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Historical society to recognize preservation

The Blair County Histori­cal Society will celebrate its 110th anniversary and honor efforts to preserve the county’s history during its annual dinner and awards ceremony, scheduled for Nov. 4 at The Casino at Lakemont Park.

The public is invited. Reservations, at $30 per ticket, are due by Tuesday, and forms are available at www.blairhistory.org/

events. The event begins with a social hour and cash bar at 5:30 p.m., followed by a roast chicken dinner at 6:30 p.m. and the award ceremony, a society membership meeting and a program.

The Excellence in Historic Preservation award will be given to Railroad City Brewing Company and the Allegheny Ballet Company for reviving the Winters Music Building.

“These two entities have revived this historic building on 11th Avenue in Altoona, making it a place for entertainment and culture,” according to the historical society’s website. “Not only have they brought new business to the downtown area of Altoona, but they have also maintained, restored or uncovered the historic facets of the former Winters Music Store building. This undertaking is a prime example of adaptive reuse for historic structures.”

The Excellence in Preservation of County History and Heritage award will go to the Hollidaysburg Area Senior High School History Club and the Hollidaysburg Women’s Club who collaborated on conserving a Civil War flag.

“This dedicated group of local high school students and community activists, under the direction of teacher Amy Dodson, took it upon themselves to raise funds and awareness for the conservation of a Civil War flag carried by local troops in the 1860s,” according to the historical society. “The students even hosted a successful Civil War ball in June as a fundraiser. This is artifact preservation at its finest.”

The flag of Company M 62nd Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, was displayed for decades in the original high school building on Hart Street and later at the current high school on Montgomery Street. During renovations in 1995, the flag was placed in storage, where it remained for 20 years until it was rediscovered last year.

The Director’s Award will go to the Penn State Altoona Heritage Committee, which seeks to collect, record and preserve artifacts and documents dealing with Penn State Altoona’s 77-year history.

The committee has collected a number of artifacts through the years and also conserved the newspaper clippings of Robert Eiche, the first campus director.

“These newspaper clippings albums were compiled by Eiche over his several decades of leadership at the campus and serve as an amazing documentary record of the campus origins,” according to the historical society.

More recently, the committee partnered with the campus library to preserve and catalog hundreds of letters written by campus students while they were in the service during World War II.

The President’s Award will go to the Blair County Genealogical Society, which has accumulated over the past several years a “massive array” of source material that “conveys the broad scope of regional history,” according to the historical society.

“Their in-house publications, speaker series and ongoing archival projects are an invaluable resource to the community and anybody seeking to trace their family roots in Central Pennsylvania,” it said.

A Lifetime Achievement Award also will be announced at the dinner.


If you go

What: The Blair County Historical Society’s annual dinner and awards

When: 5:30 p.m. Nov. 4

Where: The Casino at Lakemont Park, Altoona

Tickets: $30. Reservations due by Tuesday. Forms can be found at www.

blairhistory.org/events.

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