Hi all -

There hasn't been much activity out of this group lately, but I thought I'd pass
along the following alert -

Both of our cars were broken into in our driveway last night (corner of Summitt,
Sunset, Hillcrest, Cross).  Our cars were locked, but they were able to get in. 
Thankfully the only thing they could have stolen out of my car were sippy cups
and granola bar wrappers.  They did manage to steal an Ipod out of my husband's
car.  So just be aware and don't leave anything of value in your car.

Thanks-
Shay

So sad, so many very interesting buildings gone:

http://landmarkscommission.org/photoGallery/6/galleryguide.html




Overview of other interesting photos:

http://landmarkscommission.org/photoGallery/galleryguide.html

All,

The Rosemount McIver Park Historic District is again hosting a free hot dog
lunch for both City of Sanford and Lee County emergency(fire, police, EMS)
personnel in appreciation of the services they provide for our communities and
in memorial for 9/11.  Also welcome are any city and county employees that have
the time to come by, especially those that support our various services in the
field.  Given that 9/11 falls on a Saturday this year, this year's lunch will be
held on Friday, September 10th at noon.

We will have free hot dogs, chips and bottled water and will begin serving at
noon Friday 9/10, located in the parking lot of the old Dixon Hughes Accounting
building at the corner of North Gulf Street and Summit Drive.  We'll continue
serving until 1:30pm or as long as supplies last, whichever comes first.

Please spread the word to on and off-duty police, fire, and EMS in the area,
public works, street maintenance, etc. and anyone else who may be "on the road"
serving our community that wants to drop by and get some hot dogs.

We hope to see you there!

Al & Denise Roethlisberger, and the neighbors of Rosemount McIver Park
318 Summit Drive

Good to see so many of my neighbors turn out tonight. We are all in this
together! Looking forward to getting to know you all better in the near future!

Two or three years ago I posted a message to the group noting how exciting it
was that 6 or 7 houses in the neighborhood were getting repainted and what a
positive aesthetic that presented to the community.

And now, in the last few months, we've had several houses in the 500ish block of
North Gulf painted... and not just with a new coat of whitewash, but in vibrant
and exiting colors!

In fact, standing across the street from the four most colorful batch going from
bright blue, to muted green, to bright yellow and then dark forest green... one
almost gets a similar impression to the "painted ladies" of San Francisco.

Kudos to the homeowners that are taking the time and expense to maintain and
update these homes, and moreso for taking the risk of using bright and bold
colors.  It definitely brightens up the street and reminds people that "old
houses" weren't always simply painted white.

Good job!  It looks great.



And on that point, if interested:

http://www.historichousecolors.com/


Cheers,
Al

I think a FB group is a good idea. As a matter of fact, I'm going to run with
it. In order to send invites, one must be on your "friend" list, so word of
mouth will be important. I did not know about last night's excitement, but
really appreciate hearing about it now!

--- In historic-sanford-nc@yahoogroups.com, Al Roethlisberger
<al_roethlisberger@...> wrote:
>
>
> Absolutely Brian!
>
> Hopefully others will discover, or re-discover, this group as just another
resource in the crime prevention toolkit.... and as a way to connect with their
neighbors.
>
> Although I missed the opportunity to some degree last night given the great
turnout, I think I'll print out some fliers for the Yahoo Group to give Kathy
for next month's meeting.
>
> I've also considered either retiring this group and/or creating a Facebook
version given that most people seem to be using Yahoo Groups less these days and
usage has basically dropped to zero over the last year.  I haven't decided yet.
>
>
>
> BTW, did you see that we had about 4 cruisers and several under-covers
dispatching from Dixon Hughes at about 11pm last night? 
>
> Denise and several other neighbors were visiting across the street and noticed
some of the same suspicious guys we've all talked about riding through the
neighborhood again and so they called SPD.   Then some time later another
neighbor called and said they thought someone was trying to break into their
home.   At that point we had the neighborhood crawling with SPD, which is
great news.  I don't think they actually caught anyone last night, but the
response was much appreciated.
>
> We'll all have to keep up the good work of keeping our eyes open and making
ourselves visible to those that aren't here to do good work.
>
> Thanks again for coming and offering your thoughts and experiences.
>
> Al
>
>
>
> --- On Thu, 9/2/10, bgould1972 <bgould72@...> wrote:
>
> From: bgould1972 <bgould72@...>
> Subject: [historic-sanford-nc] Rosemount McIver Neighborhood Watch
> To: historic-sanford-nc@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Thursday, September 2, 2010, 10:46 PM
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>  
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>       Good to see so many of my neighbors turn out tonight. We are all in this
together! Looking forward to getting to know you all better in the near future!
>

Join us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=147960735235380

Rosemount-McIver Community Watch Group. Tell your neighbors!

