If ever there was a list of towns whose appearance typifies the stereotype of small Southern towns, Nashville, North Carolina has to be near the top. It's the county seat of Nash County, just 45 miles east of Raleigh.

When I moved there in 1975, one of "the events" of the year was the removal of the old water tank and tower behind the courthouse. It had to go, or so the powers to be at that time said, to make way for an expanded sheriff's office and new jail. The water tank and tower in Nashville was an identical twin to the one that graces the center of the American Tobacco Historic District.

I gathered on the appointed day for that water tower's demise with hundreds of other spectators as workers with cutting torches began strategically cutting away the supports so that the tower would fall in what was then an empty parking lot. There is no question that it was a spellbinding moment as everyone held their breath waiting for just enough of one of the supports to be cut away so the tower would fall.

This towering water tank had dominated Nashville's skyline - yes, small towns of less than 4,000 residents can have a skyline - for almost a century. In a matter of a few seconds, in a crash not heard around the world, a piece of the scenic charm of an old Southern town became a heap of scrap metal.

Thankfully, not so for the water tank that towers above the American Tobacco Historic District. I first saw this water tank in 1969 when my first job out of college was teaching at Durham High School. I was struck by the Lucky Strike logo on the water tank because that had been the cigarette of choice for my late brother, Mitchell.

New construction making way for progress does not necessarily have to remove the nostalgic remnants of the past. The architects and people of vision who are creating the new campus for these sixteen acres of buildings appreciate the value of blending the past with the future. What once was the workday home for thousands of people for more than a century will remind future occupants of their past.

The new occupants of the one million square feet of offices, institutions, retail establishments, restaurants and living spaces will not need the old Lucky Strike water tower for their water needs.

Just because they will not need it as a water reservoir is no need to turn it over to cutting torches.

And so it is not going to be torn down. It's going to be restored to its old Lucky Strike days of glory and will remain as a reminder of the past for all who enjoy the future of the great work being done to save this campus.

That is good not just for Durham, but for all of North Carolina.