New Yard Signs for the Commonwealth Monument (A Final Reflection)

Throughout this semester, I have had the privilege to work on designing various yard signs for the “Gathering at the Crossroads” Monument in Harrisburg. In collaboration with Mr. Lenwood Sloan, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Monument Project, I worked on creating two yard signs, the first pertaining to the Old Eighth Ward/Look Up, Look … Continue reading New Yard Signs for the Commonwealth Monument (A Final Reflection)

Progress Update: Harrisburg Historical Walking Tours by Messiah University  

Jake Kocher: December 9, 2024 As the fall 2024 semester approaches its conclusion, it is a fitting moment to provide an update on the history tours being developed by Messiah University's Harrisburg Historical team. Significant progress has been made since the last update, culminating in a streamlined and focused approach to this important project. Here … Continue reading Progress Update: Harrisburg Historical Walking Tours by Messiah University  

Concluding Fall Semester 2024: An Update on Student Activities

It's the final week of fall semester at Messiah University and as I type this, students are working hard to finish their projects and practicums in digital public humanities as well as a variety of exams, presentations, and projects for other classes. Earlier in the semester I noted here that students were then working on … Continue reading Concluding Fall Semester 2024: An Update on Student Activities

Stories of Resistance: Reflections on the Fall Semester

In my first semester as a Fellow at the Center of Public Humanities, I’m working on editing and finalizing previous students’ stories for Harrisburg Historical's website and mobile app and beginning to research my own story. Many of the stories for Harrisburg Historical were nearly ready to be published before I joined the CPH. My … Continue reading Stories of Resistance: Reflections on the Fall Semester

Bringing History to Life: Developing an Immersive Walking Tour for Downtown Harrisburg’s Civil Rights Legacy

Jake Kocher: October 17th, 2024 This semester I have the privilege of working with the Center for Public Humanities at Messiah University on a project to develop an immersive walking tour that brings to life significant historical places in Downtown Harrisburg.  The project I’m working on is Harrisburg Historical, a mobile and web app that … Continue reading Bringing History to Life: Developing an Immersive Walking Tour for Downtown Harrisburg’s Civil Rights Legacy

Reflecting on Stories Retold

This semester as part of the Center for Public Humanities, I returned to the ongoing work of writing stories in place for the new Harrisburg Historical tour site which is the latest part of the Digital Harrisburg Initiative. More specifically, my work was on the story of the Black laborers who built Fort Couch during … Continue reading Reflecting on Stories Retold

The Untold Tale of Fort Couch

Dominic Gomez This semester, I decided to return to the Center of Public Humanities to contribute another story once again. Roughly a year ago, I began my involvement with the Center as a Fellow working on a Curatescape story for the ongoing series of stories-in-place on the untold narratives of Black History in the Harrisburg … Continue reading The Untold Tale of Fort Couch

Harrisburg Historical plus an Archival Preservation and Content Project

Over this past semester, I have had the honor of creating and organizing a Digital Public Humanities online archive. This archive holds a large quantity of digital audio, video, and photo files that students have created over the years through the work of the Center for Public Humanities. My goal was to design an easy-to-use … Continue reading Harrisburg Historical plus an Archival Preservation and Content Project

A Tour Takes Shape: December Update on Harrisburg Historical

The final week of the Fall 2023 semester is upon us, and thus our student team is putting the final touches on our contribution to the Chester Way Civil Rights Tour on the Harrisburg Historical website. If you’re new to this story, Harrisburg Historical is a Curatescape project by Messiah University, the T. Morris Chester Welcome … Continue reading A Tour Takes Shape: December Update on Harrisburg Historical

Harrisburg Historical: Developing a Digital Civil Rights Tour

The landing page of Harrisburg Historical, a collection of digital tours through the city. What if there was a way to conveniently access a diverse array of histories surrounding the Pennsylvania capitol in the palm of your hand? This is the very goal of Harrisburg Historical, an upcoming website and mobile application that will tell … Continue reading Harrisburg Historical: Developing a Digital Civil Rights Tour