Enter your vote today!  A new poll has been created for the
historic-sanford-nc group:

Is it time to retire our Yahoo Group?  After a little over 4 years, it seems our
Historic Sanford NC Yahoo Group has dwindled to about one post every three
months, with no ongoing discussions.  The only regular posts are automated
calendar entries for events such as the HPC meeting.  We've got some useful
information in the files section which I can archive elsewhere, but even some of
that is now dated.  Although resources like Facebook can be just as
temporal(think MySpace), maybe it's time to migrate to that platform.  Feel free
to vote and comment.

   o Retire the Yahoo Group entirely.
   o Retire the Yahoo Group, but move to Facebook.
   o Keep the group going on Yahoo.


To vote, please visit the following web page:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/historic-sanford-nc/surveys?id=2633972

Note: Please do not reply to this message. Poll votes are
not collected via email. To vote, you must go to the Yahoo! Groups
web site listed above.

Thanks!

Hello everyone. Al asked me to post a bit about me on this site:
I live at 514 Sunset Drive with Cole. We both love the neighborhood and love our
historic home (most of the time).

We moved to Sanford in 2005 and bought our home then. I am working hard to learn
to garden in this new zone, and I hope you will all bare with me as I learn what
will survive and what will not. I have ordered lots of bulbs, which I will be
planting in the front and side gardens later this fall.

I am a writer (mostly poetry) and a member of the Sanford Writer's Group. We
have public readings at the Steele Street Cafe each month on the 4th Wednesday,
starting at 6:30 p.m. Please come and enjoy our efforts.

I am also looking forward to being an active member of the newly formed
Neighborhood Watch Group. It is sad that we need to do this, but maybe it will
help me get to know you all. Stop when you see me working in the front gardens,
and say hello and let me pet your dogs?

Judith A

Hi Judith, Brian Gould here. I'm at 319 Summitt. We are in the process of
distributing Community Watch flyers with some basic startup info. Your Block
Captain should stop by in the near future and introduce themselves. Our next
meeting is scheduled for 7PM, October 7th, at the First Baptist Church on
Summitt Dr. I look forward to meeting you in the near future!

--- In historic-sanford-nc@yahoogroups.com, "ackermanjudithd"
<judithdackerman@...> wrote:
>
> Hello everyone. Al asked me to post a bit about me on this site:
> I live at 514 Sunset Drive with Cole. We both love the neighborhood and love
our historic home (most of the time).
>
> We moved to Sanford in 2005 and bought our home then. I am working hard to
learn to garden in this new zone, and I hope you will all bare with me as I
learn what will survive and what will not. I have ordered lots of bulbs, which I
will be planting in the front and side gardens later this fall.
>
> I am a writer (mostly poetry) and a member of the Sanford Writer's Group. We
have public readings at the Steele Street Cafe each month on the 4th Wednesday,
starting at 6:30 p.m. Please come and enjoy our efforts.
>
> I am also looking forward to being an active member of the newly formed
Neighborhood Watch Group. It is sad that we need to do this, but maybe it will
help me get to know you all. Stop when you see me working in the front gardens,
and say hello and let me pet your dogs?
>
> Judith A
>

Just a reminder, hope to see a nice turnout.

