By LMHS Staff

Until his recent retirement, Dennis Montagna directed the National Park Service’s Monument Research & Preservation Program, based at the Park Service’s Northeast Region Office in Philadelphia. Dennis holds a BA with dual majors in Studio Art and Art History from Florida State University, a Master’s degree in Art and Architectural History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a Ph.D. from the University of Delaware. Most of his current research and writing focuses on the history and preservation of cemeteries and other burial spaces, and he is the Immediate Past President of the Association for Gravestone Studies. He also chairs the Historical Architectural Review Board [HARB] for the Borough of Narberth, PA, and is a founding member of the Friends of Narberth History.

What is your favorite Lower Merion/Narberth memory? 
Planning and helping to implement the long-overdue conservation of the monumental bronze plaques on Narberth’s World War I Memorial.

How long have you lived in Lower Merion/Narberth? In which community?
Thirty-five years in Narberth.

Why do you want to serve on the board of the Society?
In general, I think that the Society is in a great position to use its significant collections in a more proactive way to expand its ability to reach people with stories of Lower Merion and Narberth people and places that have not been told before. It has been fun being part of the nascent phases of that effort, and the related work of forming partnerships with other local groups and organizations that embrace community building.