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The Peiffer Memorial Arboretum and Nature Preserve is a 35-acre nature preserve and memorial site in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. The arboretum features woodlands, hiking trails, and memorials to a World War II aviatrix who crashed on the site. There are also memorials on a “path of leadership” honoring past leaders of the local community.
The arboretum is located at 1841 Brookview Drive. The property is bounded in the south by the Yellow Breeches Creek; to the west is Interstate 83; to the east is the Beacon Hill development; Simpson Ferry Road is to the north. It is open to the public daily from dawn until dusk. See Airplane Crash section below.
Arboretum Founding
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The arboretum was dedicated on August 5, 2018.[1]
Path of Leadership
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Not long after dedication, in 2019, the Arboretum established a “Path of Leadership award” to posthumously recognize contributions made by leaders of the local community (particularly in Cumberland County) to improve the lives of others in their community. Since 2019, one person has been inducted in August of each year. Inductees are memorialized with a plaque set in small granite square stones around a path to the north side of the main house. Each marker is included in the Historical Marker Database.
Persons honored include:
| Year | Honoree | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | DAVID L. DANNER | Raised in Lemoyne and served in many capacities in the West Shore School District, including teacher, coach, principal, and student adviser. |
Airplane Crash
[edit]On April 3, 1944, a Lockheed P-38 Lightning crashed on the site. The twin-engine aircraft was on a ferry flight from Long Beach, Calif, to Newark, NJ and had made several stopovers along the way. On the last leg to Newark, the 24-year-old female pilot (rare in those days) - Evelyn Genevieve "Sharpie" Sharp - took off from New Cumberland Airport (now Capital City Airport/CXY). The aircraft experienced an engine failure on takeoff and Sharp attempted to land on what was then an open field - now a forested area atop the hiking trail on the northwest side of the arboretum. The P-38 made a “pancake” landing that thrust the landing gear into the cockpit, killing Sharp instantly.[2]
This will site a book.[3] This will site the same book for multiple pages.[4]
Sharp was one of the original Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS) pilots with over 3,000 flight hours logged when she joined. The WAFS were soon merged with the Women’s Flying Training Detachment to form the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs). Sharp was the only WASP to die in a P-38 accident.[5]
The arboretum contains two memorials to Sharp – one at the front entrance (which includes original P-38 propeller blades – not from the accident aircraft - mounted skyward) and another atop the west-side hiking trail at the approximate site of the crash, marked by a pile of field stones and an American flag. Woodlands have since replaced the open field that existed at the time of the crash.
References
[edit]- ^ smarroni@pennlive.com, Steve Marroni | (2018-08-05). "New Cumberland arboretum, memorial, dedicated to two pioneering women". pennlive. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
- ^ Inc, The Ninety-Nines. "Our History Women in Aviation History Sharpie: The Life Story of..." The Ninety-Nines, Inc. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ Peiffer, David H. (2024). Bonding with the William Black Homestead: Tales of Passion and Obsession. Cumberland County Historical Society. p. 196. ISBN 978-0974931173.
- ^ Peiffer 2024, p. 200-201.
- ^ "Evelyn Genevieve Sharp | P-38 Assn". p38assn.org. Retrieved 2024-12-12.