Edgecombe Community College Hosts Historic Preservation Event
Rocky Mount, NC (PRWEB) April 17, 2014 -- Students and staff at Edgecombe Community College are gearing up for this year’s historic preservation event. The college will be hosting a historic preservation event at its Tarboro campus from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, April 26.
Since the early 1900s, scientists have been using growth rings inside of tree trunks to determine a tree’s age. Today, modern-day scientists are using growth rings to determine the age of historic buildings. Mick Worthington of the Oxford Tree-Ring Laboratory in Baltimore, MA is bringing his expertise in the field of dendrochronology, or tree-ring dating, to the campus of Edgecombe Community College in Tarboro, NC.
“It will be an informative day,” says Monika Fleming, historic preservation program director at the college. “I think people will learn a lot about our program and get some insight on what can be done to preserve historic structures.”
In addition to Worthington, scheduled speakers include:
• Jack Peet, Williamsburg, VA – masonry restoration
• Mike Strickland, Knightdale – stained glass repair
• Kevin Wilson, Tarboro – timber framing
• Reid Thomas, Hassell – painting historic structures
• Julie Thomas, Hassell – historic home furnishings
• Joe Armstrong, Raleigh – slate and metal roofing
• Daniel Chasse, Tarboro – woodworking repair and window repair
Event sessions begin at 9 a.m. and rotate throughout the morning and again in the afternoon. Participants also will have an opportunity to tour the college’s Norfleet House, a 200-year-old home that has been a working classroom on the Tarboro campus since it was moved there in 2009. For the past five years, historic craftsmen and students have been continuously restoring the house.
In 2009, Edgecombe Community College began its historic preservation program, the first of its kind in North Carolina. It includes certificate, diploma and degree programs.
“Now, there are about a half dozen similar programs at two-year schools,” Fleming says. “There are several others at four-year schools, but they’re not trades-based.”
With an expected attendance of over one hundred participants, Fleming believes the college’s unique Historic Preservation Trades School continues to thrive because preserving the past is growing in popularity in society.
“We have so many historic buildings in North Carolina, and we want to help people save those structures,” said Fleming.
The fee for the Historic Preservation Trades School is $70, with an optional $10 box lunch available to those who pre-register. Participants will also earn one continuing education credit.
For more information, contact Monika Fleming at (252) 823-5166, ext. 241, or flemingm(at)edgecombe(dot)edu.
About the company:
Steady growth and expanding impact have characterized Edgecombe Community College as it has evolved from one small building in 1968 into a multi-campus institution with campuses in Tarboro and Rocky Mount, North Carolina. The college helped meet the educational and training needs of about 13,000 individuals in the community last year. This included the implementation of distance learning and online courses to reach students with travel and time barriers. Throughout, their strength is and will remain putting the needs of students first. For more information, visit http://www.edgecombe.edu/.
Mary Tom Bass, Edgecombe Community College, http://www.edgecombe.edu, 252-823-5166, [email protected]
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