Kevin's Guide

Meaningful Heritage Travel

Jamie Donahoe wrote from Hong Kong last week - isn't it cool to communicate in real time across the planet? Jamie's a co-founder of the Heritage Conservation Network, a non-profit based in Boulder, CO. HCN organizes international hands-on workshops for architectural and site conservation - in effect, mini-vacations where you can work on actually saving a local heritage asset, while visiting pretty unusual places around the world. You can learn lots of restoration techniques and meet an international cast of fellow participants!

Jamie needs volunteers, in particular, to help save a quintessential American town - Cairo, IL. In the June sessions, they are collaborating on a project to create affordable housing by preserving and rehabilitating a group of historic "shotgun" style houses. Why not vacation right in the heart of America, and help save one of our historic communities? You can register at their web site  www.HeritageConservationNetwork.net/ws-cairo.htm. Let your friends know about this program, too!

Jamie, thanks a bunch for wring & passing along our info to your partners. Keep us informed!

Adios..

 

Thanks John Fielder

John Fielder, Colorado's noted history/nature photographer, reviewed our Project plans, and offered some really thoughtful comments about how it helps motivate people to preserve their heritage (see his comments at our home page). It amazes me how very busy people are still willing to take time out of their day to help a stranger (on a weekend, no less).

John will be publishing his latest book, Ranches of Colorado, this fall, followed by a slide/lecture tour to help the organizations striving to preserve these working ranches, rich treasures important to both the past & future of Colorado. See the link above to his book page for a preview. I can't wait to see it.

Thanks, John, for seeing the synergy in our respective efforts to save the Colorado we love!

Kevin 

Teaching with Primary Sources

Today I was pleased to meet Dr. Anne Bell, Director of UNC's Teaching with Primary Sources - Colorado Rural Partnership program. Anne runs this great program, in partnership with the Library of Congress, which holds workshops at Colorado schools to train teachers to use primary source materials, from local libraries to the Library of Congress. As they describe it, "Using primary sources in teaching helps deepen students' content knowledge, promotes critical thinking and brings learning to life....students can actually experience the journalist's or historian's role..."

The Partnership's Summer Institute, at UNC Lowry July 28-30, 2009, is titled Nation at the Crossroads, Rediscovering the Federal Writers' Project. This program is designed to "...discover treasures in the stories of ordinary people, captured at the crossroads of small towns and communities through the Federal Writers' Project." If you know teachers, school librarians, or others who can benefit from the program or their workshops, check out the web site, or call 970-351-1555 for more information.

BTW, If you have never visited the LOC American Memory site, you're missing a great national treasure. Watch out, it's pretty addictive...

Anne, it was obvious we share many of the same goals, with very complementary programs!

From the 'burbs,
Kevin

National Trust Travel

Take a look at Heritage Travel, Inc., the heritage travel marketing program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. This is a great program, a quality solution by a wonderful organization. I look forward to the full launch of the site this Spring!

So why do we need this Project, if the National Trust, and other quality preservation organizations are promoting and preserving our heritage for us? Well, "for us" is the operative phrase here. While we spend millions on properly recognized heritage attractions, often in wealthy urban areas, the rest of our heritage is disappearing fast. Established attractions get most of the money. There's no budget for preserving places like Arriba or Hugo, or Summit, Colorado, much less to create an attractive, approved "tourism experience." 

In fact, dedicated senior citizens are often the only reason many local places, their history & artifacts, buildings still exist. I've met many of these caretakers. Their perception is that "no one cares anymore," and they are correct. THIS is what we need to change. That's the purpose of the American Guides Project. We're not here to address the needs of rich travellers, or rich community attractions with paid staff. We're here to help local American heroes, folks like Lyle Stone, Jerry Chubbock, Bob Coulson, and Dale Stinton in Brush, Colorado, all of whom have labored tirelessly into their 80's, with very little recognition and little help, out of love for their community.

We urgently need to transfer their enthusiasm to a new generation of Americans.

Kevin

Blogging

It's tough to blog for the first time and know that nobody's reading it. Now, as we begin to publicize the Project, I'm afraid people will read it. It feels like the first time I had to do a presentation for business purposes, not classmates. "OMG, those people are actually listening!"

Hey, I didn't call this Kevin's Guide to compete with Craig's List, or anyone else's. I'll just be posting what I find interesting about America, heritage on the web, and maybe some tech stuff now & then. Hopefully lots of stuff you tell me about. My own travels are limited, but yours are almost infinite. Let me know about fun heritage stuff on the web. Local stories & legends. What's happening, things you're doing to celebrate or share our heritage. If you write up a review of a local heritage site, I can post it or link to it. If you wrote a book let me know. If you open a new museum, restore a building, or whatever, I'll try to give you some virtual press.

I'll keep you posted on  the Project, too. BTW, currently we get 1-2,000 page views per month, without any work on search optimization (we need help there). Over the past couple years I've gotten numerous emails about the State Guides we published, so there are local heritage tourists ou there (they check the facts & typos, as well!).

For the foreseeable future, we'll be asking for money & volunteers. I think  there's plenty of ROI in this for everyone, so I hope it goes well. You really can help your favorite places retain their value by helping us!

Breakfast looms, so we'll chat later folks.

Kevin

Welcome to America

Hi Folks,

We're in the process of building something big. Just as big, broad, deep and rich as America itself!

Over 70 years ago, the American Guide Series of state guidebooks was published to provide work for unemployed workers during the Depression, and also to help renew Americans' self-image and national spirit. Today, it seems we need a similar renewal, to defend our history, environment and local culture from the impact of corporate globalization. But we don't have thousands of federal employees. The American Guides Project was formed to fill the gap, mobilizing regular Americans all across the country to help share and preserve our natural and  historic heritage.  

To this end, we're well on the way to publishing online the massive collection of state guides in the WPA's American Guide Series (35,000+ pages). The next phase is more difficult - we want to develop a 21st century version with your help! The New American Guide Series will describe the heritage of local America, with a similar guide for each county in the USA. These volumes will be written by local sponsors and volunteers, and we plan to place them into both online and print distribution channels.

I invite you to visit us at AmericanGuides.org for more information and options for local participation an sponsorship.

Kevin Obenchain, Executive Director