For most people, Hershey, Pa. means delicious chocolate, thrilling amusement park rides and the philanthropist Milton Hershey. However, for Megan Keller ’13, the real story lies deeper than the tourist attractions and candy bars. The story of Hershey, engrained in its rich history, provides a deeper look at the industrious workers that brought this town its fame. Keller found a way to intertwine this story and her Messiah College education to develop and produce a mobile application that narrates a historical walking tour through downtown Hershey.

As a history major with a social studies certification, Keller took many classes that challenged her to engage in public history, a process that makes history more accessible to an average person. For her public history class last fall, Keller was challenged to consider an exhibit that would bring history to anyone. Keller knew she could take it one step further than doing something traditional and expected like building a Colonial exhibit. (more…)

Just a few miles south of Messiah College, a 244-year-old farm is the site of an archaeological dig involving Messiah students, young participants in the Oakes Museum Curator Club, and older adults from nearby Messiah Village’s Pathways Institute for Lifelong Learning. The treasures from this effort aren’t simply the artifacts buried beneath the ground.  The great value, according to the dig directors, is in collaboratively exploring regional history, answering real research questions and adopting keen problem solving skills.

David Pettegrew, a professor in the Department of History, and Ken Mark, director of the Oakes Museum of Natural History, are overseeing the dig at the Stouffer Farm, a York County property dating back to 1767. The dig has been underway since fall 2010. (more…)

What started as childhood affection for historical fiction—particularly Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “Little House”—has grown into a passion for American history that now finds senior Katie Garland immersed in early American life as a member of the prestigious Historic Deerfield Summer Fellowship Program.

Love of stories
“Part of my love for history comes from a love for stories,” Garland says. “It is fascinating to see how the world today came to be.”

This summer, Garland is finding out plenty about the Americans that lived in Deerfield, Mass. between 1600-1850. Garland was chosen from among 350 applicants to study material culture and decorative arts with seven other history or art history majors in the historic town of Deerfield, known for its public collections of art and antiques from early New England. (more…)

David Pettegrew

Nine Messiah students from the history and art departments along with Assistant Professor of History David Pettegrew are digging up pieces of the past, literally. The group, as part of the Pyla-Koutsopetria Archaeological Project, is in Cyprus, taking part in a three-week archaeological dig.  The dig is part of a growing trend of utilizing archaeology as a service to communities.

Time Travel

The team is working on three sites off the south coast of Cyprus excavating an area that dates back to the Late Bronze Age (1200 BC), Classical period (480 BC-330 BC), and the Late Roman period (AD 330-AD 650).  Combined, the coastline is a historical refuge for Cyprus’ role in economic, political, and cultural relationships with other areas in the ancient Mediterranean.

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