THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 17, 1996 TAG: 9605150104
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Ida Kay's Portsmouth
SOURCE: Ida Kay Jordan
LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines
Portsmouth needs to be like Janus, the Roman god of portals and patron of beginnings and ends. Janus was said to have two faces, one looking backward and one looking forward.
Unfortunately, the term ``Janus-faced'' has a negative meaning; i.e., two-faced. But that's not what I'm advocating.
Portsmouth has so much history on the looking-back side and so much potential on the looking-forward side that we must work in both directions at the same time.
Little by little, we seem to be getting our history together for visitors and newcomers. A group of people interested in history has been pushing for a Portsmouth History Commission focused on projects that could increase public awareness of the city's past.
Among other things, the commission would search out artifacts from the city's past, seeking to borrow them from private owners for museum exhibitions. That seems like an excellent idea and would offer some clues about what items may still be around Portsmouth.
Meanwhile, some things are going on.
Tuesday I received a copy of the republished John W.H. Porter book ``History of Norfolk County Virginia 1861-65.''
The book was originally published in 1892 to ``preserve the names of the Confederate soldiers and sailors'' of Norfolk County, which included both Portsmouth and Norfolk men. The book was sparked by the Stonewall Camp of the United Confederate Veterans, who wanted to create a permanent record of their fallen comrades and neighbors.
It was reprinted by the Sons of Confederate Veterans. Sons commander M.H. ``Hank'' Morris said the project not only will make the history available to the public, it will contribute all proceeds from the sale of 1,000 volumes (at $24.95 each) to restore graves and headstone of Confederate veterans in Cedar Grove and Oak Grove, the two Downtown cemeteries.
Morris, who has spearheaded the cemetery cleanup, said that gradually more and more people are coming forward with plans to take care of family burial plots that have been allowed to deteriorate.
``As the word gets around, I think we'll hear from some more of them,'' Morris said.
The two cemeteries have been vandalized and poorly maintained for years. Morris and others have been working to repair damaged stones and otherwise improve the graveyards, which are gold mines and testaments to Portsmouth's illustrious history since the 17th century.
With a contribution of labor by Ogg Stone Works, Morris has turned a piece of original granite from the oldest drydock in the nation, at the Naval Shipyard, into a monument to the CSS Virginia. Formerly the steam frigate Merrimack, the Virginia was rebuilt in Portsmouth as an ironclad - and engaged the federal Monitor in the ``first battle of ironclads'' in Hampton Roads in 1862. That encounter changed naval warfare forever by making wooden ships obsolete.
The monument at Cedar Grove will be dedicated at 1:45 p.m. on Memorial Day, May 27.
Morris and Pfeiffer's Books, corner of High and Court streets, will have a ``book debut party'' for the reprint today and Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The book will be available at Pfeiffer's, Miss Pitty Pat's and Prison Square Antiques downtown or by calling Morris at 488-1397.
Morris said he had given five copies to the city's public libraries and one to the Virginia Historical Resources office in the Pythian Castle.
``If people use the book and if the sales go well, there might be some more republications of history books in the future,'' Morris said.
The Civil War was a short period in a long history. However, it probably was one of the city's most devastating times - and one of the most historically interesting. Morris has added an index by names in the republished book, so it is much easier to use for people trying to find their own ancestors.
Morris has visions of a comfortable and spacious ``history room'' that would entice people from out of town interested in doing naval history research.
``If we did it right, I think we would attract many, many people to Portsmouth for this purpose,'' he said.
He's right to push for memorialization of the first battle of the ironclads. Since Portsmouth shipyard workers created it and residents manned it to make international history, we should be making a lot of the Virginia.
But while some concentrate on getting together the history and making it available to the public, we also must be looking ahead to the future. Right now we have a lot of citizens working on Vision 2005.
Handily, the Vision puts a lot of emphasis on history, using it and preserving it as part of the city's economic development strategy. In fact, the plan encourages us to be like Janus, looking ahead and looking back simultaneously.
It's the only way we can keep from being stuck in the present. by CNB