Friends With Benefits: NYS Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation

“The fact that some conservancies are able to solve it [investment shortages in parks doesn’t reduce the need to do more.” State Senator Daniel Squadron (NYT, July 14, 2016) How many historic sites does the NYSOPRHP maintain? That is not a trick question. At the NY Statewide Preservation Conference, May 5-7, in Albany and Troy, […]

History Advocacy: Should the History Community Advocate?

Once again it is time for history advocacy. It is the time of year when state legislatures normally are in session. Typically, a leading activity for them is the passage of the state budget. Although Covid still lingers, for the most part, life is back to normal. That means it is time for the history […]

NYSOPRHP Advocacy

On March 5, I participated in Park Advocacy Day in Albany. The event was organized by Parks & Trails New York. As you might suspect, even though the term “Historic Preservation” is contained within the name NYSOPRHP, the state organization also is responsible for 35 historic sites as was mentioned several times during the course […]

The NPS Imperiled Promise: Recommendations to Eliminate the Peril – Is Anybody Listening? (Part III)

After all the surveying and analysis as described in two previous posts, the authors of the study Imperiled Promise: The State of History in the National Park Service turned to the recommendations to alleviate the situation. As one might expect they called for the NPS to recommit to history as one of its core purposes […]

Park/History Advocacy Day: Who Advocates for History?

On March 13, I participated in Park Advocacy Day. These advocacy days are part of the annual budget ritual in Albany. Groups of people representing different issues converge on the capital to meet with and lobby state legislators on behalf of their area of concern. Such people are physically identifiable due to their tote bags, […]

Controversy at the United States Semiquincentennial Commission

In my last blog, I began to explore the current situation regarding the American Revolution 250th.  I laid out certain parameters and begin to write about them one-by-one. The response was pretty good as I think the history community wants to know what is going on with the 250th. However, my proposed sequence has been […]

Making Russia Great Again

“We’re going to win. We’re going to win so much. We’re going to win at trade, we’re going to win at the border. We’re going to win so much, you’re going to be so sick and tired of winning, you’re going to come to me and go ‘Please, please, we can’t win anymore.’ You’ve heard […]

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR STATE AND LOCAL HISTORY 2019 CONFERENCE: “WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR?”

This August 28-31, the joint American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) and International Coalition of Sites of Conscience Annual Meeting will convene in Philadelphia to learn, engage in fellowship, tour, and address this year’s theme, What Are We Waiting For? Depending on the work at hand, this theme serves different purposes. It is […]

American Revolution Teacherhostel

Teaching American History National Field Study of the Revolutionary Era The Hudson River Region, Saratoga, and Hubbardton Battle Field The Institute of History, Archaeology, and Education (IHARE) is pleased to announce that the Turning Points in American History: Winning the War, Winning the Peace program created for the South Burlington, Vermont school district as part […]