Jeff Perlee — Every house has a story

Jeff Perlee hopes that everyone in Altamont and its environs will research the history of their house.“This is an activity about community,” says Perlee, a lawyer and Albany County legislator who describes himself as an amateur historian.He has joined forces with Joe Burke, director of the Altamont Free Library, and Dan Barker, curator of the Altamont Archives, to help village residents delve into learning about their homes — regardless of the building’s age.“The activity itself can help build community,” said Perlee, who worries that the decline of civic participation is bad for the state of our democracy.“The Kiwanis clubs and local garden clubs and church memberships and the things that used to kind of bind people together aren’t as prevalent,” Perlee says in this week’s Enterprise podcast. “People are much more inward.“They’re much more tied to their own social media … They’re on their phones … People go to their respective silos and Democrats only talk to Democrats and Republicans only talk to Republicans.”Perlee, a Republican, hopes the Every House project will bridge those gaps and let villagers see that they share a common history.He’ll give a presentation on May 25 at 7 p.m. at the Altamont Free Library to provide “a common toolkit” to anyone who is interested. A Facebook page will be set up so those doing research on their homes can communicate with one another.Read the full article at https://altamontenterprise.com/05222022/perlee-hopes-empower-villagers-tools-research-history-their-homes-and-so-build-community Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.