Happy New Year!

I share with you a postcard with a New Year’s greeting — a greeting for a year that was new over 100 years ago.  This colorful card was sent in 1909 to my grandfather from his cousin Violet Belz.

As a comparison, I can’t resist sharing the photograph below, showing the five members of the Thomas White family of Tylersport, Pennsylvania, with Cousin Violet visiting from Camden, New Jersey, taken in 1913.  That’s 100 years ago.  I wonder what they were thinking about on their 1913 New Year’s Eve Day?

White Family of Tylersport, PA, from l to r, Paul White (my grandfather), Thomas White, Esther (in driver’s seat), Anna White and daughter Ruth, Violet Belz

In 100 years, I wonder how people looking back will remember us?  And what they will remember us by now that our photos and writings are mostly ephemeral digitized data that may be largely inaccessible in 100 years.  (Print out a few photos and write a message from 2013 that you can leave behind!)

Here’s to 2013 — I hope it’s a great year for all of us.  Let’s continue to shift the perception of historic preservation from a narrow-minded effort to impede progress toward a more accurate, broader understanding of its benefits for community revitalization, economic development, neighborhood identity and so very much more.