Nella Vita di Indoctrination

Ah is there anything better than a young mind. So thirsty for knowledge and easily malleable to the persuasion of their superiors. And what better to fill those naive young minds with then historic preservation. That's right, it's time for next generation indoctrination!

As I child, I know how much I loved going to museums and exploring old houses and structures, longing to learn all of their secrets and inner workings. As an adult, I can not wait until I have kids of my own and can teach them about all the wonders that the built environment has to offer and the complete joy they can experience uncovering the past (though if psychology has taught me anything, my kids will become suburbanites that love modern art...they will quickly be shunned and written out of my will :) ). Walking around downtown, I can't help but think how fun it will be to have architectural scavenger hunts...i.e. how many Doric columns can we find? (If there were any doubts about my complete dorkitude, I think the last sentence will squash them).

Apparently however, I am not the only one. I've come across a couple great websites that are great (and fun) tools for teaching historic preservation and appreciation for the built environment and history in general. St. Louis Historic Preservation has a great site on teaching different kinds of building materials and even features a fun quiz (I am ashamed to say that I did pretty horribly...clearly my current realm of grants and affordable housing has weakened my mind!). The History Channel, as part of its Save our History campaign, has some great lesson plans too (for those of you who prefer a more structured brain washing). You have to register to access the plans; I just said I was a home-schooler. I'm sure there are plenty of other great sites out there, so if you come across any please share. In the mean time, if you happen to come across a child be sure to tell them that all the cool kids know what rusticated limestone means and that the real reason it rains is because God is crying because somewhere an old barn just fell down.

Nella Vita Di Civic Preservation

Back in May, I applied for a seat on Albemarle County's Historic Preservation Committee. I had been feeling a bit disconnected from the pres world since I've been so engrossed in planning, affordable housing, and grants since grad school and work, so I was looking for a way to get back to my historic roots. Not at all to sound vain, but seeing as I was more than qualified (live beating heart and more than a fleeting interest in preservation) I was appointed to the Committee! I attended my first meeting yesterday. I admittedly was apprehensive about adding another government meeting to my plate, but this is for personal pleasure. It did take some getting used to though, I kept feeling like I should be taking minutes and did cringe when staff was asked to gather data before I remembered that for this committee, I am not staff. The main discussion for the evening was demolition, specifically how to know when they happen in rural areas, and how to record them before they are gone. I was mostly quiet, just hearing about the issue and trying to get a feel for the other members (ok, ok...I was silently judging the other members). Next month we're going to form subcommittee to tackle different issues and actions needed. I'll be sure to provide updates!