CityView Magazine

28 June 2023 projects with Daws as past president of both the Downtown Alliance and the Lafayette Society. Daws worked with business owners and homeowners to upgrade their buildings while adhering to historic integrity." "He was the first line of information for people that were looking to work on a historic building downtown. Bruce was the perfect conduit for that," says Jeff Adolphsen, senior restoration specialist with the N.C. Historic Preservation Office. "He had a big interest in the city and how it's developed and all. "I think that just translated perfectly into what he did professionally with the Historic Resources Commission and working with applicants who are making changes to their exterior building and all. Bruce is a technician, a technical person. He's always trying to put historic property back to the way it was." And he was courteous, thoughtful and helpful while dealing with the public. "He's the first line of defense," Adolphsen says. "I mean, the guy is out there on the street and looking at the buildings as they're getting fixed and all, and people are asking questions and he's accessible and all to all the people." Refurbishing buildings at accessibility likely aided Daws and members of the Downtown Alliance when they were dealing with people who were buying and renovating property downtown. "One of the big accomplishments that again was a joint effort was based on the fact that Fayetteville was boarded up downtown and the buildings were in a bad state," Daws says. "We looked at Raleigh's model ordinance for demolition by neglect, which kind of puts the burden on property owners to fix up their buildings based on the fact that neglect is causing the building to go into a state of demolition. "So we identified many buildings that had boarded-up windows, the roofs were sagging in, the doors were boarded up. We sent out a notice to the property owners that they had so much time to remove the boards, to fix the roofs, or otherwise there would be a financial penalty. Once that was done, we kind of sat back and held our breath to see what would happen, if there was going to be a lot of litigation." For the most part, that did not happen. In 1996, Daws went from protecting the people of Fayetteville to protecting its buildings and history when he was named historic properties manager. His duties included preserving the historic value and integrity of downtown buildings and helping build and maintain the fledging Fayetteville History Museum. and succeeded him as director. "Everybody knows that Bruce Daws knows the history of Fayetteville. ere's no doubt about that. "I think a part of my preparation was watching and learning from him a level of dedication and loyalty to preserving and telling accurately the history of this city. We will tell it all; we will tell it right." Teamwork was important to Daws, Bleazey says. "What people may not know about working with him is that he was thankful and generous — thankful for what we do, generous with his time and his willingness to steer and involve some of the staff with learning and sharing history knowledge," she says. "He was so dynamic, so productive and so energized every day. "He wants us to continue to grow in our knowledge together as a team. He had a small staff, but he always said, and it was true, we could do anything. We could do anything together." Daws had great autonomy on the job. "Although in the chain of command, Bruce reported to me, he operated very independently," says James McMillan, assistant director of recreation for Fayetteville-Cumberland County Parks & Recreation for the past 17 years and Daws' immediate supervisor. "Bruce took very seriously the task of preserving the history of the city accurately and skillfully. "His role with FCPR was not just a job to him, but something he sincerely cared about and truly enjoyed doing." Daws also worked well with others, whether they were in Fayetteville or came from other parts of the state. "He has so much knowledge of local history, and he has a true passion for it. And I share that," says Hank Parfitt, a urologist who retired in 2015 and has co-owned City Center Gallery and Books downtown with his wife, Diane Parfitt, since 1999. "e thing that I admire the most is, No. 1, his vast knowledge of history and, No. 2, he is a real stickler for the facts. He has an uncompromising position on sticking to historical facts. "Especially in this day and age, I know that we tend to think of facts being really flexible things. But not for Bruce. Facts are what they are. To find out history, you don't just go by what you see on Facebook or the news." Parfitt says he has worked on several

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