West Cemetery Restoration: Ironwork and Town Tomb

Article 18 C: West Cemetery Ironwork (Cutler & Dickinson Plot fencing, Tomb door): $ 25,000

Article 18 D: West Cemetery Town Tomb Reconstruction: $ 30,000

Historic preservation projects are often complex and multifaceted and can therefore be categorized in a variety of ways, for example, depending on the nature of the asset in question or of the task or technology involved. Whenever possible, we seek to "bundle" together work of a similar technical nature in order to save time and money for the Town. Article 18C therefore bundles all metalwork together. At the same time, work on the Town Tomb appears not only here (by virtue of work on the iron door), but also under its own rubric (18D) for engineering, and in conjunction with overall landscape restoration (18 E).

Article 18C

Cutler and Dickinson Plot Ironwork

Fencing around the graves of members of a given family came into vogue in the early 19th century in conjunction with the new park cemetery movement, which sought to transform the stark "burying grounds" of the Colonial era into idyllic places of commemoration and contemplation. By the 1860s, such boundary markers were on the wane in many more modern cemeteries, seen as either elitist or unnecessary for protection. In Amherst, however, there were no formally acquired and designated plots until around this time: graves were dug as needed. In part for that reason, metal fences or stone coping were added to define the newly fashionable family sections. The plots of the Cutler and Dickinson families contain the only surviving cast iron fencing of this type, and even they are now endangered.

Both the Cutler and Dickinson ironwork have undergone notable deterioration in the decade since the creation of the West Cemetery Preservation Plan.

The Preservation Plan (p. 18) describes the Dickinson fencing as "structurally . . . in sound condition." That was in 1999. It goes on to warn, however (p. 19), "Most of the fence is rusting rapidly from lack of maintenance and the rate of corrosion is accelerating rapidly. If not restored and repainted soon, the fence will begin to deteriorate structurally as well." By 2009, this had come to pass: we can see that the fence is rusted and showing signs of decay, and portions of the horizontal rail are even delaminating, revealing splits through which daylight can readily be seen.

The Cutler Plot fencing is in even worse shape. Already in 1999, the Preservation Plan (p. 19) described it as "in a serious state of disrepair" and "seriously corroded," noting that "Many of the panels along two sides have either fallen down or are missing altogether." Today, only one side is still barely standing, with the others in pieces or missing altogether.

This is the result of the passage of but a decade in a cemetery that is nearly 280 years old.

Town Tomb

Simply put, "tombs" were the sites where communities stored the bodies of the deceased in the winter, when the ground was too frozen to dig. They typically take the form of a stone and/or masonry vault covered by a mound of earth, including (when finances and other conditions permitted) elegant stone facing and an iron door. The Amherst Tomb (1851), with its sober Egyptian Revival aesthetic, is a typical example, and a visual and historic anchor of the West Cemetery.

The Preservation Plan (p. 19) called for replacement of the Tomb door, which is "severely corroded" and compromised by what appear to be modern additions or repairs, including a patently ahistorical and "poorly designed" modern "locking mechanism."

Town Tomb door: detail showing gap and deterioration from rust

Article 18 D

The real defects of the Tomb are, however, structural. The Preservation Plan (pp. 19-20) finds few cracks or signs of leakage but notes a "dislodged fascia stone in the right front" and observes that "the cut stone veneer on the front wall is showing signs of structural distress," moving "away from the stone foundation walls behind," which has "opened up many of the joints," so that "Several of the panels are approaching the point of instability."

The deterioration is readily apparent a decade later. Squirrels live happily in the ample crevices, and the daylight is visible between the foundation and the fascia stones, which appear in imminent danger of collapse.

leaning fascia stones seen from the east

growing gap between fascia stones and foundation structure

the Tomb's only occupant today

A previous appropriation of $ 5000 from CPA funds will fund the prerequisite engineering study. This year's $ 30,000--a figure established by masonry specialists at Dorsey Monuments--will pay for labeling and disassembly of the structure, laying of new foundations, and reassembly of the structure.

