Penn State University Press
  • A Word from the President of the Pennsylvania Historical Association

Pennsylvania history floods my mailbox each week with invitations to lectures, celebrations, book readings, and conferences. Last week an elegant flyer announced an exhibition and lecture series on West Philadelphia, sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania. The mail also brought an invitation to the annual PHA conference. I have spent today preparing for an Executive Council meeting where we will review last minute preparations for our convivial annual meeting. These are but two of the many, many instances of people all over the state bringing to life our past: historians, artists, museum specialists, and local preservationists among many others.

Later this week came an email about an upcoming joint neighborhood and Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission celebration. In 1835 Matthias Baldwin built the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, which at its zenith employed over 18,000 men. In late September the PHMC will dedicate an historical marker on the site at 19th and Hamilton Streets. Thanks to the PHMC's administration of museums and historic sites, its preservation of artifacts, its public programming, and its support for historians the heritage of Pennsylvania has flourished. The Pennsylvania Historical Association has been the grateful [End Page vii] recipient of state grants administered through the Commission, which have helped us produce this valuable journal, as well as our Pennsylvania History Study Series. The present threat of large budget cuts puts the effectiveness of the Commission in jeopardy, and I urge our membership to let their representatives know of their concern for the state support of our important heritage.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this volume of Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies, which will, I know, continue to stimulate historical debate through good writing and insightful analysis. [End Page viii]

Marion Roydhouse
Philadelphia University

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