The Bemus Point Historical Society recently elected officers for 2014.

The elected officers included: Fletcher Ward, president; Ron Carson, vice president; Carol Rodgers, treasurer; and Mary Jane Stahley, secretary. Appointed officers included: Donald Traynor, publication and Web coordinator; Jackie Bloomquist, membership officer; and Robert Terreberry, program coordinator.

In other news, Ward welcomed Sherrie Clark as the town of Ellery historian. Clark’s office is located at the Ellery town offices on Sunnyside Avenue in Bemus Point. She has received substantial historical information and documentation on the town of Ellery from the family of Loraine Smith. Photograph albums, news clippings and other items relative to the town of Ellery and its residents are available for research at the town hall by appointment.

Two local Girl Scouts, Courtney Jung, daughter of Dr. Ichabod and Maria Jung, and Hope Marshall, daughter of Heidi and Lee Marshall, have been selected to work with historical society officials. The girls will inventory the museum’s collection and complete the process of accessioning new and previously undocumented gifts to the museum. Upon completing 50 hours of volunteer time, the girls will each earn a Girl Scout Silver Certificate.

Terreberry is working with the Bemus Point Elementary School principal and Katie Nelson, representing fourth-grade teachers, to complete plans for historical walking tours of Bemus Point for the school’s fourth-grade classes. The tours, to be held June 3-5, will be led by members of the historical society and will introduce students to some of the historical homes, sites and past residents in the village. This walk through the village is the third phase of three programs which have been hosted by the society. Earlier this year, Ward and Rodgers presented students with an hour-long program on the Native American history in the village of Bemus Point, during which Rodgers exhibited a collection of Native American artifacts. The spears, arrowheads, and fish weights shown to the students were gathered in and around the village by Rodgers and his grandfather, longtime village maintenance man Dewey Arnold.

As part of the effort to introduce the fourth-graders to Bemus Point history, Terreberry spoke to classes about the importance of knowing family and local history, as well as the types of artifacts that are considered historical. The society’s program will conclude with each fourth-grade student receiving a copy of “The History of Bemus Point,” written by Stahley.

The Bemus Point Historical Society is currently reviewing sites for placement of future New York State Historical Site plaques. With the assistance of the town of Ellery last year, the society dedicated its ninth marker in the town at the site of the former Whiteside’s Hotel in Maple Springs. The hotel was operated by several prominent local families, including the Bemus, Whiteside, Walker, Haskin and Kelderhouse families. Sites under consideration for future dedication include the Felton Family Farm, the first farm in Bemus Point at the location now occupied by the Bemus Point Golf Course, and the Lakeside Bible Church, the oldest church in Bemus Point.

New York’s historical sign program was started in 1926 and has placed 2,800 of the cast iron blue and gold markers across the Empire State.

You can submit nominations for other potential historical sites under the program by calling Stahley at 386-2253.

Bemus Point Historical Society 2014 calendars are also available by contacting Stahley or by visiting Skillman’s store on Main Street in Bemus Point. Each calendar month shows a full page historical photograph of a town of Ellery scene as well as two smaller photos. Historical happenings in the town are highlighted each month. The cost of the calendars has been reduced to $8 with proceeds aiding the funding of the society’s museum.

The Bemus Point Historical Society meets on the second Tuesday of each month, except July and August, in the original Bemus Point Fire Department building at 13 Alburtus St., Bemus Point, at 7 p.m.