Hands-on History

The last summer—after high school, before college—carries so much meaning. A student might be working one last job to earn money, or spending the summer at the beach, or even squeezing in those last few hours with a high school sweetheart before parting in August. Some incoming freshmen at Penn State Altoona, however, have chosen to spend six weeks of their precious “last” summer going to college. As part of Penn State’s Pathway to Success: Summer Start (PaSSS) program, these students came to campus to take two courses, History of Civilization since 1877, and CAS 100: Effective Speech. “I wish every student coming to Penn State Altoona had this experience,” says Julie Rockwell, one of the history instructors.

Wearing white gloves, students get a closer look at some artifacts

By invitation only, the PaSSS program is designed to give students an opportunity to get a head start on the rigors of college life without the pressures that come with a full campus in the fall semester.  They take six general-education credits the summer before their first fall semester. If they complete the first year, they then take twelve credits (four courses) during the second summer. In addition, they receive a $250/credit scholarship during both summers (max $1,500 the first summer and $3,000 the second summer), have a job on campus or in the community in the summer or fall to earn extra money while taking classes, be assigned a peer mentor in year 1, and act as a peer mentor in year 2.

With the sessions being held in summer, instructors have some flexibility in how they conduct the class. In addition to their classroom work, PaSSS students have the benefit of field trips for their history courses, including Baker Mansion, Horseshoe Curve, and the Pennsylvania Military Museum in Boalsburg. One sunny summer morning Rockwell and Frederick and their students started their tour by gathering under the battleship gun outside the museum in Boalsburg for an introduction before walking across the street to a Memorial Day monument on the edge of the cemetery.

Frederick’s opening lecture focused on the history of the museum, which was built on property owned by the Boal family. The Boals’ machine-gun factory supplied weapons for the Pennsylvania National Guard in World War I. After the war Theodore Davis Boal created a memorial to the fallen soldiers, which became the 28th Infantry Division National Shrine, and hosted reunions for the veterans. Over the course of four decades, discussions were held about making a permanent museum on the site. And in 1967 ground was broken for what became the Pennsylvania Military Museum.

Over lunch Frederick loaned his World War II uniform to one of his students, Isaiah Sgro, to try on. Sgro dressed easily but paused at

Captured Nazi flag, signed by the 28th Quartermaster Company, October 8, 1944

what Frederick said was a “life belt.” When Sgro wrapped it around his waist Frederick noted, “That’s a good way to drown,” before explaining that even though it was not the most comfortable way to wear the belt, it needed to be up higher. The helmet—heavy and hot—could be used “to cook in, wash in, keep photos in,” said Frederick, as he put it on Sgro’s head, who replied, “I feel like I weigh 20 pounds more than I did.”

 

The afternoon was spent touring the museum and listening to museum curators talk about the items in their collection, beginning with a weapons demonstration with both German and American guns, and a close-up look at a captured Nazi flag. A mural depicts the trenches of World War I. In the Navy room, Loretta Perfectus Walsh, the first female US yeoman to enlist, is featured. And in a room full of vehicles, the Jeep made in Pennsylvania holds a place of honor.

This tour was only one small part of the scope of material the students cover in six weeks. “We only have so much time with them and there’s so much history,” Rockwell says. Two of her students said they appreciated learning history they weren’t aware of before coming to college. When asked what stuck with them, Issac Hutchison referred to an essay in one of the course texts, Voices of Freedom: A Documentary History, edited by Eric Foner (2017), on the story of Rubie Bond and her experience in the Great Migration, when her parents moved the family from Mississippi to Wisconsin in 1917. Davida Wagner cited the same book when she mentioned Franklin Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms.

While Rockwell and Frederick teach the same course, they have individual approaches to the material. They both show films, but Rockwell uses documentaries, such as The Atomic Café, while Frederick shows accurate yet fictionalized films, such as Iron-Jawed Angels and The Butler.  Assignments differ as well: Frederick has his students write a paper and Rockwell requires a research bibliography. She stresses the value of primary sources as a critical part of learning and understanding history.

The administrator for the PaSSS program, Assistant Dean for Policy and Planning Peter Moran, says, “Trips like these are a testament to their efforts in support of the learning and success of our students. Our PaSSS faculty—Jared, Julie, Bill White [Associate Professor, Communication Arts and Sciences], and John Polheber [part-time instructor, Psychology]— collaborated to link the content and assignments in the program’s courses, create connections across disciplines, and build a sense of community among for our first-year cohort of PaSSS students.”

That sense of community was obvious at the end of the tour—the students enthusiastically took part when they were given an opportunity to climb into a Sherman tank, part of the large outdoor display at the museum. In one day they were exposed to a broad expanse of twentieth-century world history, in a time frame impossible to absorb in a day in the classroom, but for PaSSS it’s just another plus.

Therese Boyd, ’79

 

 

Exploring the M4A1(76)W Sherman tank on the grounds of the Pennsylvania Military Museum

1940 Bantam Reconnaissance Car, made in Butler, PA

History instructor Jared Frederick helps student Isaiah Sgro suit up for World War II combat

 

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