SINCLAIRVILLE - Members of the Valley Historical Society met recently at the South Stockton Wayside Chapel for their annual Christmas dinner and meeting.
The dinner was opened with a prayer by Larry Barmore, vice president, and then a variety of food was served to those present. A special thank you was extended to Elaine Palmer-Titus and Linda Parmenter for hosting the dinner, and providing the festive table decorations.
Albert Olmstead, president, welcomed all to the meeting, leading all in the pledge of allegiance and asking for a moment of silence for a member who had donated so much to help with the historical society. John Sipos, treasurer, gave the financial report and said the museum is closed for the winter season and has been winterized. Sipos has made plans for 2013 by listing all of the meeting dates and asked for volunteers to serve refreshments at the meetings. The museum is open Sunday afternoons from May through September, and Sipos distributed a sign-up sheet for those to volunteer their time to be museum guides on the Sundays the museum is open. Sipos also said that many people have donated money to help with the operation of the museum and said thank you notes will be sent out to the donors soon.
At the meeting, elections were held, with Olmstead and Barmore re-elected to their positions. Barmore said the annual history fair is scheduled to be held Saturday, Sept. 14, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. The newly formed "outhouse" races will now become an annual event of the fair. Mary Shearman was re-elected to serve as the secretary, and curators re-elected were Audrey Prosser and Bonnie Larkin. Mrs. Larkin said that they have been doing an inventory of the museum and matching the item with its listing.
Olmstead said he would like to see a special project on the museum building of a new handicapped ramp door. All agreed. The historical society is taking a winter time break.
The next meeting will be Tuesday, April 2, when the annual maple sugar party is held. The meeting will be held in the fellowship hall of the Wayside Chapel. June Woollett made a motion to make a donation to the chapel for the use of its building, with the motion seconded by Marge McIntyre.
The Valley Historical Society had its beginning in 1977 by the late John and Ruth Smith, who saw a need to preserve the history of the Cassadaga Valley area. One year later, the museum building was purchased.
For more information on the Valley Historical Society, write to P.O. Box 1045, Sinclairville, NY 14782. New members are welcome.