History not dead in Ship

It was with a sense of satisfaction that Steve Burg, associate professor of history, watched the unveiling of the historic marker for the Locust Grove Cemetery last fall. It marked the end of four years of hard work, excitement, and learning for more than just himself.

It began with a newspaper article in 2003 that described recent vandalism at the cemetery, the final resting place for twenty-six Civil War veterans of the U.S. Colored Troops. Steve contacted Nancy Hodge and Mai Baltimore of the Locust Grove Cemetery Committee and asked what he and his students might be able to do for the gravesites.

That fall he assigned a class research project. Students were asked to find connections between Locust Grove Cemetery and the class curriculum. Using information and skills they acquired the students developed lesson plans and completed grant applications.

Students “ran wild” with his next class project as they discovered the local and regional history connected to the burial site. Steve searches his cluttered bookshelves and suddenly finds what he was looking for. The book, A Black History of Shippensburg, Pennsylvania 1860-1936 is testament to the information they uncovered.

The book was just one piece of a plan to raise awareness about the cemetery and its needs. Students created an informational pamphlet and wrote the successful nomination application for the state historical marker. And in conjunction with the Locust Grove Cemetery Association educated the community and raised funds for the restoration and preservation of the historic landmark.

Working together, the dignity of the small cemetery was restored. Each headstone received the care and attention it needed. And finally with over 600 hours of work mapping, photographing, and researching plus a healthy dose of perseverance, and funding, the time had arrived. An official historic marker was placed by the cemetery gates – a proud moment for all.

It was applied history in action.

According to Steve, when taking history out of the classroom one needs to change how that history is presented. And it is here his passion for his chosen field takes over. He eagerly seeks to make his subject area clear. “Applied history, sometimes called public history, prepares students, who can communicate their knowledge of the past effectively to the public, for careers in historical institutions such as museums, archives, and historical sites. Specialized skills, such as museum methods, archival practices, oral history, and historic preservation are taught. Students are encouraged to think about how historical knowledge and skills can be used to address real-world problems. In short, we seek to break down the divide between academic historians and the public.”

The SU Fashion Archives and Museum is a case in point. Here, Burg’s students learn the skills necessary to produce exhibits, display collections, chronicle displays, and tying larger themes and ideas together through the artifacts chosen for presentation. To illustrate the power of the hands-on approach to history, Steve offers this

“One of the items in the archives is a white hood once worn by a member of the Ku Klux Klan. Through history classes, most students know about the clothing worn by Klan members. But seeing an actual hood, one they can touch, see with their own eyes, you can see them thinking, ‘Someone actually wore this.’ Then you watch as a small piece of history becomes real to them.”

Steve’s journey to Shippensburg began in New York. “I grew up one of five children in Woodstock, New York, a small town where my father was the town’s doctor. He had a very old-fashioned practice, one where he still made house calls (once even in a blizzard on a snowmobile). It’s still strange when people call me Dr. Burg, because for me, my dad will always be the Dr. Burg.”

Next stop was Stockholm, Sweden before spending the 1990s in Madison, Wisconsin. In Madison, Steve did his graduate work at the University of Wisconsin.

“I love Madison – it was such a beautiful, cosmopolitan, dynamic city. I also met my wife there – she is a native Madisonian, a full-fledge cheesehead. We still go back there two or three times a year to visit family and friends.”

During graduate school, Steve worked at the State Historical Society of Wisconsin in the archives and in the Division of Public History for almost a decade. Then on to SU.

“Shippensburg was my first teaching job after graduate school. When I was applying for jobs, I saw an advertisement for a pubic historian position at Shippensburg. I was a little concerned when I pulled out an atlas with a map of Pennsylvania and found Shippensburg wasn’t even on the map! Fortunately I applied anyway and it turned out to be a wonderful fit.”

One of the things that surprised him about south-central Pennsylvania was how passionate people are about their history. “I had never been to a place before where almost every town has their own historical society. I could not believe it when I learned Shippensburg Historical Society has 300 members!

“Within an hour of town, you have four National Park Service sites, the Army Heritage and Education Center, the National Civil War Museum, the Pennsylvania State Museum and Archives, and almost a dozen county and local historical societies. On top of that, the museums and archives of Washington, Philadelphia, and Baltimore are just a couple of hours away. It is hard to imagine a better place to study public history.”

Members of the Locust Grove Cemetery Committee are joined by students and local townspeople for the unveiling of the official marker for the cemetery.

Steve spends his free time with his wife and two children, Sam who is five and Lucy who is two. He enjoys nature walks, swimming, and biking too.

A confessed political junkie and CNN addict, Steve reports he is “already thoroughly immersed in the minutia of the 2008 presidential race.”

Currently on sabbatical, Steve is working on revising his dissertation into a book manuscript tentatively titled, The Townsend Movement and the Origins of Senior Citizen Political Power in the United States. It examines the old-age pension movement begun by Dr. Francis Townsend in 1933 that was the forerunner of senior citizen political organizations like AARP.

He is also evaluating ideas for future class projects, several of which involve working with the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, continuing cemetery research, contributing to centennial celebrations – the list just keeps growing. As a friend and fellow historian said, “Why stick with a book and a classroom – history is all around you!”

Making us see the history surrounding us is what Steve Burg does best.

Emily Golesh ’07, an English major and summer intern for the magazine, made substantial contributions to this article.