Future plans include similar studies of the tombs in the other town cemeteries. The South Amherst tomb (1881) appears to be or less durable structure but in more stable condition.

South Amherst Cemetery Tomb (1881)

South Amherst Tomb (1881) detail

In order to achieve the maximum efficiency coupled with minimum cost and disruption, the engineering and reconstruction work on the Town Tomb will take place in conjunction with the first phase of the West Cemetery landscape restoration (Art. 18 E).

• Warrant Review presentation and Bus Tour
• Historical Commission Project Overview and Rationale
• Kimball House Historic Preservation (Art. 18 F)
• West Cemetery Projects Overview
• West Cemetery Restoration: Iron Work and Town Tomb (Art. 18 C, D)
• West Cemetery Landscape Restoration (Art. 18 E)
• Civil War Tablet Conservation and Installation (Art. 18 J)
• Jones Library Preservation Projects (Art. 18 G, H, I)
• North Church Roof Repairs (Art. 18 K)
• Amherst Writer's Walk (Literary Landmarks) (Art. 18 L)
• National Historic Register Nominations: Dickinson Expansion; new Depot District (Art. 18 M)
• Historic Resource Inventory, Phase II: Historic Barns and Outbuildings (Art. 18 N)

West Cemetery Restoration: An Overview

The case of West Cemetery epitomizes the challenges and successes of Amherst’s historic preservation policy, and moreover demonstrates why good work takes time and costs good money: careful inventorying and assessment, thorough preparation of project specifications, hiring of specialized professionals, coordination with Town departments for requests for proposals and bidding as well as in-house work.

This quiet Dust was Gentlemen and Ladies

And Lads and Girls --

Was laughter and ability and Sighing

And Frocks and Curls

This Passive Place a Summer's nimble mansion

Where Bloom and Bees

Exists an Oriental Circuit

Then cease, like these --

Emily Dickinson, c. 1864

(used as motto of West Cemetery Preservation Plan)

Although the 1730 Cemetery contains what is perhaps the only piece of virtually untouched topography from the Colonial period and is the final resting place of some of Amherst’s most important citizens, it had sadly deteriorated by the end of the twentieth century. Commercial encroachment and other inappropriate aesthetic intrusions, decaying fences, vandalism of graves, and general lack of upkeep to the lawn and paths landed it a spot on the Commonwealth’s notorious list of Ten Most Endangered historic resources in 1998. That dubious honor prompted the Town to nominate the site, successfully, as it turned out, a place on the rather more desirable National Register of Historic Places. Both designations spoke to the importance of the site, and the Historical Commission hired consultants to produce a comprehensive Preservation Plan (adopted 1999), involving the input of landscape architects, engineers, gravestone conservators, and metals conservators.

The Plan assessed the nature and condition of historic resources in the Cemetery, and recommended a systematic series of “treatments,” which have furnished the basis of our policies in the past decade.

• The Commission began with an effort to control access and maintain security, a complex process requiring coordination with the Department of Public Works. 2002-3 saw the erection of a new metal perimeter fence and restoration of the two gates (“Gaylord,” behind Pleasant Street, and “Burnham,” on Triangle Street).

• Former hemlock edging, which had fallen victim to disease, could not be restored because the excavations threatened to disturb graves. In order to produce a more dignified backdrop along the northwestern edge of the property, abutting the Carriage Shops, the Commission—at the suggestion of then-staff liaison Lynda Faye—initiated a competition that led to the creation of Amherst Community History Mural (2003-5) by artist David Fichter. The project restored dignity to an area formerly notorious for its graffiti and antisocial activities: it has also become one of our most popular attractions, and formed a particularly fitting backdrop to the recent “Conversations with the Past” reenactments held this month in conjunction with our 250th Anniversary.

• Lighting for both the Mural and the Cemetery as a whole, funded by CPAC beginning in 2003, is about to be installed, now that the Department of Public Works has completed its streetscape and entrance improvements (2005-9).

• Once the Cemetery access was secured and a more dignified atmosphere began to assert itself, we were able to begin the restoration of funerary monuments. Actual work on restoration of over 250 of the most threatened headstones in the oldest portion of the Cemetery, the so-called 1730 Knoll, began in earnest last summer, and to date, we have expended $ 92,600 of the $ 150,000 allotted for the project, which is scheduled to conclude this summer.

