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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022 Town Historian Annual ReportLansing Town Historian Annual Report 2022 Fannie M. Welch, Historian 6/22 - I stopped by to see Louise Bement who was then bedridden. I asked if she wanted me to contact the school for the $500 Haring scholarship, we award each year. Her son-in-law was there and thought it would make her feel better if she did it. That was okay with me. Later when I asked him who got the award he said, ‘it was the only person who was interested in history.’ No Name. In early July I called the Guidance Counselor and asked who the recipient was. She gave me the name of the girl….. July - After Louise passed her son-in-law Bill Martin had access to her computer. He copied her history files and gave the disc to me so I have mailing and membership lists with along with lots of other information. Because there was the Lansing Historian link to her computer there were still inquiries being made. Sometimes Bill could answer and when he did, he sent me the info he had given them. If he didn’t know then he just forwarded it on to me. 10/7/22 - Scott Brink asked for info on the Ithaca Speedway. Bill Martin was able to answer that. 12/22 - Michael McElwee asked for info on E Roof Supplier. Neither Bill nor I had ever heard of it. Bill took care of Louise with tender care. 7/25 - I researched and responded to a request from the daughter of a girl who graduated from Lansing High School in 1947. It turned out I knew the graduate, Catherine Harvey and was happy to make copies of her picture, class will and class prophecy. I mailed those along with a personal note to her daughter in Edmond, Oklahoma. 8/1 - Bob Parker called. He took pictures of Route 34B bridge construction every day. He transferred over 50 pictures to my computer. Would he do a public presentation for our Association? (Now scheduled for April) 8/9 - Had a phone call from Christine Woods-Heslin from Cicero, NY regarding Darrell and Beth Bacorn’s property. Both of the Bacorns are now in a long-term care facility and the house has been sold. Christine will be doing the clean out and is sure there will be items of historical significance…..would we like them? 8/12 - Bob Parker and brother Jim (from Texas) spent 2 ½ hours at the Archives researching WWII veterans from the Ithaca/Lansing area. 8/15 - Benjamin Lawrence just purchased a house on the Jerry Smith Road and asked when it was built - 1873. He knew about the tragedy that took place there as the Realtor had to disclose. 8/16 - Susan Bodenschatz from Racine, WI came with her husband and two daughters. She is from the Brown family and had done quite a bit of research and they had already been by the Brown cemetery which is on Cornell property on Brown Road. I spent from 9:30-noon with them. They then left to see if they could find someone who would unlock the gate so that they could go into the cemetery. (pictures of the monuments are on the internet) 9/17 - Attended open house at the Highway Barn. 9/19 - Erik Lake called and asked if we had any information on Gilead. Yes, I can meet you at the Archives in 15 minutes. I hung up the phone just as the doorbell rang. There standing on my porch were two women. I said I’ll bet you’re Jehovah’s Witnesses, they were. One gave me a card with the website address on and I gave that to Erik. We have several newspaper clippings re Gilead which is the training school for Jehovah Witnesses, and I made copies for him. He is a ‘documentary producer’. 10/17 - Met with Mike Moseley and Mark Tyrell to discuss renovations to the archive building. We also talked about the North Cabin and making Plexiglas windows so that the shutters could stay open and folks could ‘look in’ when the door was locked. We will have some more furnishings for July 4. Over the next two weeks they removed several large signs, and buckets of spackle and paint and the plywood shelving that was on the east and west sides of the main room. There were many items that had to be moved and I went everyday sorting, filing and moving boxes (some heavy). The men replaced the three tables with new ones, brought in a set of new sturdy metal shelves in the back room and replaced ten chairs with folding ones. They also removed a rusty file cabinet. In the meantime, they emptied the garbage as I sorted, etc. Over the two weeks I went four or five hours everyday. They moved five file cabinets and remodeled one of the plywood shelves to be used as work space. The crew that did the work were a great group. Mike and Mark were very patient with me. I had two three-foot square tables at my house and when I asked if they could sand and finish them, they sent a crew to pick them up. Recently, Mike told me they were looking very nice. They will be in the cabin for July 4. 10/20 - I went to Myers to meet with Joan Holden who had asked if I knew when her grandmother Harriett Howland had an ice cream parlor in South Lansing. I was able to solve that question and when I did, we discussed other things that happened in South Lansing. 10/27 - Sue Carter was researching to write a children’s book and she thought a salt mine would be a good setting. She and her husband had been to the History Center in Ithaca where Ben Sandberg had talked with them. He told them that if they came to Lansing they should ask about the water and the boat in the mine. I assured her that those were not truths. I also told her that Louise’s fourth grade had produced a book on ‘Cayuga Rock Salt’. She purchased a copy and was happy to see how salt is mined. 11/9 - Met with Kathy LaLonde. Looked at Membership and Mailing Lists…….what a mess! 11/11 - I met with Susan Pike and her family from the Cleveland, OH area. Susan was interested in the Ludlows. She had done a bit of geneology and found that her relationship was through Hannah Ludlow. She was also related to the Congers. Fortunately, they had gone to the cemetery and Ludlowville Falls on Thursday when it wasn’t raining. I met them at the Archives at 10am on Friday and did a little more research although, she had done a great deal on her own. They left around 11:30 after purchasing some maps and a book. They also left a $50 donation. Week of Nov 7-10 - I called the members of the Lansing Historical Association Board to schedule a meeting on Nov 15 to discuss whether they wanted to continue with the Association. Also, at Ed Lavigne’s request I asked some younger folks, Johanna Baker, Lauren Conlon, Kathy Moseley to join us. 11/15 - Lansing Historical Association met at 3 pm. Since Louise Bement had been the president (although rules say that isn’t legal) there was no one to be President. As Historian, I can’t be president and since the Vice President was now the treasurer, I asked John Howell if he would be the President pro-tem. John has now scheduled a meeting for Jan 10. I gave all those present at the last meeting copies of the Constitution and By Laws and asked them to look them over before the January meeting. 11/19 - Opened Archives from 10:30 to noon….Ruth Groff was only visitor. 11/26 - Opened Archives from 10:30 to noon. Ruth Groff and Eve Snyder from the History Center were the only visitors 12/8 - Carol Kammen, County Historian asked Ruth Groff and me for coffee at 10am in the Triphammer Mall. She thought she should meet me before she introduced me at the County Historian meeting on Dec. 10. 12/10 - Attended the County Historian meeting at 10am at the Public Library. There I met several of the other Town Historians. We shared our current focuses in our part of Tompkins County. Meeting adjourned at 11am.