Our Hands on Team works on projects throughout our region that rehabilitate historic structures and buildings for re-adaptive use. Summer 2019, AmeriCorps teamed up with HistoriCorps through our mutual partnership with the USDA Monongahela National Forest Service staff. They also partnered up in previous years.
Erin Crooks was on the job for all 3 weeks of the project. “Many of the sites we work on as preservationists are iconic places that are beloved by local communities. Seeing these sites restored can be a major source of pride for the people living in the area, and it’s always immensely satisfying to know that people truly appreciate and care about the work we do.”
The Sherwood Lake Pavilion was built in the mid-20th century. It desperately needed roof and flagstone repairs and replacements. “Being able to visit [historic] places and connect with the past was definitely one of the things that really sparked my love and passion for history in the first place. That’s one of the main reasons why I think historic preservation work is so meaningful and important - these sites have so much power to inspire not only historians and scholars, but also young children who might discover their own love for history.”
See a before and after below.
