Have you ever seen an old place you knew was ready for the wrecking ball and wanted to run in and save whatever Architectural Salvage is worth preserving before it's too late?! I have... and on a few rare occassions I've managed to get permission to do so before all is forever lost to the bulldozers and landfill. Unfortunately that is the exception rather than the rule and more often than not nothing is salvaged before it is destroyed and carted off as mere rubbish to the garbage heaps. It never ceases to grieve me... even if I'm not the lucky one to be given the chance to save pieces of the past that are worth preserving, I wish somebody would have. Some parts of the Country... and some Countries in fact, care enough about the past, even remnants of it, while moving forward to the future, to take preservation and salvage seriously... others, not so much, if at all. I live in one of those parts that seems not to care very much or make a serious effort to allow preservation and salvage and thus much has already been lost. So those of us who are ardent keeps of the past often have battles on our hands just to make a feeble attempt to do our part before all of it is gone and its too late. I am relieved to see some Historic Districts designated, because certainly it's not as if our State lacks sufficient History and important areas to preserve. But they were rather slow in doing so, even in my lifetime, and if an old place doesn't happen to fall within the few Historic Districts designated and protected... it's doomed. As 'progress' and greedy land speculation encroaches upon certain areas, whatever remnant of the past remains is on borrowed time and I often wonder why so few seem to care? And unfortunately little is done to encourage any salvage or preservation efforts and so few even seem to try, even if they do care. I am a lover of Architectural Salvage and I've been Blessed to collect some significant pieces. I can only imagine what grand old places these Treasures came from that no longer exist. But at least these pieces exist, because someone did take the time and effort to save them from destruction, neglect or the ravages of time. Someone was ALLOWED to salvage them... and frankly, why not? Why should it be such a big deal, when something is going to be worthless to whoever is intent at destroying it and carting it away to a landfill, for someone who appreciates the past enough to want to do the work to go in first and haul it away intact, to be allowed to do so? It's a mystery to me... perhaps someone can explain it... because it makes no sense... and we're losing so much History... one piece at a time... and that's really a shame for future generations who may never see such old Treasures... and imagine what it was like and where they came from... because when something is gone, that's forever... a mighty long time... Dawn... The Bohemian
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