Cheers,
Al

--- On Tue, 8/31/10, Al Roethlisberger <al_roethlisberger@...> wrote:

> From: Al Roethlisberger <al_roethlisberger@...>
> Subject: 9/10 -  Free Hot Dog Lunch for Sanford & Lee County Personnel
> Date: Tuesday, August 31, 2010, 1:38 PM
>
> All,
>
> The Rosemount McIver Park Historic District is again
> hosting a free hot dog lunch for both City of Sanford and
> Lee County emergency(fire, police, EMS) personnel in
> appreciation of the services they provide for our
> communities and in memorial for 9/11.  Also welcome are
> any city and county employees that have the time to come by,
> especially those that support our various services in the
> field.  Given that 9/11 falls on a Saturday this year,
> this year's lunch will be held on Friday, September 10th at
> noon. 
>
> We will have free hot dogs, chips and bottled water and
> will begin serving at noon Friday 9/10, located in the
> parking lot of the old Dixon Hughes Accounting building at
> the corner of North Gulf Street and Summit Drive. 
> We'll continue serving until 1:30pm or as long as supplies
> last, whichever comes first.
>
> Please spread the word to on and off-duty police, fire, and
> EMS in the area, public works, street maintenance, etc. and
> anyone else who may be "on the road" serving our community
> that wants to drop by and get some hot dogs.
>
> We hope to see you there!
>
> Al & Denise Roethlisberger, and the neighbors of
> Rosemount McIver Park
> 318 Summit Drive
>
>
>
>      
>

Well, after sitting vacant for probably at least 18 months or more(time flies),
216/218 North Gulf is being renovated and returned to a single family dwelling.

Many may know that this house has been a duplex for many... many.... years, and
was a source of quite a lot of criminal and other poorly behaving tenant
activity for many years as well, perhaps even a decade or more.  But after the
most recent activity became so untenable(drug dealing, prostitution, etc) the
current landlord chose to shutter the house instead of leasing it again.  And it
should be noted that the problematic tenant(and guest) problems at this location
spanned more than one landlord as a significant part of the problem was the
property's proximity and easy access to Green Street via the rear alley.

That being said, you may now see some activity around the property as work is
underway to renovate the property inside and out, and perhaps most exciting...
again, convert it back to a single family dwelling.  The latter is particularly
exciting as the duplex the conversion was not particularly disastrous and can be
easily reversed and would make the home much more attractive to a small family.

Along with pledging to restore the floors, moldings, windows and general layout
of the interior of the house, the construction crew also mentioned removing the
late addition aluminum siding and restoring the original wood german lap siding.
That would indeed be great to see.

Also of interest is the history of this house.  This house was the former home
of Bill Horner Sr. and the childhood home of Bill Horner Jr.... yes, the former
publishers of The Herald and who Horner Blvd is named after.

Although most connect the "Horner House" with the large house that was later
built at the end of the Summit Drive "loop", the home at 216/218 is their
original residence.  I have a photo of Bill Horner Jr. riding his tricycle on
our rear driveway at 318 Summit next door, and even heard a very funny story of
"old man" Horner spotting and later embarrassing Robert Isenhour "sneaking a
kiss" with his then girlfriend in our pantry, as our pantry window faces the
Horner house.

Another interesting tidbit about this property is that it has no driveway. 
Although it appears to have a drive, and that access has been used as such for
many years, the drive alongside the left of the property is actually the North
Gulf entrance to an unmaintained service alley that bisects the length of the
300 block of Summit/Green(there is also a "tee" on this alley that accesses
Green as well).  This only one of two alleys in the Rosemount neighborhood that
I am aware of.

So, along with addressing the blight of the property, we are very hopeful that
this renovation will bring some semblance of the prior beauty of this simple
little house and hopefully a nice family.  If successful, it is just one more
step to the continued improvement of the Rosemount-McIver Park District that has
been continually gaining momentum for the last decade.

Let's hope this project fulfills its potential!

Al

As you know Brandon our little boy is terminally ill. We have set up a fund for
his medical expenses. We would like your help ~

The Bread Of Life located at 219 Maple Avenue Sanford NC 27330 will be holding a
BBQ plate fundraiser and Bake Sale for the medical fund of  Brandon on FRIDAY
November 12, 2010 starting at 11 am.
  For more information you can visit http://brandonnoble.com/bbqhelp.htm
  We will take pre orders and deleiver any plate orders over 10. So your office
can order.

  PLEASE SEE THE ABOVE LINK.
Any Help is appreciated.
Brandon is a AWESOME little boy!

