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New generation digital microscope stations added to UVM Historic Preservation Program lab

The University of Vermont Historic Preservation Program has recently added six new digital microscope stations to its conservation lab. These state-of-the-art Leica digital steromicroscopes are paired with the latest generation iMac computers to provide a new dimension in building conservation research capabilies. With the six workstations set up for use by two-person teams, all students in Prof. Visser's architectural conservation classes will be able to learn about microscopy techniques for researching a wide variety of historic building materials and architectural finishes. The high resolution digital images that can be captured using the built-in LED lighting system with steady color tempertaure, will provide exciting new opportunities for materials analysis and documentation.

Campus buildings research

Documenting the history of buildings on the University of Vermont campus was the focus of the Researching Historic Structures and Sites course during the fall 2007 semester. The results of this research by graduate students in the UVM Historic Preservation Program will be integrated into the UVM Campus Treasures web site.

Depression Era Streetscapes: Historic Burlington Project continues

Continuing as series of research projects that trace the history of Burlington, Vermont's built environment, graduate students in the University of Vermont Historic Preservation Program in December 2006, completed the seventh in a series of annual research projects. The main archival source for this project, Depression Era Steetscapes: Burlington, Vermont South of Pearl Street and Colchester Avenue, is the Louis L. McAllister collection of photographs at the UVM Library's Special Collections. Originally taken for the Burlington Street Department to document various public works projects, these historic images date from the 1920s through the 1940s. Included are views of locations south of Pearl Street and Colchester Avenue. The previous year's project, Depression Era Streetscapes: Old North End, includes images north of this area. For each of the original photographs, the students identified the locations and re-photographed the views. These and other preservation student research projects that trace the history of Burlington buildings and streets through the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries are listed at the Historic Burlington Project web site.

Exploring Winooski

As a case study in the development of a typical New England mill town, nearby Winooski, Vermont <www.onioncity.com> provided an opportunity for the spring 2006 class of HP 305 to explore its history, built environment and river-related industries. The National Register-listed Winooski Falls Mill District was the starting point for field survey work.  A visit to the permanent exhibit of Heritage Winooski and the new headquarters of the Winooski Historical Society in the Champlain Mill (1912) introduced the historic contexts of early settlement on the Onion River, the mill town, immigration and urbanization.  Vince Feeney (adjunct faculty, History Department, UVM) led a walking tour of the historic textile mills along the river, boarding houses for women factory workers at the woolen mill, immigrant neighborhoods and older commercial areas of the village.  The Winooski One Hydroelectric Station (1992) provided a view of a successful and modern river-related industry.

Walking around Winooski was a time to investigate this dense urban area and discover the Stone House (1790), the commercial Winooski Block (1867), the St. Francis Xavier Church (1870), St. Stephens Church (1928), and the Colchester Woolen Mill (1890) that was rehabilitated into apartments.  In addition to research in local histories, city directories and Sanborn Maps in UVM’s Special Collections, each building’s visual character provided clues to architectural style, function and rehabilitation potential. The instructor for this segment of HP 305 was John Johnson, an historic preservation consultant from Marshfield, Vermont. Students photographed representative resource types and prepared survey forms for the Vermont Historic Sites & Structures Survey, a part of the Urban Design element in the Winooski Municipal Development Plan (2002) .  

UVM Moves Historic Johnson House

Neither a five o'clock in the morning start time nor a drenching summer rain could deter a group of University of Vermont Historic Preservation Program graduate students and faculty from being on hand as one of university's oldest historic buildings was moved to a new site on the Burlington, Vermont campus. More...

Agent fate: recent research has created opportunities for collaboration

Given the current international political climate, some analysts think that the likelihood of a terrorist attack involving chemical contaminants is growing. In developing decontamination strategies for facilities involved in terrorist attacks, it is important to understand the interactions between the contaminants and the building materials exposed to them. This is particularly true in the case of heritage property and other high-value facilities where demolition is not a viable treatment option, and where chemical decontamination strategies may have a harmful effect on important historic building materials.

Since 2003, the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation at the University of Vermont has been working with scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to understand the possible interactions between chemical contaminants and the materials commonly found in historic buildings. Ultimately, this research can be used to establish a triage process for evaluating contamination of historic buildings and other high-value facilities as well as to develop a series of decontamination procedures.