• Welcome signs and interpretive entrance markers have now been designed (Commission member Michael Hanke generously donated his professional services for this purpose) and will soon be put out to bid.


As this first phase of headstone restoration (2006-9) nears completion, we now begin to address the larger and equally important task of landscape restoration. The first phase of work will likewise focus on the oldest portions of the Cemetery. Once this goal is achieved, we will move to address other portions of the site.

• Warrant Review presentation and Bus Tour
• Historical Commission Project Overview and Rationale
• Kimball House Historic Preservation (Art. 18 F)
• West Cemetery Projects Overview
• West Cemetery Restoration: Iron Work and Town Tomb (Art. 18 C, D)
• West Cemetery Landscape Restoration (Art. 18 E)
• Civil War Tablet Conservation and Installation (Art. 18 J)
• Jones Library Preservation Projects (Art. 18 G, H, I)
• North Church Roof Repairs (Art. 18 K)
• Amherst Writer's Walk (Literary Landmarks) (Art. 18 L)
• National Historic Register Nominations: Dickinson Expansion; new Depot District (Art. 18 M)
• Historic Resource Inventory, Phase II: Historic Barns and Outbuildings (Art. 18 N)

"Conversations With the Past: The West Cemetery Walk"

The dead rose from their graves to speak with visitors to Amherst's historic 1730 West Cemetery in one of the most successful events of the 250th anniversary celebrations.

The 250th Anniversary Historical Subcommittee, drawing upon the success of similar endeavors elsewhere, decided that one of the best ways to communicate and popularize the broad sweep of Amherst history would be to have ordinary citizens act out the roles of historical character at the sites of their graves in West Cemetery. One advantage here was that many of the figures were already portrayed on the Community History Mural by artist David Fichter (2005) and thus documented and in some sense familar. Although the Historical Commission and Town Planning Department assisted in some of the early phases of the project, all credit belongs to the Subcommittee and the citizen-volunteers.

Herewith a few scenes:

Mike Haley as David Parsons (1712-81), Amherst's first minister

Michael Coblyn, as Sanford Jackson (1831-63), member of the Massachusetts 54th Volunteer Infantry, America's first all-Black fighting regiment, who died of wounds suffered in the assault on Fort Wagner (as depicted in the film, "Glory"). Jackson was buried near the site of the battle, but the historic African-American section of the Cemetery, where Coblyn is standing, is home to the graves of several African-American Amherst Civil War veterans, as the GAR marker next to the tombstone indicates.

Reynolds Winslow, as teamster Henry Jackson (1817-1902), who helped to rescue Angeline Palmer

when her employers tried to sell her into slavery.

Brenda Thomas as Anna Reed Goodwin (1869-1943), matriarch of Amherst's Black community

Meg Gage as Lavinia Dickinson (1833-99), younger sister of Emily; with Mary Ellen Sailer,

as Margaret "Maggie" Maher (1841-1924), Emily's maid and confidante

Trish Farrington as Orra Hitchcock (1796-1863), landscape artist, scientific illustrator,

and wife of Amherst College President Edward Hitchcock

Mary Hocken as Mary Dickinson Mattoon (1758-1835), wife of General Ebeneezer Mattoon (1755-1843)

Town Planning Director Jonathan Tucker as the anonymous gravedigger of Amherst—a designation

that many local political activists would undoubtedly find appropriate.

It has been an extraordinarily successful event from the perspective of both organizers and visitors. I can attest to the fact that I heard from the latter things similar to what participants in the TMCC Warrant Article Tour said when I brought them to the Cemetery to explain our Historic Preservation proposals: typically, "I've lived here 'x' number of years, and yet I've never been here," or "I had no idea about x or y," or "this really made history come alive for me."

The comments from the reenactors were equally encouraging.

Some, such as Michael Coblyn, had long been involved in similar events—in this case, Civil War reenactments, with particular reference to the Mass 54th.

