City honors 2 for Historic Preservation

Lunsford was honored for his book Images of America: Anacortes, which was released last year. Wilson was honored for her "Back in the Day" column, which appears in the American.

Historic Preservation Board President Susan Rooks told the City Council, "Bret and Elaine have shown vision and leadership in making the story of Anacortes –including its history, culture and buildings – accessible to so many through their writing.  It is our hope that others will learn from—and be inspired by—their contributions."

Bret Lunsford receives a Project Excellence Award for his book, Images of America: Anacortes.  Published in 2009 as part of a series of local histories of communities throughout the United States, Bret’s book tells the story of Anacortes from the 1890s through the 1950s with 200 photographs and extensive captions.  Bret’s enthusiasm for studying and sharing local history, combined with his sense of the importance of community, makes him a great asset for Anacortes and the historic preservation effort.

Elaine Walker also receives a Project Excellence Award for her weekly column, “Back in the Day,” which is published in the Anacortes American.  Elaine‘s popular column features items and photos drawn from 100 years of the newspaper’s archives and describes what was happening in Anacortes over previous decades during a particular week.  Her writing provides a glimpse of the past, helping to explain how Anacortes has evolved to become the City we live in today and reminding us that when aspects of our past are lost they are irretrievable.