[MassHistPres] historic homes plaques

Wed Mar 19 15:08:53 EDT 2008

The Greenfield HC has received a card from New England Historical Markings 
which offers to administer a plaque  program for us. Does anyone have 
experience with this kind of vendor?
Marcia Starkey

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Heli Meltsner" <hmeltsner at verizon.net>
To: "Tucker, Jonathan" <TuckerJ at amherstma.gov>
Cc: "James Hadley" <jameswhadley at hotmail.com>; "Marcia Starkey" 
<mdstarkey at crocker.com>; "Jonathan Feist" <jfeist at charter.net>; 
<masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 2:48 PM
Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] historic homes plaques

> I've long thought plaques are a terrific means of public education: 
> eventually they'll suggest what got built when, that history happened  and 
> is happening on the spot in one's community and that the building  is 
> recognized as having a valued message to tell. For these reasons,  it 
> would be a wonderful learning opportunity in parsing the built 
> environment if all public institutions were required to place plaques  or 
> engraved cornerstones on their facades. Of course that will never  happen, 
> so the more plaques on private houses and buildings the better.
>
> Heli Meltsner
>
>
> On Mar 18, 2008, at 3:28 PM, Tucker, Jonathan wrote:
>
>> Plaque 'em.
>>
>> Jonathan Tucker
>> Planning Director
>> Town Hall, 4 Boltwood Ave.
>> Amherst, MA  01002
>> (413) 259-3040
>> (413) 259-2410 [fax]
>> tuckerj at amherstma.gov
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: James Hadley [mailto:jameswhadley at hotmail.com]
>> Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 2:57 PM
>> To: Marcia Starkey; Tucker, Jonathan; Jonathan Feist;
>> masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
>> Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] historic homes plaques
>>
>> It's nice to be theoretical about this, and it's interesting, but here
>> on
>> Cape Cod the conflict between the cultural landscape and the
>> recreational
>> landscape has reached the point where any and all resources must be
>> brought
>> to bear to preserve the historic building stock. The Town of  Chatham has
>>
>> lost over 50 historic house in less than a decade.  We get the fallout
>> from
>> the Hamptons, second homers from Boston, Cambridge, Toronto (yes) and
>> retirees from all over. Beaches, yacht clubs and golf courses are more
>> important to many of these "settlers" than the sense of history  that can
>>
>> still be sensed in corners and stretches of our lands. We're  bailing in
>> every way that is available, and plaques as well as National Register
>> Historic Districts are ways of dealing with the problem.
>> James Hadley, Chair, Orleans Historical Commission
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Marcia Starkey" <mdstarkey at crocker.com>
>> To: "Tucker, Jonathan" <TuckerJ at amherstma.gov>; "Jonathan Feist"
>> <jfeist at charter.net>; <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
>> Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 10:19 AM
>> Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] historic homes plaques
>>
>>
>>> Hello Jonathan,
>>> A thoughful message that raises in my mind the problems that are
>> worsened
>>> when public education neglects to include subjects such as history  and
>>> government for the broad spectrum of citizens. Some argue that the
>>> economic
>>> system is our major problem by overdeveloping the consumer culture.
>>>
>>> If we look at the mental landscape of non-historians/preservationists
>> I
>>> think we see a different view of change, with historic places well
>>> integrated in the total scene.
>>>
>>> When we focus on the local community it can become a way to think
>> through
>>> choices and realities, and it can support community-building through
>>> familiarity with places and their meaning over time. The teachers  here
>> are
>>> the older residents. But all of this must find a place in busy lives
>> and
>>> more pressing needs of adults..not easy to do. I guess this is
>> obvious.
>>>
>>> Marcia Starkey, Greenfield
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "Tucker, Jonathan" <TuckerJ at amherstma.gov>
>>> To: "Jonathan Feist" <jfeist at charter.net>; <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
>>> Sent: Monday, March 17, 2008 11:32 AM
>>> Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] historic homes plaques
>>>
>>>
>>>> Alternatively, you could look at it as an opportunity to invest the
>>>> owners of those houses with pride and knowledge they might otherwise
