Mt. Lebanon student leads effort to raise $10,200 for Meadowcroft
Morgan Meer presents a ceremonial check to Meadowcroft director David Scofield.
A favorite trek for Mt. Lebanon resident Morgan Meer is to Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village.
“I’ve been there for school field trips, and my family has also visited often,” she said. “And every time I’ve been there, I’ve really, really loved it. You can go to the archaeological site and literally see the expanse of time that’s there at Meadowcroft.”
For those who are unfamiliar, the National Historic Landmark near Avella, Washington County, is the site of the earliest known evidence of human presence and the longest sequence of continuous human occupation in the Western Hemisphere.
To help visitors better appreciate what they are able to view, Morgan led an effort that raised $10,200 that will be used for new interpretive panels on the rock shelter’s observation platform.
“I tell people about my project, and they’re kind of amazed that there’s something this old so close to us,” the Mt. Lebanon High School junior said. “I don’t know if a lot of people know about Meadowcroft. A lot people in CAR didn’t know about it, so I’m really glad that I was able to do this.
CAR stands for Children of the American Revolution, the nation’s oldest and largest patriotic youth organization, for which Morgan serves this year as Pennsylvania state president. Those who hold that position spearhead an annual fundraising effort, and she chose Meadowcroft as recipient.
“When she first approached us about having Meadowcroft serve as the official project this year, she said it would be at least $3,000 and maybe more,” said David Scofield, the site’s director. “Well, it turns out it was more than three times that. So she did an excellent job.”
The money is going toward having more information at the ready on the excavation platform.
Meadowcroft Rockshelter
“One of the things we’ve wanted to do for quite some time is to create a timeline that would coordinate with the stratigraphy of the site, so that people would be able to very quickly identify world history events with particular levels of the excavation,” he said. “Those great world history events we learned about in school, like the rise and fall of the Roman Empire and the building of the Great Pyramids, are all going to be up near the top levels of our excavation, because Meadowcroft goes back so much further.”
Other information on panels will feature information about the flora, fauna and history of Cross Creek, which loops around Meadowcroft.
Morgan has been providing plenty of information as she speaks to groups around the state, particularly Daughters of the American Revolution chapters, about her project. At such events, she sold T-shirt and lapel pins for which she oversaw the design, and she also accepted donations from impressed listeners.
A Children of the American Revolution member for 10 years, Morgan is the daughter of Susan Gillette Meer, a senior leader for CAR and Daughters of the American Revolution member, and Karl Meer.
The position of CAR state president isn’t moving far for 2019: Morgan’s brother, Everitt, a Mt. Lebanon High School freshman, recently was elected to serve next year.