Historic Preservation accepts nominations

Historic Preservation accepts nominations

WASHINGTON — The National Trust for Historic Preservation is accepting nominations for its annual list of endangered places, which identifies examples of America’s architectural, cultural and natural heritage that are at risk.

Nominations are due Dec. 5. The 2009 list of 11 endangered historic places will be announced May 6. Details at www.PreservationNation.org/issues/11-most-endangered.

Focusing attention on a landmark in need of restoration often galvanizes preservation efforts. The list has identified 200 sites since it started in 1988, and only six of those have been lost.

The 2008 list included New York’s Lower East Side; Great Falls Portage, Mont.; and the Sumner Elementary School in Topeka, Kansas.

Birding festival to showcase migration

HARLINGEN, Texas — The weather is cooling off and that means birds are heading south. One of the best places to watch the migration spectacle is the southern tip of Texas for the 15th Annual Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival, scheduled for Nov. 5-9.

The event includes guided field trips, seminars and workshops, and kids’ activities. Participants range from expert ornithologists to avid amateur bird watchers to beginning birders and their families.

The festival concludes with two trips for those who want to continue with their bird watching outside the U.S.: a 14-day birding trip to the tropics of Ecuador, or a five-day birding trip to a biosphere reserve in Mexico.

Details at www.rgvbirdfest.com. Preregistration ends Oct. 24.

Civil War sites prepare for 150th anniversary

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Chattanooga-area officials are working to lure tourists to lesser-known Civil War sites over the next few years as the region looks ahead to the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, which begins in 2011 and runs for four years.

The Southeast Tennessee Tourism Association has plotted dozens of historic sites on a driving tour and produced a brochure highlighting some lesser-known Civil War landmarks, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

The brochure, “Tennessee’s Civil War Trails, Fighting for the Rails,” identifies 47 sites in a 10-county region. Details at www.southeasttennessee.com.

Political museum exhibits election knickknacks

WEST BRANCH, Iowa — An 1840 Tippecanoe Club ribbon, bundles of ballots from the 1864 presidential race and a “Dicky Poo for ’72” button are among the political items on display at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library-Museum in West Branch, Iowa.

The “Presidential Political Memorabilia” exhibit is up through Nov. 4, Election Day.

Tippecanoe was a nickname for William Henry Harrison. The 1864 race resulted in the re-election of Abraham Lincoln. And the “Dicky Poo” button referred to Richard Nixon. Other oddities include a Barry Goldwater night light.

Details at hoover.archives.gov/programs/index.html.

Associated Press