HomeMy WebLinkAboutF - 10 Report Historian 01/2023`
February 1, 2023
Dear Supervisor Williams and Town Board:
January was an exciting and busy month for the Office of the Historian.I began
the year with a fresh and exciting perspective on what it means to be the Town
Historian.
On Thursday,January 19,2023 I took a trip to the Cortland County Historical
Society.I met with Tabitha Scoville (Director),Sophie Clough (Collections and
Research Assistant),and Ben Wells (Board Member).During this visit we talked
about the history of the area,ways to not only improve as individual Historians
but also as a collective in the County,and what resources we had to offer each
other.I was able to flip through some of the photos that they have in their archives
for the Town as well!I am already looking forward to my next visit.While I was
there Sophie asked me,‘What is the unifying force for the Town of
Cortlandville?’This is something I do not yet have a clear answer to,but is my
driving focus as I work through the records and talk with Town residents
throughout the coming year.
This month I reached out to the SUNY Cortland History Department to see if they
had any students in need of an internship.Within a matter of minutes I had one
lined up.Luke Kilner started his internship this month and will be with us until
the beginning of May.He completed his first full day on January 31,2023 and
was very interested and excited about the work.
Looking ahead,I hope to have at least two boxes of Historian records fully
organized,scanned,and verified in Laserfiche by the end of February.I will also
be taking another trip to the Cortland County Historical Society in search of
photos that we might add to our collection.
Respectfully,
Nick Alteri
Town Historian
Town of Cortlandville
townhistorian@cortlandville.org