Historical Society uses technology to tell Newfield’s story

The town of Newfield has had two different newspapers since the 1800s: the Newfield Tribune and the Newfield News.

Newfield Historical Society President Larry Miller said that his group is working with newspapers.com to digitize the many articles from both papers, which are housed at the Newfield History and Activity Center. Now that both papers are no longer publishing, he said the group is moving online to tell Newfield’s story.

Miller said Facebook and other social media platforms are going to be the new way to let people know what the History Center is and what it does.

“We’re trying to get the direction of the History Center more in tune with the technology of today,” he said. “It’s a really good way for people who are out of town to follow the organization. The volunteers who are there do a bang-up job of keeping the organization in the forefront of people’s minds.”

As of this writing, the Newfield Historical Society Facebook page (facebook.com/NHS14867) has 1,812 likes and 1,917 followers.

Getting the word out about the Historical Society and what it does is important for the health of the organization. Its funding comes mostly from membership dues and donations, with a small amount coming from Newfield town government.

Miller has found that social media is the most efficient way to get the word out about the organization’s mission, which could lead to more members and donations.

Miller described the organization’s mission: “We are to collect and preserve artifacts that are applicable to Newfield history and make it available to the public as much as possible.”

“Most people, I find, are interested in their past. We preserve their past,” he said. “We have responses from local people and people who have moved away.”

The Historical Society has numerous records that can be researched to tell the stories of Newfield and individual families, from cemetery and census records to old newspaper stories. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the second and fourth Saturday of each month, people can come in and do research.

“We have scrapbooks from some of the old families that are pretty informative about the time — what people did for entertainment, work and the comings and goings of the community,” Miller said.

The organization has also participated with the library to bring a Ulysses S. Grant impersonator from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to Newfield.

Miller was elected president last May, after longtime historian Alan Chaffee had held the position. Miller has been a member for nearly three years, starting as a volunteer.

In addition to using technology, Miller said the group wants to make a connection with the younger generation and show them how interesting their town’s history can be.

“What the History Center is trying to do is involve the youth more,” he said. “Most of us at the History Center are more geriatric than not, so we’re trying to get some younger blood involved.”

Part of that is being involved in the schools. At Newfield Elementary School, fourth graders learn about their town’s history.

Miller said the organization doesn’t want to change the curriculum but be a supplement that teachers can use to enhance their lessons.

“We don’t want to give the teachers another thing to do; we want to present a program that is hopefully informative,” he said. “We want to be an addition to what they’re already doing with local history.”

Miller has always been interested in Newfield’s history, even when he was working for National Cash Register on Ithaca’s South Hill. He retired from that job after 39 years in 2000. He then opened a motorcycle shop with his son in Newfield.

When his son took over the business, Miller was looking for ways to be involved in his community, and the Historical Society just made sense.

“I was looking for something to do, so I volunteered to work at the History Center,” he said. “I do a little bit of maintenance, a little of this, a little of that, and I started getting involved in projects when they moved into the new address.”

The History Center, which is where the Historical Society is located, moved from the second floor of the library to the building next to the library two years ago (tinyurl.com/2o4rn87h).

The library owns the building, so Miller said the partnership with the library continues.

“We used to be housed in the second floor of the library, which was really restrictive about having events,” he said. “The library also needed some space, so with the library about two years ago, we decided to rent the apartment next door. It gives them more space to do events and it gives us the ability to more easily greet the public.”

The new location is 192 Main St.

Every May, the Historical Society has an annual meeting during which it elects officers and reports to the community.

Miller said he doesn’t know if he’ll be elected president again, but he has enjoyed his time with the Historical Society. He has appreciated learning more about Newfield, and he believes it’s interesting to know about where he came from.

He said the organization’s goal is not to force people to appreciate Newfield’s history but to provide a place for people who want to know more about their history. He thinks the organization has done a good job of doing just that.

“Not everyone is into history like other people are, but if they desire, people have an avenue to research and look at local history,” he said. “It’s a nice resource to be able to offer that to the town. Whether or not they partake in that opportunity is up to them.”

Newfield Notes appears every Wednesday in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@VizellaMedia.com.