2006: Springfield, Ohio
DATE: October 5-7, 2006
ORGANIZER: Artimus Keiffer
Pioneer America Society
38th Annual Conference
The Pioneer America Society: Association for the Preservation of Artifacts and Landscapes (PAS: APAL) will hold its 38th annual conference in Springfield, Ohio, on October 5-7th, 2006.
The sponsors for the meeting will be Wittenberg University, the Heritage Center of Clark County and the Turner Foundation. The host for this event will be Professor Artimus Keiffer of the Geography Department at Wittenberg University. Dr. Keiffer is an Architectural Geographer and Chair of the Cultural Geography Specialty Group within the Association of American Geographers and the interim Executive Director of PAS.
The theme for this year’s conference is: “On the Rebound: Landscape Revitalization in a Historic, Industrial Midwestern Town”. The Saturday field trip will focus on urban revitalization, extant industrial artifacts and the historic nature of Springfield in regards to its ethnic settlement. Local experts will comment on the master plan for the city’s revitalization, quickly becoming a bedroom community for Columbus, as well as the recent restoration of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Wescott House, the restoration of the Pennsylvania House (“the house at the end of the [National] road”), and the arrangement of ethnic cemeteries along with oral histories and archeological digs for remnants of the Underground Railroad.
The conference committee is currently soliciting proposals for papers, special sessions, and panel discussions relating to the conference theme. However, papers on all topics related to material culture and of interest to the Society are welcome. The abstract deadline is Monday, August 21, 2006.
For further conference information, contact Artimus Keiffer, Geography Department, 110 Carnegie Hall, Wittenberg University, Springfield, OH 45501, call 937/327-7304 or email: akeiffer@wittenberg.edu, or visit the Society’s web site at: http://www.pioneeramerica.org