Archaelogical Review Kira Heinrich to Speak at Mission Main Street Workshop

When our dear friend Opportunity comes knocking, we need to welcome him with open arms. Thankfully, he makes appearances rather often in Erie.

Now Opportunity is knocking once again in the form of an Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority Mission Main Street workshop on June 20 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m at the Jefferson Educational Society. The workshop is a collaborative effort of Preservation Erie and the Erie County Historical Society to provide Erie-area residents with a chance to learn the hows and whys of preserving Erie's history in order to better our future.

"Knowing where you came from forms where you're going," says Archaeological Reviewer Kira Heinrich of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and one of the key speakers at the workshop. "If you don't understand how you got to where you are as a civilization then you're bound to make the same mistakes that people in the past have made."

As we walk down the streets of Erie, we don't always realize we are walking through history. Everyday we pass buildings that have been preserved or restored, like the Boston Store on State Street that was completed in 1931, or the Dickson Tavern on French Street that was built in 1815, making it Erie's oldest building.

We don't always pay attention to the significance of buildings like these but rather we tend to take them for granted without recognizing that they actually make our city and that without them Erie wouldn't really feel like home.

"Having these things in your community gives you an identity and gives you a sense of place," says the Mercyhurst University alum. "Not having that connection to the past really changes how a place feels and how it functions and how people feel in the place."

We are always looking towards the future as we focus on what is down the road, oftentimes without glancing behind us. This workshop serves as a reminder to us all that sometimes we need to take not only a glance but a good, long look at our past and make the effort to preserve where our city has been.

Jessica Courter can be contacted at jCourter@ErieReader.com, and you can follow her on Twitter @JessCourter.