By contrast, for Brenda Thomas, who played Anna Reed Goodwin, the anniversary was a first and vital opportunity to learn more about the community to which she had moved. She immersed herself in the history as she prepared for her role, and found herself being drawn ever more deeply into the details of "Ma" Goodwin as well as Amherst itself.

Visitors on the first day (on which these photographs, with the exception of that of the gravedigger, who appeared only the next day) were enthusiastic and voluble. Given both the quality and short duration of this program, many expressed the wish for a repeat performance in the fall.

Resources:

• Cast and Crew with Timeline (from Amherst 250th)

• overview of characters and events: Mary Carey, "Amherst breathes life into history," Hampshire Gazette, 1 May

[updated images and links]

Historic Preservation: No Joke

Recently shared by a preservation professional:

Poet and Professor--and Prague

In my eagerness to announce to the world that the Hampshire College campus had earned the rating of "moderate dinginess," I somehow neglected to post mention of yet another laudatory news report* on a colleague.

Kristin Palpini, "From Russia with love: Renowned poet brings her passion for literature to Hampshire College," Amherst Bulletin, 10 April:

Hampshire College professor Polina Barskova discovered poetry at age 8 while waiting for her mother in a grocery store parking lot in Russia's Leningrad.

The words poured from her - a poem about fairy tales that came to the child from the "magic voices of the night itself," Barskova recalls.

And the words kept coming.

At age 9, Barskova had a poem, "Young Children of Lenin," published in the Leningrad newspaper.

. . . .

Some called her a prodigy.

Standing in her office in Amherst one day last month, pulling off layers of winter outerwear, Barskova, now 33, reflected on that. "Prodigy is more of an ironic title, right? I began writing early, so some people thought I am some kind of circus freak,' like a talking seal," she said, "but it's still my craft and my vocation." (read the rest)

Polina and I share an interest in the literature, history, and politics of Central and Eastern Europe, and supervise student examinations together. We are about to embark on a new collaboration, leading a study trip to Prague and Kraków from late May through mid-June. The course enrolled students from Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, and Emerson Colleges, and is being offered in collaboration with the Dartmore Institute for Central European Studies, a leader in study-abroad programs in that part of the world (and one of the best-kept secrets in the field).

I plan to report regularly here about our activities, and we expect that our students will also be blogging from Prague.

(* see also the reports on recent accomplishments by Rachel Rubinstein, Salman Hameed, and the team working on the Darwin anniversary celebrations)

And that sure as hell ain't socialism

Close tie for strangest remark in Town Meeting this past week.

Part of what we do when it comes to housekeeping articles is fill in gaps that we missed in past local legislation or bring our local laws into line with required state practice.

• Select Board member Gerry Weiss caught our attention when he suddenly referred to his having bought a lawn tractor with which to mow his grass, only to find that it did not come with the necessary cutting deck. It was a bit surreal, because you had to put two and two together for yourself, so most people were simply confused.

One such instance of housekeeping--Article 10--involved our formally rescinding a rent control bylaw dating from the mists of political antiquity (which is to say, the 1980s) because such measures had been outlawed by the Commonwealth in the 1990s.

Now you would think that simply doing what the law requires--and in this case, only the wording, and no longer the practice, was out of whack--would not be controversial, or at least require extended commentary. Well, not in Amherst.

• Local blogger and political gadfly Larry Kelley felt impelled to speak. After referring to the hoary date of the bylaw--passed in 1986, and amended on May 1, 1989--and denouncing the power of subpoena accorded the Housing Review Board, he reminded us that we needed to remember another date, November 1989:

"The Wall came down. Socialism don't work. Get used to it."

In case that wasn't harsh enough, he later added on his blog that we had "experimented (in a Nazi sort of way) with "Rent Control" back in the 1980's."

(I don't recall seeing the concentration camps, minefields, and free-fire zones of either Hitler or Stalin, but I'm just a historian.)

• Harry Brooks then took the microphone and led us on a rather bizarre walk down memory lane, in which he, by contrast, extolled the Review Board's power to intimidate witnesses and extract truthful statements, which so concerned Larry. No one had a clue what he was talking about, because, as Moderator Harrison Gregg reminded both speakers, the issue under discussion was the rescinding of an antiquated law, not the resurrection of the Review Board.

