May Term is now over and I can begin working on the projects the Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation wants done. There are six in total and range from quick and easy to time consuming.
The first two deal with “interpretive markers.” I honestly thought interpretive markers were historical markers that provided people with information to help them determine if a historical event or place was real. It turns out “interpretive markers” is nothing more than a fancy term for historical markers that tell you about a place or event. The projects I’ll be handling involve finding sources of funding for interpretative markers that will be placed in the McClanahan and Persinger cemeteries and assisting with research for interpretive markers that will be in McClanahan cemetery and Washington Park.
The third project deals with endangered sites. Endangered sites are historical places that are in disrepair or in danger of being demolished. What I’ll be doing is updating the list of endangered sites by researching their current status and taking oral reports from members of the Endangered Sites committee.
Th fourth and fifth projects will see me dealing with cemeteries in general. I will be contacting a Tom Klatka from the Department of Historic Resources for information from cemetery workshops and creating a FAQ for cemeteries which will be placed on the RVPF’s website. The information will deal with the preservation of the cemeteries.
The final project I will be involved with this summer involves Green Books. Green Books were travel guides for African Americans that would assist them in their road trips. They would provide locations of restaurants, hotels, gas stations and more that serve or are friendly to African Americans. I’ll be helping the committee in charge of the project compile a list of Green Book locations in the Roanoke Valley and Southwest Virginia.
