BROCKWAY, Pa. (EYT) – The Taylor Memorial Museum hosted a dedication for its new entrance during Family Day on Saturday.
(Pictured above: Patricia Lutz speaks at the dedication of the Grant E. Jackson Memorial Entrance.)
The event capped off a summer-long renovation that gave the building a facelift, as well as a handicapped ramp and improved railings. Much of that new entrance was made possible by the family of Grant E. Jackson, along with other donations.
The Jackson donation actually came about as Patricia Lutz, Jackson’s youngest child, stopped into the museum to do some genealogical research.
“My first email from her was about a year ago,” said Fay Trentini, vice president of the Brockway Area Historical Society. “She introduced herself. One of our workers said that she remembered Patricia’s dad. We just started digging.”
Trentini said that Lutz was excited about the information they found in the historical society. As she was leaving after spending a few hours, Lutz asked if there was anything the museum needed.
“We don’t usually get asked that question,” Trentini said. “I walked her back to the diagram that Hallstrom’s gave us on our restoration and told her what we were doing.”
That time began the conversation about what she could do to help the museum. Through the Grant E. Jackson Living Trust, Lutz was able to help the museum and complete the project.
“We’re totally, totally thrilled,” Tentini said.
The Grant Jackson Memorial Entrance has a plaque recognizing Jackson, who died in 2015. He was born in Brockway in 1923 and lived on Shawmut Road. He went to Penn State University, but his time there was interrupted by World War II. He eventually graduated from Penn State and got a job as the general manager of distribution and customer service at H. J. Heinz.
“Because of that position,” Lutz said, “he would make many visits to Brockway. We had family reunions here. I swam in this pool.”
Trentini pulled out a Jackson Family Folder that had clippings and bits of information about the family and its time in Brockway.
“One that really struck me was a newspaper clipping from The Brockway Record in 1950 of my parents’ wedding,” Lutz said.
Her voice cracking, she added, “In it, it described my mother’s wedding dress. It was something that I had never seen, never read.”
Lutz said that her father was very proud of his hometown, and the family is happy to help the historical society with its renovation project.
“This museum and this historical society is providing a great gift to many other people, as well as to me,” Lutz concluded.
The project also added an overhang covering the entrance and ramp, which was utilized during the dedication ceremony as a brief rain shower passed through the community.
As the ceremony ended, Trentini granted Lutz a lifetime membership to the historical society. She also created a binder with everything they could find from her family. They created a family tree and included other elements, including a scan of the marriage license of Lutz’s parents.
More about the museum and the project can be found at the historical society’s website.
The museum is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
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