PLEASE PASS IT ON.
Thank you,
Kelly

The Noble Family
677 Harvey Faulk Road
Sanford NC 27332


As a friend of Brandon's said " See, there is this little 8 year old who is
fighting for his life. He sings, dances, and prays. He wants to be a technical
director when he grows up. Help him in his fight."
JOIN OUR FACEBOOK PAGE - WISH FOR BRANDON
Check out our Website - WWW.BRANDONNOBLE.COM


For those of you that do not know, Rob, Brandon's daddy started his own business
to help with the added expenses of Brandon. He named the company after him too
carry on his name and memory. Anyone needing a free estimate on striping or seal
coating before the cold weather hits, PLEASE let us know.

Appreciate everyone!!

The following historic-sanford-nc poll is now closed.  Here are the
final results:


POLL QUESTION: Is it time to retire our Yahoo Group?  After a little over 4
years, it seems our Historic Sanford NC Yahoo Group has dwindled to about one
post every three months, with no ongoing discussions.  The only regular posts
are automated calendar entries for events such as the HPC meeting.  We've got
some useful information in the files section which I can archive elsewhere, but
even some of that is now dated.  Although resources like Facebook can be just as
temporal(think MySpace), maybe it's time to migrate to that platform.  Feel free
to vote and comment.

CHOICES AND RESULTS
- Retire the Yahoo Group entirely., 0 votes, 0.00%
- Retire the Yahoo Group, but move to Facebook., 4 votes, 80.00%
- Keep the group going on Yahoo., 1 votes, 20.00%

INDIVIDUAL VOTES
- Retire the Yahoo Group entirely.
- Retire the Yahoo Group, but move to Facebook.
      - africaquilter@...
      - judithdackerman@...
      - lexibug8@...
      - bgould72@...
- Keep the group going on Yahoo.
      - kidsnut@...


For more information about this group, please visit
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/historic-sanford-nc

For help with Yahoo! Groups, please visit
http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/groups/original/members/forms/general.html

The following is an email I've sent to some of our city leadership.  I've posted
on the group before about the significance of McIver Park and Robert Cridland,
but I thought it might also be valuable to reach out to our city leadership now
that Sanford is resuming its park projects activities after so many years.

Here's hoping that it will generate some interest in the subject, and perhaps
kick off a project to fully realize Robert Cridland's vision for McIver Park.

The attached plats I mention are located in the "Files" section of the Yahoo
Group under "Old Maps of Districts" for those who are interested.


*********************************

All,

I think I may have mentioned this topic to some if not all of you at one time or
another, and if so please accept my apology for revisiting this again.  But the
topic came to mind again recently, so I thought I'd bring it to your attention
as an opportunity for not just our neighborhood, but also for Sanford and Lee
County as a whole.

As you are no doubt aware, the McIver Park portion of the Rosemount-McIver
Park(RMP) Historic District is actually a distinct development from Rosemount,
designed and built around 1925 primarily by the Brinn family.  The McIver Park
development was designed by noted landscape architect Robert Cridland, and was
in the same vein of the burgeoning "naturalist" movement similar in designs such
as those exhibited in New York's Central Park.  These designs often highlighted
the natural terrain and let that same terrain guide the design.  The results
were often designs that flowed and integrated with the natural landscape.  This
is of course evidenced in McIver Park's curved and flowing streets, particularly
Summit and Sunset Drives. In contrast, the adjacent Rosemount neighborhood was
about 15-20 years older and is representative of the more typical for the time
orthogonal street and lot layout.  And one can immediately note this difference
in design at the
  break between Rosemount and McIver Park at Vance Street.

Along with the street layout in McIver Park, Robert Cridland designed the focal
point of the neighborhood, which was to be a natural park along Sunset Drive and
Buffalo Creek.  This park of course exists today, but beyond being set aside, it
was never fully developed to Mr. Cridland's design.  This design was to
incorporate winding paths, foot bridge(s), perhaps some monument(s) and a
redirected Buffalo Creek all to produce a pedestrian friendly park that embraced
and highlighted natural features, albeit while taking some liberties to add to
the aesthetic.

Of course we all know that the City of Sanford exited the "park business" some
decades ago, but in the last few years has embraced the building and maintenance
of our city's parks again, even to the point of creating several new parks such
as the community pocket parks and Rev. Martin Luther King Jr memorial.

So, with that in mind, this may be an opportunity to finally fully realize the
potential of the actual "McIver Park".

Given that the property already exists and is fundamentally ready, the hard part
is done.  All the city would need to do is implement the finishing touches.