In 2004, the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UVM became involved with the project, supervising a series of laboratory tests designed to characterize material / contaminant interactions (known as “agent fate”). This collaboration between Historic Preservation and Civil Engineering created opportunities for students from both programs to participate in the research. Phase 1 of this research is drawing to a close. Douglas Porter (Historic Preservation) and Prof. Mandar Dewoolkar (Civil Engineering) have been assisted by Chang Fu Wei and Lindsay Ashworth from the College of Engineering and Mathematics and Rebecca Williams from Historic Preservation with Prof. Thomas Visser (Historic Preservation) serving as the grant’s principal investigator.

In Phase 2, tentatively scheduled for the summer of 2005, researchers will work with students to characterize the materials under conditions that more closely resemble the field environment. The information generated by these experiments will be used by scientists at LANL to develop a predictive model and evaluate current decontamination strategies.

Wheeler House computer lab and preservation work

The University of Vermont Historic Preservation computer lab, microscopy lab and seminar room on the lower level of the historic Wheeler House (1842) received extensive upgrades and preservation work with funding support from the University of Vermont Physical Plant Department, College of Arts and Sciences, Center for Teaching and Learning, History Department, Historic Preservation Program and from gift donations to the UVM Historic Preservation Program Fund. Rooms 100 and 103 serve as preservation computer labs with new Macintosh and Windows-based computers, a large format printer for CAD and GIS drawings, internet networking and new furnishings. Wireless networking is also available in the lab, seminar room and other areas in Wheeler House.

UVM Historic Preservation Program collaborating with National Park Service to conserve California adobe landmark University of Vermont Historic Preservation Program graduate students and staff are participating with the National Park Service in a program of research and training at the Las Flores Adobe Ranch House, a National Historic Landmark site located on the Camp Pendleton United States Marine Corps base in San Diego County, California. The project, conducted by the NPS Intermountain Support Office of Santa Fe, New Mexico, is coordinated by Douglas Porter, a research associate with the UVM Historic Preservation Program. UVM historic preservation students have served as interns with the National Park Service over the past several summers since 2002, documenting the history of the building's components, developing appropriate treatment recommendations, restoring fenestration, and completing seismic retrofits and adobe repairs. According to principal investigator, Prof. Thomas Visser, "As we work together to conserve an important national historic landmark, this collaboration will offer our students exciting opportunities to gain direct knowledge of professional preservation practices while providing needed scholarly services to the National Park Service. We are pleased that the University of Vermont is being recognized as a national leader in conservation education and research. "

UVM Graduate Programs in Historic Preservation, Natural Resource Planning and Field Naturalist Collaborate on innovative interdisciplinary conservation leadership field studies

First year graduate students in the University of Vermont Historic Preservation, Natural Resource Planning and Field Naturalist programs have collaborated on a series of innovative interdisciplinary projects. In 2002, the joint field study project was held at the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park in Woodstock, Vermont. Using the historic carriage road system and surrounding forest as the focus of their study, the team has examined the tension between cultural resources and natural resources when developing conservation management strategies. The students were joined by UVM faculty and staff of the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park and the National Park Service's Conservation Study Institute. In 2003, Shelburne Farms in Shelburne, Vermont, hosted the event. Graduate students the University of Vermont Historic Preservation, Natural Resource Planning and Field Naturalist programs conducted an assessment of the historic, cultural and natural resource features of the Elm Swamp area of the Olmsted-designed estate and presented their findings to Shelburne Farms. Round Pond State Park in South Hero, Vermont, was the focus of an interdisciplinary conservation leadership field study during the spring 2004 semester. Recently saved from development by the local and regional land trusts, stewardship of the lake-front farm property and natural area is now the responsibility of the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation. The graduate student team shared their research findings and management recommendations with the state and with local residents. The aerial view at right taken for the project shows the Round Pond parcel in the foreground, with US Route 2 causeway following the sand bar across Lake Champlain from South Hero to Milton, Vermont. In addition to contributing to a written report, graduate students in the UVM Historic Preservation Preservation Program Conservation Leadership Seminar produced a web site on this South Hero project.

