The November 3, 2016 meeting of the Honeoye Falls / Mendon Historical Society will feature Christopher Bensch, Vice President for Collections, The Strong (Museum).
In 1989, Bensch became one of the curators at The Strong with responsibility for a wide range of items — furniture and cast iron cookware, record albums and televisions, Big Mac boxes and Halloween costumes — among the 450,000 objects in the museum’s collection. Today, he serves as Vice President for Collections with oversight of the museum’s curatorial, conservation and library functions.
At The Strong, Bensch has acted as project Director for numerous exhibits, most recently the Toy Halls of Fame exhibit that opened in September, 2015. He also serves as principal spokesperson for The National Toy Hall of Fame which, every November, selects two or three classic toys deserving that special honor. Representing the Hall of Fame, he has hula hooped on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”, recounted the history of Slinky and Silly Putty on the Travel Channel and appeared on ABC’s “Good Morning America”. A short description of what his program will cover follows:
Although our Christmas traditions have an aura of permanence, many can actually be traced to the second half of the 19th century. This lecture explores the origins and changing styles of such standard holiday features as the Christmas tree, ornaments, stockings and greeting cards. Familiar holiday patterns for everything from carols to traffic jams of shoppers were established during the Victorian period.
We may also get the ‘inside scoop’ on the 2016 inductees into the Toy Hall of Fame! The meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 3, 2016 at the Mendon Community Center, 167 North Main Street, Honeoye Falls. This facility is handicapped accessible. The meeting is open to the public. For information call 624-5655.