Now, what are these finishing touches?  Unfortunately Mr. Cridland's specific
designs for the park are lost.  I've researched the issue from various sources
in Lee County and even with the Brinn family, but alas have found no detailed
information.

I did however find some of the early development plats for the neighborhood, and
they do show some details that could be helpful.  I believe these could form the
basis of realizing Mr. Cridland's vision, and I have attached those images to
this email.

Now, along with just being a benefit to RMP neighborhood, one might ask what
benefit "finishing" McIver Park itself might provide to Sanford as a whole. 
After all, finishing the park would not be inexpensive, even if somewhat simple.

Well, given the size and location of the park, it is a substantial public
property and could be a valuable and impressive park resource for all citizens.
Today it isn't very functional, nor is it very picturesque.

Instead, imagine if the entirety of not just the park, but that whole bluff
above the creek were cleaned up and planted with azaleas, rhododendron, camelia
and similar flowering shrubs and bulbs?  If the plantings were appropriately
selected, we could have a nearly year-round "wall of flowers" above the park
bluff that could be a notable tourist draw to Sanford and just be amazing to
see.  And that might even be something that local nurseries would be willing to
donate(perhaps with sponsorship, such as brick imprints, sales of which which
could also fund aspects of the park), then the only cost to the city for the
bluff would be cleanup of the bluff and planting the shrubs/bulbs.  Granted some
of the bluff is likely private(not city) property, but much is behind the old
hospital, and I doubt the few private owners would object to the city cleaning
up their currently unusable hill.

Then there's the park itself.  We could envision a park with a winding brick
walk or two, strategically placed benches, plantings and tables, nice park
lighting, and perhaps a diverted creek with a simple stone or brick arched
bridge and local brownstone landscape accents, maybe even a small central
fountain or simple monument highlighting the history of the park and surrounding
neighborhood.

I think the investment would be nominal versus the impact and benefit the city
could realize.  And no doubt it would contribute to the ongoing gentrification
of the neighborhood, which translates to eventual increased property tax as the
values of the properties rebound.  After all, I'd bet many potential owners
would vie for properties along Sunset, the "loop" and even up on Hillcrest for
the opportunity to overlook a fully realized McIver Park and a vast and varied
collection of flowering flora year-round.  And visitors would come from far and
wide to see the "flower bluff" and park, and spend money in Sanford while they
visit.

And of course there's civic pride and the impact upon those visiting and
considering Sanford for their home or business investment.  At the moment, the
park is an unrealized opportunity that would addresses all of these advantages.

And if we really wanted to capitalize upon the diversity of local plantings, we
could even leverage local botanical expertise/staff(or even college interns) to
categorize and place markers on significant plantings to even further amplify
interest in those walking around the park and taking in the natural details.  We
could have our own minor botanical garden.

And further, Mr. Cridland is not an insignificant landscape architect.  The park
could also draw those interested in his work and design to the area.


If you have any feedback or other questions, please don't hesitate to let me
know.  Although to be fair, what is contained within this email is the bulk of
what I know about the park and Mr. Cridland.

With further research it is possible that a university or other organization may
have preserved Mr. Cridland's work, and with some investigation there could be a
slim chance that notes on the McIver Park project could be archived somewhere. 
I'd suggest that research also may be a valuable part of any project associated
with finishing the park.

Hopefully you find this information helpful and intriguing... intriguing enough
to spur investigating the possibilities of realizing this vision and the full
potential of the park and the full potential it brings to Sanford.

Thank you for your time,
Al Roethlisberger



P.S.

Some additional information on Robert Cridland:

The following is particularly interesting and helpful as one can browse through
this book online and see some of the styles and solutions Mr. Cridland
advocated.  It was published only 2-3 years before the McIver Park project was
commissioned, so it should clearly illustrate Mr. Cridland's vision.

http://chestofbooks.com/gardening-horticulture/Landscape-Gardening/



Some other references and significant projects of Mr. Cridland's:

http://tclf.org/landscapes/oak-hill-and-martha-berry-museum

http://www.preservationdurham.org/places/nhoods.html

http://hudsonviewgardens.com/hvghistory.aspx

http://www.blandwood.org/GrandHousing.html

http://www.hudsonrivervalley.org/themes/vanderbilt.html

http://www.preservationnation.org/magazine/2010/todays-news/philadelphia-church-\
to-fall.html


***********************************

Philadelphia Church To Fall?

