“Don’t it always seem to go -That you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone: They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.” – from “Big Yellow Taxi.”- Part 1

“There may have been a time when preservation was about saving an old building here and there, but those days are gone. Preservation is in the business of saving communities and the values they embody.” Richard Moe - Retired president of National Trust for Historic Preservation Rocky Mount, NC has not had an inventory of … Continue reading “Don’t it always seem to go -That you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone: They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.” – from “Big Yellow Taxi.”- Part 1 →

Celebrating 3 Years With You On Main Street Rocky Mount

When I write for this blog, I often think of us sitting together and talking on one of the benches along Main Street under the shade of the maturing crepe myrtles. It amazes me that later in July, it will be the beginning of three years when I started the blog. The very first post … Continue reading Celebrating 3 Years With You On Main Street Rocky Mount →

Twin County Hall of Fame – After the Lights Go Out!

How long has it been since you thought about Johnny Gruelle's famous Raggedy Ann & Andy stories?  Visiting the Twin County Hall of Fame Museum with Jane Gravely and Lanny Shuff before the exhibit moved to the , I wasn't fooled for a minute. The framed smiling faces of the Inductees were quiet as I … Continue reading Twin County Hall of Fame – After the Lights Go Out! →

Historic Preservation Commission – A Door is a Door is a Door Or Not! – Part 2

  "Why are you insisting on these rules and regulations, when I'm the good guy here. I'm fixing an otherwise over-looked house that is spiraling downward. I am willing to put money into the project to improve the neighborhood. There's a boarded up house, for heaven's sake, next door."    -An objection from Stepheny's writing world … Continue reading Historic Preservation Commission – A Door is a Door is a Door Or Not! – Part 2 →

The ‘Badass” Historic Preservation Commission or Not! – Part 1

Buying property in a Historic District comes with certain responsibilities. "We are only the caretakers of these houses, which were here before we owned them and which will be here after we are gone. They contain the wood from the old-growth forests, they are monuments to the skill of those who labored to build them, … Continue reading The ‘Badass” Historic Preservation Commission or Not! – Part 1 →

General Eisenhower and ‘The State of Things’ on Rocky Mount’s City Council

Are you familiar with the term the borrowed view? This is a technique where a distant view is incorporated into the garden setting and becomes part of the design. (My 2013 Photo - Chicago Lincoln Park Zoo - illustrates the concept.) Though I am the eternal optimist, I'm not happy! Come and sit a spell on one … Continue reading General Eisenhower and ‘The State of Things’ on Rocky Mount’s City Council →