The Westmoreland County Historical Society has announced the winners of the annual Arthur St. Clair Historic Preservation Awards.
They will be presented Oct. 1 at a dinner at the Greensburg Country Club.
It will be held to recognize:
• Dr. Robert Mendler of Latrobe, who will be honored for lifetime achievement in history education.
Mendler was 14 when the Nazis occupied his hometown, Nowry-Targ Poland, in 1939. He survived 10 concentration camps but lost his parents, sister, brother and 68 other family members in the Holocaust.
After the war, Mendler owned and operated a shoe store in Latrobe. Later in life, he realized his story needed to be told. Mendler has spoken to school students and other groups throughout the county to give an eyewitness account of the Holocaust.
• The Ligonier Valley Rail Road Association, which has worked to restore the Darlington Station to its original appearance.
Built in the late 1800s at the western end of Idlewild Park, the station provided housing for the station master and served as a convenience store for park patrons, waiting passengers and local residents. The restored station will serve as the Ligonier Valley Rail Road Museum and Library and house documents, photographs, artifacts and memorabilia the association has collected since it was founded in 2004.
• Four individuals behind the 100th anniversary of the courthouse in 2007.
In 2003, Judge Daniel J. Ackerman put out a call to the academic community to help publish a book about the courthouse. Dr. Susan Mitchell Sommers, a professor in the history department at St. Vincent College, chaired the committee and recognized the need for a broader celebration. Dr. Michael Cary of Seton Hill University and Dr. Timothy Kelly of St. Vincent served as co-editors of "This American Courthouse." The award also will recognize those who served on various committees to bring the celebration to fruition.
• Margaret "Margie" Albright, who will receive the first Edward H. Hahn Outstanding Volunteer Service Award.
This periodic award is named for the late Edward H. Hahn, who volunteered for the society for more than 30 years at Historic Hanna's Town and later as an archivist. Albright has devoted many hours to Historic Hanna's Town since the archaeological digs started shortly after the county acquired the property in 1969. She provided inspiration and guidance to the Elizabeth Hanna Guild, a service organization behind many projects at the re-created Revolutionary War settlement.
Albright has given many tours and for many years she selected and hand-crafted merchandise for the museum shop. She works in the museum shop and has scheduled guides and organized dinners, teas, demonstrations and quilt shows.
She and her husband, Wib, participated in raising funds and supervising the building of a tavern and the moving of historical buildings to the site.
The awards dinner and ceremony are open to the public. Information and tickets are available by calling 724-836-1800.
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