UVM Historic Preservation Program hosts national covered bridge preservation conference

The ratification of the Burlington Charter for the Preservation of Historic Covered Bridges culminated the First National Covered Bridge Preservation Conference hosted by the University of Vermont Historic Preservation Program in June 2003. The goal of this charter is to guide decisions on the care and preservation of historic covered bridges while preserving them as working parts of transportation systems whenever possible.
Prof. Thomas Visser and Prof. Robert McCullough of the University of Vermont Historic Preservation Program worked with the Preservation Education Institute of Windsor, Vermont, the National Park Service Historic Preservation Training Center of Frederick, Maryland, and the National Park Service Historical American Engineering Record of Washington, DC, to plan this national event and to develop the initial draft of the Burlington Charter.

The conference was sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration and the National Park Service and was co-sponsored by the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation, the Vermont Agency of Transportation, and a dozen other co-sponsors.

Over thirty-five papers were presented to the 225 conference attendees on a broad range of approaches for covered bridge preservation. These included research on best practices for maintenance and repair, preservation and stabilization, techniques for condition assessments, engineering analysis, documentation and protection, the history of covered bridge construction, design and engineering, and the future and threats to wooden covered bridges.
Keynote speakers included Henry Petroski, the acclaimed author and professor of civil engineering and history at Duke University, and Eric DeLony, Chief of the Historic American Engineering Record.

The Honorable U.S. Senator James Jeffords of Vermont, a leading national advocate for the preservation of covered bridges and other historic resources, gave the final address at the closing plenary session wherein he celebrated the great strides achieved by the conference attendees.
At a special award ceremony held at the Shelburne Museum, the Federal Highway Administration's Environmental Excellence Award was presented to the Vermont Agency of Transportation by MaryAnn Naber (UVM HP '90) the Federal Preservation Officer for the Federal Highway Administration. Vermont Governor James Douglas and Vermont State Historic Preservation Officer Emily Wadhams (UVM HP '90) accepted the award on behalf of the Vermont Agency of Transportation.
More information on the conference is available at the covered bridge conference web site.

Conservation class studies barn preservation project

The HP 306 Architectural Conservation I class recently studied a barn preservation project , hosted by recent UVM Historic Preservation Program graduate, Eliot Lothrop. Since finishing his graduate course work, Eliot has been employed as a building conservator specializing in timber framing, working for a preservation contracting company on large preservation projects in Vermont.

The focus of the study trip was wood conservation. Eliot explained how new timbers were being spliced in to restore the sills of the building.

The mid-19th century dairy barn is one of the last surviving historic farm buildings in Burlington, Vermont. It is being preserved by the Intervale Foundation with support from the Preservation Trust of Vermont.

Quinn Leads Conservation Class Tour Historic preservation consultant, Chris Quinn, a year 2000 graduate of the UVM Historic Preservation Program shared his insights with Professor Visser's HP 307 Architectural Conservation II class. With the focus of the afternoon field study being the cleaning and repair of historic masonry buildings, Chris discussed the procedures he uses to test various cleaning treatment options for brick and limestone elements on a rehabilitation project in downtown Burlington, Vermont.

Holden Guest Lectures on "Preservation and the Press" University of Vermont Historic Preservation graduate Alfred Holden '92 addressed students in the HP 302 Historic Preservation Advocacy course on the topic "Preservation and the Press." As the assistant business editor of the Toronto Star, Holden is well-qualified to speak on the subject. He worked as a reporter before enrolling in the Historic Preservation program, and asserts that there is a commonality between preservationists and reporters: the desire to make the world a better place. In the course of his lecture, second-year students gained an thorough appreciation for the possibility of alliances between the two fields. Holden began with a quote from Abraham Lincoln: "Public sentiment is everything. He who moulds public sentiment goes deeper than he who enacts statutes or pronounces decisions." Lincoln's sentiment informed Holden's presentation, as he emphasized the importance of publicity and public support to successful preservation efforts. According to Holden, press coverage can assist preservation by the following four avenues: advocacy, print validity, entertainment, and reckoning. Case studies included one of the first visible modernist buildings in Vermont, the old Vermont National Bank, which was once threatened. An editorial stimulated public concern in the building, which, coupled with a recession, delayed any further action. The renovation of St. George Street, the main University of Toronto pedestrian thoroughfare, was also motivated by publicity, this time in the form of a university magazine article. In fact, almost the entire process of revitalizing this streetscape garnered some sort of press coverage. Alfred Holden used a multitude of such examples to convey certain observations about the role of press in our society, and how these observations can be applied to preservation. Press coverage can raise previously ignored issues to prominence, and can persuade the public to acknowledge the importance of a site or building, even if they do not aesthetically approve of it. Of course, sympathetic press appearances cannot guarantee a positive overcome, yet the act of educating the public about preservation issues can lay the groundwork for future successes. Aware that his audience was preparing to embark on preservation careers, Holden also suggested strategies that preservationists might employ to use the media for its own benefit. He suggested taking out classified ads in local newspapers in order to gather photographs and other information about historic properties. Such sources are central to researchers, and are incredibly useful in adding a human dimension to sites that may have been abandoned years ago. Holden encouraged preservationists to be active in soliciting coverage, pointing out that editorial boards are responsible for producing a huge volume of commentary. An aptly-timed topic suggestion could have wonderful results. In closing, he remarked that reporters are constantly on the lookout for a good story to tell. That is one advantage historic preservationists have: there is always a good story to tell. By Kate Burns '02

