In a message dated 10/7/98 2:23:58 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

>  And by the way, here in the land of Wise Use we try to avoid "Preservation"
>  in public discourse, as for most folks it equates with "tree-hugging
>  environmental wacko...(fill in your  of choice.)  We scrupulously use
>  "HISTORIC" whenever the "p" word is bandied about to keep physical violence
>  to a minimum...great world, huh?

George,

I find this incredible. I've been thinking about it since first reading. I
suppose you cannot even use the European term of "heritage conservation". I'm
curious what other forms of self-supression are invoked in order to keep the
peace.

I'm particularly interested in the geographic variations in the trades aspects
of the preservation industry and had previously only thought in terms of
geographic determinism relative to building type or availability of local
materials. The WIse Use controversy opens a different perspective on regional
differences than I had considered. In networking with the trades I find myself
bumping into all sorts of differences of experience and world view depending
on where the individuals are from. I assume a political vision of property
rights has an impact on if a carpenter decides to specialize in working on old
buildings and exactly how they would go about marketing their services. Seems
to me if you risk physical violence for coming out in favor of telling people
you like to preserve old buildings the tendency would be as a survival issue
to not market, or develop, the skills. I see that preservation skills are
cultivated where there is a desire to preserve... contrasting the attitude in
Poland to that I imagine in Oregon, the theory would be supported if there are
more skilled preservation trades existing in Poland. I'm interested in the
movement of ideas in the preservation industry. As with the Columbia
preservation program, Mr. Fisk's inspiration for preservation education from
encounters with Czechoslovakia diffuses preservation knowledge into the NYC
region and then, as demand is saturated locally, moves out to other regions,
and the sensibilities and originations of various regions then intermixing.

Do you sense a relative lack of qualified preservation trades in Oregon,
compared to other geographic regions, as a result of factors such as these?

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