What’s Blue and Gold, and Read All Over?
You can help put Pennsylvania history on display, as the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission is looking for nominations for its historical marker program. Pennsylvania’s landscape is dotted with more than 2,600 of those familiar blue and gold markers, and program coordinator Karen Galle doesn’t expect to run out of qualified nominees anytime soon. “Every year there’s something new that comes in that’s really intriguing and something that’s a little known fact but very significant,” Galle tells Radio PA.
This year’s application deadline is September 1st, and Galle says each one is judged on its own merits by a rotating panel of Pennsylvania historians. “The main thing is that the subject has statewide and/or national historical significance, rather than local or regional.” About 30% of the nominees make the cut on any given year.
That subject can be a person, place, event or innovation. For instance, the list of last year’s approved markers includes: the nation’s oldest natural sciences research institution, the birthplace of commercial ice cream in York County and several high-profile architects.
Applicants or sponsoring organizations are responsible for the cost of making and installing the historical markers. That could run from $1,400 – $1,875.
