Punx’y Historical Society Begins Archiving Kovalchick Collection

Work has begun on archiving the Kovalchick Collection held by the Punxsutawney Area Historical and Genealogical Society (PAHGS). Valerie Metzler, Certified Archivist and Historian, recently visited the Society to assess the collection, determine the various items and to begin the process of identifying, cataloging, and preparing them for storage and future accessibility.

The Kovalchick Collection contains the business records previously located in the Cascade Mine Office at Sykesville, Pa., and includes various types of records from the in order to create a list of archival supplies that will be needed for proper care and storage.

Metzler will return later this spring to work with volunteers on cataloging and placing the collection in archival storage.

This project is funded by a grant from the Historical & Archival Records Care (HARC) grant program administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

The next phase of the project will be cataloging the collection. Persons interested in volunteering to assist with the cataloging phase may contact Shirley Sharp, PAHGS Volunteer Coordinator, Thursday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at (814) 938-2555 for more information on volunteering to assist with this project.

Cascade Mining Operation as well as affiliated mines.

Metzler met with Nancy Anthony, PAHGS Board Member and Office Administrator, to review the mission of the Society and its current methods of recording and storing historic collections. Anthony described how the Kovalchick records were collected, cleaned, and placed in storage until they could be evaluated, cataloged, and properly preserved.

Following the orientation, Metzler and Anthony began the assessment of the Kovalchick Collection of mining records, which include documents, maps, drawings, ledgers, and other records. They surveyed the quantity of documents in order to determine the care of the materials and the types of archival storage materials that will be needed to accommodate the collection.

Metzler then began by analyzing the materials in the collection. She advised that one guideline for archivists is to determine if the item could be found elsewhere, or is it unique to this collection. For example: A specific newspaper may be found in that newspaper’s archive and may not need to be maintained with the Kovalchick Collection. She examined items in the collection, noting the various types of documents and their size