Preserving America's Past

Across the land, fragments of the past come to life. When seen by air, apprentice shipwrights in Maine shape the subtle curves of wooden workboats by eye and hand, with the tools of a century ago. Amid the teaming granary of Iowa, focus of a hungry world, a farmstead recaptures the mid-19th century days when settlers raised log houses and hired roving sodbusters with giant plows to turn the stubborn turf. Historic cities, vintage cars, tall sailing ships, prehistoric crafts, high-wheeler bicycles, war aces and their flying machines ... Why do we bother? Says one preservationist, "The values and skills of the past are our legacy. They belong to the future as well ... I'm doing this for the generations to come. and they will gain respect and understanding for all our ancestors."