Historical Society looks to future

The Newfield Historical Society’s office is tucked away on the second floor of the Newfield Public Library and houses community archives that help tell chapters of Newfield’s story. Local history tends to focus on a specific geographic area but also recognizes ties to larger regional, national and international narratives.

Several municipalities in Tompkins County have historical societies or clubs. These are often staffed by amateur historians and dedicated volunteers pooling their skill sets to understand aspects of an area or community’s past.

“We’re small but mighty,” said Joleen Krogman, vice-president of the Newfield Historical Society. “It’s a team effort, and we work well together.”

Alan Chaffee, lifelong Newfield resident and town historian since 1973, currently serves as the Newfield Historical Society’s president.

He shared that he and his team have worked with other local historical groups, learning best practices and establishing connections to other documents and archives.

Residents Kevin and Marian Ingerson have been volunteering with the Historical Society for the last three years organizing and cataloging the archives. They began the process with a rough sort of all the materials stored in boxes.

“That was a lot of fun,” Marian said. “We found stuff we didn’t know we had.”

For Marian, whose grandparents emigrated to the area from Finland, local history is also personal history, and she was curious to learn more about that era and the Finnish impact on the region.

The couple catalogs items using a database program called Past Perfect, making the collection searchable by subject.

“We want to make the archives more visible and accessible,” Kevin said.

While the pandemic slowed down their progress, there was a silver lining. Over the summer of 2020, the group noticed an uptick in donations like yearbooks, scrapbooks and photographs as people cleaned out their homes during the pandemic.

Their New York state charter requires a written collection policy, and the procedure for taking donations was recently updated. Often, it is at that point of accession where personal anecdotes and stories surrounding the artifacts or papers are shared.

Oral histories and personal reminiscences are important, as they help give context to the items being donated, Kevin explained.

Joleen Krogman and fellow member Jon Armstrong have worked to build a strong Facebook following for the group using some of the photographs and ephemera from the archives to get conversations started and memories shared.

“People want to hear a story, not just see some old picture,” Krogman said. “Every comment on Facebook is a piece of the puzzle.”

Planning the posts is an intentional and thoughtful process where they blend current events with things from the past. Examples of this are pictures gleaned from old newspapers featuring a snow day in 1973 for a “then and now” post or an Election Day post that revisited the 1888 presidential results from Newfield.

“We look for a mix of posts with some that are newer, like from the 1950s to now and balance it with stuff that is older,” Armstrong said. “It’s a dialogue.”

Armstrong recalled an event in 2019 at the town fire hall where the community was invited to help identify some of the people and locations in the pictures. The evening generated not just names but also memories and tales of those faces and places.

Local history has also found its way into the classroom at the Newfield Central Schools and inspired a popular class taught at the Newfield Middle School by Lori White as well as several projects by high school students. Some of their work can be seen on the group’s website and Facebook page.

While working to uncover and understand the past, the organization has an eye on the future. Some of its plans include applying for the Pomeroy Foundation grants to replace stolen historic markers — like the one featuring the famous Ervay Quadruplets born on Connecticut Hill in 1855 — and researching other historically significant places or events that may qualify for a marker.

The Newfield Historical Society has been discussing the need for a bigger space not only to house its growing collection but also to display it, holding exhibits and hosting workshops and community discussions.

Currently, the Historical Society is collaborating with the Newfield Public Library on a project that will provide the community with more programming activities and opportunities, a meeting space and better access to Newfield’s historical archives, explained Library Director Sue Chaffee.

As of the time of this publication, the details are still being finalized. The groups will share the final plan in an upcoming press release.

“History is not always something that happened 100 years ago,” Kevin said. “What happened yesterday is history.”

The group is committed to documenting the town’s recent history as well as its more distant past, including stories that are not often told or heard. Community members are encouraged to share their stories and experiences, photos and other materials that help establish the ever-expanding and changing historical record.

“We want people to feel welcome,” Marian said. “This is not a closed group. We’re open to both visitors and volunteers.”

In Brief:

At the library

The Newfield Public Library will be teaming up with the Historical Society this year to encourage Newfield residents to document their unique pandemic experiences as part of the Leaving Our Fingerprints Project: A People’s History of COVID-19.

This project was initiated by the Southern Adirondack Library System and will be shared with libraries across the state in the upcoming weeks. People will be able to participate by filling out an anonymous survey of 20 questions covering different aspects of life during, and before, the pandemic.

All the information is collected anonymously and will be organized and used to help tell the story of this unique period in history. People are encouraged to submit photos and visual art to help document this unprecedented period of our collective history and memory.