This week’s Career Spotlight will focus on Linda Center and her journey with historic preservation in Nashville.
Linda began her educational journey at Central High school then went on to Middle Tennessee State University where she got her bachelor’s degree in English. Looking for a change she moved to At. Augustine Florida where she dipped her toes into the world of preservation by working in the Lightner museum. She knew that preservation and historic artifacts was where her interests lie so she went back to school for a graduate degree in historic preservation.
After graduating she applied for a job as a historic surveyor or Davidson county with the metro counsel commission in Nashville. Spoiler alert: she got the job! And after 10 years she and her team had successfully completed the surveys of all Nashville buildings that were constructed prior to the year 1945. Upon completion of her years as a historic surveyor, Linda had surveyed a grand total of 26,000 structures!
She then went on to work with the Nashville metropolitan government archives where she practiced the preservation of documents that dated all the way back to the beginning of the county (i.e. late 1700s).
While at this job she recalls how she loved indexing collections.Her favorite collection, the chancellor report records, took two or three years to complete and dated back to the 1790s. This work fascinated her because anything important during that time went before the chancellor. She loved that it was “such a glimpse into real life.” The aspect of holding real documents from a time that now only exists in writing is something that can be so special.
Linda recalls coming across a will sent home from a soldier during the Mexican American war from about the year 1840. She perfectly recites a line that stood out to her: “In the light of the fire and the smoke I am writing this to you.” She recalls how she was feeling when holding that document in his hands. How real it was that this man thought it may be the last time that he could contact home, and thanks to the preservation of Linda and the Nashville archives, his memory lives on.
Linda has always been fascinated with historic preservation, conservation, and everything in between. She has always loved handling documents, being apart of history, and traveling everywhere around the county. It is a chance for her to get a firsthand glimpse into the life of someone else so many years ago, and for this reasoning she continues to be fascinated with this subject area.
Linda says that no experience in her time in this field was wasted. It was a rich experience to meet people, see records of places she had already surveyed in her job prior, seeing families in present day then meeting their ancestors in a different fashion through documents and other artifacts. It was a way to deeply connect with her community and throughly appreciate the rich history that Nashville offers.
When asked if there was any advice that Linda would give to someone entering the career world, she advised being open to any experience, because any experience will provide invaluable skills that you can carry on with you. She cautions that it may take a while to figure out what it is that you are truly passionate about and what makes the work worth it but you will know when you do, and she can proudly say that she did just that.
I would like to take the time to thank Linda for her time and care given to her community. Nashville is very lucky to have had someone give so many years to something so important. Thanks to her efforts and the efforts of many others in Nashville, so many important moments of history have the opportunity to live on.
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See you next time!
Dear Normal
