News Release

Steamtown National Historic Site NER Hartzog Award Recipients

Steamtown NHS VIP Walter Elvidge

NPS Photo

News Release Date: September 3, 2019

Contact: Bill Fischer, 570-340-5244

SCRANTON, Pa. – The 2019 National Park Service (NPS) Northeast Region’s George and Helen Hartzog Awards for Outstanding Volunteer Service were recently announced, with Steamtown National Historic Site (NHS) volunteer Walter Elvidge receiving the award in the Enduring Service category, while the site’s Education Team volunteers received Honorable Mention in the Group category. The NPS Northeast Region is comprised of 83 parks located from Maine to Virginia.

The award, named in honor of former NPS Director George B. Hartzog, Jr., and his wife Helen, recognizes the exemplary contributions of volunteers, volunteer managers, and volunteer programming and activities. Volunteers contribute their time, expertise, and enthusiasm to parks and programs throughout the region. They assist in protecting resources and making the visitor experience more engaging, inclusive, safe and fun. It is impossible to imagine our parks and programs functioning without them, as they play a critical role in meeting the mission of the NPS. As Director Hartzog said, "When a Volunteer in Parks (VIP) agrees to share his talents, skills and interests with the National Park Service (NPS), he is paying us one of the highest compliments possible by offering a most valued possession - his time."

Walter Elvidge has donated his expert craftsman skills for more than a decade and a half to maintaining Steamtown NHS’s locomotives and rolling stock, many of which are contributing assets listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Having completed a 40 year career as an industrial electrician, Walter reliably dedicates 24 to 32 hours per week working in the park’s Locomotive Shop and Roundhouse, resulting in nearly 13,000 lifetime volunteer hours (as of the end of 2018) at Steamtown NHS. An energetic artisan, Walter is a “jack of all trades” who willing and ably performs metal fabrication, welding, and the many other necessary tasks involving using massive industrial machinery to craft one-of-a-kind parts for historic steam and first-generation diesel locomotives. Those rare skills compliment his work as a master electrician. Most importantly, Walter is a team player ready to jump in wherever needed, never giving a second thought to getting dirty performing steam locomotive boiler washes or shoveling coal and ash; he also ably mentors both staff and other volunteers to help grow their skill sets.

Steamtown NHS Education Team volunteers are the backbone of park efforts to reach new, diverse, and underserved audiences. In fiscal year 2018 nearly a dozen volunteers enabled Steamtown NHS to offer 26 separate Railroads, Rivers & You! (RRY!) STEM-focused, PA curriculum-based, hands-on Every Kid Outdoors history/environmental programs to 1060 fourth grade students from 42 classes in 11 different schools from 7 school districts in 4 different NE PA counties; 10 of the 11 schools were Title 1, and included for the first time ESL Hispanic students from Hazleton PA, and students from the Scranton School for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children. Education Team volunteers also offered a host of other education programs to a variety of age groups, both on- and off-site, reaching nearly 350 Girl Scouts at a regional STEM Expo, dozens of Wilkes-Barre YMCA Power Scholars Academy summer day campers, and scores of Scouts working on the Railroading Merit Badge, as well as presenting Operation Lifesaver (OL) programs dedicated to reducing collisions, fatalities and injuries at highway-rail crossings and due to trespassing on or near railroad tracks, among other educational activities too numerous to mention.

Steamtown NHS needs you as a VIP (Volunteers-in-Parks). What can you do? Just about everything, from welcoming and orienting visitors to the site; assisting with interpretive or educational programs; repairing locomotives and rolling stock; keeping our grounds landscaped and presentable; or helping our museum and archives staff. You can even work your way through a rigorous apprenticeship program to learn how to operate our steam and diesel locomotives. Age restrictions apply for some volunteer positions. Learn more by looking for Steamtown NHS’s volunteer opportunities on-line or contacting Steamtown NHS Volunteer Coordinator Larry Scucci .


Located in downtown Scranton, Pa., Steamtown NHS is open daily from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. From I-81 follow exit 185 (Central Scranton Expressway); then follow the brown and white signs to the park entrance at Lackawanna Avenue and Cliff Street (GPS: N 41.41, W 75.67). General park information is available by phoning [phone] during regular business hours, or by visiting the park website anytime.


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