It is a new semester and that means new students working on local history projects. Research, big and small, is at the heart of historical study so the image at the right is perfect to kick off this semester. This summer, like my students, I hit the archive doing research. I have many projects ongoing (idle hands..... devil's playground). Perhaps my most important project is a book based on my dissertation called A New Civic Ideal. This book is an exploration of planning activism in Atlanta. This image, from Hearst's Sunday American newspaper, is from 1923 and the story concerns a downtown re-development plan inspired by the City Beautiful Movement that was first introduced to Atlanta residents in 1909. Finding this and other information concerning activism for comprehensive planning was a great surprise on my summer research trip. I'm sure that the students in HIS 143 this semester will find equally surprising nuggets about Winter Park and the surrounding Central Florida community. They will research a variety of subjects and work with the Winter Park Historical Association to uncover information long forgotten----pragmatic, hands on liberal art education--the Rollins College way:)
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