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The Southampton County Historical Society earlier this week picked two of the most qualified people to be honored for their work in preserving the history of Western Tidewater in its myriad forms.

First, Anne Bryant has been instrumental for the past several years in carrying on the Heritage Day and Down Home at the county’s Ag and Forestry Museum in Courtland. Those events allow visitors to see and experience life in the region long before modern conveniences were invented.

Without her dedication and that of many other volunteer residents, the site would ultimately become a place of abandoned and deteriorating buildings. Each contains a multitude of “gems,” which reflect the agricultural, business and cultural history of the county. There’s a lot of explore by digging into our past.

Second, Clyde Parker’s diligent research into people, places and events always makes for fascinating reading; we’re honored to publish some of his writings in this newspaper and magazine. Further, he’s also been at work to get the old Charles Street Gymnasium in Franklin recognized as a historic site in Virginia.

Both honorees’ work adds immensely to this region’s value, and we wish more people would come to appreciate it.

We fully agree that more younger people should be recruited to get them interested in where they live. They are, after all, a part of the story. Who wouldn’t want to know more?