And people wonder why neighboring Pelham and Hadley can hold their annual Town Meetings over only one to two days, whereas ours extends through both May and June. Still, it occasionally makes for good television.

8-9 May 1945: V-E Day. Victory Over Fascism

Czechoslovak liberation medal

On this day in 1945—midnight on 8 May in the west, thus a day later in the USSR—the unconditional surrender of the forces of the Third Reich to the victorious allies went into effect.

Winston Churchill told Parliament:

Yesterday morning, at 2.41, at General Eisenhower's headquarters, General Jodl, the representative of the German High Command and of Grand Admiral Doenitz, the designated head of the German State, signed the act of unconditional surrender of all German land, sea and air forces in Europe to the Allied Expeditionary Force, and, simultaneously, to the Soviet High Command.
. . . . . . . . . .
The German war, Mr. Speaker, is therefore at an end. After years of intense preparation Germany hurled herself on Poland at the beginning of September, 1939, and in pursuance of our guarantee to Poland, and in common action with the French Republic, Great Britain and the British Empire and Commonwealth of Nations declared war against this foul aggression. After gallant France had been struck down we from this Island and from our united Empire maintained the struggle single-handed for a whole year until we were joined by the military might of Soviet Russia and later by the overwhelming power and resources of the United States of America. Finally almost the whole world was combined against the evildoers, who are now prostrate before us. Sir, our gratitude to our splendid Allies goes forth from all our hearts. We may allow ourselves a brief period of rejoicing, but let us not forget for a moment the toils and efforts that lie ahead. Japan, with all her treachery and greed, remains unsubdued. The injuries she has inflicted upon Great Britain, the United States and other countries and her detestable cruelties call forth justice and retribution. We must now devote all our strength and resources to the completion of our tasks both at home and abroad.

The fascist German response managed to be characteristically both ingratiating and self-pitying. The New York Times report concluded:

After having signed the full surrender, General Jodl said he wanted to speak and received leave to do so.

"With this signature," he said in soft-spoken German, "the German people and armed forces are for better or worse delivered into the victors' hands.

"In this war, which has lasted more than five years, both have achieved and suffered more than five years, both have achieved and suffered more than perhaps an[y] other people in the world."

Some might beg to differ.

Nonetheless, it's worth remembering a time when wars had a clear moral purpose and clear conclusions, and re-education and "nation-building" actually meant something and succeeded.

resources:

• New York Times front page

• President Truman's Broadcast

• Winston Churchill's speech

• Marshal Stalin's V-E Order of the Day

• Marshal Stalin's Victory Address

• General De Gaulle's Broadcast

Historical Preservation Proposals: Site Visits and Warrant Review

In the course of the past few weeks, I presented the Historical Commission's Community Preservation Act (CPA) project proposals in a variety of settings:

1. at the Town Meeting Coordinating Committee (TMCC) bus tour (19 April).
2. at the League of Women Voters/Town Meeting Warrant review (21 April)
3. at the Select Board consideration of CPA articles (22 April)

• TMCC Bus Tour: The best efforts of Carol Gray and other valiant organizers notwithstanding, we were hampered in our efforts by the failure of the bus driver to show up (an omen, or just par for the course in Amherst?). As a result, we formed a caravan or carpool and managed to see most of the relevant sites, though with some omissions and compression.

The video--most of which actually deals with the Historic Preservation portions of the CPA articles--shows (1) me explaining the proposed restoration and display of the Civil War tablets currently stored at the DPW facility in Ruxton (Art. 18 J); (2) Survival Center Director (and my predecessor as Vice Chair of the Comprehensive Planning Committee) Cheryl Zoll, giving a tour of the Center and explaining the services that it provides (Art. 23); (3) Jones Library Director Bonnie Isman describing needed roof repairs (Article 18H) and the closely related Archival Material Conservation and Special Collections Climate Control (Art. 18 I & G); (4) Carol Gray at West Cemetery explaining Art. 7 (municipal parking district); (5) me explaining West Cemetery projects: landscape restoration (Art. 18 E), ironwork restoration (Art. 18 C), and Town Tomb reconstructi0n (Art. 18 D). After the end of the tour, I described the West Cemetery Mural (a Historical Commission project completed in 2005), which provided an opportunity to talk about the Writer's Walk markers (Art. 18 L), and, more briefly, the Dickinson District expansion and depot District nomination (Art. 18 M).

