The N.C. Society of Historians recently presented its 2005 Paul Green Multimedia Award to the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association for its Web site at http://www.owdna.org.
Old West Durham Neighborhood Association members Tom Clark, Pam Spaulding, and John Schelp were recognized.
The N.C. Society of Historians was established in 1941 for the purpose of collecting, preserving and perpetuating North Carolina's rich history; and for recognizing those persons who fulfill the society's objectives.
FYI, comments from judges at NC Society of Historians...
"This is one of the finest websites we have ever visited. It houses some fabulous black and white visuals, as well as colored; it takes the visitor on cyber 'walking tours'; we are privy to interviews with mill workers. We especially enjoyed 'Erwin Chatter'
with its riveting vintage photographs. The site also provided us with maps, schools/stores/mills information, data about the citizens of Durham, and other interviews with them. It introduced us to mill workers via photographs and snippets of information about them and their mill service. The Bull City Timeline is impressive and take us form the early 1800's to 2003! And... the Erwin Cotton Mills Timeline was extremely interesting! At this time, we would like to reiterate... this is one of the FINEST websites we have ever visited! It is extremely well-researched and planned, easy to use, eye-catching, has incredible and substantial content, and we were very proud to judge this entry!"
On another note, the Durham Convention & Visitor's Bureau is collaborating with statewide partners on the I-85 Textile Heritage Corridor. Planning is now being coordinated by the Textile Heritage Center at Cooleemee, N.C., for a potentially 464-mile trail along I-85 from Alabama to Virginia.
DCVB has identified at least 7 Durham sites with a rich textile heritage for possible inclusion on the trail.
Click here for full article and links to textile trail...
http://www.durhamnc.com/bullseye/Vol5Issue04/trading.htm
Another article on I-85 Textile Heritage Corridor (with more on Erwin Mills & Old West Durham)... http://www.durhamnc.com/bullseye/archive/vol5_03.pdf#page=5
(source: DCVB's Bull's Eye newsletter)
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