BELLOWS FALLS-After using several temporary sites for its collection, the Bellows Falls Historical Society (BFHS) held a grand opening on June 14 at its new permanent location at 46 Canal St.
Founded in 1965 by Bob Ashcroft, Bob Adams, and Alice Hawkins in order to save the historic Adams Grist Mill, leaders of the BFHS say they finally have an adequate building to house and display the Society's considerable collection of documents, photos and artifacts.
The Historical Society originally used the grist mill as its headquarters. The mill is a remarkably well-preserved example of an 1800s grain mill but is far from ideal for storing or displaying much of the Society's papers, pictures, and artifacts collected over the past 60 years.
After using space at 33 Bridge St. in an old paper mill now mainly used for artist's studios and a concert space, BFHS moved to a space on Westminster Street six years ago.
Appropriately, the new BFHS building itself is part of the history of the village. Built in 1916, it has had several uses over the last century.
It was originally the C&R Battery and Tire Building. Later it was known as Porter Garage and then the Socony Gas Station. After that, it was used to store scrap metal, and was owned by the LaFoe family.
Sharon Boccelli of Westminster purchased the building in 2004, cleaned it up environmentally, and opened a restaurant and concert space there.
The restaurant closed at the end of 2009, and Boccelli, an auctioneer and appraiser, used it occasionally for her auctions.
The building was purchased from Boccelli by Jim Narkiewicz of Tilton, New Hampshire, last December. An active board member of the BFHS, he is leasing the building to the organization.
"Jim has made all of this happen," said Historical Society President Cathy Bergmann. "There is not a place in this building that he hasn't touched and made better."
The former location on Westminster Street was much smaller. The new space has a much larger main floor and also has a full finished basement. The main floor is accessible, and there is plenty of nearby parking.
With the help of volunteers from Family Movers of Vermont and students from The Compass School, the society began moving its collection in March. The Historical Society's archivist, Pat Fowler, along with librarian Karin Gravina, coordinated the move.
'Seeing what we've got'
The new building has several rooms for meetings, workshops, conferences, research, and digital presentations. It also has an entire area devoted to assessing, cataloging, and digitizing the Society's extensive collection.
"We've pulled out exhibits and archives that have been in storage for decades," Bergmann said. "Now we are able to unpack, digitize, and actually see what we've got."
Fowler said that now that the BFHS has the space, its members have been able to unpack things in the collection that they didn't even know they had.
She said that working with the Rockingham Free Public Library and state archivists, the society will eventually have its entire collection available online for researchers.
"It's partially cataloged," Fowler said. "But it still needs a lot of work to create a professional archive. We have several years' worth of work ahead."
Fowler said she had a professional career as an archivist and has been getting more education from the Vermont Historical Society and, particularly, its staff of roving archivists.
Board members of the BFHS said they have a very active retirement community and depend on a lot of volunteers. They added that "we are very welcoming to young people. They are the ones who will be able to carry things on into the future."
More volunteers are needed to help with the archiving and to serve as docents when the Historical Society and its annex at the Adams Grist Mill are open for visitors, from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturdays and by appointment.
A busy weekend
The Grand Opening coincided with the town's Alumni Weekend, which draws hundreds of visitors to the area. Bergmann said they had an excellent turnout for the event.
The building hosted a traveling presentation, "Seeds of Renewal," created by the Vermont Historical Society in partnership with Frederick M. Wiseman, an Abenaki community member and retired professor and department chair of humanities at Johnson State College. The exhibit "aims to raise awareness of Abenaki agricultural history, cuisine, and ceremony."
The BFHS also has the Gordon Crandall Native American Cultural Exhibit permanently on display. Historical Society board member Annette Spaulding had a decades-long friendship with Maurice Crandall and the Crandall family, which had collected thousands of Native American artifacts over many decades.
Rod Crandall said that the family had been looking for a place to permanently house and display the family-owned collection, and were very happy to work out an arrangement with the BFHS.
Displays include numerous artifacts from famed financier Hetty Green, who owned a home in Bellows Falls. There are also displays from local industries and the town's long railroad history, and in October, a new exhibit will recount the village's fire history.
The finished basement of the building also had a special showing of artwork by local artists Nan Durling and Virginia Clark. Narkiewicz said that this area of the building will continue to host art shows featuring local artists.
In addition, the Vermont Historical Society has seven rotating exhibits that will all eventually be shown at the Bellows Falls site.
"We're always looking for more volunteers to help," Bergmann said. "We can always use new members. We really hope this historical society is here long after we have passed away."
This News item by Robert F. Smith was written for The Commons.