• Warrant Review (21 April)

(watch on demand from ACTV: the Historical Commission Articles are discussed between about 8:27 and 8:50 p.m.)

• Select Board, 22 April

See other entries at this site for details on Historical Commission projects:

• Warrant Review presentation and Bus Tour
• Historical Commission Project Overview and Rationale
• Kimball House Historic Preservation (Art. 18 F)
• West Cemetery Projects Overview
• West Cemetery Restoration: Iron Work and Town Tomb (Art. 18 C, D)
• West Cemetery Landscape Restoration (Art. 18 E)
• Civil War Tablet Conservation and Installation (Art. 18 J)
• Jones Library Preservation Projects (Art. 18 G, H, I)
• North Church Roof Repairs (Art. 18 K)
• Amherst Writer's Walk (Literary Landmarks) (Art. 18 L)
• National Historic Register Nominations: Dickinson Expansion; new Depot District (Art. 18 M)
• Historic Resource Inventory, Phase II: Historic Barns and Outbuildings (Art. 18 N)

[* links updated]

Historical Commission Brings Ambitious Project Proposals to Town Meeting for 250th Anniversary

AMHERST HISTORICAL COMMISSION PRESERVATION PROJECTS, FY10

PRESERVING THE PAST, ENRICHING THE FUTURE

• Mission

A local Historical Commission in Massachusetts (M.G.L. 40 § 8d) is charged with responsibility for "for the preservation, protection and development of the historical or archeological assets" of the city or town. Our duties include researching and identifying historic sites, establishing and maintaining inventories of same (available in the Planning Department and Jones Library Special Collections), producing maps and informational publications, holding demolition delay hearings, obtaining preservation restrictions, and coordinating "the activities of unofficial bodies organized for similar purposes."

According to M.G.L. 40 § 8d, "For the purpose of protecting and preserving such places, [a Historical Commission] may make such recommendations as it deems necessary to the city council or the selectmen . . . ." These include funding proposals as well as legislative measures. As Town Meeting members will know, there is no budget line for our work, so implementation of our projects largely depends largely on CPA funds (see below, end of entry).

• Definitions: What is historic preservation--and why spend CPA funds on it?

Many people are surprised or irritated to learn that historic preservation is one of the legally mandated categories for CPA expenditures (the others are affordable housing and open space and recreation). It seems to them a luxury. By contrast, I myself have always been struck by the profound wisdom that the Commonwealth displayed in creating the CPA: It’s not about the life-or-death necessities that keep body and soul together. Towns will always find a way to fix the sewers and pay the police. It’s about the things that make life worth living. They are usually the first to go when budget crises force agonizing choices. The CPA is nothing less than a safety net for our quality of life. We need it now more than ever.

Public community resources, no less than public schools, are a foundation of democracy and diversity. The CPA supports crucial elements of the Master Plan. It preserves nature and culture for all: the forests and marshes, farmland and historic sites, which benefit residents and attract visitors. It provides recreational opportunities—parks, nature trails, playing fields—for all, young and old, homeowner and renter. It ensures access to housing for all, regardless of class and wealth.

The quality of life that keeps us here in turn attracts the clean economic development—in the form of cultural tourism and innovative new businesses—essential to funding the basic services to which we are so committed.

So, just what role does historic preservation play here?

Historic preservation embraces landscapes as well as buildings, whole neighborhoods as well as individual structures, the surroundings of the common people as well as the elite, the vernacular as well as the spectacular. It is about maintaining the physical connections to our heritage, and thereby our own identities: the sites, structures, objects, and aesthetics that have become important parts of our contemporary existence. It educates us about our past, it beautifies our present.