When graduate students in UVM Professor Thomas Visser's Researching Historic Structures and Sites course launched a semester-long research project in the fall of the year 2000, few expected that the project would uncover and help save an important local landmark from demolition.

Working in cooperation with library professor Jeffrey Marshall and the staff at the UVM Library's Special Collections, the team researched the entire area encompassed by by a rare 1830 map of Burlington, drawn by noted architect Ammi B. Young. The area researched extends from the Lake Champlain waterfront east to the UVM Green and from North Street south to below Maple Street. Each student researched a section of the area, using historic maps and other primary historical evidence. They then surveyed downtown Burlington, street by street, building by building, documenting physical clues of architectural evidence that suggested pre-1830 construction dates.

By comparing digitally transformed overlays of the 1830 map and recent aerial photographs, the students were able to identify several previously unrecognized early Burlington historic sites. One, recently known as the Chicken Bone Cafe (the wooden building shown here at the right) was discovered by UVM HP graduate student Mary O'Neil to be much older than previously thought. She also found that building was owned by a noteworthy family of early Lake Champlain mariners. When the building was threatened with demolition this past winter, Mary provided important public testimony that helped sparked efforts to save the building by local preservationists. Through the collaborative efforts of the Preservation Trust of Vermont, the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, the Paul Foundation and the City of Burlington, this important landmark has been saved and rehabilitated. Mary's outstanding preservation advocacy efforts were nationally recognized in the May-June 2002 issue Preservation magazine, published by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Mary O'Neil is currently employed as a preservation planner for the City of Burlington Department of Planning and Zoning.

The class also prepared a web site Burlington 1830, the first of a series in the Historic Burlington Project that have traced the history of Burlington's built heritage.

Web News

Coinciding with the rapid development of the Internet, the UVM Historic Preservation Program is researching new ways to effectively use this communications tool in the field of historic preservation. In recognition of the desire of many historic preservation organizations and agencies to tap into the potential of this new medium, all UVM Historic Preservation graduate students now receive special training in the creation of web sites and publication on the World Wide Web. Examples of their work, nominations of historic sites to the National Register of Historic Places, can be viewed on the UVM HISTORIC PRESERVATION WEB JOURNAL.

Other examples include Historic Burlington Project and a site titled, Dupont at Zenith, which is a history of the Dupont Street industrial neighborhood in Toronto, researched and prepared by UVM alumnus, Alfred Holden '92.

The UVM Historic Preservation Program is proud of the record of accomplishments of its graduates. Recent graduates have already distinguished themselves by landing many of the top professional preservation positions around the nation--from Galveston to Chicago to Key West to Washington, DC. Together, the over 200 graduates of the UVM Historic Preservation Program continue to play major roles in shaping public policy, strengthening communities, and providing technical preservation solutions.

A sampling of hirings and other news about UVM Historic Preservation Program alumni follow:

The Providence Preservation Society in Providence, Rhode Island announced in May 2008, that George Born '96 had been hired for the position of executive director. A 1996 graduate of the University of Vermont Historic Preservation Program, George worked for tweleve years with the Historic Florida Keys Foundation located in Key West, Florida. He served as the executive director of the foundation since 2005. George also served as chairman of the City of Key West’s Historic Architecture Review Commission. When asked what aspects of UVM's Historic Preservation Program were most helpful, George replied, "Practical skills such as public speaking and presentation, and abstract intellectual skills were invaluable preparation for my internship and subsequent position in Key West."

