On this week’s PreserveCast, join us as we talk with Andrew Rowand, a shoemaker who focuses on recreating shoes from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Andrew will take us through his process for making the shoes, where his inspiration comes from, and what started his decade-long journey.

On this week’s PreserveCast, join us as we talk with Jennifer Dewees, President at Maryland Center for Construction Education and Innovation, Inc. (MCCEI). Jennifer will discuss apprenticeships and how important they are to the construction industry, and the workforce as a whole. Jennifer is a co-founder and Construction Lead at the Maryland Apprenticeship Center where they are championing apprenticeships as essential pathways across all industries.

On this week’s PreserveCast, join us as we talk with Annie Polland, President of the Tenement Museum, about their new exhibit A Union of Hope. Annie will take us through how they discovered the story of Joseph and Rachel Moore, Black New Yorkers who lived in the tenement in the 1860s – 1870s, and how they recreated their apartment in the Tenement Museum while navigating historic preservation and interpretation.

Today we're joined by two of Preservation Maryland's own (the organization that powers PreserveCast!), Christiana Limniatis and Maggie Pelta-Pauls, to discuss the process of researching a historic property - why people conduct the research, the hidden histories that can be uncovered, and how researching a historic property has real-world impact today. Check out Christiana and Maggie's work here: https://www.preservationmaryland.org/researching-the-history-of-the-berlin-house/ and Preservation Maryland’s Property Research Guide here: https://www.preservationmaryland.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/PresMD-Property-Research-Guide.pdf

On this week's episode we're talking with Natalie Henshaw, Director of The Campaign for Historic Trades. You may recognize Natalie's name (and voice!) as she hosts PreserveCast's Trades Takeover episodes, some of our most downloaded conversations here on PreserveCast. Listen in to learn about the value of historic trades, apprenticeship programs, the impact they're having, and how you can get involved to make sure trades training happens in your community. *March 3-9th is also Women in Construction Week - a perfect time for the head of a national historic trades program to share her knowledge about the industry and discuss equitable opportunities in the trades.

Join us as we talk with Daniel Gagnon about his book A Salem Witch: The Trial, Execution, and Exoneration of Rebecca Nurse. Dan will take us on a deep dive into the world of the Salem Witch Trials and how one story stuck out and just had to be told. We cover everything from the accusations to the legacy, and how witchcraft themed tourism impacts modern storytelling. Dan is the author of A Salem Witch: The Trial, Execution, and Exoneration of Rebecca Nurse. He is a high school history teacher on the North Shore of Massachusetts, serves on the board of directors of the Rebecca Nurse Homestead Museum, and serves as Chairman of the Town of Danvers’ Salem Village Historic District Commission. He has shared his research through many in-person and online programs, including C-SPAN’s television program American History TV, and has served as a subject-matter expert for local media. Learn more: https://danielgagnonhistory.com/

As we continue to recognize Black History Month, honoring the triumphs and struggles of African Americans throughout U.S. history, we're revisiting a conversation with Candacy Taylor, an award-winning author, photographer and cultural documentarian working on a multidisciplinary project based on the Green Book. In Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America, Taylor has masterfully pulled together this story of resilience and segregation in a way that elevates and memorializes this history – a history still rooted in countless towns and cities across America.

Join us on this week's PreserveCast episode as we talk with Bob Jaeger, President at the Partners for Sacred Places. Partners for Sacred Places, founded in 1989, is the only national, non-sectarian, non-profit organization focused on building the capacity of congregations of historic sacred places to better serve their communities. Bob co-founded Partners for Sacred Places in 1989. Previously, Bob worked with the Philadelphia Historic Preservation Corporation as Senior Vice President for the Historic Religious Properties Program. He is the co-author of Sacred Places at Risk (1998) and Strategies for Stewardship and Active Use of Older and Historic Religious Properties(1996), author of Sacred Places in Transition (1994), and editor (from 1985 to 1989) of Inspired, a bi-monthly magazine with news and technical articles on religious property preservation. Bob holds a master’s degree in preservation planning from Cornell University and an MBA from the University of Michigan. Learn More: https://sacredplaces.org/

On this week’s PreserveCast we are talking with Elicia Garske, a 2022 recipient of the Harrison Goodall Fellowship. Elicia shares her project, a summer program to connect skilled preservation contractors with young adults interested in learning more about this line of work. Join us to hear how her project unfolded and what lessons she learned along the way. BIO: Elicia Garske manages preservation projects for H.G. Christman Construction in South Bend. In her previous role as the historic preservation administrator for the City of South Bend, Elicia observed firsthand the challenge of locating skilled craftspeople who repaired vintage windows and that specialized in historic preservation. At home in La Porte, Elicia is the grounds superintendent for her neighborhood the Pine Lake Assembly–a historic lake retreat founded by settlers in the 1890s. Elicia’s honed her skills as an interior designer and a sustainable building advisor with each of the three personal houses she has renovated. Dedicated to educating people on the importance of historic preservation, Elicia is a founding board member of South Bend TradeWorks, a non-profit group that rescues historic buildings and materials by reclaiming and selling architectural salvage and providing training on historic building renovation best practices. Learn More: https://historictrades.org/project/elicia-garske/ Interview with Harrison Goodall: https://www.preservecast.org/2020/05/11/building-a-legacy-in-the-preservation-trades-with-dr-harrison-goodall/ 2021 Fellows Selected: https://www.preservationmaryland.org/2021-harrison-goodall-fellows-selected/ 2022 Fellows Selected: https://www.preservationmaryland.org/2022-harrison-goodall-preservation-fellow-selected/

Join us as we talk with Dr. Shirley Green about her book Revolutionary Blacks: Discovering the Frank Brothers, Freeborn Men of Color, Soldiers of Independence. Shirley’s book follows William and Benjamin Frank through their military service in the Continental Army, their experience as free Black soldiers, and the paths they travelled.

