Alta Schrock Explained

Alta Schrock
Birth Name:Alta Elizabeth Schrock
Birth Date:3 April 1911
Birth Place:Grantsville, Maryland
Death Place:Cumberland, Maryland
Occupation:Biologist and community activist
Alma Mater:University of Pittsburgh

Alta Elizabeth Schrock (April 3, 1911 – November 7, 2001) was an American biology professor and community activist in Western Maryland who was the first Mennonite woman in the United States to earn a Ph.D.

Early life

Schrock was born on April 3, 1911, on Strawberry Hill Farm, near Grantsville, Maryland, the oldest of eight children.[1] [2]

Education

In her childhood and teenage years, poor health prevented Alta Schrock from attending school. During this period, she studied plants in the woods on her own. When she was nearly fifteen, she returned to school to continue her formal education. She graduated from high school in Salisbury, Pennsylvania, and earned an associate degree in biology from Waynesburg College.[3] She did graduate work at the University of Cincinnati, Oberlin College and Kent State University, and received a Ph.D. in biology from the University of Pittsburgh in 1944, the first Mennonite woman in America to receive her doctorate.[4]

Career

Schrock was on the faculty at American University (1944–46), Goshen College (1946-57), and Frostburg State University (1960–77).[1] At Goshen, Schrock taught biology and was a faculty sponsor for the college's Audubon Society chapter.[5]

In 1957, Schrock left her teaching position at Goshen College to return home to Western Maryland to found the Springs Historical Society, the Penn Alps Center, and the Spruce Forest Artisan Village, dedicated to preserving the heritage, folk art, and craft-work of the region.[1] Schrock built Penn Alps into a tourist attraction, with an inn, restaurant, museum and craft shop where visitors could watch local artisans work and buy their products.[6] Penn Alps held an annual Summerfest, drawing about a thousand people a day by the 1980s.[7]

Recognition

Schrock was inducted into the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame in 1991.[8]

In 2007, the Maryland Historical Trust and the Maryland State Arts Council created a new award presented at the Maryland Traditions showcase, the Achievement in Living Traditions and Arts (ALTA) Award, named for Schrock.[9]

Death

Schrock died on November 7, 2001, aged 90, of circulatory illness at Memorial Hospital in Cumberland, Maryland.[1] [3]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Dr. Alta Elizabeth Schrock . Salisbury, Pennsylvania Historical Web Site . 21 March 2019.
  2. ((Baldwin, F. D.)) . Appalachia: Journal of the Appalachian Regional Commission . Always Two Dreams Ahead . 27 . 4 . 4–11 . Appalachian Regional Commission . Fall 1994.
  3. News: Alta E. Schrock, 90, artisan village founder . Baltimore Sun . November 10, 2001.
  4. News: Lepley . Sandra . Penn Alps started out with a simple dream 50 years ago . Somerset Magazine . Daily American . June 29, 2009 . March 21, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190321153708/http://articles.dailyamerican.com/2009-06-29/entertainment/26292069_1_anniversary-dream-hostetler . March 21, 2019 . dead .
  5. Web site: Kauffman . Jason . Biology for service: Archival traces of Mennonite environmentalist thought . Mennonite Church USA . December 21, 2016.
  6. News: Deardorff . Robert . JUST PLAIN FOLKS; Mountain Town in Western Maryland Is Showplace for Local Artisans . The New York Times . March 15, 1964 . XX21 . In an effort to help these people support themselves, and to keep their skills from dying out, a local woman, Dr. Alta Schrock, gave up a university teaching job a few years ago, went into the mountains to seek out the craftsmen and organized the Penn Alps center. This since has grown into one of the most unusual tourist attractions in Maryland..
  7. News: Crafts That Sustain A Mountain Way of Life . The Washington Post . July 5, 1985.
  8. Web site: Alta Schrock, Ph.D. . Maryland Women's Hall of Fame . Maryland State Archives . 2001.
  9. News: Maryland Traditions creates new award in honor of Penn Alps, Spruce Forest founder . Cumberland Times-News . June 22, 2007 . "It is fitting that this new Maryland Traditions Award bears the name of Dr. Schrock, who worked tirelessly and creatively to find and sustain the folkways of her native Western Maryland," said Hannah Byron, assistant secretary for the Division of Tourism, Film and Arts at the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development. "This award recognizes those that are continuing to keep traditional arts alive in Maryland.".