Re-enactors teach about Army life.
Each year, the Army Heritage Center Foundation (AHCF) begins its summer on June 14—the U.S. Army’s birthday.
The day is marked with a dinner program (June 13), and, through the month of June, a summer fair typically provides numerous opportunities to celebrate the Army’s many traditions.
This year, however, is different.
Not only is the country celebrating 250 years, but the AHCF has taken this year to undergo its own share of change, growth and evolution.
“America’s 250th birthday has been an opportunity to bring us all back together as a country,” said Julie Germany, president of the AHCF. “Reflecting on our past, we wanted to bring everyone together in whatever way we can.”
According to Germany, part of bringing everybody together is the creation of Patriots’ Path, a trail that runs through Cumberland County. It includes stops in Mechanicsburg, Carlisle, Camp Hill and other locales, inviting visitors to follow the footsteps of soldiers and settlers who paved the way both for this area and for the country as a whole.
The attraction, part of AHCF’s offering for the ongoing America250 celebration, will be formally unveiled only a handful of days before the Fourth of July.
Its concept was formed by a group of volunteers in conjunction with Germany and AHCF Executive Vice President Amanda Neal. According to Germany, it was Neal’s work and intuition that helped get the project across the finish line.
“A lot of the really hard work when it comes to the trail was done by Amanda,” Germany explained. “It was her brainchild.”
There are stories attached to each stop.
“It’s not just a bunch of broken-down buildings and empty structures,” Germany said. “There’s an old public graveyard with incredible Americans buried there. There’s an education center. Along with the wisdom of our volunteers, this couldn’t have happened without Amanda’s guidance and leadership.”
Rendering of the future outdoor pavilion
Singular Resource
The Patriots’ Path project comes as the AHCF continues to welcome change.
About 1½ years ago, the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center (USAHEC), one of the entities that AHCF supports, appointed Dr. Katie Lemay, an award-winning author and a Fulbright Scholar, as its director.
In April 2025, the USAHEC announced Lemay’s vision for its facility, which included proclaiming the center as “the singular resource for understanding strategic land power and current events through the study of the Army’s past.”
“She is very interesting and unique,” Diane McNaughton, communications specialist at AHCF, said about Lemay. “She is world-renowned for her art experience.”
Indeed, Lemay’s credentials are both varied and abundant. Not only does she serve as a presidential counselor to the National World War II Museum, but she curated “Votes for Women: A Portrait of Persistence” to usher in the centennial of the American women’s suffrage anniversary at the Smithsonian.
At the USAHEC, Lemay has been tasked with creating a new logo for the center, heading up new exhibitions, and refreshing the facility, which includes an expanded outdoor pavilion, for which a ribbon-cutting is planned this summer.
“The entire summer is always a really busy time for us,” Germany noted. “And this summer might be our busiest ever. The pavilion is going to have a huge stage, and it’ll be a great place for community performances.”
The center also will turn its attention to education by hosting teacher workshops.
“We want to teach teachers how to use primary source material from soldiers and incorporate it into their lesson plans,” Germany said. “It’s going to be a busy few months.”
It’s a busy few months on top of what has shaped up to be a busy year for Germany, the AHCF and the USAHEC. It all adds up as one of the many memorable ways the United States will celebrate its semiquincentennial anniversary as a nation.
“I hope people take some of this time to reflect on how America got to where it is after 250 years,” Germany said. “With what we’re doing, we hope people will take a step back into the shoes of someone who lived 250 years ago and pay attention to how far we’ve come.”
She then added, “It really is an opportunity to bring us all back together—but only if we let it.”
The Army Heritage Center Foundation is located at 950 Soldiers Dr., Carlisle. For more information, visit www.armyheritage.org.
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