Join us on this week’s PreserveCast - our 300th episode! - as we talk with Alyssa Lozupone and Kris Turgeon about preservation training opportunities at Newport Restoration Foundation. Alyssa and Kris will provide us with background on this legacy preservation organization and the work they’ve done to establish a robust and successful Preservation Trades Specialist Training program and what lessons were learned along the way that could help other efforts like it around the country. In 2023 The Campaign for Historic Trades partnered with Newport Restoration Foundation (NRF) to create a customized training program focused on providing participants with an introduction to the preservation trades. The 12-week program is comprised of 60 contact hours of instruction including lectures, in-class activities, demonstrations, site visits, and shop tours. Learn More: https://www.newportrestoration.org/preservation/

On the last Monday before Christmas Day, the PreserveCast team brings you a special release on the history of Santa Claus. You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen . . . but what about the jolly old elf holding the reins? St. Nicholas, Old St. Nick, Sinterklaas, or simply Santa Claus. He’s gone by many names – but where does this rich and seemingly timeless tradition come from? On this special edition of PreserveCast, we’re headed down a winding reindeer path to uncover the rich history of Santa Claus and how he came to define the modern celebration of Christmas.

Join us on this week's PreserveCast episode as we talk with Mary Cleary, Senior Editor at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and Michael Knapp, Chief of Historical Services at the American Battle Monuments Commission, about the newly released book, Time Will Not Dim: American Battle Monuments Commission, A Century of Service, 1923 - 2023. Mary and Michael will take us through the book, their experience working on the book, and the history and future of the ABMC.

On the heels of The Campaign for Historic Trades' announcement that is has successfully registered its group apprenticeship program, Trades Takeover returns! The Campaign's Director, Natalie Henshaw, speaks with Héctor J. Berdecía-Hernández, founding Director-General of the Centro de Conservación y Restauración de Puerto Rico (CENCOR). CENCOR is a unique institution that seeks to develop the capacity of communities in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean to protect and conserve their cultural heritage. Its initiatives, programs, and projects provide educational and professional development opportunities to public and private cultural institutions, professionals, and the general public. Through preservation and conservation projects, study and research, education and training, dissemination, and promotion of cultural heritage, CENCOR helps people to know and explore Puerto Rican culture, history, and heritage, to protect and preserve it. In this episode, Natalie and Héctor discuss his career path into conservation, leading to the founding of CENCOR.

Cemeteries, like historic buildings and landscapes, provide critical connections to our past. On today’s episode of PreserveCast we’re talking with Preservation Maryland’s Program & Outreach Manager Christiana Limniatis about U.S. presidential gravesites – how presidents are laid to rest, cemetery architecture, and a discussion about the unique features of presidential gravesites across the country.

Join us this week's PreserveCast episode as we talk with Senior historian and interpretive planner, Scott Vierick with the History Associates, Inc (HAI). We’ll talk with Scott about the Falling Waters Battlefield and how HAI and Preservation Maryland worked to conduct an interpretive reconnaissance survey and the impact it had on plans for the Battlefield.

Join us on this week’s PreserveCast as we talk with Robyn Hodgson about her book Abandoned Maryland Houses: Ruins of the American Dream, which she co-authored with her partner Rhea Hodgson. Her book takes the reader through abandoned historic homes throughout Maryland through photographs and history. Robyn will share some of the behind-the-scenes of her photography and book. A brief disclaimer on this episode – neither PreserveCast nor Preservation Maryland, which powers this podcast, endorses, suggests or encourages anyone to ever explore, enter or otherwise investigate a historic place without owner consent. Always engage in ethical documentation and exploration of historic places. Learn More: https://www.instagram.com/morning_reveries/ Order the Book: https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/products/9781634994361

Although Salem is certainly the most famous American community to be beset by the mania of witchcraft, it was far from alone in its paranoia. On this special edition of PreserveCast, we're exploring the history of accusations of witchcraft and sorcery in Maryland. At this time of the year, as we look for opportunities to get the good shivers, we’d be wise to balance the frightening tales of witchcraft with the harsh reality of the lives ended by the hysteria and the lesson in that story – that well meaning people can make strange decisions driven by fear of the unknown. Perhaps, the story of witchcraft fascinates us, because in each of us there is fear of the supernatural and we wonder, if only subconsciously, if we too, could fall for an equally absurd fallacy.

Our team has happily welcomed "spooky season" and this week we're bringing you a tale of old about the story of Michael Zittle – the Wizard of South Mountain. If you enjoy this type of content, you'll also want to tune in next week for another Halloween-inspired episode, an in-depth feature on the Maryland Witch Trials. Much of what we know of Michael Zittle and the lore of South Mountain comes from Madeline Vinton Dahlgren, a 19th-century author, tavern keeper, anti-suffragist, and owner of the still-operational South Mountain Inn. New research, writing, and dramatic reading by your host, Nicholas Redding. As the chill of autumn arrives and we approach All Hallows Eve, we'll indulge in this haunted history and talk of wizards, spells, and sorcery...

You’re visiting New Orleans and you want to get off the beaten path – out of the French Quarter and into neighborhoods to experience the real, authentic cultural assets this historic, over 300-year-old city has to offer. So where do you go and what do you do? On this week’s PreserveCast, we’re sitting down with Danielle Del Sol, the Executive Director of the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans and Nathalie Jordi to talk about an Authentic New Orleans experience.