Preservation projects recognized at Harmoniefest
The Heritage Awards given annually by Historic Harmony recognize the people and organizations who preserve the past for the future, which is what members of Zelienople’s St. Peter's Reformed Church did with its more than 160-year-old roof.
Kathy Luek, president of Historic Harmony, said the church received a Heritage Award at the annual Harmoniefest on Saturday, March 9, for replacing the roof with a new one built to last decades.
“It's something you can’t see but that roof will be good for 150 years,” Luek said on Sunday, March 10. “It’s a really great cause in thinking of future generations and maintaining that church.”
Historic Harmony has given Heritage Awards to people and organizations that have performed restoration or preservation projects since 1991, Luek said. In the early years, Historic Harmony provided several awards each year to catch up on all the restoration projects taking place, and this year, the organization gave out two Heritage Awards.
Besides St. Peter’s Reformed Church, David and Vicky English received a Heritage Award for their recently renovated Glen Eden Barn.
According to Luek, the barn was previously located on Vicky English’s family farm in Cranberry Township, and the project involved tearing down and rebuilding the barn in a new place.
“It was dismantled and reconstructed outside Evans City and repurposed into an event center,” Luek said. “They did a beautiful job.”
Luek said Historic Harmony’s members select the projects that will received an award each year, and the organization has even awarded commendations to people who have made strides in preservation in a community. Members of Historic Harmony hear from people regularly about preservation projects taking place across Butler County, and the winners of the Heritage Awards are chosen after review of the work, according to Luek.
“So many have undergone their restoration that the first couple years when they were giving them out there were a lot to pick from,” Luek said. “We're happy when someone sees one and mentions it to us.”
Four projects received Heritage Awards in 2022, Luek said; it just depends on how many projects the members of Historic Harmony hear about. However, it is sometimes difficult for the members to find more than one or two preservation projects to award in a year.
“It's getting harder every year to find a building that has been done, because so many have already been,” Luek said. “Some other buildings are torn down to make room for more housing plans.”
Luek said people can contact Historic Harmony or the Harmony Museum with recommendations for Heritage Awards each year, and many kinds of preservation projects can be recognized.
“We have done Zelie Main Street, the different buildings that have been revitalized; other homes and home restoration projects that have maintained the building in the style in which it was built,” Luek said. “We really like to emphasize the commitment to future saving the past.”
