Episodes: page 10

All across America, the physical vestiges of slavery and tenant farming are being lost to the ravages of time and indifference. Without expert documentation – there’s a real chance we could lose all memory and understanding of these important buildings. That’s why Preservation Maryland is partnering with the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training to laser scan structures on Maryland’s eastern shore as a part of a broader national effort – a topic we knew we had to bring to our listeners.

This week’s guest is unique; we’re bringing back Bonnie McDonald to talk about the work of her organization, Landmarks Illinois, as they celebrate their 50th anniversary and look forward to the next 50 years of saving places and making preservation relevant in a rapidly changing world.

From preservation philanthropy to Mohawk ironworkers, hosts Nicholas Redding and Dr. Whitney Martinko are covering a lot of ground in today’s episode of PreserveCast Conversations.

Over the course of the past year on PreserveCast, we’ve explored several crossovers between heritage preservation and entertainment – with a particular focus on the BBC “farm” series – and this week’s episode is a further dive into this concept with the founder of Past Preservers, a firm dedicated to that very work of connecting experts with media.

In Burgundy, France, around forty workers are taking up an extraordinary challenge: to build a fortified castle using the techniques and materials used in the Middle Ages. It’s almost a surreal project and today we’re talking with Sarah Preston, a bilingual tour guide at Guédelon, a site that is literally resurrecting age old trades in the name of preservation, history and understanding.

As a preservationist, I cut my teeth on battlefield preservation – working for what’s today the American Battlefield Trust. I led an effort to defeat a proposed Gettysburg casino – so the idea of how we preserve and protect hallowed battlefields has always interested me. That’s why when I heard about a controversial proposal to build a so called, “D-Day land,” I knew we had a good fit – and so on this week’s PreserveCast, we’re heading to the bocage country to talk about heritage preservation with a French twist.

On this first edition of PreserveCast Conversations: The Professor and the Practitioner, a new monthly feature of PreserveCast, co-hosts Nicholas Redding and Dr. Whitney Martinko explore the trends, topics and issues that are making headlines in the world of preservation this month.

To regular listeners of PreserveCast, you know that I’m a huge fan of the BBC “farm” series – which have explored Tudor, Victorian, Edwardian and other eras of British history. Alex Langlands rounds out our interviews with each of the presenters from the series – and Alex also recently published a new book, Craeft: An Inquiry into the Origins and True Meaning of Traditional Crafts, which is a perfect topic of conversation at a moment when the world is almost entirely virtual.

Connecting place to story to digital resources is a challenge confronting communities across the globe. That’s why when I learned about nashvillesites.org, I knew we had a winner for PreserveCast. Not only is Nashville an amazing town – but this story holds many lessons for countless other places looking to bring their history to life. […]

Like the rest of the internet – I came across Seamus Blackley’s incredible story via Twitter and knew he’d make for an incredible PreserveCast guest. A true renaissance figure, Blackley is known widely as the “father of the Xbox,” and has also spent several years perfecting the art of extracting yeast from unusual environments to save and savor the taste of the past. A perfect slice of history for this week’s PreserveCast.

Candacy Taylor is an award-winning author, photographer and cultural documentarian working on a multidisciplinary project based on the Green Book. In her book, “Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America,” Taylor has masterfully pulled together this story of resilience and segregation in a way that elevates and memorializes this history – a history still rooted in countless towns and cities across America. 

Like many episodes, this week’s guest came from a personal passion and fascination – in this case with historic blends of teas. After my first sip of Oliver Pluff tea, I knew we had to get to the bottom of this story and learn how this Charleston, South Carolina based company has cornered the market on heritage tea in the United States. It’s a story brewed over several thousand years and one we’re serving up piping hot on this week’s PreserveCast.

If these walls could talk is an old refrain used by lovers of historic places and buildings, and thanks to the in-depth research and loving care of today’s guest, a historic log cabin in West Virginia’s panhandle is talking again.

Ask anyone working in the trades about who we should be keeping on eye on – and many will tell you Amy McAuley. It’s for that reason that I knew we had to get Amy on PreserveCast and release that episode in conjunction with our celebration and recognition of women in preservation and the historic trades. Known for working with hand tools (that means no power tools), Amy is a master craftsperson making waves in a field that deserves far more attention.

Preserving history and telling and conveying important stories is really what this podcast is all about. We like to talk to people around the world doing amazing things with history – and that’s precisely what this week’s guest, Eugene Tapahe, has done with the Jingle Dress Project. Part history, part culture, part art and part healing – this is a powerful project that every American should know about.

I’ve been a fan of Peter Ginn ever since I watched the first episode of Victorian Farm, where he portrayed a Victorian-era farmer in England alongside Ruth Goodman and Alex Langlands. Peter has deftly combined his knowledge of the past with entertainment and is a proud ambassador for preserving historic trades and crafts. In short, he’s the ideal PreserveCast guest.

Lisa Sasser is a true trailblazer in the preservation trades; an accomplished historic architect, accomplished tradesperson and notably, the first woman to complete the National Park Service preservation trades training program. On this week’s PreserveCast, we’re talking with Lisa Sasser about women in the trades and the future of trades training in America.

World War One has always fascinated me – and so has the decision on what to collect interpret and exhibit – so today’s episode is a perfect blend of interests and topics. What we preserve says more about us than it often even does the history itself, a reason we were excited to bring this fascinating discussion to our listeners.

As a Marylander involved in historic preservation, I have always been extremely impressed by the work of the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture. The Commission is the oldest ethnic commission in the nation and doesn’t just talk about preserving history – it directly invests millions of dollars in brick-and-mortar projects across the state. It’s a Maryland story with national implications and one we had to bring to PreserveCast.

Historian, businesswoman, investor, developer, and philanthropist. Colonel Jennifer Pritzker has led an amazing life. A retired Lieutenant Colonel of the U.S. Army for nearly three decades, Col. Pritzker served in the U.S. Army, U.S. Army Reserve, and the Illinois Army National Guard. Today, her legacy of service continues in her philanthropic investments across the nation […]