The Pioneer America Society: Association for the Preservation of Artifacts & Landscapes (PAS: APAL) will hold its 43rd annual conference at the Indian River State College and Marriott Courtyard in Stuart, Florida, on October 12-15, 2011.

The Pioneer America Society will host this event in memory of the Society’s late Executive Director, Dr. Artimus Keiffer, independent scholar of Stuart.

The 2011 Conference theme is: Boom and Bust: Landscapes of Economic and Cultural Transition. The emphasis is to document the boom and bust cycles in Florida and show how these cycles affected real estate, architecture, transportation, coastal development, cultural diversity, agricultural landscapes (and subsequent abandonment), shifting land use for housing, tourism, place names, environmental issues, historical and contemporary economic plans, and what the future holds as national and even global shifts affect the Treasure Coast.

In order to explore these themes, paper sessions, workshops, and field trips are planned. The meeting begins on Wednesday with registration, a Board meeting, and a welcoming reception. Thursday will feature a National Register of Historic Places workshop, a self-guided walking tour of Stuart, and beach time. Friday will showcase concurrent paper sessions, a business luncheon, and the Friday Evening Awards Banquet. The unique day-long field trip will take place on Saturday.

The conference committee is now accepting proposals for papers, special sessions, and panel discussions. The meeting organizers encourage papers and sessions that reflect the conference theme, but they welcome all papers of interest to members of the Society. Presenters must be members of PAS: APAL. The deadline for abstracts is: 8:00 a.m. Monday, August 29, 2011.

For further information about paper presentations and the submission of abstracts, please contact Marshall E. Bowen at: mbowen@umw.edu, or see the Society’s “Call-for-Papers” at: http://www.pioneeramerica.org/annualmeeting2011call.html.

For complete conference information, please contact Wayne Brew, Montgomery County Community College, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell, PA 19422, phone: 215/641-6326, email: wbrew@mc3.edu, or visit the Society’s website at: http://www.pioneeramerica.org/annualmeeting2011.html.