The annual scholarship will provide college-bound Plum High School graduating seniors an opportunity to be awarded $300 towards tuition, books and supplies, or other college-related expenses.

 

To qualify for the scholarship, members of the Senior Class at Plum High School must complete five (5) hours of community service activities supporting the Allegheny Foothills Historical Society. The students can choose from a diverse list of AFHS community service activities that include:

 

• Volunteering at the Oliver M. Thompson History Room in the

Plum Community Library

• Serving as a tour guide any Sunday during the spring and summer schedule for the Open Houses at the Carpenter Log House

• Participation in an activity at the annual Harvest Festival the first Saturday in October

• Participation in the annual springhouse cleaning activities at the Carpenter Log House

• Volunteering to assist with the planning of the Washington’s Encampment 2008

• Preparation of an article for placement in the AFHS newsletter

• Volunteering at the AFHS awareness booth and/or horseshoe pitching tournament at the Plum Community Days the last weekend in June

• Preparation of materials for placement on the AFHS website, plumhistory.org

· Volunteering and assisting with the annual golf event fundraiser

• Attendance at an AFHS Heritage Series presentation Upon completion of the five (5) hours of community service, the students will then be required to submit a list of the activities they participated in and a brief summary of their learning experience.  All written submissions must be sent to Mr. John Kerns, Advanced History teacher at Plum High School by April 15, 2007. The chosen winner will be announced at the annual Senior Award ceremony held at Plum High School in May. 

“We have chosen a combination of volunteer activities to broaden the appeal of the scholarship,” said Bill Broome, son of Eleanor Carpenter Broome. “We feel the activities provide opportunities for Plum Seniors to pursue those that are of interest to them. We do not want to limit participation to only history students. Our Mother taught American History, English and Geography for 30 years in two school districts, with the majority of her teaching tenure being in the Plum Borough School District. In honor of the diversity of the subjects she taught, we have chosen to broaden the appeal to all seniors.”  Eleanor Carpenter Broome taught many generations of Plum residents.

In 1979, Eleanor Carpenter Broome, along with some family members and friends, organized the Allegheny Foothills Historical Society for the purpose of restoring the Carpenter Log House. This goal was accomplished in 1988. This was the year of the Plum Bicentennial celebration and the reconstruction and restoration was completed in time for the celebration. The Carpenter Log House was reconstructed in Boyce Park on its original foundation. The Carpenter Log House provides the residents of Plum with a historical resource that provides the generations a chance to experience life during the circa 1820s, and the local history of the Plum community.

Since 1988, in addition to the maintaining of the Carpenter Log House, located in Boyce Park, the AFHS has expanded the activities of the society to include: tours and special events held at the Carpenter Log House; development of local historical communication vehicles, including a website (plumhistory.org), newsletter, and scheduling of a speakers series focusing on heritage and historic topics; various fundraising events; and development of a Plum history room in the Plum Community Library that serves as a resource for local historic documents and artifacts, and for family genealogy tracking.

 Students that are interested in participating in the scholarship should contact the guidance department at Plum High School, or Mr. John Kerns, teacher of Advanced History at the high school, or Susan Broome.