January 3, 2011 – Preservation in Pink

Happy New Year and welcome back to your routine, whether it be school, work, or other. Cheers to a happy, healthy, and successful 2011! Were your Christmas wishes granted? What was your greatest success in 2010? What are your wishes for 2011?

Looking back at 2010, my time was mostly occupied with school papers and projects, aside from my summer internship and then job with the Vermont Agency of Transportation (think Lake Champlain Bridge, Section 106, and Section 4f). While all were worthwhile endeavors, it left little time for anything else. It’s hard to stay up-to-date on the news and events beyond the bubble of grad school, don’t you think?

In the New Year’s post from 2010, I wrote that I wanted to become more familiar with the National Parks. I cannot say that it was entirely successful, mostly due to school reading assignments, but my yearning for traveling to all of the National Parks certainly has not waned. And those other reading assignments (thanks Tom & Bob) provided an immense amount of knowledge. Once again, my favorite class and new knowledge base comes from Bob McCullough’s “History on the Land” class. Resolutions aren’t always easy to keep; and perhaps my goal was replaced by others. Still, I hope to learn more about the National Parks. I think the best way would be to travel to them: ROAD TRIP!

Some of best lessons from 2010 that I’ve learned are about how often historic preservation crosses paths with other fields and professionals, no matter how opposite they may seem. This is something I’ve always considered, but hadn’t had the opportunity to see and to experience so clearly. No matter how the field reaches, there is still a need for a convincing explanation as to why preservation matters and what it does. It’s a challenge I welcome.

Now that I’m finished with school (hooray!) there is more time for catching up and giving this blog the attention that it deserves and has been missing. If you have suggestions of any sort, I’d love to hear them. I’m also hoping to resume the newsletter; are you interested in contributing? I’ll be posting more frequently for certain. The past year was a very successful year for Preservation in Pink, with the greatest number of visitors and site visits per day. The site has reached 120,000+ visits and I thank you for reading. I hope you’ll continue to visit and I encourage you to join in the preservation conservation.

What else for 2011? I have a list of projects, not all preservation related (e.g. those wedding related projects!), that I’m excited to begin. But in terms of historic preservation,my goals relate to keeping pace with the preservation news, economy, and job market (I’m sure everyone is doing the same), to see where it takes me, and to give thought as to how our field is changing and how the young professionals merge with the more experienced. I have a list of books to read, as well. So there is my sort of vague list for 2011. I think I’ll let the year guide me. What about you? What are your goals and wishes?

Here is a good quote for you, (found via Historic Shed):

“When you strip away the rhetoric, preservation is simply having the good sense to hold on to things that are well designed, that link us with our past in a meaningful way, and that have plenty of good use left in them.” – Richard Moe, former President of the National Trust for Historic Preservation

And another one, good for deep thoughts, (found via NCSHPO):

“The past reminds us of timeless human truths and allows for the perpetuation of cultural traditions that can be nourishing; it contains examples of mistakes to avoid, preserves the memory of alternatives ways of doing things, and is the basis for self-understanding…” -Drew Bettina