HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016 Town Historian Annual ReportLouise Bement
2016 Town Historian’s Report
Having been appointed Lansing Town Historian in 1981, this will be the 35th report I have written to the Lansing
Town Board. As usual, it amazes me to recall all the interesting things I have done and the people I have met in the
course of a year’s time.
Because next year is the Bi-centennial Year for both the County and the Town of Lansing, I spent quite a bit of time
working on the new Town Brochure that the County Bi-Centennial committee is having done for each town this
year. Bruce Estes was our editor for the project and the brochures are something we can all be very proud of. The
last ones were done in 2007 and have become out of date in many ways, although they are still very valuable as
historical records. The Municipal Historians of Tompkins County discussed this project and many other things at our
monthly meetings chaired by Carol Kammen.
Four times a year I edit and send out the Lansing Historical Association eight page newsletter. This is mailed to over
150 members of the association and also copies are sent to our three schools, the Town of Lansing, and the
Community Library. I preside at the five Historical Association board meetings plus the Fall and Spring public
programs.
The Cargill Salt Mine made national news last February and I had an exhibit about the history of the mine on display
at The History Center in Tompkins County downtown in Ithaca. I also did a presentation about the mine at The
History Center. Somehow the historical association of McGraw got wind of this and asked me to do a presentation
for them, which I did in July.
I have enjoyed being involved with several of Matt Montague’s wonderful town musings that he writes for the
Ithaca Journal. We had an interesting time exploring the Lansingville Cemetery last January, where I introduced him
to my very old friends who were buried there in the 1850’s. ( I always feel that I have made good friends through
my early research of the town.)
Many people contact me to find out about their Lansing ancestors. Probably the most rewarding was when Julie
Newby from Utah came in July. She had been searching for Andrew Myers for years to no avail. She was thrilled
out of her mind at the large amount of information we had in our archives. After we spent several hours at the
archives I drove her around Lansing, showing her where Andrew Myer’s mills were located at and near the mouth of
Salmon Creek. Then we went to Ludlowville and viewed the falls and Minnie Myer’s house. Later she contacted me
to get permission for the Latter Day Saints to put our Myers histories on line. I had copied and mailed her these
items and the group out there found them very valuable.
In November Judy Malley came about the Metzker family. We worked together for three and a half hours. I didn’t
realize I had that much information about this family! I have since found more items which I will be copying and
mailing to her.
This summer The Friends of Salt Point erected a large kiosk at the point with information about the history of the
International Salt Company and also information about the flora and fauna there. I worked with them, supplying
pictures of the salt plant and a timeline of historical facts about the salt industry. I gave a short talk at the dedication
of the kiosk and, much to my surprise, was asked to “cut the ribbon” opening the kiosk to the public. The children of
the Fourth Grade Chorus, who sang for the program, each wanted a piece of the ribbon. That was fun.
I was present at the one-room schoolhouse for the Festival of the Arts evening in May, and also there in August to
introduce the children of the group, “Lansing Loves to Read” to the school.
I assisted the Town Clerk with the history and pictures of the Town Supervisors from 1957 to 2016. The last time
this had been brought up to date was 1956. Our archives are so helpful and valuable because of all the “stuff” people
in Lansing have kept in scrapbooks and folders and odd pieces of paper. Fannie Welch, Kathy LaLonde, and I spend
Saturday mornings sifting through this “stuff” and putting it in appropriate folders in our files.
Glynis Hart, the editor of the Lansing Ledger weekly newspaper, interviewed me for an article about the Municipal
Historians of Tompkins County. She took several pictures and surprised me by putting me on the cover of the Prime
Times newsletter. It is a nice picture as it shows me ringing the school bell at the doorway to our one-room
schoolhouse. It’s always nice to see Lansing make the news. We are proud of our community!
The Lansing Community Library is taking part in a traveling exhibit about interesting women in our communities.
Susie asked me to write about three of our interesting women. I chose Betsy Barber, Alice Bristol, and Elizabeth
Whitlock. And if you don’t know what an interesting trio this makes – just ask me!
A couple of interesting items to close this report:
1 - A young woman met with me in early November to discover facts about the history of Lansing during the times
of the Under Ground Railroad and fugitive slaves. She is planning to write an historical novel about these times. She
copied parts of Betsy Barber’s 1852 diary in which Betsy records helping a fugitive slave stay on their property on
Jerry Smith Road. She copied many other things during her hour and a half visit.
2 – Jerry Caward came to get an Outhouse book for his brother (?) who is doing a geo-tracking thing on the internet.
His brother thought hiding an outhouse book would make for very interesting and good clues, as well as being good
advertising for our town. Who knew there was geo-tracking on the internet?