1972 - Barry and Nancy Poe

Barry and Nancy Poe bought the Ellen Mordecai house at 318 Boundary Street in 1972 right before the North-South freeway project was announced. With Aimes Christopher, Eric Ennis and others, they organized the first Historic Oakwood Candlelight Tour, as a way to bring people into the neighborhood to see the potential of these houses and motivate people to save the neighborhood from being demolished by the freeway. Barry wrote many letters to the two local papers at the time, the Raleigh Times and the News and Observer, championing saving the Oakwood. In 1975, Barry and Nancy did the legwork required to make the Society for the Preservation of Historic Oakwood a nonprofit and enable funds raised through the Candlelight Tour to be used to purchase and renovate additional houses at risk of demolishment due to neglect.

Sometimes we felt overwhelmed, you know? It seemed hopeless, like we had made a foolish mistake. The City would have an article in the newspaper saying that the North-South freeway was really necessary for the revitalization of Raleigh. Our spirits would go up and down. For every three articles in our favor, there were three more in favor of the highway. – Barry & Nancy Poe