10/18/2019
Hi Lynne,
Even more apologies for being so late in responding. I'm creating this document with a large font and sending you a link to it in the hopes it will accommodate your vision issues you mentioned. I certainly understand as I have some macular problems. And my hearing aids are challenging on phone calls!
I have to say at the onset I’ve found my ability to revisit CSH issues has not proven to be a renewable resource. We do not have a circle of friends (or family) nowadays that were associated with CSH so the occasions to discuss it are rare. My memories of CSH are a contradiction of both inhumanity and progressive changes which I simply prefer not to revisit. The years I spent consulting after retirement included, to a great degree, work coordinating placing the cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places. The success of this effort happened sans support from the state entities that typically assist in such endeavors (I’m not alluding to DHR). With the placement on the register, the restoration of Cedar Lane including an interpretive gazebo, historical markers, the “stakes monument” and more we helped foster a national movement toward similar restoration projects.
My role in this was indeed rewarding. I like to think that my media appearances (The Today Show, the film Recovered Dignity and more recently the featuring of the cemeteries on PBS’s Hometown Ga) helped a bit to raise awareness of those who often lived their entire lives at CSH and were buried w/o a lasting marker. Unfortunately with the closing of CSH much of what was accomplished has been undone. For example, visitors can no longer access parts of the cemetery including the African-American cemetery that Janice and I discovered. Bittersweet.
This is a long winded way of saying I just don’t have the enthusiasm for participating in projects that stir the memory. A couple of years ago I created a web page with a synopsis of my historical efforts at CSH and links to documents and videos. You can visit this site by clicking on "CSH" at the top of this page.
It’s really nice to hear from you and hopefully I’ve been able to explain my reticence. I deeply appreciate you considering me for a resource.
Bud
PS This response is not visible to anybody visiting my page.
Hi Lynne,
Even more apologies for being so late in responding. I'm creating this document with a large font and sending you a link to it in the hopes it will accommodate your vision issues you mentioned. I certainly understand as I have some macular problems. And my hearing aids are challenging on phone calls!
I have to say at the onset I’ve found my ability to revisit CSH issues has not proven to be a renewable resource. We do not have a circle of friends (or family) nowadays that were associated with CSH so the occasions to discuss it are rare. My memories of CSH are a contradiction of both inhumanity and progressive changes which I simply prefer not to revisit. The years I spent consulting after retirement included, to a great degree, work coordinating placing the cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places. The success of this effort happened sans support from the state entities that typically assist in such endeavors (I’m not alluding to DHR). With the placement on the register, the restoration of Cedar Lane including an interpretive gazebo, historical markers, the “stakes monument” and more we helped foster a national movement toward similar restoration projects.
My role in this was indeed rewarding. I like to think that my media appearances (The Today Show, the film Recovered Dignity and more recently the featuring of the cemeteries on PBS’s Hometown Ga) helped a bit to raise awareness of those who often lived their entire lives at CSH and were buried w/o a lasting marker. Unfortunately with the closing of CSH much of what was accomplished has been undone. For example, visitors can no longer access parts of the cemetery including the African-American cemetery that Janice and I discovered. Bittersweet.
This is a long winded way of saying I just don’t have the enthusiasm for participating in projects that stir the memory. A couple of years ago I created a web page with a synopsis of my historical efforts at CSH and links to documents and videos. You can visit this site by clicking on "CSH" at the top of this page.
It’s really nice to hear from you and hopefully I’ve been able to explain my reticence. I deeply appreciate you considering me for a resource.
Bud
PS This response is not visible to anybody visiting my page.