PreservationNation

As Thanksgiving approaches, our thoughts naturally turn to family, good health, friends and the other things we treasure in life.

Fans of a historic stone barn in Chase, WI, tell the world that "This Place Matters."

This year I’m thankful for the men and women who work to make our cities and towns more livable—who save places that matter all across the country. These are the preservation heroes who’ve brought a house back to life in an inner-city neighborhood; attended a public hearing to speak for the rehabilitation of the historic neighborhood school; invested their life savings in a Main Street business to help spark downtown revitalization.

Heroes like Kristin Kolkowski, who led the effort to purchase a historic stone barn in the small rural town of Chase, Wisconsin. Not just any stone barn, mind you, but a barn listed on the National Register of Historic Places that is a source of pride for the people of Chase. Once fully rehabilitated, it will serve as the town park, museum, and event center for weddings and family gatherings. Kirsten’s constant promotion of the site even led to an appearance—with their This Place Matters sign—on Good Morning America.

I’m thankful for people like Kirsten who speak up for the places that matter, even when it is unpopular. In these difficult financial times, governments often look to cut programs without considering the economic benefits that result from preservation activity. That’s what was happening earlier this year in Florida, as the state legislature threatened the state’s Main Street program with severe budget reductions claiming other programs were higher priorities. Luckily, the Main Street leadership found a powerhouse advocacy partner in the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation. Together, the local Main Street leaders and the Florida Trust were able not only to preserve funding for the Florida Main Street program and the State Historic Preservation Office, but even to increase it. That’s a great outcome in face of daunting odds, and those statewide advocates join my list of preservation heroes.

The Charity Hospital Advocacy Group includes Sandra Stokes, who was honored for her work to save New Orleans’ Charity Hospital.

Speaking of fighting against the system, I was fortunate this year to visit with Sandra Stokes—another preservation hero of mine—in her home state of Louisiana. Sandra Stokes doesn’t just talk preservation, she lives it—right out on the front lines.

This year, the National Trust awarded Sandra the very first Peter H. Brink Award for Individual Achievement in Historic Preservation. Here’s how we described her work at the awards ceremony in Nashville last month:

As a board member of the Foundation for Historical Louisiana, Sandra has been a leader in the ongoing effort to save and reuse New Orleans’ historic Charity Hospital—a classic preservation struggle that also addresses issues from health care to the role of citizens in determining their city’s future.

She is a film-maker by profession, but in the course of the Charity Hospital battle she has taken on—and excelled at—a number of jobs. She’s become a highly effective fundraiser, for example, generating hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions to the cause. She’s an articulate spokesperson, always willing to talk (and talk and talk) with anyone, anywhere, about an issue that really matters to her. She’s an investigative reporter, tenaciously rooting out misinformation and digging for the truth—and a skilled lobbyist, too, talking her way into meetings with decision-makers, winning friends and getting results. She can be the cheerleader who rallies her colleagues when their spirits flag—and the general who inspires them to keep up the fight.

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Photo courtesy Austin History Center, Austin Public Library.

Written by Andy Rhodes

Austin has become the destination of choice for Texas’ Vietnamese-Americans, drawn by the capital city’s progressive culture and perpetual growth. (Photo: Austin History Center, Austin Public Library)

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I entered the Austin History Center’s recent exhibit, “Vietnam to Austin: Restoring Community.” In my 15 years as an Austin resident, I’d heard little about the city’s Vietnamese-American community, so I was curious to see how an entire exhibit could be devoted to a subject that hadn’t often appeared on my radar screen.

Turns out, I hadn’t adjusted my perception properly. Austin’s Vietnamese-American community had been steadily growing in numbers and influence over the past decade, but it took the history center’s exhibit to fine tune my awareness.

Traditionally, Texas’ Vietnamese-American communities have been associated with large metropolitan areas like Houston and Dallas, where thousands of fellow countrymen share neighborhoods and millions of residents provide a customer base for family-run businesses. But in the past ten years, Austin has become the destination of choice for Texas’ Vietnamese-Americans, drawn by the capital city’s progressive culture and perpetual growth.

Since 2000, Austin’s Vietnamese-American population has increased considerably, from approximately 8,000 to nearly 20,000, according to Esther Chung of the Austin History Center. She adds that the current generation of Vietnamese-Americans feels far separated from the political events of nearly 40 years ago, when they broke ties with the past and focused on the future in their new country.

I was impressed with the Austin History Center’s exhibit, which showcased the progression of the city’s Vietnamese-American population, from its early days of displaced refugees to its current burgeoning populace of high-tech workers and mainstream families. A sizable portion of new residents are recent University of Texas graduates, who often choose to remain in Austin’s vibrant urban environment.

Chung told me that after a long history of imperialism and political strife, Vietnamese-Americans found opportunity and hope in Texas, where families joined Scout troops, political organizations, and especially churches, which serve as important spiritual and social gathering places. Though some are Buddhist, most Vietnamese in Austin are Catholic. Many families were drawn to Christianity when they were sponsored by churches as refugees, and they still feel a strong sense of connection to the Christian faith.

Chung added that the exhibit title, “Restoring Community,” referred to the concept of picking up the shattered pieces of the Vietnam War’s aftermath and establishing a renewed identity as Austinites. She helped put my perspective in focus when she reminded me that this new generation is brimming with optimism and that “their history as Americans is just beginning.”

Andy Rhodes is the managing editor of the Texas Historical Commission’s magazine, The Medallion.

Written by Katie Kastner

Foundation discovered at Honouliuli. (Photo: Jill Radke)

I have been a Partners in the Field Representative with Historic Hawai‘i Foundation (HHF) in partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation for the past year. In that time I have had the opportunity to explore many important themes in the history of Hawai‘i, work with and learn about the diverse cultures represented here, and understand that wide range of experiences that different cultures have had in Hawai‘i.

The history of Hawai‘i and the development of the military in the state cannot be told without the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The impact of this attack occurring in such a multicultural territory of the U.S. had profound cultural effects and ultimately changed the cultural dynamics in the islands during this time because of the fear that it struck in those living here in Hawai‘i and throughout the U.S.

On February 19, 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which led to 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry to be detained in camps across the country. In Hawai‘i at this time about 40% of the population was of Japanese descent. Approximately 1,440 people were interned, most of them of Japanese descent, but some of German and Italian ancestry as well. On the island of O‘ahu, detainees were first held at the Sand Island detention center before being moved to the Honouliuli camp, which opened March 1, 1943.

Until just a few years ago, little was known about the location of World War II Japanese Internment camps in Hawai‘i. In fact many people, including myself, were unaware that any Japanese internment camp sites remained in Hawaii. The Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i (JCCH) began researching these sites in an effort to determine where these camps were located and what, if any, evidence of them remains.

Site feature at Honouliuli (Photo: Jill Radke)

JCCH has been working with various organizations including HHF, the University of Hawai‘i, the State Historic Preservation Division, the National Park Service (NPS), and others to identify, preserve and interpret the Japanese internment camp experience in Hawai‘i. Their work has resulted in the identification of internment sites of various sizes on all of the Hawaiian islands. This work has unveiled an important piece of history from the recent past that had until recently been largely unexplored.

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