NOTES FROM THE FIELD

By Lynn Stasick

Hello, everyone.

Well, another year has turned the corner, and so the circles go. PAWV has been very busy since we last spoke, having conducted three days of training in October at Jackson’s Mill with sixteen incoming 2015 Preserve WV AmeriCorps members.  We partnered with the Appalachian Forest Heritage Area AmerCorps program in offering many educational sessions to a great group.  If you recall, Rodney Bohner was PAWV’s 2014 AmeriCorps member. He is now working on double master’s degrees at the University of Oregon where he is doing very well. Nicole Marrocco who hails from Boston, Massachusetts is our new 2015 AmeriCorps member. Our VISTA, Alexandra Coffman is a native of Grafton, West Virginia. It is a joy to have both of them with us.

I mentioned in the last newsletter that our Executive Director, Danielle LaPresta, and I were travelling through the New River Region this past summer offering presentations on various subjects requested by community members. We also visited a number of coalfield communities including Sophia and Helen, accompanied by the project sponsors and community members. It was a wonderful learning experience. In addition, we met some very kind, preservation-minded people. I would like to offer a tip of the hat to David Rotenizer (Raleigh County Extension Agent for WV State University and PAWV board member) for organizing the project on behalf of the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority.

I have continued traveling, conducting site assessments and window workshops including one at Belmont Technical College in Belmont, Ohio.  This workshop explained the construction of steam devices for use in window restoration. There is also growing demand for building assessments from property stewards whose sites are not included in PAWV’s Endangered List, which is a very good thing on several levels.

Good news for the Larry Sypolt collection. We found a home for the WWII airplane identifiers. There are one-hundred-sixteen of them. In March Preservation Alliance board members transported the materials to the United States Navy Museum and Library in Washington D.C. The library was excited to receive the collection since they presently do not have a set. PAWV in action!

Well, until next time, stay well, stay busy, stay excited.

– Lynn