Snap Shot Project
May 5, 2008 by Lynn Kosek Walker
I am really excited about our Snap Shot Project. When I was producing Our Vanishing Past (OVP) I got to meet so many great people when we were taping stories at different locations. People who love history and old buildings.
As I would tell them about some of the places that were going to be in the documentary, nearly every person I spoke with would ask me a common question. “Is (fill-in-the-blank) going to be in the show?”
Sometimes I could answer, Yes! More times than not, the answer was no, sorry. (Let’s face it there are thousands of historic places that could be featured. Getting more than thirty into a one hour show was tough.)
Then I would ask each person to tell me about their favorite place. I loved to hear their personal story about it. Why it was important. And if it was at risk. That is what gave me the idea to have a photo gallery on the OVP website where people could submit a photo and write a short description of their favorite place.
We really want to hear the stories and see the buildings that matter most to you. It can be a historic site on the national or state register of historic places. Maybe it is your own home that you restored. A building that has a special memory for you. Or one that you are concerned about because it is at risk. It can even be a building that you have a photo of that is now gone forever.
We can only take photos and responses sent by e-mail. Please send them to me at lwalker@njn.org. We are accepting submissions for the month of May only, in honor of National Preservation Month. We will post the photos in the Snap Shot gallery for everyone to enjoy. Just a couple sentence description please. We are looking forward to hearing from you.
And Preservation New Jersey also invites folks to submit photos of your favorite historic place in NJ for our website’s “Someplace … not Anyplace” campaign. You can see the gallery of pics that have already been sent from all across the state.
Visit and then send: http://www.preservationnj.org
Happy Preservation Month!
I would like to submit a photo of several historic sites in south orange new jersey to “snapshot new jersey”web site and will be doing so within days.
I produced/directed (as a community collaborative) a “virtual” walking tour cultural documentary completed in 2005 about South Orange NJ to that same end. The film “Once Upon A Gaslight…A Walking Tour Of South Orange” highlights some of our Village’s most important and historic structures - including 5 buildings currently listed on the State of NJ and National registries.
By working with over 100 volunteer writers, researchers, archivists, historians and local celebrities, our non-profit group established a model which other communities could follow to catch and preserve that spirit of our past.
South Orange Village sits on land which could have been called the edge of the new frontier at the time of settlement (by land grants) which appeared as an outgrowth of the territory known as Achter Dull (New-ark Bay). \
OLD STONE HOUSE pre-dates 1680 is retained behind our modern day police station. Years have taken their toll — but historians have not given up. By producing “house-stories” as part of overall recognition of this structure — the local historic society has understood the value of those could give voice to real people who lived there.
A group of activists wishing to honor settlers and important industrialists of the past have kept this building in the forefront of Village leaders throughout time - never giving up the belief of its importance to the State and region’s history.
Many important structural changes have been added throughout history and reflect each era during which those changes were made. By chosing to retain the original 1680’s stone structure and build around it/rather than disrupt or destroy -each successive generation does honor to the value of this original vernacular farm house.
I am delighted to see the “Our Vanishing Past” producer took the mission to heart by preserving(the memory of) our collective past through the lens of the video/dvd camera.
When NJ recognizes and embraces cultural tourism dollars available to us — then and only then will this mission be fully realized.
Thank you to PNJ and NJN for supporting the efforts of those who believe in the power of imagery and past stories to benefit future generations!
Nancy Heins-Glaser