Wayne Spilove at the opening of Square Burger in Franklin
Square, Philadelphia, PA
From CitizensVoice.com, Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Pennsylvanians care about history, don’t cut back on historic sites
Editor:
Pennsylvania faces serious economic challenges this year and funding for some of the state’s most cherished and important programs faces severe reductions or elimination. As chairman of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, I understand the need for reduced spending, but I also know that the Pennsylvania we value will not be sustainable beyond this immediate crisis if adequate support for its historic sites, museums, markers, collections and archives is not continued.
The historic places that draw millions of tourists each year to the state were preserved with the foresight of others and we now see that legacy threatened for future generations. As a response to the governor’s proposed budget, the commission has been working with community groups at six of our state-operated historic sites to find new models that would allow educational programs and public access to continue despite reduced state support. At public meetings across the state from Erie to Chadds Ford, we have heard the passion that Pennsylvanians have for their history.
Ordinary citizens have shared personal connections, reasons to live in a community, educational experiences, economic benefits of tourism, sense of community and pride in being a Pennsylvanian — all focused around the importance of history to their lives.
The additional cuts proposed in Senate Bill 850 would require elimination or further cutbacks in almost all PHMC programs — shut down of all historic sites, reduced hours at the state museum and state archives, suspension of the historical marker program, elimination of all grants to museums, historical societies and preservation projects, deferred maintenance of irreplaceable national treasures.
The letters, testimony, and petitions that the commission has received in response to initial proposals for reduced programming at six sites shows that Pennsylvanians do care deeply about their heritage. In the 2008 Penn State Poll, when asked if public funds should be used to preserve, protect and interpret the commonwealth’s heritage for the education and enjoyment of its citizens and visitors, 91.3 percent of respondents agreed.
One meeting attendee a few days ago expressed how it made him ashamed to be a resident of Pennsylvania when the state is unwilling to preserve and support the national historical treasures that we hold in trust for future generations.
Wayne Spilove
Chairman
Pennsylvania Historical
and Museum Commission
Harrisburg
From The Lebanon Daily News, May 30, 2009
Don’t set aside state’s history
Pennsylvania faces serious economic challenges this year, and funding for some of the state’s most cherished and important programs face severe reductions or elimination. As chairman of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, I understand the need for reduced spending, but I also know that the Pennsylvania we value will not be sustainable beyond this immediate crisis if adequate support for its historic sites, museums, markers, collections and archives is not continued.
The historic places that draw millions of tourists each year to the state were preserved with the foresight of others, and we now see that legacy threatened for future generations. As a response to the governor’s proposed budget, the commission has been working with community groups at six of our state-operated historic sites to find new models that would allow educational programs and public access to continue despite reduced state support.
AtAt public meetings across the state from Erie to Chadds Ford, we have heard the passion that Pennsylvanians have for their history. Ordinary citizens have shared personal connections, reasons to live in a community, educational experiences, economic benefits of tourism, sense of community and pride in being a Pennsylvanian — all focused around the importance of history to their lives.
The additional cuts proposed in Senate Bill 850 would require elimination or further cutbacks in almost all PHMC programs — shutdown of all historic sites, reduced hours at the State Museum and State Archives, suspension of the historical-marker program, elimination of all grants to museums, historical societies and preservation projects and deferred maintenance of irreplaceable national treasures.
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The letters, testimony and petitions that the commission has received in response to initial proposals for reduced programming at six sites shows that Pennsylvanians do care deeply about their heritage. In the 2008 Penn State poll, when asked if public funds should be used to preserve, protect and interpret the commonwealth’s heritage for the education and enjoyment of its citizens and visitors, 91.3 percent of respondents agreed.
One meeting attendee a few days ago expressed how it made him ashamed to be a resident of Pennsylvania when the state is unwilling to preserve and support the national historical treasures that we hold in trust for future generations.
Wayne Spilove
Chairman
Pennsylvania Historical
and Museum Commission
Harrisburg
From The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 10, 2009
Public deserves to see these murals
I was dismayed to learn of the U.S. Postal Service's refusal to
allow staff from the State Museum of Pennsylvania to see the
wonderful murals by Moses and Raphael Soyer currently hanging in
USPS offices on Chestnut Street ("Push for public access to New
Deal murals," April 27).
The Treasury Department's mural program was one of the more
visually enduring legacies of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal.
We do hope that the USPS continues to respect the original
intent of this program: making these paintings as broadly
accessible as possible.
Wayne Spilove
Chairman
Pennsylvania Historical
and Museum Commission
Harrisburg
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