#windber

Eventually, Roberta found herself at Penn State University enrolled in the Landscape Architecture Program. This is where new growth and appreciation for cultural resources and history flourished and every project assigned was guided by a site’s past and an abundance of analysis. 

Roberta’s first “real” opportunity to work with a cultural landscape was as an intern with the Southwestern Pennsylvania Heritage Preservation Commission. Tasked with designing the first walking tour for the Eureka Coal Heritage Foundation in Windber, Pennsylvania, she was fascinated by the history represented in the landscape and architecture, the pride associated with the hard working miners who shaped the town, and a desire on the part of the town’s people to preserve and interpret the resources before they disappeared. Wanting to work with cultural landscapes in a professional capacity, Roberta accepted a position with the Midwest Regional Office Cultural Landscapes Inventory Program, where her career in cultural resource stewardship firmly took root.  

Roberta’s interest in Cultural Resources Stewardship has since continued to branch out.  She continues to find working with historic landscapes and structures as inspiring as her first day on the job. 

“Cultural Resources under the stewardship of dedicated NPS employees connect people to places of historic significance in tangible and experiential ways.  

When NPS professionals do their job well, they plant new seeds of cultural resources stewardship that have the potential to grow in the next generation of professionals – just as it did for a little girl from New Jersey who “found all of her parks” in the Midwest Region Cultural Landscape Program.”

Discover National Parks of the Midwest Region

Find out more about cultural landscape preservation 

A handful of cultural landscape profiles in Midwest Region national parks - more to come!