Blasts from the Past: October 28, 2019

By Shannon Zeltmann, Staff Writer

This week in 1969, the class of 1929 created a medal to honor Pennsylvania Hall, the oldest building on campus dedicated in 1837. This medal was produced by the Franklin Mint of Philadelphia and featured the Old Dorm on the front with the words “Gettysburg College // Rededicating of “Old Dorm,” and on the back it had Hermes flying with “1832.” Penn Hall was going to be renovated for an approximated $1 million in the fall of 1970, and for their fiftieth anniversary, the class of 1929 decided to make these medals to sell and the proceeds would go to this renovation.

This week in 1989, Servo was formally dedicated after the dining hall went through renovations. It was named after the Camalier family, who donated a total of $1.5 million towards the college, which helped with Servo renovations. Their daughter went to the college and graduated in the class of 1985. The ceremony took place in the faculty wing. Originally, the dining hall was just simply a hall; expanding Servo allowed students a place to spend time with friends in an “informal” setting. Mary Ann Vajda was the architect of the building, in which she created some areas for larger groups to dine in the main areas, and the platforms for smaller groups of students. This seating style also accommodated for a better flow of traffic during the major dining hours.

Author: Shannon Zeltmann

Shannon Zeltmann '21 is a double history and art history major with a public history minor. She plans on going to graduate school and then doing museum work as a curator or conservator. She is a member of the Classsics Club, the Gettysburg College Historical Society, and the Gettysburgian, and she works in Special Collections on campus doing conservation. Shannon is an all-around nerd, who loves art and history too much and loves to read and draw on the side.

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