A Look Back - Both Far and Near
Here at home, having made the six hour trip back from Grand Portage, I’m giving thought to what may be taken from three weeks in an island National Park supporting a history preservation group working to bring the experience of a 20th century lighthouse to the public. Aside from being one of the most satisfying, therapeutic, nostalgic volunteer experiences of my retirement career, it’s also a thought provoker on the significance of history preservation. Why restore a 115 year old lighthouse planted on a rock at one end of a very large island in the middle of Lake Superior in the first place? Whom does it serve? The National Park Service? Why? The volunteers who make it happen? That’s a pretty small group in the end. Visitors to the park? That starts to make some sense. For that matter, why is historic preservation a thing? According to the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, “The Congress finds and declares that — 1) the spirit and direction of the Nation are founded upon an