Alexis Godat '06 has taken a position as an Architectural Historian with EBI Consulting, a nationwide environmental management firm based in Burlington, Massachusetts.

Caitlin Corkins '08 has been hired as a Preservation Assistant at Historic New England in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Sarah Graulty '08 has accepted a preservation position with the New Hampshire Department of Transportation in Concord, New Hampshire.

Sara Casten '08 has accepted the position of Junior Architectural Conservator with Jablonski Building Conservation, Inc. of New York, NY.

Kimberly Smith '07 is employed as a Grants Reviewer for Kansas State Historical Society in Topeka, Kansas.

Julie Wiesgerber '07 has also been hired by the Kansas State Historical Society in Topeka, Kansas, to serve in a preservation review and compliance position.

Devin Colman '06 was hired in December 2007 as the new Historic Buildings Specialist at the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation in Montpelier, Vermont. His responsibilities will include Environmental Review and managing the Historic Preservation Grant Program.

Roger Ciuffo '06 is employed as a Architectural Historian for the Louis Berger Group in their Albany, New York office. He formerly served as a Historic Preservation Planner for the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Joshua Phillips '04 was hired to the position of Director of Preservation Services by Preservation Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland.

Daniel J. Aulenti '02 was hired by Historic New England to serve as the organization's Stewardship Manager. Previously, he worked with one of the nation's top furniture conservation firms doing conservation work in the Old Senate Chamber at the Massachusetts State House, at the Boston Public Library and on items from the U.S. Senate and State Department. Dan reports that at Historic New England he is "really enjoying what I do, seeing the beautiful old houses and
landscapes that are in our program. As Stewardship Manager, I help to administer preservation restrictions that we have on 74 privately owned properties in New England." In addition to performing annual site visits to the properties, he offers advice to homeowners on how to make appropriate changes, upgrades and repairs.

Michael Johnson '02 was hired by the Maine State Historic Preservation Office in Augusta, Maine. His main responsibilities are in the regulatory area, especially concerning the review of federally-funded projects that may impact properties eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

Justin Cook '02 is now the History Reviews Manager for the Resource Protection and Review section of the Ohio Historic Preservation Office based in Columbus, Ohio.

Erin Hammerstedt '01 and Sarah Farley '01 are both working in cultural resource management as architectural historians for A.D. Marble & Company, an environmental consulting firm. Erin is working through the company's Harrisburg, Pennsylvania office, while Sarah is working out of their Philadelphia office.

Elizabeth Rosin '90 is the co-owner of Historic Preservation Services, Inc. of Kansas City, Missouri. Major consulting projects have included preparing a 612-property National Register nomination in St. Louis, assisting with a Reinvestment Tax Credit application for the rehabilitation of a 1920 hotel in Kansas City, as well as conducting a cultural landscape survey of the Kansas University campus.

Sarah MacCallum '00 was hired by the Town of Colchester to serve as town planner. She previously served in the City of South Burlington Planning Department. A St. Albans, Vermont resident, Sarah worked as the preservation planner for the Town of Williston while she was an HP graduate student here at UVM. We are very excited to see how through Sarah's special interest in preservation planning she will be taking on the challenges of serving the public's interests here in Vermont.

Kevin Swanson '00, above, faced the difficult decision of choosing between three outstanding job offers from leading engineering firms in New York, Chicago and Minneapolis. He was first contacted by a firm in New York City after they read about him in the UVM Historic Preservation Program's newsletter. This led to another position opportunity in Chicago with the LZA Technology Company, where we was hired. Hs work has involved conducting condition assessments of exterior elements on Chicago skyscrapers, as shown in the photo above.

After completing her UVM degree work, Kate Larson Farnham '99 moved to Washington, DC to work as a transmitter and historian at the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) at the National Park Service. In November 2000, she accepted a job as assistant architectural historian in John Milner Associates' Alexandria office. Since then, Kate has worked on a variety of projects, including research to aid in the interpretation of a late 18th century home in Stephens City, VA, Section 106 mitigation documentation of four 19th century buildings in downtown Wheeling, WV and background research for rural archeology projects in Baltimore and Calvert Counties in Maryland and the Marine Corps Base at Quantico, Virginia. The ability to "read" a building's history and evolution, as well as the fieldwork and research skills she gained at UVM, have proven invaluable in Kate's work with JMA.

