Newspapers / Bertie Ledger-Advance (Windsor, N.C.) / March 15, 2000, edition 1 / Page 19
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Wednesday, March 15, 2000 Bertie Ledger-Advance Page 19 Quick thinking preserved old records Gov. Hunt praises federal government for grants which will fund counseling WINDSOR - When quick thinking members of flooded St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church wrapped their waterlogged church records in freezer paper and put them in a home freezer, they thereby saved parish reg isters and prayer books going back to the 1840s. Elizabeth Smith, director of Preservation and Conservation Services of Joyner Library at East Carolina University, told the rescue story to a group of about 40 ECU alumni and friends at a February 29 event held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. H. Mack Bell. As soon as members and friends of St. Thomas’ could get into the parish house after Floyd’s floodwaters subsided and were able to start cleaning up, they got advice on how to save the old books. They were told to wrap them in freezer paper and put them in a home freezer. This Marty 'Tyler of Batchelor’s Bay did. A few days later, Clara and Mack Bell carried the record books and prayer books to Joyner Library. There, Ms. Smith, Linda Daniels and Gloria Bradshaw, Preservation and Conservation Services staff members, Jer emy Street and Robert Hooker, student employees, finished the job. They used Reemay paper which wicks moisture out of books. First it was put on top of books, then large, thick sheets of plastic were placed over the Reemay paper, large rubber bands were strapped on the thick plastic sheets and then the books were placed in a Joyner Library freeze dryer to begin treatment. Reemay is a paper similar to one used on tobacco beds, re placing the old cotton cloth, and in gardens. As the pages dried, Reemay paper was placed between pages. After five months Ms. Smith took out a prayer book, the first parish register, and brought them for a show and tell perfor mance at the ECU event in Windsor. These books were printed with permanent ink on rag pa per and were perfectly legible. The other church records are still in the freeze dryer. Ms. Smith gave several pieces of good advice for the group: Use good acid-free pa per, permanent ink and ob serve the “70-50 Rule.” The 70-50 Rule means keep ing the temperature at 70 de grees and humidity at 50 per cent. Checking a digital read-out she bought from Radio Shack, she said, “This room is perfect. Seventy degrees and 50 per cent humidity.” Light can be damaging, Ms. Smith advised the group. So photocopy newspaper articles on acid free paper. Damage done by roaches and mold most times cannot be undone. And Ms. Smith said they learned a valuable lesson from the St. Thomas’ books-the red ribbon marker should have been removed because the color dyed the pages where it was left inside. Recovering from Floyd? We Want To Help. We are a community bank based in eastern North Carolina since 1901. We understand the loss. We understand the damage. We understand the devastation. We understand your needs. Now it’s time to recover and rebuild. And we want to help. Call us today. Since 1901 SouthemBmk BtuLmmm LENDER RALEIGH — Gov. Jim Hunt applauded the federal government’s decision to fund a $4.9 million grant to help vic tims of Hurricane Floyd re cover from psychological dam age left by the 1999 storm. The funding will be used for counseling services for flood victims dealing with high lev els of stress as they rebuild their lives in the wake of his toric flooding from the storm. “We most often talk about damage to things like build ings, crops, and roads when we talk about disasters, but this storm weighs heavily on the minds of the people it af fected,” Hunt said, “The only thing that will ultimately re lieve the stress victims are feel ing is getting back into safe, secure and sanitary housing. In the meantime, these funds will help us support the people of Eastern North Carolina as they go through this difficult healing process.” The grant will be provided through the Federal Emer gency Management Agency. The funds are authorized as part of the major disaster dec laration made by President Clinton after Hurricane Floyd struck North Carolina last Sep tember. Counseling services will include help in alleviating stress that can lead to such things as domestic violence, substance abuse, and depres sion. “People can suffer from the psychological effects of disas ter for the rest of their lives/’ said [)r. David Bruton, secre tary of the NC Department of Health and Human Services. “This grant will help us pro vide victims with places to turn when they need help dealing' with the long-tern effects of the flooding.” Elizabeth Smith, head of the Preservation and Conservation Academic Library Services at Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, illustrates some of the methods used in restoration as she talks. Many people in the area have been helped by the services available at ECU, some of the best in the country, including St. Thomas’s Episcopal Church in Windsor, since the Flood of the Century. (Photo by Laura Harrell) Found a peanut, Found a peanut. found a peanut, just now. Just now I found a peanut - found a peanut just nozv. County for the most unique gift of peanuts Powell & Stokes, Inc. • 794-2138 HOURS: M-F, 7:30 AM to 5:00 PM and Saturday, 8:00 AM to 12:00 Noon. 217 US 13 Hwy. N., Windsor, NC 1-800-457-0005 fax: 252-794-9276 visit us at www.bertiecopeanuts.com HELPING you is what we do best Jeff Price Agency Manager LUTCF John DeMario Agent - Aulander LUTCF David Bunch Agent Brimage G. Spruill Agent Dee Pittman Agent Andy Lee Agent AUrO ■ HOME ■ UFE Bertie County: Aulander, 345-1791 & Windsor, 794-3004
Bertie Ledger-Advance (Windsor, N.C.)
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March 15, 2000, edition 1
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