These folks check out the HF-M Historical Society’s museum during its grand re-opening on November 2. Photo provided by Drew Saur
BY DEB AND TIM SMITH
The Honeoye Falls-Mendon Historical Society celebrated the grand reopening of its museum in Harry Allen Park on Sunday with an opening address by President Drew Saur and a robust crowd taking in the fruits of 21 months of labor. Everyone in attendance was duly impressed with the results. We had received a “sneak preview” back in the spring when we met with Vice President Charles Woolever at the museum to receive his assistance for a local article on which we were working.
At that point, we were able to get a sense of the direction in which the remodel was progressing, but the finished project far exceeded our greatest expectations! Last week’s Sentinel detailed many of the conceptual nuances which have been incorporated into the museum, so we’ll not repeat those here, but rather focus on this past Sunday while excerpting the key points of President Drew Saur’s opening address.
He began by saying, “There are two types of history. One is the type that other people tell you is important. The other is the type that you seek because it’s relevant to you.” In late 2023 the Board reviewed their various policies, and decided that it was time to do a top-to-bottom inventory of their collections, which hadn’t been done in many years. This was a daunting challenge because, and this number may surprise you, the HFMHS has about 15,000 items in its collection.
“Our volunteers started on what they thought would be a small project in our entry room to reflect our new focus in our public displays,” said Saur. “But we all loved what we saw so much, it was a little like cleaning your garage. Once you start, it’s hard to stop. Twenty-one months later, what you are seeing today is a completely new museum – one that we think serves this community particularly well.”
“Now, a common misconception about historical societies and museums is that we’re focused on the past. But nothing could be further from the truth. We serve the present and preserve for the future.” Saur then went on to alphabetically acknowledge the core of volunteers who contributed to the success of this project, and we will share those acknowledgements here.
Gary Albright, Trustee and Conservator.
Denise Dickinson, Trustee and passionate volunteer with great community knowledge.
Kathy Eastman, longtime volunteer dedicated to organizing and inventorying.
Bill Lane, past president and current curator.
Jane McGory, long-time volunteer and deeply connected resident.
Sue Ellen Roach, Trustee and volunteer who came from the outside with driven support for our new focus.
Penny Schraeder, our newest volunteer.
Larry Titus, Trustee, Treasurer and Handyman, who did the difficult physical work inside this building that included everything from shaving tree trunks to splitting cases into pieces.
Charles Woolever, our vice president and task master.
Also deserving recognition are Dr. Bill Brorein and Carolyn Oatman who have served alongside the volunteers to keep the Society humming.
We found ourselves so engaged in the wonderful displays and artifacts along with the very enthusiastic crowd that attended. In closing, we would like to encourage everyone in the community to come, enjoy, and explore this local treasure that has been created by the Honeoye Falls-Mendon Historical Society. Museum hours are Sunday from 2:00-4:00.
