Letter: Preserving history

I am writing in response to Jim Wingers’ letter (“Proper homage,” The Aspen Times, Feb. 14) questioning the Aspen Historical Society’s “stewardship of treasures.” Wingers lists several properties around town that have been developed and asks how we let builders do it. To clarify, the Aspen Historical Society is the steward of the town’s treasures — we house more than 45,000 objects, photographs and written materials and operate two museums and two ghost towns — but we have no jurisdiction over historic properties in town. He may be thinking of the Historic Preservation team in the city of Aspen’s Community Development Department and the all-volunteer Historic Preservation Commission, which advises it. It’s a common mix-up. But we want the public to be assured that we are constantly preserving and protecting the stories and artifacts that make this town special. Come by and see our current exhibit, “Bests, Firsts and Worsts: Aspen in Objects,” to see for yourself!

Christine Benedetti

Director of marketing, Aspen Historical Society