Thought you’d seen it all if you visited the Edmeston Museum in the last five years?
Think again. You’ll be in for a surprise or two when attending the museum’s open house, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 17, to mark the museum’s 50th anniversary at 1 North St.
It may be the same old six rooms since 1974 that have been filled with local historical memorabilia, but new Director Karen Delker, Town Historian Bill Gaston and member and volunteer Kris Convis have been busy over the last several months changing or re-organizing the contents of each room.
The museum was formally opened on July 28, 1974. The present-day leadership is hoping for the same outcome that was reported in The Daily Star of Aug. 1 as, “Town people, historians and well-wishers were on hand for the formal opening of the Edmeston Museum Sunday afternoon.
“Members of the Board of Trustees of the Edmeston Free Library were prime movers in the effort which was initiated in 1969, when Norton McKenzie and Marjorie Loomis were named ‘to start a museum to preserve the history of Edmeston’ They were joined by Ethel Edwards, Town of Edmeston historian.
“The ‘Museum,’ which first was located in rooms over the library, is now located on the second floor of the Central National Bank of Canajoharie and the rent is one dollar a year.” Town of Edmeston offices are found today on the ground floor.
The building itself has a long history, opening as a bank in 1917. New York Central Mutual Insurance moved into the building a bit later from small offices over the former opera house, where Spike’s Pizza and Grocery is today. NYCM added the second and third floors to the building before departing in 1965 to its new and larger campus on East Street.
Ethel Edwards served as the first museum director until 1977, followed by the late Robert Nonenmacher and his wife Bernice until 2008, followed by Deb McKenzie, who recently departed to become the new Otsego County Historian. Karen Delker was named director this year.
Kris Convis graduated in June from Edmeston Central School and got involved in museum activities in early 2019. Convis helped create several pop-up historical displays, including classic automobiles, maple sugaring, Civil War letters and other topics. While he’ll soon be attending SUNY Oswego to study meteorology, Convis will be minoring in history. He plans to stay active in museum activities on occasional weekends at home and during university breaks.
“Ever since COVID began, we haven’t been able to do much,” Convis said, but that will be changing in years to come. Bill Gaston said he’s hoping to soon organize a display about early electricity in Edmeston.
“We’re trying to bring people back to the museum,” Convis said following the pandemic. “It’s been tough.” In addition to the open house, the three are looking forward to the annual Christmas tree decoration display where local businesses sponsor and decorate a tree.
Visitors to the Aug. 17 open house will see a rotating video display of old Edmeston with its tree-lined streets. There will be baked goods for sale, and visitors are encouraged to bring stories to share.
One recent story Gaston was told was about baseball in the village. One resident brought in a picture of his father who played baseball in an era when the region’s factories had teams and traveled.
“A team from Chadwicks came to Edmeston and played a game under the lights,” he said. “I’d like to know how that happened,” as there was no field here with lights at the time. “These are the kind of stories we get,” and want to preserve. Gaston said some stories cannot be repeated, but for the most part they all are of great value.
“It will be more than just celebrating 50 years as a museum,” Convis said, “but how we’re still preserving the history of our town.”
The trio will be available to answer questions, give tours and listen to stories about the town.