By Margaret Foster | Online Only | Oct. 29, 2010
Church of the Assumption, Philadelphia

Credit: Preservation for Greater Philadelphia

A Gothic Revival church that has stood in north Philadelphia since 1849 may be
gone as soon as its owner raises the money necessary for demolition.

Last month, the Philadelphia Historical Commission voted 6-5 to allow a
nonprofit HIV/AIDS support group called Siloam Wellness to demolish the Church
of the Assumption. The same commission voted in May 2009 to designate the church
a city landmark, affording it protection. However, Siloam won permission to raze
the church under a hardship provision found in the city's historic-preservation
ordinance.

Challenging the commission's Sept. 10 decision, the Callow Hill Neighborhood
Association and five neighbors filed an appeal last month. On Nov. 30, the
city's Department of Licenses and Inspections will hear the appeal.

Designed by prolific church architect Patrick Charles Keely, the Church of the
Assumption was consecrated by Catholic saint John Neumann and hosted the baptism
of Katherine Drexel, another Catholic saint. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia
abandoned the church more than 10 years ago and sold it to Siloam in 2006 for
$800,000, well below market value.

A state grant helped Siloam purchase the Church of the Assumption, and Siloam is
seeking another state grant to pay for the demolition, according to last month's
testimony by Joe Lukach, Siloam's executive director. Lukach did not respond to
a request for comment.

Neighbors suspect that the nonprofit wants to cash in on the property, located
in an up-and-coming area. Siloam laid off staff members earlier this month and
vacated its offices at the church site.

"The property is worth more money without the church on it," says Andrew
Palewski, a historic-preservation consultant and member of the board of
directors of the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia. "Ultimately,
[Siloam] is going to leave the neighborhood, and they're just going to leave a
hole in the ground."

Last fall, Siloam demolished the interior of the church, removing pews, marble
floors, and the main altar. "They came in and just destroyed everything,"
Palewski says. "They were able to legally obtain the permit for interior
demolition." (As of December 2009, Philadelphia's historic-preservation
ordinance protects interiors as well as exteriors of landmarked buildings.)

Siloam "really just got in over their heads with a building they didn't have the
resources [to restore]," says Ben Leech, director of advocacy for the
Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia.

Siloam estimates that restoration will cost anywhere from $1.5 to $6 million,
but Leech points out that "basic stabilization and mothballing would be far
less."

The Preservation Alliance, while trying to rescue the Church of the Assumption,
is figuring out how to save other local churches, Leech says. "We recognize that
this will be the first of probably dozens of large historic churches with small
or no congregations. It will be the first of many."

A final decision isn't likely on Nov. 30, Palewski says, because either party
can appeal to a higher court. "This legal battle could go on for at least
another year."

***********************************

One of the few guarantees in life is change, and here we are at 2011 already! 
Time certainly flies!

I had posted a poll some months back asking if this Yahoo group should just fade
away and be replaced with its equivalent on something like Facebook as
participation has just about dropped to zero.  Well, first, the response was
overwhelming that yes it appears that "Yahoo Groups" has seen its relevance fade
and we should embrace the latest greatest.  Second, we only had five people
respond.  So that says something as well.

So, what to do....

Well, in the meantime I think I'll leave this group around and not actually
delete it, as there is some useful information in the old posts, files and
photos sections.

Then I'll give some thought as to whether to move to something like Facebook or
maybe even a dedicated standalone forum.  As popular as Facebook is today, and
perhaps as seemingly permanent, just remember how massive and permanent MySpace
seemed a couple years ago, or how irreplaceable AOL or even CompuServe was.  In
the end, they're all ephemeral.  So we'll see.  I don't relish reinventing the
group every few years.

For now, please still feel free to post questions and ideas here about our
neighborhoods, historic preservation or just general conversation.  Or just drop
by to download some information that may be useful for your project.

Even with the dour economic realities of the last couple years, look around our
neighborhoods and you'll see loads of investment and renovations this year.....
in some cases renovations of at-risk properties that the community has ached
about for years if not decades.  So there is some light in the tunnel, and the
value of preserving and investing in historic properties remains as viable as
ever.

Happy 2011!

Al Roethlisberger