MEMORIAL TRIBUTES

Jeff Schwantes, who died on July 27, 2011, built the North Carolina Highway Historical Marker database and made this website a reality. That work, undertaken soon after Jeff relocated from Florida to the Tar Heel State in 2005, was the first of many in-house and online projects he created for the Department of Cultural Resources. In particular, Jeff developed skill at working with GIS data and enabling the site to operate on the state-mandated ARC/GIS platform. In time he added a Google Earth overlay to make the site more user-friendly. Personally, Jeff always had a good word, a gentle spirit, and the time and patience to guide those who were not technically inclined into the digital world.

Matt Stokes, who died on August 11, 2011, wrote 103 essays on historical topics for this website during his internship in the Research Branch of the Office of Archives and History in the summer of 2007 (for examples of his work see the essays on Jefferson Davis, and on Independence). Matt came recommended to us by his professor at UNC-Asheville, Dan Pierce. A Navy veteran, he arrived in the office with a maturity, a sly wit, and, above all, a stellar set of writing skills, a combination that made him ideal for the assignment. Matt had aspirations to develop further his writing skills.

Home