I would like everyone who reads this site to take time out of his or her day to join me in saying thank you to ELMalvaney for starting Preservation in Mississippi nine years ago and for the incredible posting schedule maintained over the years, helping to increase awareness about Mississippi’s important historic buildings and the history behind those buildings. In nine years, Malvaney, first joined by Tom Barnes, then myself, Jack D. Elliott, Jr., Thomas J. Rosell, JRGordon, Suzassippi, Lolly Barnes, and various guest authors, have published just under 2,300 posts, an average of 254 annually, or five per week, every week, for just shy of a decade. The vast majority of those posts, over 1,500, were by Malvaney. An incredible posting schedule for a person who, I have been told (from a reliable source, no less), has a completely full schedule before we even start counting the time spent writing for this site.
Malvaney wrote on the three year anniversary of the site about how it began:
“…after a full day of painting on my house renovation project, I sat down at my computer and started a blog. I had never started a blog before. I thought it would be an interesting exercise, but I had no long-term vision for where it would go. To be honest, I’m not sure I expected to be able to keep it up for one month, much less one year or three.”
Malvaney has now kept up the site for not just one month, not just one year, not just three years, but nine years, 90% of a decade, a year longer than presidents are allowed to be president.
The internet is ephemeral. Even history and historic preservation sites seem to be as permanent as sandcastles. Preservation Online, Architecture Research Blog, Regional Modernism :: The New Orleans Archives, DOCOMOMO-Louisiana, “And speaking of which…“, Sippiana Succotash, the late Gaston Callum’s Southland Historic Preservation, The Curator of “Excrement”, and many, many other websites have come and gone (a tip of the hat to Andrew Morang at Urban Decay for eight years of great photography). Thanks to ELMalvaney, Preservation in Mississippi is not one of those sites.
Here is a thank you to Malvaney for nine years of Preservation in Mississippi and a salute to the next year on the site as we speed toward the decade mark. Mississippi is last in the nation in a few things, but thanks to you, it is first in having the best architectural history and historic preservation website of any state.
Categories: Asides, Historic Preservation, Preservation People/Events
This is an excellent blog, full of excellent posts. Even for someone who doesn’t live anywhere near Mississippi, it is an inspiration to see such dedication to historic archaeology, preservation and interpretation. A big thank you to ELMalvaney for making this site possible – and long may it continue!
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So happy to be among the first to say THANK YOU for the depth and breath of all the interesting topics, and for building this preservation-loving virtual village!
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Totally concur: a big thank you to E L Malvaney for this amazing blog. I think it says it all when one of the first sources used is the Preservation in Mississippi blog (and I have THIS from a reliable source also!).
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Thank you from Gloucester, Massachusetts! I have never been to Mississippi, but find your site works as a tutorial for nation-wide issues on preservation, Natchez and slavery. I very much appreciate your work.
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Hello Gloucester, Massachusetts! Please reach out to me (kathleen_bond@nps.gov) for future conversations on preservation, Natchez and slavery. Onward we march!
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This blog is the highlight of my day, most days, and a never-ending source of amazement and discovery. Thank you, EL, and all the other contributors who keep this jewel alive and thriving!
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W. snuck this post in under my nose, knowing that he goes to bed much later than I do, but thanks y’all, and thanks to W. White and everyone else who has contributed and continues to do so behind the scenes to keep us posting, hopefully into the third decade of the 21st century. It’s been (mostly) fun, and I’ve learned so much more and virtually “met” many more interesting people (including W. White himself, one of our earliest readers) than if I had just been dabbling in research myself over the years.
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And thank you, W, for making me smile and dutifully following the blog’s rules about cussing by changing the name of the “Curator of Excrement” site.
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Yes! This is a most interesting and informative blog. I look forward to reading the postings on such a wide variety of architectural history and historic preservation topics. Thank you so much ELMalvaney for your excellent work!
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Love this blog for so many reasons! Though I am a 8th generation Mississippian and taught Mississippi history for several years, I always learn something new from your work. A positive first for Mississippi to be proud of in this day of so many negatives in the world!
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What everyone else has said! I save this email for last because it’s like dessert after sifting through all the useless stuff that clutters my in-box. Thank you!
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Every morning in Evanston IL I look for and read your blog. It is my connection to home. Learning about my home state architecture keeps me tuning in each day. Thank you E L Malvaney.
Bob
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Thank you! love these posts.
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Yes, thank you for this excellent tribute to the man who started it all and to all who have kept it going! This blog is very well written and enjoyable to read (and reference)! Thank you so much for every post – it keeps me in touch with the state that is dear to my heart and with a subject that I just can’t get enough of – preservation!
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I cannot believe it has been nine years!
Thank you EL Malvaney! You are an inspiration! This blog is so very well done. Please don’t ever stop!
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Many thanks for information and inspiration!
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Thank you so much for all your hard work.
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i echo all the above sentiments.
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Thank you
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Thank you for the opportunity to have a platform, and for encouraging conversation about Mississippi’s 20th-century buildings. No matter how long Preservation in Mississippi is around, I felt that the site had reached a “tenured status” when I saw an entire page worth of posts listed in the Bibliography for the New Capitol’s NHL listing.
Click to access MSStateCapitol.pdf
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I admit after being included in such an illustrious document, my head got so big for days that I couldn’t get through the kitchen door.
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Tenure indeed! That is some serious power of the press. :)
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I was remiss in not saying thank you to you, W. White, for making this deserved tribute to Malvaney. I have been glad to see you back posting some, but I miss all those who were there in the beginning.
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I’ll second that.
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As I looked over some posts from 2009 and 2010, the early days, I wondered about some of the early commenters who have not said anything on the site in a while. tsj1957, doakley, Joseph A, and Theodore are some regular commenters I noticed from early posts (and Name That Place contests) that I do not believe comment very much or at all anymore. Carunzel was commenting on the site months before I was and still comments regularly; though, we do not vigorously argue with each other in the comments section like we did in the early days. Of course, the site has grown and gained many new commenters and many new readers, but it would be good to know if some of those original readers and commenters are still regular visitors to the site.
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Nine years? Hard to believe. Great job E. L. Thanks for sharing all you have learned and continue to learn with us. And thanks for being a strong advocate for preservation. Thanks to William and Thomas and all the other bloggers and commenters.
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Even though I’ve left Mississippi, I still regularly follow the blog to keep up with what’s going on in the Magnolia State.
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This is a great Blog! I originally stumbled upon it accidentally while bored at work. (I tend to have a good amount of down time in the holiday months) I began reading it from newest to oldest and now have it saved and visit regularly to read updates and new posts. I LOVE the news roundups and stories about recognizable downtown historic buildings. This site has led me to so many other sites (Urban Decay, Web Urbanist, Architect of the Capital, etc), that I can now label myself an enthusiast.
Thanks for keeping this site going for so long!
Evelyn W.
Meridian, MS
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