|
|
CLARION UNIVERSITY–VENANGO CAMPUS DEDICATES
THE BARBARA MORGAN HARVEY CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF OIL HERITAGE
Oil City, Pa.—A two-day celebration of the dedication of the Barbara Morgan
Harvey Center for the Study of Oil Heritage, located in the Charles L. Suhr
Library at Clarion University–Venango Campus in Oil City, began on Tuesday
evening, October 18, 2005, with a dedication program at the campus. A feature
of the program was a lecture by Bruce Wells, founder and executive director of
the American Oil & Gas Historical Society in Washington, D.C., who spoke about
“Links to the Past: The Importance of Oil History Collections.”
The Barbara Morgan Harvey Center for the Study of Oil Heritage, an
endowed clearinghouse for scholarship and research about Pennsylvania history,
includes a variety of books that document the history of the region, newspaper
clippings from the early 1900s, minutes from the meetings of early oil
companies from the late 1800s, maps, photographs, and other materials. The
Harvey Center is dedicated to the memory of Barbara Morgan Harvey, who died in
November, 2002.
The collection and an endowment created to fund ongoing cultural
events designed to bring regional history to life were donated by Joseph S.
Harvey and his children, Joseph, Jr., of Bethel, Maine; Thomas, from
Pleasanton, California; David, from Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania; and Judith,
of Sarasota, Florida. Mr. Harvey is a former Clarion University Trustee and a
strong supporter of the Venango Campus since its inception 45 years ago.
“The Harvey family is happy that the collection is intact and
secure in the Clarion University–Venango Campus library and will be accessible
to students, community members, researchers, and historians,” said Mr. Harvey.
“But most important to her family was that her memory be kept alive. That’s so
important to her children, and so it is of paramount importance to me, a
beloved spouse of more than fifty years.”
Mrs. Harvey was a well-known Oil Valley historian who spent many
years researching and accumulating books that document the history of the
region. Her great-grandfather, Gib Morgan, was an early Pennsylvania oil
legend known as “the minstrel of the oil fields.” Morgan entertained people
with his tall tales while working as a drill and tool dresser in the
Appalachian oil fields.
“The university is proud to have accepted and been entrusted with
the Barbara Morgan Harvey collection, said Clarion University President Dr.
Joseph P. Grunenwald. “We take as our responsibility the expansion and
preservation of the collection for posterity. We look forward to sharing the
collection with researchers, students, and the entire community.”
The festivities continued on October 19, with “Material Culture:
How Objects Tell the Oil Story,” featuring hands-on activities in “reading”
artifacts at Drake Well Museum in Titusville and a symposium at Venango Museum
of Art, Science and Industry in Oil City that highlighted the paintings and
books of the early days of oil.
Every spring, the center will host Community History Day, which
will feature folk music, barbecues, storytelling, and other programs and
conversation about the region’s rich history and cultural heritage. An
important part of the Community History Day will be videotaping residents of
the area reminiscing and telling stories about the region.
The Barbara Morgan Harvey Annual Lecture, to be held each fall,
will explore historical, geological, social, business, and other aspects of
the region’s growth and development.
A new Barbara Morgan Harvey Center website, at
www.clarion.edu/library/harveyCenter/,
will serve as a clearinghouse for regional historical centers and resources.
The center is governed by a 40-member advisory board comprised of
national and regional oil historians, community members and university faculty
and staff.
“Scholars from the region and beyond will be forever grateful to
the Harvey family for their vision and generosity,” said Dr. Christopher M.
Reber, executive dean of Clarion University–Venango Campus, “and to Barbara
Morgan Harvey, whose love of oil history will inspire other community members
and scholars for generations to come.”
Clarion University-Venango
Campus, located in Oil City, PA, is the oldest regional campus in
Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education. The campus provides
high-quality educational programs and personalized services to help students
succeed. Students can earn an associate degree, a bachelor’s or master’s
degree in select areas, obtain a one-year certificate or participate in a
variety of professional development and personal enrichment courses. The
campus is home to Clarion University’s School of Nursing and Allied Health and
its Department of Applied Technology. Clarion University-Venango
Campus is committed to serving the needs of the community.
Back to Venango Campus Home Page
|
