Perry Sprawls Historical and Heritage Preservation Project Mission and Methods |
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Rural South Carolina | ||
Perry Sprawls was
born and grew up on the Sprawls Heritage Farm in Barnwell County, South Carolina.
The farm has been in the Sprawls Family since 1812 and the house
where he was born escaped burning during the Civil War because there was
someone ill in the house. Yankee soldiers have been quoted as saying,
"we don't burn houses with sick people in them." They just burned
the farm buildings and stole Grandfather's pony. These stories,
family photos and artifacts passed down through generations stimulated
an interest and a desire to preserve the history and heritage of
families and society as it was many years ago and that is being achieved
through a variety of initiatives. Newspaper and Journal Publications: Through a continuing series of historical articles published both in the Barnwell County newspaper and the journal of the Aiken Barnwell County Genealogical his effort is to enhance the interest and appreciation for local history, especially among the younger residents and students.
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Clemson University | ||
Clemson is very significant in Perry's life having graduated with three
degrees, B.S.,M.S., Ph.D., and received the 2017 Distinguished Service
Award, it is his Class of 1956 that is special. This was at the time of
the transition of Clemson College from a military school to a
co-educational institution soon to become Clemson University. Student
life in the military cadet corps provided a special opportunity for
young men to develop close relations and lifelong friendships. Living
together in the military units, especially the Company, was in many ways
like a family. The Class of 1956 was to become one of the last to have
these special relationships that would last for lifetimes. To
preserve this special heritage Perry provides the class website:
http://www.sprawls.org/Clemson1956/
. This included biographies of deceased classmates. |
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Emory University | ||
Perry
was on the faculty for 45 years and is now Distinguished Emeritus
Professor in the Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences.
This includes the continuing service as Department Historian. The
combination of his memories and collection of documents, photographs,
and other artifacts over the years contribute to the Radiology
Department History website he created:
https://med.emory.edu/departments/radiology/about-us/our-history/index.html
. In addition to early history of the Department a special effort
is the development and publication of biographies for all Emeritus
Faculty. |
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Radiology Science and Technology | ||
As a physicist specializing in the science and technology of radiology and medical imaging for over a half century Perry experienced and was often involved in many of the innovations and developments that are now history...specifically including mammography, computed tomography (CT), and earlier methods of x-ray imaging or radiography. This provided the background and knowledge to author these historical articles that are published in an internal journal and are available online.
THE SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN MAMMOGRAPHY: A
CONTINUING QUEST FOR VISIBILITY
A
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Cemeteries and Columbariums | ||
In years past, and especially in rural communities, families often had cemeteries on the family farms or other available places. Over time many of these smaller cemeteries have become neglected and lost, overgrown with vegetation, and are becoming destroyed. Recognizing that these often are vital links to the past that need to be preserved led to two specific activities. The first, with the help of some local residents, was to search for and attempt to locate every old cemetery in Barnwell County, SC. Using modern satellite technology their GPS locations were measured and posted on the Barnwell County Virtual Museum website. It is now possible for interested persons to use that to obtain aerial photos and maps showing the location of the old, and maybe lost, cemeteries. A continuing activity is to encourage and assist families and communities to use the Find A Grave program to create websites for cemeteries and columbariums that will provide permanent and accessible information on internments along with the possibility of adding many family details. An example used here is the old Sprawls Family Cemetery that is physically located in a wooded and difficult to reach place on the old plantation. However, with the website (https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2386326/sprawls-cemetery) it can now be “visited” by family members from anywhere in the world.
A special project is locating, photographing,
and providing permanent online memorials for abandoned and neglected
African-American Cemeteries that were relocated from the Savannah River
Site including these two
At the Black Mountain Presbyterian Church he
works with the families of deceased members interred in the Columbarium
to provide permanent online memorials:
https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2585495/black-mountain-presbyterian-columbarium
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Individuals and Families | ||
An ongoing major effort is to encourage individuals and families to take
actions now, before items and memories are lost, to find, organize,
preserve, and share the representations of their family history and
heritage. This is best achieved with the different generations working
together. Specific details
on how this can be achieved are provided in some in-class
presentations, newspaper articles, with a complete summary on the
website:
www.sprawls.org/heritage
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Charlotte Sprawls is a major collaborator in this effort and provides
this example for her maternal family:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/136116408/edith-williams
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