Time Travels Introduction
Time Travels began as a series of newspaper columns in the Highland Sun in 2002. The focus was Highland County history. The goal was to find stories, letters and journals hidden away in dark closets and desk drawers and then bring them into the light to share with this generation. After about a year, Kay Burns, the editor of the Highland Sun and Highland County Press began to encourage me to collect the columns into a book. As more and more people expressed an interest in the column, I began to think Kay was right: a book was in demand.
While newspapers are a great media, people quickly throw them away; even, if saved the pages yellow and crumble, the print fades. But a book is cherished and preserved; a book can outlast the author. These stories need to last for the next generation.
As I worked on the column and book from 2002-2005, I was struck by how national history influences local history and vice versa, local people affect national history. Individual communities reflect the nation they represent like a mirror. While the book's focus is on Highland County history, the information is a valuable source as an example of the nation's development.
A common complaint about reading and studying history is that the information is dry and boring. Time Travels focuses on interviews, letters, personal stories and remembrances of a variety of people, not on dry facts alone. This type of information provides a human connection to history.
The book is developed in a timeline fashion. The articles, grouped by date, paint a vivid picture of the American nation as it progresses from the late 1700's through today. The book is a cross sampling of 200 years of Highland County history not, a detailed account of every event and person.
The book includes recent interviews and information. For example, as I covered the township histories, I included what they are like today. Even as I wrote the book, people and places changed. For example, the Candleshack in New Market closed as I was preparing the final pages in December 2005. By the time this book is printed, other changes will occur. This is the nature of living history: the world changes day by day. The only way to preserve places, events and people is to capture them in photographs and in writing. This book contains over 100 photographs. This is the essence of the book: we preserve tomorrow's history today. My prayer is that the book will inspire you to consider this fact; you create history. You can preserve history by recording and passing on your own stories and lived experiences. We are still writing history today.
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