LETTERS: PRESERVATION DOCUMENTATION IS IMPORTANT FOR THE UNIVERSITY

To the editor:

As president of the Historic Preservation Association, I am compelled to comment on the Aug. 16 article, "Student wants old Limbaugh home saved." I fully understand the need to edit for space, but one of the main points of the article didn't make it to press.

As a preservationist, I understand that not every building can be saved. I also understand that there is good progress. As I stated in my letter to Dr. Kala Stroup, president of Southeast Missouri State University, the new business building will be a tremendous asset to Southeast. The point that I had hoped would come from the article is the university doesn't have a policy for evaluating the historic significance of buildings on the campus. Southeast has one of the few historic preservation degree programs in the country, yet the university fails to follow the guidelines which it is teaching its students.

After reading the Aug. 18 editorial, it was clear to me that the writer of the editorial had worked from a pre-edited version of the article. Had the full article run it would have been clear that my ultimate goal would be the documentation of endangered structures rather than advocating that every structure be saved. There are costs associated with progress, and the documentation process is a small price to pay when compared to the cost of the loss of history.

Yes, I have learned "some compelling lessons about historic preservation." I have learned that many decisions are made behind closed doors in hope that "progress" can take place without the public's knowledge. An example of this would be the destruction of the house on College Hill last fall. A pile of rubble cannot be documented. I also know that the cause of preservation isn't helped by 11th-hour exploits of "building huggers." I wasn't in Cape Girardeau at the initial planning state of the College of Business building, but other preservationists were. Nominations to list Academic Hall, the Art Building, the Social Science Building and Wildwood on the National Register of Historic Places have been written and submitted and have been pushed aside. I am not the first nor will I be the last to ask the university to stop and examine its attitude as steward of the past. Preservation is part of progress.

The editorialist makes the assumption that the university considered the historic significance of not only the Limbaugh house but also the Boutin house, which now houses the Department of Public Safety. If this step was taken, I commend the university. If it wasn't, it must be before the bulldozers roll.

JON G. COLBURN

President, Historic Preservation Association

Cape Girardeau