Thanks to the generosity of the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum
Commission and the Heritage Philadelphia Program, The NSCDA/PA has
been working hard since last autumn to create a Strategic Plan for
the Society. The two grants have allowed us to hire Christopher
Mekal, formerly Director of Finance and Operations at the Isabella
Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston and now a consultant for museums
and arts organizations, as our facilitator.
As
the Society goes, so goes Stenton. A major component of the Society's
activities and mission are fulfilled through Stenton, including
preservation, education, exhibits and ongoing research about the
Colonial history of Pennsylvania. In an effort to integrate more
closely the varied activities of Stenton with the overarching mission
of The NSCDA/PA, a Steering Committee, including NSCDA/PA President
Alice Lea Tasman, Treasurer Dora Rogers, Former Stenton Chair Sally
Congdon and Stenton Strategic Plan Chair Tenny Marshall, has coordinated
closely with Mr. Mekal to oversee the work of about 40 Board members,
staff and members of the Society. The charge for the strategic plan
asks: "How can we reposition the Society and the programs we
provide and rejuvenate the membership to make the Pennsylvania group
vibrant, ensuring it flourishes over the next 5-10 years and beyond?"
The process is designed to include input from all members of the
Society, including county committees, as well as to draw upon the
best advice from outside the organization. The Steering Committee
has identified six areas of the Society's activities, with a working
group assigned to examine the issues involved in that area. This
preliminary work led to a Board Retreat on March 14th, an all-day
affair that resulted in a wide range of great ideas.
So, what does it all mean for Stenton? Out of this "step back
and take a good look" process, Stenton and the Society will
have a refocused dedication to our mission, clearer common goals,
a better idea of our priority issues and a more consistent approach
to how to spend our money. Strategic Planning is a must in today's
nonprofit environment and again The NSCDA/PA and Stenton are setting
high standards in their efforts.
Additional
Funding for History Hunters
Stenton was delighted to receive word in February of an additional
grant of $150,000 made by the Heritage Philadelphia Program for
the History Hunters Youth Reporter Program. History Hunters continues
to progress well under the capable leadership of Anne Burnett, Stenton's
Education Coordinator, who has been working closely with four other
historic sites in Germantown and our consultants to finalize the
curriculum and to run the pilot school visits. Students from three
schools – John Story Jenks Elementary, Lingelbach Elementary,
and Pickett Middle School – have already visited Stenton, Cliveden,
Wyck and Johnson House. Teachers Mary Ann Robinson, Reginald Glover
and Mary Kwartnik have been invaluable in offering advice and feedback
about the initial stages of this promising project.
The additional grant funding will allow the program to be expanded
next year to serve more schools, with a target of 25 schools in
the City of Philadelphia's Northwest Academic area. This will include
training guides to work at several of the sites involved and organizing
in-service training opportunities for teachers.
STENTON
LECTURE SERIES
The Stenton Spring Lecture series, a program of The NSCDA/PA sponsored
in part by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council, has been very successful.
Starting with Stevie Wolf's thought-provoking lecture on "Exploring
Dinah: Beyond the Myth," which challenged us to think about
how the story of Dinah was created, we moved on to decorative arts
with Luther Brady and Bob Campbell talking about their outstanding
collection of Blue and White Staffordshire. Then, once Spring had
actually arrived, we enjoyed Irwin Richman's talk on Italian inspirations
for American Colonial Revival gardens. George Boudreau's discussion
of the expansion of knowledge in the 18th century provided insights
into the minds of scholars like James Logan. Finally, the series
closed on May 22nd when Stenton Curator Laura Stutman introduced
the new Stenton Interpretive Plan. Thank you to all who have attended
the lectures and shown enthusiasm for these varied and fascinating
topics.
Stenton Visitation on the Rise
2002 saw a 15% increase in Stenton's visitation as a result of
the Philadelphia Antiques Show and the History Hunters Youth Reporter
Program. In the first full year for our website, thousands of cybervisitors
explored Stenton's history through the web and, through the This
Glorious House: Stenton exhibition and numerous talks given
by members of the staff and volunteers, we were able to reach out
to the local and regional community. Positive trends continue, as
visitation for the first quarter of 2003 has increased by 36% (on-site)
and 13% (website) over the same quarter last year.
Docents Needed
With the Interpretive Plan in place, there is a great deal of training
to be done, and we are in search of new Guides to help. An initial
Guide Training session took place on April 10th, with 16 new and
experienced guides reviewing the Interpretive Plan and honing their
skills in presenting Stenton to the public. We need as much help
as possible, and guide training will be ongoing, so please contact
Anne Burnett, Education Coordinator, (215-329-7312 or anne.burnett@stenton.org.)
or Jane Foster-Willson (215-829-8944) if you have an interest in
learning and helping others to learn about this glorious house.
Visitor
Survey Project
Over the next three years Stenton will be participating in a national
pilot project to develop better information about visitors to historic
houses. The project, created by the American Association of State
and Local History (AASLH) and funded by the Heritage Philadelphia
Program, brings together ten sites in the Delaware Valley. Each
site has participated in the creation of a visitor survey designed
to elicit broad responses from visitors about their experience as
well as site specific information, such as how much they gained
from the revised interpretation that is being put in place this
spring at Stenton. These surveys will be distributed over the next
three years, with responses compiled and analyzed by the Center
for Nonprofit Management in Nashville, Tennessee. Various funding
organizations have pointed out that historic sites often do not
know their visitors as well as they should, and that audience information
is in fact very limited. This national model project will help to
address this problem, and Stenton is delighted to be involved.
New
Sign at Stenton
On April 1 Stenton was delighted to receive, not as an April Fools'
joke but in reality, a new sign as part of the Direction Philadelphia
sign program. The red, white and blue sign, similar to those used
in Center City, stands just outside the Stenton gate. The Direction
Philadelphia signs have been installed at many other Germantown
historic sites making it easier for visitors to find their way.
We look forward to additional signs to be put in place later this
year.
Volunteer yourself or your garden club for our
Colonial Revival Garden!
DamesLines: The lastest news
from The Colonial Dames of America in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Research article - for the Spring 2003 Newsletter- "The
Song the Site Sings Best": An Enhanced Interpretation of Stenton