>> not
>>>> have had,  turning them into conscious custodians of that heritage.
>>>> There's nothing wrong with bragging, if what you say is true.
>> [Walter
>>>> Brennan, in a cheap 70s western television series about a
>> family--father
>>>> and sons--of reluctant fast-draw artists, speaking modestly of their
>>>> skill: "No brag, jest fact".]
>>>>
>>>> I agree with your concern, though.  There is a very conservative  (but
>>>> very smart, otherwise) British writer, Roger Sluton, who rails
>> against
>>>> the creep of the forces of "heritage" across the rural landscape of
>>>> Britain, when what government really should be doing (he asserts) is
>>>> supporting the property owners and traditional, resource-based rural
>>>> economic activities.  He believes that keeping historic places  alive,
>>>> economically viable, and functioning as they always have will do a
>>>> better job of preserving what is really important about such
>> landscapes
>>>> than facilitating their slow morph into preservation theme parks for
>>>> those with the discretionary income to participate in cultural
>> tourism.
>>>>
>>>> The problem with his analysis, which is very compelling  otherwise, is
>>>> that rural folks are, rightly, highly pragmatic and focused on their
>> own
>>>> near-term needs.  That's why some of the worst losses of historical
>>>> fabric we encounter are what generations of farmers (or millworkers
>> or
>>>> merchants, etc.) have done to their houses, barns and workplaces out
>> of
>>>> economic necessity.  There is an unavoidable and damning correlation
>>>> between economic class distinctions and the preservation of  important
>>>> historic fabric.  If we support preservation over other priorities,
>> we
>>>> need to understand that we are to an extent taking sides in the  class
>>>> wars.
>>>>
>>>> Jonathan Tucker
>>>> Planning Director
>>>> Town Hall, 4 Boltwood Ave.
>>>> Amherst, MA  01002
>>>> (413) 259-3040
>>>> (413) 259-2410 [fax]
>>>> tuckerj at amherstma.gov
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu
>>>> [mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of Jonathan Feist
>>>> Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2008 8:06 AM
>>>> To: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
>>>> Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] historic homes plaques
>>>>
>>>> This is probably a good idea, and I'm probably just being a
>>>> stick-in-the-mud
>>>> about it, but I have mixed feelings, both as a HDC chair and the
>> owner
>>>> of
>>>> the:
>>>>
>>>>    Harvard Shaker Meetinghouse
>>>>    1791
>>>>
>>>> On one hand, it raises awareness of the town's historical
>> significance.
>>>>
>>>> On the other hand, it's a little like having a painting and writing
>>>> "cow,"
>>>> "house," "tree," etc. with arrows pointing at the different  elements.
>>>> And
>>>> it's a little like bragging, too. Does it inspire burglaring?
>>>>
>>>> It's a step away from being a real place and towards being a living
>>>> history
>>>> museum, and that aspect of it doesn't sit well with me. I want  beauty
>> to
>>>> be
>>>> normal, not just for special occasions.
>>>>
>>>> A solution that's been discussed here is to have a sign at one  end of
>>>> the
>>>> village with all structures labeled. That's a little better, I  guess.
>>>>
>>>> --Jonathan
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ===============================================
>>>>
>>>> Jonathan Feist, Chair
>>>> Harvard Historical Commission
>>>> 978-772-4864 (home)
>>>> 617-747-2148 (Berklee office)
>>>>
>>>> Preserve Historical Harvard, MA:
>>>> http://harvard.ma.us/histcomm.htm
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> on 3/6/08 2:36 PM, annsinclair14 at comcast.net at
>>>> annsinclair14 at comcast.net
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> The Orleans Historical Society is looking into establishing a
>> program
>>>> for
>>>>> plaques for historic homes.  We would appreciate information from
>>>> historical
>>>>> societies having such programs.  We would like to know what your
>>>>> guidelines/ctireria are.  Is there an application?  If so what does
>> it
>>>>> contain?  What do you charge?  How do you handle replacement of
>>>> plaques when
>>>>> they "wear out"?  What does the plaque look like.
>>>>> I would appreciate any information you can give me either by email
>> or
>>>> phone.
>>>>> Ann Sinclair
>>>>> Orleans Historical Society
>>>>> annsinclair at comcast .net
>>>>> 508-255-5371
>>>>> ******************************
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>
> 