Viewpoints

Preservation is Essential for Community and
National Identity

It is a delight to be at the awards program honoring excellence in preservation for King County. During this ceremony we acknowledge that our ideals can be reflected by the realism of our actions. Today we celebrate exemplary moments that represent the enduring value of preserving cultural and historic resources. By presenting our awards we answer the questions "How have we done?" or "What of excellence do we offer?"

If he were here, what would Scoop Jackson, author of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, think of our efforts? In reading the Act there are two areas of interest to those of us who are assembled to celebrate preservation successes in King County. The first is a set of findings and declarations by the Congress:

• The spirit and direction of the nation are founded upon and reflected in its historic heritage
• The historical and cultural foundations of the nation should be preserved as a living part of our community life and development in order to give a sense of orientation to the American people.

It is the dual nature of the declaration that remains our enduring charge. Our preservation takes place in the real time, for real people, in real places. It is to be a "living part of our community and development." And preservation is to exemplify the ideals, to provide the compass that gives a "sense of orientation to the American people."

And from these come the statement of federal preservation policy: "The federal government, in cooperation with other nations and in partnership with the states...shall provide technical assistance, leadership, to contribute, encourage, and assist."

It is clear that partnerships are crucial to the realization of the Act. It is also clear that the states are the functioning arm of this organization. And it is noteworthy that the states understood the model offered by this Act and created partnerships with cities and counties as a means to preserve historic and cultural resources. This set of partnerships is neither seamless, nor complete. It is not until the successes of government are united with the power of private enterprise and the enthusiasm of volunteers that we have a proper understanding of the preservation network. These partnerships are formed and maintained through leadership. And while they are formed to preserve historic resources, it is the process of uniting different groups within a community that we acknowledged.

Our preservation activities take place in vibrant, developing urban areas, rural homesteads, and suburban cities where citizen volunteers responsibly maintain the character of their community. The preservation of historic resources not only reflects the dynamic of an active and engaged community, but it also facilitates an understanding of our history. As preservationists we maintain the authentic moments of our history. It is through these resources that we succeed in preserving our story of this country, state, and county.

But our preservation partnerships may be failing our next generation of Americans, of Washingtonians, and citizens of King County. In the next forty years, we will add another 100 million citizens as we grow from 300 to 400 million Americans. Certainly King County can expect a disproportionate share of our new neighbors as we welcome new citizens into this region. In Senate hearings conducted in 2005 by the Subcommittee on Education and Early Childhood Development, a range of testimony indicated the abysmal level of understanding for history and for civics. Of the ten core curriculum areas, history is the least understood.

In our state, the budget for math and science is in the range of $100 million and for history it is barely over $1 million.

Our nominated and protected resources have value when they are interpreted, when they represent past events that enable an understanding of our history. If we are to truly welcome these 100 million new citizens, we will want to tell them our country's whole story with buildings and artifacts that make it undeniably real.

As we look at the ways in which our story is told there are two fundamental systems in action. The school systems remain the primary teller of the tale, but for many the joys of life-long learning extends the demand for a substantive and meaningful history past the various graduation ceremonies that populate academia. As preservationists we need to be participants in both methods of telling the tale. In King County we are blessed to have farsighted, committed citizens who not only support preservation, but who understand how it is to be employed to make the lessons of history more interesting and more realistic.

It is through the events of history that the ideals of our nation are known and are tested. When founded, our constitutional form of representative democracy depended on the stature and character of those who lead. We had no traditions of governance and no institutions that embodied our ideals. Our citizens learned of their responsibilities through "on the job" training. Over 200 years later our students learn of our methods of governance through the study of civics. And civics can be understood only through the context of history.

Our ability to govern ourselves remains a continuing experiment in representative democracy. The role that preservation plays in assuring that the experiment remains successful is to be the teller of history through the real artifacts, to provide "the sense of orientation" to the American people.

In 1966 it was citizens who understood how our representative democracy operates and how to secure the assistance of an attentive and understanding elected official. I believe that Scoop Jackson would be pleased with what we see here today, resources being preserved through partnerships, students engaged in the act of governance, and a community of citizens that understand the value of themselves through the history that they preserve. All who are honored today and all who are here to express our appreciation do so in concert with one of our finest acts of government, the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966.

Thank you very much for allowing me to offer these thoughts and my heartfelt appreciation to all of you for all the good works that you do.

Jack Williams