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Text By David Vago - Photographs
By Michael J. Mills
This
year’s conference took place on September 9 and 10 in
Shepherdstown at the former Entler Hotel.
Entitled “Heritage and Growth: Preserving Communities and
Cultural Landscapes”, the conference was a phenomenal success.
Attendee reviews were unanimously positive in their comments
to the conference staff. Many have felt that it was PAWV’s best
conference yet, and a sign of even better things to come.
The conference
organizers feel that the success was a result of the high
quality of the presenters and their work. Local architect David
Kemnitzer hosted a reception for early arrivals on Thursday
evening. A walking tour of Charles Town on Friday morning
preceded a rich program of presentations and discussions that
allowed attendees to learn more about cultural landscape
preservation issues around West Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic
region. |
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The conference
featured two main program tracks. One track dealt with the
preservation of communities and landscapes in the face of
rampant growth, tackling issues related to land use, sprawl, and
protection. The other track focused on the past and future of
cultural landscapes, featuring presentations and discussions on
the definition, improvement, promotion, and interpretation of
landscapes and other heritage resources.
On Friday, Chris
Miller, of the Piedmont Environmental Council, delivered a
presentation after lunch on growth issues in the Piedmont
region. Liz Sargent of John Milner Associates and Troy Thompson
of Lord Cultural Resources spoke on cultural resource management
and interpretation of cultural resources, respectively.
Later on Friday
afternoon, Lynda Frost of the Trust for Public Lands, George
Siekkinen of the National Trust, and Grant Smith of the Land
Trust of the Eastern Panhandle each delivered presentations that
dealt with tools for preserving landscapes and other cultural
resources, focusing on land trusts and easements. |
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Saturday’s sessions
began with breakout sessions featuring more strong
presentations; all were well-attended. The early morning
sessions included a presentation by Marjorie Williams, who
offered creative solutions regarding the regulation of design
standards outside of designated and protected historic
districts, while Lee Blair and John Smith of Allegheny
Restoration discussed triumphs, pitfalls, techniques, and
pragmatic issues that they contended with in the restoration of
several historic barns.
The late-morning
sessions on Saturday included featured Matt Ward, a Charles Town
councilman, moderating a discussion on advocacy for local
landscapes, and Gabe Hayes of Hayes Landscape Architecture
Studio presenting his work and advice on retaining individual
character in streetscapes and other urban landscapes.
Following lunch,
Elizabeth Watson delivered her upbeat keynote address on her
work as executive director of Stories of the Chesapeake Heritage
Area on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Ms. Watson provided anecdotes
on her experience in becoming involved with Stories of the
Chesapeake, and on ways in which she has overcome challenges in
her work. |
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The keynote was followed a breakout
session for each of the conference’s program tracks. Elizabeth
Watson and Nell Ziehl of the National Trust moderated a session
at the Opera House Theater on smart growth in the Eastern
Panhandle. Participants included both conference attendees and
interested local citizens who had signed up just for the
afternoon. Local participants included a number of citizen
activists, political figures, and developers. The session was
intended to help promote dialogue on smart growth, and was
successful in generating good conversation. |
| Those who remained at the Entler for
the other afternoon session enjoyed the dynamic and informative
presentations of three panelists who spoke on the promotion of
heritage tourism. Scott Gerloff of the West Virginia Cultural
Heritage Tourism Program, Scott Standish of the Lancaster County
(PA) Heritage Area, Jeanne Mozier of Travel Berkeley Springs,
and Christina Lundberg of the Eastern Panhandle Rural Tourism
Alliance offered their experience as help in emphasizing the
strengths that businesses and municipalities can take advantage
of to meet the needs of contemporary heritage tourists. |
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The conference dropped
to a more relaxed pace Saturday evening with a driving tour to a
number of historic homes and homesteads in the area, most
connected to influential families of the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries. The driving tour ended at the White House
Farm, whose owners graciously hosted a catered dinner with
traditional music by the Martin Family Band. Dinner was held in
the relaxing, well-treed yard, and tours of the house and
grounds followed an excellent meal.
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Thanks to our board president, Phyllis Baxter,
and to our staff, Dave Vago, Ruth Sayre, and Mitzi Miller, for pulling
the conference together and handling the many details that helped it to
go smoothly. Thanks also to Ruth Brinker, Bob Conte, Bob Enoch, Mike
Mills, Kip Stowell, Barb Rasmussen, Chelly Depp, Scott Gerloff, and Nell
Ziehl for advance planning and on-the-spot technical assistance. And
thanks especially to our hosts and our presenters, who really made the
conference work. We are duly grateful. |
