From the President
By: Betty Mayian
Hello again. Now that I am an old hand at this job of being president of EHS, I am stymied at what to put into this column to make it fresh and appealing to the readers. I thought it would be best to write about how it feels to make the change from one position in this organization to this one. What is it that makes sitting and calling the meetings to order and being responsible for each motion that is carried during the meeting? I don’t know, but I care more for this group than I ever have. When we get a new board member who turns out to be such a treasure to EHS, I am thrilled. I take it personally when we get a mailing out to the post office. I love every hand-written note that comes with the membership checks. It’s even better because I am a volunteer, too.
At the last board meeting, a valued board member told us that “We’re the best bargain in Edgewater.” I know I will use that phrase again. Think about it. What does the Edgewater Historical Society do for the community? Well, we put together an award winning newsletter, the Scrapbook. This paper has current information and “scraps” from the nostalgic past of Edgewater. It tells about who collects information and items to add to our display cabinets. It tells you who is working so hard on our committees and how to get on those committees to assist us and have some fun. We have shown pictures of the gloried days of the Edgewater Beach Hotel and included precious memories of children at play and at school in the neighborhood a hundred years ago. We have even included tips we have gotten about tracing the history of our homes. And much, much more.
The next thing I think about, when I list the contributions the Society has given, is the Fall Home Tour. This event has been the longest running event in the life of the historical society. We began giving tours in 1989 and they have been growing stronger every year. Another collectible publication of EHS is the tour booklet that accompanies the September tour. Information is written about Edgewater, about the particular neighborhood where the tour occurs and about the homes and homeowners. Then there are the ads that help to sponsor our tours and much more. They are from generous businesses, politicians and neighbors.
About four years ago, a Spring Historic Tour was born. This event concentrates on the Edgewater Beach neighborhoods on the eastern side of Edgewater. It helps to define our boundaries and bring the history of this densely populated area to the less populated western parts of Edgewater. This year’s Spring Historic Tour will focus on the Edgewater Beach neighborhood and start at Epworth Methodist Church.
All of these interesting publications are available for purchase at the museum.
Another growth factor for EHS has been the walking tours during the Spring and Summer. Starting out with tours of the Lakewood/Balmoral community and the Andersonville area, the walks have grown to include the Historic District of Bryn Mawr, and our newest walk - the Granville/Sheridan tour. We have also given tours of Rosehill Cemetery, and have had fun with those, but we don’t do them on a yearly basis. Some of you might remember our bus tours of Rosehill that were part of our joining the Edgewater Chamber of Commerce’s Granville Days Festival. Another bus tour accompanied that Festival - the “Saints and Sinners” tour. We may bring that one back!
The Program committee would scold me if I didn’t mention all the fine programs and classes that have really expanded and grown in quality and quantity since we began in 1988. We have now started an outdoor party in August that is geared to the family. With games and sports and food, this is one of which we are proud and want the parents to remember and bring their children.
When school classes want to make an outing at the museum, we open it for free and even offer cookies (only one per child). In fact, cookies and/or cake and coffee or cold drinks are a part of each FREE program. We do this to make ourselves remembered by the public and to make the programs more festive. The food and drink are even appreciated by the museum volunteers. The programs are free but, as we always say, “Donations are welcome.”
I, myself, have a pet project. I have wanted to replace our museum chairs for a couple of years. I think we should have better ones and I am looking into which to buy and what is the cost. Someone had a great idea and I concur - have people buy a chair and have a name plaque with their names engraved on it. I sponsored a seat at a theater just last year and was so happy to visit my own chair when I went to the performances. I think there are a lot of people who would feel the same way. And, the costs would be much less than these theater seats. Watch for the announcement of my pet project - probably this year.
Am I proud of my time in this group? You bet. And so are the other board members. We work hard at this not-for-profit organization. Come and be a part of our volunteer staff. We welcome you.