Forty years. That's how long it took to get a really unfortunate line item out of NCDOT's budget and, finally, off the radar for dozens of interest groups engaged in the drama of the proposed Hillsborough Bypass.

Gareth Evans has taken the helm at Bellamy Mansion Museum of History and Decorative Arts. Gareth has a tough act to follow in former director Beverly Ayscue, who headed to western NC last month to direct fundraising for Penland School of the Arts.

In early 2010, UNC Press will publish Thomas Day: Master Craftsman and Free Man of Color, a new book about the life and work of the remarkable artisan from Milton.

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The book — co-authored by Jo Ramsay Leimenstoll, professor of interior architecture at UNC Greensboro, and Patricia Marshall, curator of furnishings and decorative arts at the NC Museum of History — highlights Day's distinctive style of vernacular architecture and furnishings, evident in some of North Carolina's and Virginia's most treasured historic houses.

The book features exquisite photographs by noted architectural photographer Tim Buchman of Charlotte. The photos capture Day's remarkable artistry exhibited in a widely varied collection of architecture.

Tim's work for Preservation NC's 50th-anniversary publication, North Carolina Architecture (1990), has been critically acclaimed and widely exhibited.

To date, over $20,000 has been committed for the photography for the new publication. Please help us raise the remaining $10,000 needed. Your tax-deductible gift will help us reach our goal. Commitments must be received by December 31.

Donors of $500 or more will be acknowledged as sponsors in the book's foreword and receive an autographed copy of the book.

Your generous support in any amount will help make this important publication a reality — and a real beauty. Please contact Shannon Phillips at 919-832-3652 or This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it to make your gift today.

Introduction of legislation that provides tax incentives for renovation of mills, tobacco warehouses and other vacant industrial buildings helped earn State Rep. Deborah Ross the 2009 Ruth Coltrane Cannon Award for outstanding statewide achievement on behalf of historic preservation.

So many great ideas were in the air at Preservation NC's 2009 Annual Conference! We wanted to preserve a few of them for posterity. Check out some of the PNC staff picks and suggest your own.