Sabina Wiedenhoeft Dugan ’96, working with a consortium of international institutions, helped organize exhibitions in Washington and Heilbronn, Germany (fall 2005 through spring 2006) that recognized the extraordinary contributions that German-born architect Adolf Cluss made in post-Civil War Washington, DC, in shaping the city as a modern capital. Focusing her research on Cluss’ early political connections with Karl Marx and his later professional emergence as architect and engineer, Ms. Dugan authored two chapters for the book Adolf Cluss, Architect: From Germany to America (2005).  The project and book have since received awards from the Victorian Society of America and the American Association for State and Local History.

Anna Mod ’96, right, is serving as a Visiting Associate Professor at Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Texas. In March 2006, Anna offered a scholarly presentation, titled “Historic Preservation at Prairie View A&M University,” at the Preparation for Professional Practice historic preservation symposium sponsored by the Center for Heritage Conservation at Texas A&M University. Anna discussed various historic site documentation projects that her students have completed at this historically black university, which founded in 1876, is the second oldest institution of higher education in Texas.

Renee Viers '93 is employed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Washington, DC. When asked how UVM's Historic Preservation Program aided her in her current position, Renee replied, "One of the best aspects of the Program was learning how to read the history of a town through its architecture." Before working for the National Trust, Renee served as the Executive Director of the Historic Fredericksburg (VA) Foundation for several years after graduating from UVM. The Foundation owns and operates one historic building and is involved in preservation and research projects in the area. Renee and Historic Fredericksburg have recently received national attention for their involvement in blocking Wal-Mart's development of Ferry Farm, George Washington's boyhood home. The property has been acquired by the Kenmore Association, who purchased it for $2 million. The foundation plans to use the farm to interpret eighteenth-century life in the area. Interestingly, the successful bid to stop Wal-Mart from developing the property was not based on zoning restrictions or sprawl-related issues. The retail giant was blocked by the local Architectural Review Board on the basis of the architectural plan for the site. It was a great victory for historic preservation, although Wal-Mart has said that they aren't giving up on building a store in the area.

Doug McVarish '91 has worked as an architectural historian at John Milner Associates in Philadelphia since 1991. He is presently principal architectural historian and project manager. During the course of his work at JMA, he has become the in-house industrial archeologist, and lock, dam, bridge and airport expert. Recent projects have included an historic engineering evaluation of the Ohio River Navigation System, NHL and NR nominations for Ste. Genevieve, Missouri and historic architectural investigations at the Harrisburg International and Capital City airports (PA).

Ann Cousins '91 has led a very active professional preservation life over the past decade since her graduation from the UVM Historic Preservation Program. Soon after graduating, she wrote and co-produced a nationally distributed video on Wal Mart sprawl phenomenon titled, "Back Against the Wal". She has also provided National Register and historic preservation regulatory review consulting services and served as the Cultural Resources Coordinator for Lake Champlain Basin Program from 1994 -1997. In response to a query about her recent activities, Ann writes: "I have the best job in the world. I drive around Vermont and meet great people doing good work! For the past four years I've worked for the Preservation Trust of Vermont as a circuit rider, working directly with communities and organizations who are undertaking a preservation or community development project. In the field, I represent both the Preservation Trust and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, bringing the tools and services of both organizations to local constituents. The idea of shared field staff was first tested in Vermont as a 3-year pilot; now this model is being replicated across the country. One of our goals is to grow the preservation movement and strengthen local organizations. We accomplish this not only through direct organizational development support, but also through retreats for volunteer preservationists. Each summer the Preservation Trust hosts 3-4 retreats at the Grand Isle Lake House, a turn-of-the-century grand hotel owned by the Preservation Trust on Lake Champlain. At these retreats, we invite 6-7 local groups to present case studies that frame a particular problem or issue related to their projects, and then we open it up for brainstorming and discussion. What we're finding is the cross-mentoring experience not only brings new ideas to a project, but also builds self-confidence and enthusiasm and boosts these projects along their timeline. The neat thing is, these groups tend to stay in touch with one another, continuing the cross-mentoring and really forming a network of volunteer local preservationists. It's very inspiring and great fun! For more about the Preservation Trust of Vermont and the Field Service Program, please visit our web site, www.ptvermont.org. "

Emily Wadhams '80 of Burlington, Vermont, has been appointed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation to serve as Vice President for Public Policy. Prior to this appointment, Emily served as the State Historic Preservation Officer of Vermont and as an adjunct faculty member of the UVM Historic Preservation Program.

