Tom Headley Quotations

So many people think the Revolutionary War started at Lexington and Concord. But George Washington wouldn't have been on the national stage without the events that happened here in Western Pennsylvania during the French and Indian War.

I was very encouraged that there were families with young children at the festival. History today has to be presented in inventive ways in order to hold children's interest.

The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission has a number of Braddock markers in Allegheny and Fayette counties, but none in Westmoreland. We applied for a PAHMC marker but were turned down. So we put up our own marker on Main Street in Mt. Pleasant, which we dedicated.

First, we created a map and driving guide of Braddock's Road, which follows the route that his army took from Fort Necessity to Braddock. We published 10,000 of these maps and distributed most of them through Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau sites, county welcome sites, and through the Westmoreland County Federated Library System.

In order to attract people and get their attention, you have to tell history in an interactive way. I've heard Fred Anderson speak several times. He has a way of taking complex information and distilling it down into some very important points.