|
|
 |
|
Joann Garwood King
and Janet Lipstreu
In 2003, the City of Medina undertook a survey of historic properties,
aided by a Certified Local Government grant from the Ohio Historic Preservation
Office. Local historian and author Joann King, and Janet Lipstreu, then project
coordinator for Medina's Community Design Committee, volunteered to help with
the research, and to work on a TV series that would follow the progress of the
project and teach viewers about the city's history and architecture. They volunteered
hundreds of hours to prepare the shows, writing scripts, gathering artifacts
and historic photos, taping and editing footage of the buildings, and spending
production time in the studio. A new segment of "Preserving Medina's Heritage"
aired every four months on the local government access channel, showing several
times a week. The first covered historic preservation. The second took viewers
on a walking tour of the city’s downtown historic district. Program three
examined the history and design of Medina's older houses and explained how to
research the history of your own home. The fourth show explained the Ohio Historic
Inventory forms that are used to record information about historic buildings
in Medina and statewide, then reported on what the survey of local buildings
had found. Popular with longtime residents as well as newcomers eager to learn
about their adopted hometown, the programs were an overwhelming success. Already
known for their work in local preservation efforts, King and Lipstreu became
local celebrities. More importantly, they rescued the city's grant when the
project faltered early-on, managing in addition to complete 121 new Ohio Historic
Inventory forms, revise 60 earlier ones, and complete a survey report, all work
that was beyond the scope of what they had originally agreed to do.
|
|
|
