McCullough captivates crowd at opening
FARMINGTON – Just as Fort Necessity mesmerized author David McCullough as a boy, so the noted historian’s words held the attention of the standing-room-only crowd who came to hear him speak at Saturday’s dedication ceremony for the Fort Necessity/National Road Interpretive and Education Center. “One of my earliest memories is coming here with my mother and father. It was a big expedition by automobile,’ recalled McCullough, a Pittsburgh native who has twice won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. “I remember being enchanted by it because the story was real. It was not in a book. It was a real place.’
The author of “1776′ and “John Adams’ served as keynote speaker for the 90-minute dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new $12 million interpretive and education center, which officially opened Saturday, at Fort Necessity National Battlefield.
Although light rain filled the air, it didn’t dampen the spirits of those who turned out to see the long-awaited new center.
McCullough, who called it “a real honor and pleasure’ to be at the dedication, spoke in a large, white tent in the parking lot of the new interpretive center, a tent that was filled to overflowing with officials, media and the public, who came to hear the famous historian. He later held a book signing in the interpretive center.
The creation of the new interpretive and education center is a collaboration between federal, state and private funds, including a $1.1 million gift from the Eberly Foundation.
In her remarks, Joanne Hanley, executive director of the National Park Service in Western Pennsylvania, remembered the late Robert Eberly, commenting, “Mr. Eberly challenged us, cajoled us and he encouraged us.’
The dedication ceremony also featured federal and state officials, including Mary Bomar, Northeast regional director for the National Park Service, who spoke about how sites such as Fort Necessity unite Americans and that restoring the battlefield at Fort Necessity and focusing attention on the National Road will keep the National Park Service relevant in the 21st century.
U.S. Rep. John Murtha noted, “I’m so pleased and proud of the work Joanne and all you folks have done.’
Murtha also introduced McCullough saying of his books, “I don’t think I’ve ever read any presentation with such depth and feeling as Mr. McCullough. This guy is a master.’
McCullough spoke in length about George Washington and the battle of Fort Necessity on July 3, 1754, commenting, “Nothing happens only where and when it happens. Each event has antecedents and consequences.’
He spoke about the impact the battle and the French and Indian War had on American history, including its effect on a young George Washington who 20-some years later would become commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Army and later the country’s first president.
Washington at Fort Necessity, McCullough said, was raw and untried, and would suffer defeat. But he called Washington “an extraordinary man’ and noted “Washington never failed to learn from his experience.’
And even though Washington had a fifth-grade education by today’s standards, McCullough said he never stopped learning and never stopped reading. He also became an advocate for education, speaking about it to his officers, mentioning it in his farewell address and later making the largest single donation at that time – $20,000 – to what is now Washington and Lee University in Virginia.
With the new center’s emphasis on interpretation and education, McCullough noted of Washington, “He would have been encouraged and pleased by what we see here today.’
But McCullough also spoke against a danger he sees in the United States today.
“We are raising several generations of Americans who are historically illiterate,’ he said. “It’s not their faults. It’s our faults.’
McCullough also noted this impact on teachers, “If you don’t know the subject you’re teaching, it’s hard to teach. You can’t teach something you don’t know.’
He praised teachers, especially those who are eager to share their own passion about a subject. But he noted that teachers who don’t know a subject must depend on the textbook, and he’s not always pleased with textbooks.
McCullough commented, “Some are so dreary, it’s as if they were designed to kill any interest.’
Offering hope, however, he said of the new interpretive center, “Children will come here as I did as a child and I hope it will have the same effect on them.’
McCullough also encouraged the public to treat teachers as important members of society and noted the National Park Service is offering educational opportunities for teachers to come to historic sites to learn so they can take that enthusiasm back to the classroom.
He advocated returning to a basic liberal arts education and encouraging teachers to major in a subject and not just education: “It’s simple. It’s been done before and it works.’
McCullough also encouraged people to take their children and grandchildren to Fort Necessity, as well as other historic sites, to learn.
“We need to talk about areas that are interesting to us and encourage our children to read. Share our enthusiasm for all that’s been handed down to us by our predecessors. We should be eternally grateful,’ he said.
And for those who are leery of history, McCullough said, “You can’t know who you are if you don’t know where you come from. You can’t express love for your country if you have no interest in where your country comes from.’
He said that sharing that interest with your children gives you something more to talk about than sports and what’s on television.
And for those who say they haven’t the time to visit historic sites or read, McCullough answered, “I don’t believe that, not when people are spending four hours a day watching television.’
McCullough also told people they have to take care of historic sites and be ambassadors for them.
“The fact that all of you came here today,’ he said, “is a healthy sign.’
The dedication also included Cindy Adams Dunn, director of the Bureau of Recreation and Conservation for the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources; Allen Kukovich, director of the Governor’s Southwestern Regional Office; Ken Mabery, superintendent of Fort Necessity; Donna Holdorf, executive director of the National Road Heritage Corridor; Robert Mitten of the Seneca National who conducted an American Indian Blessing Ceremony; the Rev. Bernard Carl of St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Uniontown, who gave an invocation; and the Fort Necessity Veterans of Foreign Wars, who presented and posted the U.S. flag for the first time at new center.
The celebration will continue today and Monday with French and Indian War re-enactors, a market fair that features 18th and 19th century artisans and historical programming. Noted French and Indian War artist Robert Griffing of Gibsonia was also on hand and will be again today to sign his books and prints.