Fundamentally, it is also about a mature perspective on life. As Cicero said, to be ignorant of history is to remain always a child. By teaching us to live humbly and lightly, historic preservation is very much akin to environmentalism. Just as we would no longer countenance the destruction of a species, so too, we pause at the thought of wholesale destruction of types of landscapes or built environment. We realize that no single generation should be entitled to make such choices for all time. Tastes change. (The Renaissance scorned the “Gothic,” yet today we are glad that medieval buildings survive.) Historical preservation thus reminds us that we are but one link in a chain of generations. By showing respect for what came before us, we affirm both our humility and the hope that part of what we live and create will likewise become a part of the common human heritage.

The modern theory and practice of historic preservation are intimately linked to ideas of sustainability. Contrary to what one might expect, older buildings actually tend to be "greener" than recent ones. Renovation or adaptive reuse of older structures, by conserving resources and energy and preventing sprawl, makes the most economic and environmental sense. As the National Trust for Historic Preservation declares: historic preservation is green building. A sound historic preservation policy can thus support affordable housing and the preservation of open space.

• Strategy and Program

In our work, we are guided by the the standards of historic preservation as defined by current scholarship and professional practice, the Department of the Interior and National Park Service, and the Massachusetts Historical Commission. Our specific projects emerge from the priorities set forth in the Amherst Preservation Plan (2005) and draft Master Plan, both funded by Town Meeting.

It has therefore been the policy of the Historical Commission to operate according to a comprehensive system of action steps and implementation priorities. It divides undertakings into physical preservation, documentation, regulation, and outreach and advocacy, which are further distributed over a ten-year schedule, divided into near-term, mid-term, and long-term goals.

As our last Report to the Town explains, the approaching fifth anniversary of the Preservation Plan was a welcome occasion for the sort of review and updating that the document mandates. Recognizing that, as a citizen committee operating with limited resources and staff support, we could not hope to accomplish the full range of action items on the original timetable, we undertook a a fundamental reappraisal and recalibration—the most radical overhauling of our agenda to date, and one that will shape our policy in the years to come. We eliminated or downgraded both overly ambitious and simply desirable rather than pressing measures.

The proposals that you see before you are the product of this refined prioritization and implementation strategy. In this, our 250th anniversary year, we propose a broad but assuredly feasible range of projects intended to highlight the full scope of Amherst's diverse historic heritage. They continue long-term existing initiatives and begin new ones. They include capital projects and inventories. They support preservation of public and private properties. They call attention to periods ranging from the Colonial to the contemporary, to our industrial as well as cultural heritage, to our famous and unsung citizens alike, to the full range of our social and ethnic profile.

Isn't that a lot of money?

Many citizens raise an eyebrow at the cost of some historic preservation projects. The fact is, good work takes time and costs good money. Botched preservation or restoration efforts are actually more expensive in all senses of the word: They damage or jeopardize the resources and often therefore necessitate repeat work, which entails greater costs in the long run.

When dealing with threatened resources, careful assessment and planning are of the essence, and even the preparation of bid specifications requires the input of specialists. Many projects require materials and techniques no longer in common use, which can be far more expensive than comparable contemporary methods. Even "ordinary" projects such as signs and plantings cost far more than most of us realize, as our examples will demonstrate.

Although our preservation projects are in round figures, all cost estimates are prepared on the basis of consultation with experts in the relevant areas. And, as with all CPA appropriations: in the event that a project costs less than anticipated, any surplus funds return to the pool for the next year.

Ultimately, of course, the issue is value rather than cost alone, and one gets what one pays for.

Michael Morissey summarizes:

Historic preservation is nothing short of the continuation and enhancement of everything important in modern society. It is growth in the local economy, it is a strong advocate for ecology, it is a living display of local or national history, it is proof of all residents' common heritage. It is, in a word, the ultimate in city planning.

