recent announcement that archeologists have discovered George Washington's boyhood home raises important questions about objects and memory. Here is my...
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Hard Time
I've been thinking a lot lately--more than usual, at least--about what to do with historic sites where the primary attraction has all but vanished. This all started a few weeks ago after I read John R....
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Don't Sugar Coat the Hershey Experience
I was saddened to learn recently that the seventy-five year old Hershey Museum will be trading its musty old corner of the Hershey Park Arena complex for a new high profile location on West Chocolate...
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The Windows Remember
From time to time my job leads me to local museums and historic sites.It's agreat gig for a museum junky like myself. And, better yet, I occasionally get to see stuff that doesn't turn up on the usual...
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Preservation Prevented
I've been involved with historic preservation long enough to know that old buildings can disappear fast no matter who values them nor how much. Even so, I still can't quite believe how quickly the old...
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In Search of Birthplaces
In conjunction with a new book project, I'm attempting to compile a comprehensive map of recognized (read: marked and or celebrated) birthplace monuments in the U.S. and beyond. Check out my progress...
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Big Boats
I had a surprising run in with an old friend early last month while visiting Connecticut's Mystic Seaport museum. Last November, Mystic hauled the Charles W. Morgan out of the water and laid it up in...
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de Maistre's Revenge
In my last post, I mentioned the remarkable influence of context shift on our relationship to everyday objects. If it's context shift you're looking for, check out Microsoft's Photosynth. This...
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Broken Budget? Bake Bread!
Amid last weekend's rising rivers and lightening strikes, Hilary and I fled the city and headed south into the Brandywine River Valley. I wanted Wyeth country, but with the afternoon almost gone, we...
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America’s “Best Idea” a Good Idea for Today’s History Sites
Ken Burns has done it again. His latest series, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, has bloggers abuzz with paeans to Steven Mather, Shelton Johnson, and other unsung heroes of our national park...
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A Tea Party in Colonial Williamsburg
In a recent Washington Post story, staff reporter Amy Gardner reminds us that history museums play a vital role in ongoing debates about nation and citizenship. Virginia’s Colonial Williamsburg has...
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RIP Critical Thinking: A Field Report
More news of weak links in American higher education has made the rounds in recent weeks. Researchers tell us that thirty percent of college seniors are no better at writing or thinking critically than...
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