Hall Pre and the right to be remembered

Records carry the evidence that people were here: what they made, whom they loved, the problems they tried to solve, and what they left for us to finish. When those records disappear or become impossible to find, the next generation inherits a smaller understanding of the world.

At Pre, Preserving Records Everywhere (opens in a new tab), we describe our purpose through the right to be remembered. Families and communities deserve access to their own history. Preserving that history takes sustained work: protecting the records, making them discoverable, and giving people a way to understand what they find.

Our work with partners in Burundi helped shape that conviction. Through MBUYU (opens in a new tab), we joined people already working to preserve and share their country’s records. Those relationships made the responsibility concrete. A collection needs people who care for it, knowledge of its context, and tools that keep its contents within reach.

That responsibility connects our work at Pre with the Donald A. Hall Estate Collection. We want the evidence of a life to remain available for the lives it can still influence.

The Spirit of St. Louis carries a place in public memory. The records behind it let us get closer to the human work that made the flight possible.

Donald A. Hall was the aircraft’s chief engineer and designer. His drawings, photographs, correspondence, and technical records offer ways to investigate the choices behind the airplane Charles Lindbergh flew across the Atlantic in 1927. They also help restore the engineer, his collaborators, and their working lives to a story often compressed into a single famous achievement.

The Hall family’s stewardship, Nova Hall’s research and storytelling, Dawn Nave’s archival leadership, and digitization with Bluetail.aero have carried this evidence forward. Making it useful to another generation is a responsibility we share.

For a student, an original drawing can make engineering tangible. Someone observed a problem, considered constraints, made a decision, and put it on paper. A young person can examine that work and begin asking questions of their own. That is the connection Flying Over Time is building between aviation heritage and opportunity.

In research we coauthored with James Hutson and Jean Bosco Ntungirimana (opens in a new tab), we explored how official records, personal correspondence, and family materials can be brought together to deepen our understanding of people and communities. Everyday evidence matters alongside the events that become headlines.

That principle guides how we think about access. A useful archive lets a visitor follow a name, a place, or a reference and return to the evidence behind the connection. It gives a researcher room to question an interpretation and a student somewhere to begin.

We believe technology should expand that ability. The work succeeds when more people can participate in discovery, carry knowledge forward, and use it to make something worthwhile.

With that purpose, we’re introducing the Hall Pre, Flying Over Time’s growing digital reference space for the Donald A. Hall Estate Collection, powered by Pre. Our new Premium Digital Exhibit landing page explains what you can explore and how to begin.

In the Hall Pre, visitors can search titles, files, names, and places, examine digitized records, and follow their references and connections. Researchers, educators, students, and curious supporters can bring a question and pursue it through the collection.

Early access is available through a one-time donation of $27 or more, providing one full year of private access after payment is verified. Each access link supports up to three browsers/devices. The landing page includes the details and a way to request help.

The collection will continue to develop as indexing, descriptions, and research progress. We welcome thoughtful questions and corrections. Permission to republish material is handled separately through the Collection’s rights and licensing information.

As the flight centennial approaches in May 2027, we have an opportunity to make the original evidence part of the next generation’s education. We invite you to explore the Hall Pre, follow a connection, and see where your questions lead.