Jerry Burns will

donate BRP photographs
By Scott Nicholson
nicholson@wataugademocrat.com

The Blue Ridge Parkway’s history is now a little broader thanks to the contribution of longtime Blowing Rocket newspaper editor Jerry Burns.

Jerry Burns, editor of The Blowing Rocket newspaper for 30 years, donated about 150 photographs and images from his personal archives to the parkway’s historical collection.

Some of Burns’ photographs were given to him by the late Hugh Morton, a noted photographer and parkway advocate.

The newspaper’s office has a desk for Houck Medford, director of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, and Medford learned of Burns’ collection.

“I’ve got a massive collection of photographs of Blowing Rock and the parkway, going back to when the parkway was started in 1938,” Burns said.

“Houck Medford knew we had pictures in the archives and was especially interested in old houses that were removed to make room for the parkway.”

In addition to his personal photos and those he’s taken for The Blowing Rocket, he solicits photos from the public on behalf of the Blowing Rock Historical Society and one day will turn over all his work to the society.

“All told, there’s about 25 or 30 notebooks full,” Burns said. “That goes all the way back to when the town was incorporated in 1889.”

Burns has served on the foundation’s council of advisors since its inception in 1996. “I have seen many changes to the parkway,” Burns said.

“The on-going budget crisis and encoaching development still loom as some of the parkway’s biggest challenges. I’ve always been eager to help the parkway any way I can.”

The photos will become part of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation Family Archives, which is a permanent repository and reference center for documents, specifically photographs, home video, and stories.

The archives address both the contemporary and past history of the Blue Ridge Parkway and are searchable online.

Burns’ collection is expected to be accessible on the Web site in about three months.

The foundation archives can be viewed at www.brpfoundation.org/archives/index.htm.