Greg Paxton '77 will be joining Maine Preservation as Executive Director in April 2008, leaving his position as President and CEO of The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation.

Awards

Gene F. Barfield (Wagner College, 1975 (no degree); B.A. in History, 1990, Norwich University; M.S. in Historic Preservation 1992, University of Vermont) has been awarded the Richard C. Simonton Literary Prize for 2004 by the American Theatre Organ Society.  The Simonton Prize, named for the founder of the American Theatre Organ Society (originally the American Theatre Organ Enthusiasts) is awarded in an annual competition for essays on original research, scholarship and writing in the areas of theatre pipe organ history, restoration and conservation.  The Prize consists of a certificate presented at the annual A.T.O.S. convention, a monetary award and publication in Theatre Organ:  Journal of the American Theatre Organ Society.  Gene won the competition with an essay entitled:  "The American Theatre Organ:  Thoughts on a National Treasure." The essay focuses attention on the approaching A.T.O.S. 50th Anniversary as an opportunity to act on Gene's recently-accepted proposal for joint activity among the A.T.O.S., the American Guild of Organists, the American Institute of Organbuilders, the Associated Pipe Organ Builders of America and the Organ Historical Society leading to establishing formal programs and activities for restoration, conservation and presentation of historic pipe organs throughout the United States.  In an effort to recognize and document the rich musical heritage represented by pipe organs across America, Gene recently initiated a series of locally-based projects involving public school music educators and students, with expertise contributed by local members of the American Guild of Organists to research, document local instruments of historical importance,  and present community-based musical programs featuring performances on these instruments.  He anticipates publication late this fall of the first set of an on-going series of publications featuring historic pipe organs in a county-by-county sequence, beginning in Charlevoix, Emmet, Antrim and Grand Traverse Counties in northern lower Michigan.  He also served as liaison and advocate between the Smithsonian Institute and the Allen Organ Company, world's largest maker of electronic instruments, in a recent effort leading to Allen Company's donation to the Smithsonian of the world's first digital musical instrument.  A primitive electronic organ by today's standards, the hand-crafted instrument was built in a joint effort by Allen and Rockwell International, making use of research and technology developed for the United States space program.

UVM Historic Preservation Professor Thomas Visser has created a UVM Campus Architectural Treasures web site that explores the remarkable collection of historic and modern buildings at the University of Vermont. A sample page from the "Campus History Scrapbook" developed for this site is shown below. The project was supported by the UVM President's Office.

Even with all the excitement over the use of new high-tech preservation tools, the UVM Historic Preservation Program has not lost sight of its traditional strength: community involvement.

In the Historic Preservation Contemporary Practice course, students have researched Burlington's Old North End, an early 19th century iron works, slate quarries, farms, commercial buildings, court houses, and churches across Vermont. Working closely with municipalities, neighborhood groups, and state agencies, this research will enable neighborhoods and historic sites to become eligible for various historic preservation incentives by applying for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Listing on the National Register could then serve as a tool to help revitalize neighborhoods and to improve the standard of housing for residents. In Burlington, this public service research is helping to support the City's efforts to revitalize North Street in the city's Old North End neighborhood.

In Richmond, Vermont, an important scenic rural landscape visible from the Interstate highway and the Amtrak rail line is being persevered with the help of federal ISTEA funding through the efforts of the Richmond Land Trust. This work builds on earlier public service preservation projects conducted by the UVM Historic Preservation Program including the nomination of one of the farms, Grey Rocks Farm, to the National Register of Historic Places. HP graduate students also prepared an economic development plan for another one of the farms, Venture Farm, for its owner's, the Vermont Farm Bureau, as part of the HP 204 Historic Preservation Development Economics course.

On the national front, the UVM HP Program recently developed an innovative model for educating high school teachers and their students about historic preservation. With major grant support from the National Park Service's National Center for Preservation Training and Technology, UVM teamed up with Historic Windsor's Preservation Institute to offer a pilot course on Preservation Education Skills for Building Trades Instructors. Based on the success of the project, efforts are underway to explore the potential for developing a joint graduate degree program with the UVM Education Department. This educational research has generated significant interest from across the country.

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