John Schelp is many things — an admirer and gadflyesque critic and adversary of Duke University, a prodigious contributor to the dialogue on many local electronic bulletin boards, a keeper of the flame for an historic part of Durham that has been increasingly erased by the changing nature of the city.

We value all of the roles that Schelp plays, but it is in that last one that he scores what must be his most universally admired success. One can quibble over the benefit of Duke developments, for example, or the fragility of Ninth Street’s funky business district, but the contributions of Duke’s West Durham mill culture to this city’ are hard to deny.

And if you were inclined to deny, or more likely simple ignore or forget them, Schelp will stop you in your tracks. Last Sunday, Schelp shared his encyclopedic knowledge of the area once known as “rough and ready Pin Hook” at the Durham County Public Library.

Reporting on Schelp’s library presentation, The Herald-Sun’s Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan wrote:

“Erwin Mills closed in the mid-1980s. The Old West Durham Neighborhood Association was formed in 1995 and has lobbied to preserve the history and character of the neighborhood. Its Web site, www.owdna.org, includes a wealth of information about the area.”

Schelp and the Web site are invaluable resources on Durham’s proud history.

n Speaking of Durham’s proud history, a piece of it is restored to its former but marred glory.

The Northgate Park brontosaurus, a legacy of the N. C. Museum of Life and Sciences’ dinosaur trail, is repaired.

You may recall that five months ago vandals decapitated the beloved bronto, senselessly leaving only a steel skeletal rod where its neck and head had been. The statue, more beloved than accurate, had survived a hurricane that had damaged much of the museum’s popular dinosaur trail some years ago.

The brontosaurus’s neighbors rallied, however, and raised the money for its repairs. Today, they’ll celebrate their success with a Birthday Bash from 1 to 4 p.m. in Northgate Park.

Nancy Rizzo, chairwoman of the Save the Bronto committee, captured the moment earlier this week.

“It’s really amazing the emotions that have been generated,” she told The Herald-Sun’s Monica Chen. “It’s almost like it’s got some magical ability, some magical aura about it where people feel that it has a life of its own.”

For that magical aura, for that ability to keep (or at least regain) its head while all around are losing theirs, our brontosaurus wins this week’s Durham Grit award.

n We often quote (or misquote) Andy Warhol’s famous observation:

“In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.”

If you want to savor some of Warhol’s seldom seen but enormously important work, a collection of Polaroids and other photos that helped to shape his art, you can visit Duke University’s Nasher Museum of Art.

The Nasher opened the Warhol exhibit this week.

“Big Shots: Andy Warhol Polaroids” gives viewers “a look at how his creative process, how he worked, how he thought about his subject matter,” said Emily Kass, director of the Ackland Museum of Art. The Ackland co-curated the exhibit with the Nasher and will install the exhibition next year.

You can get that glimpse through Feb. 21 at the Nasher, 2001 Anderson Drive at Campus Drive.