Column March 8, 2021
As we finish up the southeast classroom at our Richland facility which will now serve as both a period school room and alumni research room, we are examining our collections that will move into this new space. Half-Shire Historical Society’s boundaries encompass fifteen towns in three counties which are served by six school districts: APW, Camden, Mexico, Pulaski, Sandy Creek and a portion of Lowville central schools (Montague).
We have good collections of information on APW, Sandy Creek, Pulaski and Mexico including many yearbooks. We are seeking to build a collection of yearbooks for Camden and even Lowville Central. Anyone that would be willing to donate yearbooks from the past please contact us at Half-Shire. We are also looking to borrow and scan old photos from area one room schools or simply older school photos Not only class photos, but athletic photos and other clubs, bands, and events from each of our covered districts.
Since last week we have seen slow but steady progress on our new room as well as our back stage wall. We also are continuing to go through the boxes displaced during construction and better organize and sort things out. This past week was newsletter week, where we published Pulaski’s monthly newsletter on February 27th, The Rural and Migrant Ministry on March 2nd and our own newsletter on March 5th. This is a busy time when we print and assemble these missives for mailing. The Tug Hill Literary Review is next on the agenda, and will be completed and mailed out by the end of March. COVID has made these projects more difficult, but not impossible to complete. Normally we gather a group together to complete a folding session. Under current conditions we farm material out to various locations while a small group works here. Special thanks to Terry and Irma Bush in Richland who take in a great deal of our mailing work and process it from their kitchen table,
Our Librarian Sharon Turo has been particularly busy this winter. Sharon manages the resources in the Pomeroy genealogical Library and had been leading up a complete inventory and binder replacement effort. Venita Ackely and Betty Warren have assisted Sharon in this task, and as we write the shelves are done up to the letter “R”. A new inventory will appear on our website in the next couple months when this is complete.
Vice President Greg Monette maintains the inventories of the Southwell local history room, as well as the upstairs collections. Greg is beginning the process of moving school and alumni records from each location to the new SE classroom shelves. Greg was onsite last week assessing the challenge this will be.
Volunteer Cheryl Potts of Orwell has been updating our membership records lately. Stephanie Pierce is here most days doing a variety of work including assisting in compilation of obituaries for Fay Colvin to review and file, and also work on the newsletters.
Our Trustee at Large Julie Litts Robst is planning to offer a new publication of vital records found in the Mexico Independent Newspaper beginning in the mid-1800s. Julie continues to gather records for her next books on Primitive cemetery there, as well as a planned book on Sandy Creek’s Woodlawn Cemetery. We are pleased with the reception of Julie’s Orwell Book, which despite its $90 cost has sold very well. The 512-page book is packed with over 200 years of information and has been well received.
We are planning to have our first meeting of the year on Saturday March 27th at our Richland facility. More information as that date comes closer.
Half Shire can be reached at PO 73 Richland, NY 13144. halfshire@hotmail.com or on our website www.halfshire.org. our dues are just $15 a year and entitle members to quarterly twelve-page newsletters and quarterly issues of the sixteen-page Tug Hill literary Review.
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