Homestead faces possible
closure
Posted 25 March 2009 on the
Weiser
Surname Board by Laura
McQuaid, Board Member,
Weiser Family Association:
"The PHMC is threatening to close numerous PA state maintained
historical sites, including the
Conrad Weiser Homestead
and make changes to the
Ephrata Cloister.
The reasoning, cited in PHMC's "Sustainability Report,"
(available at the PHMC website) is that the Homestead doesn't generate
enough revenue for the state and it costs too much (for last year,
$170,000 is cited, but in truth it was about $155,000 because the
Friends of the Homestead gave $15,000).
They claim most of the visitors are for recreation and
are not paying admission to the museum, and most outlandish, they claim
that
Conrad
Weiser "may not" have ever lived there. This last assertion is based
on an old study that took two pieces, one from the fireplace mantle and
one from the Spring House, for dating and they didn't date to the 1700s,
which does not prove
Weiser didn't live there, by the way. It's a 270 or so year old
property with people who lived there up to the 1930's.
I heard that the Gov. is threatening PHMC employees with
dismissal if they don't close historical sites, so they're looking for
excuses.
There's supposed to be a public hearing on each site, so
we need to have a good turnout when there is one. Dave
Sisson, Pres. of the
Friends of the
Conrad
Weiser Homestead, is doing a phenomenal job of organizing a battle
to keep the Homestead open and he lives in the area. The PHMC even spoke
of turning the museum structure into a private residence to rent out to
generate more revenue. We need
Letters to the Editor and people writing their representatives,
senators, the PHMC and the
Governor of PA, Ed Spendell. (sorry, I mean Ed
Rendell) The 2010
Weiser Event is supposed to be at the Homestead. THe PHMC report
says that "signage" may be sufficient to tell the important story of
Weiser. Translation: We won't ever to again visit or ancestor's
gravesite and see where the
Weiser family lived. HELP, fellow descendants and history buffs.
I'll post notice of any hearings or developments here when I find
anything more out.
The PHMC Sustainability Report can be found at:
http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=512&mode=2&objID=1426
Laura
McQuaid
Board Member,
Weiser Family Association
Laura McQuaid,
oscarville@directv.net
