According to the Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, an archive is "a collection of historical documents or records of a government, a family, a place or an organization; the place where these records are stored."

Although The Center doesn't use the term "archive" in our title, it is an archive.  We collect, preserve (sometimes repair) ephemera, another mysterious word.  Ephemera means items that were not meant to last when created. This can encompass paper/parchment and photos. Paper covers letters, records, maps, books, periodicals, broadsides, the list is endless.  The Heritage Center has all of these and more.  Our motto is, "A place that loses its history loses its soul."  Our goal has always been to preserve the grassroots items that tell the story of our community.  Some people visit us to do genealogy,  historical research or are just plain curious about a particular subject, person, or family.

Each year The Center takes in 40 to 60 collections.  A collection may be only one or two items or boxes and sometimes, suitcases of material.  Each item is carefully examined and sorted into a logical order and cataloged.  Some collections are strictly genealogy, others cover a range of topics - personal collections of local publications, greeting cards, musical scores, studies of local industries, histories of organizations (churches, schools, clubs), and many more.

Some photos are 150 years old, dating to the Civil War.  Many individuals are not identified.  The Center has over 1200 unidentified photos.  Occasionally a volunteer makes a discovery, puts two and two together as was the case of Lucy Deane.  Lucy was a household servant who did laundry, among other things, for her employer.  A volunteer reading a diary written by the employer's daughter found a description of Lucy Deane and remembered a photo of a woman hanging laundry.  A puzzle solved.

Lucy Deane

Come visit The Center during National Archives Month or any other time to see if you can solve any mysteries.