My name is Tyler Caruso and I am a Junior at Messiah University studying film and media production. During this semester as part of the Humanities Projects course at Messiah, I am working on the Women's History Garden at the Civic Club of Harrisburg. Last semester, Messiah University’s Center for Public Humanities partnered with the … Continue reading The Expansion of the Women’s History Garden
I have been involved with the Digital Harrisburg Initiative since January of 2018 and have had the opportunity to be involved in may different projects. Most of the writing I've been asked to do has been very independent (minus a few edits in post-production). Over the past year, however, I was able to contribute to … Continue reading Learning to “Do History”: Lessons in Collaborative Research and Writing
Harrisburg has been the state capital of Pennsylvania since 1812, but has had its fair share of ups and downs in city appeal. Nearing the end of the 19th century, the town was at a crossroads. After a brief period of industrial boom in the steel business, it had lost its luster and looked nothing … Continue reading Digitizing City Beautiful: Remaking Harrisburg and its History
A city cannot function properly without the co-operation of its populace and, even so, it requires dedicated individuals to view it with a critical eye and decide where it requires improvement. Beyond that, it requires individuals who are willing to not only see these needs, but also to act upon them. Women committed to this … Continue reading Silhouettes and Passing Time
For our first project, we were each asked to choose The Patriot newspaper articles, from among those we'd previously collected, and analyze what they tell us about Harrisburg's "campaign for beauty.” As a class, our hope is that this brief study will provide us with a better understanding of the progress of this movement and how … Continue reading Ask Not What Your [City] Can Do For You…
Taking the new Digital History course at Messiah College has been an interesting ride. The course had many ups and downs, which can be expected for a brand new course. Both we, the students in the class, and Dr. Pettegrew were trailblazers for a course devoted to learning the new side of history, the digital … Continue reading Becoming Trailblazers
As you know, our time working on the City Beautiful Project is coming to a close. I have been researching Mira Lloyd Dock for my part of the project. My research was fully conducted at the Pennsylvania State Archives. Searching through boxes of personal family papers, journals, reports, speeches and letters, it quickly became apparent that … Continue reading Mira Lloyd Dock Beyond City Beautiful
According to their website, the Civic Club "is a service organization that supports and initiates community projects" and "build[s] a better and greater Harrisburg." The club was formed in the late 1800s as a way to increase good citizenship and social order. With an emphasis on improving and beautifying the city, the club played a … Continue reading Mira Lloyd Dock and the Civic Club
In our digital history class we are learning about the City Beautiful Movement in Harrisburg. The City Beautiful movement was prominent in cities across the country, but Harrisburg’s was one of the first to be successful. However, for a movement to be successful, it needs people with a vision to get the ball rolling. For our exhibit, our group … Continue reading The Visionaries
1899 Harrisburg. The city was falling apart. There were talks of the Capital of Pennsylvania being moved. From all of this emerged a female leader determined to transform the city into the beautiful place she knew it could be. Mira Lloyd Dock was this proactive woman who saw the potential in Harrisburg. The City Beautiful movement … Continue reading City Beautiful and the 1900 Census
Digital Harrisburg 