• Warrant Review presentation and Bus Tour
• Historical Commission Project Overview and Rationale
• Kimball House Historic Preservation (Art. 18 F)
• West Cemetery Projects Overview
• West Cemetery Restoration: Iron Work and Town Tomb (Art. 18 C, D)
• West Cemetery Landscape Restoration (Art. 18 E)
• Civil War Tablet Conservation and Installation (Art. 18 J)
• Jones Library Preservation Projects (Art. 18 G, H, I)
• North Church Roof Repairs (Art. 18 K)
• Amherst Writer's Walk (Literary Landmarks) (Art. 18 L)
• National Historic Register Nominations: Dickinson Expansion; new Depot District (Art. 18 M)
• Historic Resource Inventory, Phase II: Historic Barns & Outbuildings (Art. 18 N)

* * *

• *) CPA Background:

The Community Preservation Act (2000) provides Massachusetts locales that adopt it with support for Open Space and Recreation, Historic Preservation, and Affordable Housing. Funds come from a progressive surcharge ranging from one to three percent, based on local property tax assessments but exempting the first $ 100,000 of assessed valuation. Participation has moreover traditionally earned communities state matching funds, derived from property transfers. Home committees, such as the Historical Commission, generate funding proposals, which are then reviewed by the local Community Preservation Act Committee (CPAC). Only proposals that pass both screenings are sent to Town Meeting in the form of a warrant article or articles for final approval (by a simple majority in the case of most proposals, by a two-thirds majority--aking to a zoning article--in cases where actual purchases of property are involved).

Initially, all communities could earn a 100-percent match. However, as the number of participating locales increased and property values decreased, the Commonwealth determined that, as of autumn 2008, only communities whose surcharge lay at the upper end of the scale would be eligible for matching funds. Amherst initially (2001) adopted the minimum one-percent rate, and cautiously increased the rate only to 1.5 percent in 2006. A measure on the November 2008 ballot proposed to increase our surcharge to the maximum three percent, in order to increase amounts available from local resources and to ensure that we continue to receive matching funds. (Many of our neighboring communities, including Northampton, Hadley, and Leverett, already have three-percent surcharges in place, so we have in effect been subsidizing their expenditures.) Although adopting the measure in Amherst would have meant an additional surcharge of only $ 55.87--or around 15 cents a day--for the average single-family house with an assessed value of $ 332,500, the measure was narrowly defeated. Resistance came from divergent sectors of the political spectrum. Many critics, including leading centrist advocates of fiscal responsibility, and the local newspaper editorial page, criticized the measure as the wrong action at the wrong time. Some did so on strategic grounds, reasoning that taxpayers, unable to fathom the subtleties of the aforementioned financial calculation, might revolt against even so modest a measure bearing the name, "tax," or "surcharge," which would thus jeopardize prospects for a general tax override deemed necessary in order to meet the looming budget crisis. In the event, there was no move for an override. In the meantime, Boston informs us that the state match this year will be only 29 percent.

First Flowering of the West Cemetery Landscape Restoration

Last fall, the Historical Commission launched the landscape restoration phase of the West Cemetery Preservation Plan (1999), as members of the Stockbridge School fraternity Alpha Tau Gamma donated and planted grape hyacinth bulbs, barrenwort, and other spring-flowering perennials.

A month ago, the new growth appeared--about the same time as the first daffodil shoots broke the soil next to Emily Dickinson's gravestone (below)

and 23,000 new daffodil bulbs sprouted on public and private properties all over town. The bulb planting, a project of the 250th Anniversary Committee, was the brainchild of Dolly Jolly. Students from the Stockbridge School were likewise involved in this planting project last fall. (Here, a planting by Bev Ziomek, down the street from us on Route 63 this week.)

And this weekend, the warm weather finally brought out the first flowers, just in time for the West Cemetery Walk (coverage to follow), organized in conjunction with the town's 250th anniversary celebrations.

The planting was a pilot project, intended to give visitors a taste of what the full meadow restoration might look like, and to add one more festive touch to the 250th events. This month, the Historical Commission will bring a proposal for funding of the first full phase of the restoration effort to Annual Town Meeting. (Detailed coverage of all of our proposals on the warrant will follow on these pages. Selecting the rubrics ("labels") of this posting will bring up all the relevant pieces.)