Nunda

Historical

Society

Upcoming Events for 2012

Wednesday, February 8th, 7 PM – Discovering the Genesee Valley through Archaeology, by John Gordinier John will share his experiences in hunting artifacts in the Nunda area, and explain what projectile points and other artifacts tell us about the native history of the Genesee and Keshequa Valleys. The audience is invited to bring local artifacts they have found!

Wednesday, March 14th, 7 PM- The Bell Memorial Library Celebrates a 100 years by George Lucas and Patricia Galbraith Bell Memorial Library celebrates its 100th anniversary in April. In preparation for the Centennial Celebration, George and Patty will discuss the history of the library, provide an overview of the many programs and services offered by today's library, and look toward the next 100 years.

Wednesday, April 11 at 7 PM - "The Birth of the Nunda Historical Society and the Next 28 Years" Join us as we remember the Society's beginning and share the memories of more than a quarter century of "preserving, presenting, and promoting" Nunda area history!

Sunday, April 15th 2:30 PM "Remembering Nunda's World- Renown Foote Company"by Chris and Bill Foote The large brick building on State Street was once the home of the famous Foote Company - the largest building of road paving machines in America. A descendant of the Foote brothers will share the story of how the Foote Brothers established the business and trace the history of the company through the 20th century. Chris and his cousin Bill are great grandchildren of Chester Foote, a co-founder of the Foote Company.

Wednesday May 9th at 7 PM – Johnny Carter, Nunda’s Horatio Alger Story & the Carter Memorial Building- Joan Schumaker. This year we are going "on the road" for our annual meeting. Join us for a tour of the Carter Memorial Building and hear the story of the renowned John Carter - Nunda's Medal of Honor winner and the succesful oil man who gave his hometown the grand GAR building on State Street.

Wednesday June 13th 6 PM- Nunda Historical Society Annual Picnic - Music by the Bushnell’s Basin Delegation, Bob & Donna Russell Great food, good company, and historical American music - what more could you want? Come join us for our Annual picnic held at the Kiwanis Pavilion. Bring a dish to pass and a table setting. After dinner enjoy the music of Bob & Donna Russell who will perform a variety of 19th century tunes. Lots of fun!

Saturday, August 11th - the annual The Nunda Homecoming (formally the Reunionist Weekend) - watch for details!

Wednesday, September 12th 7th PM- Author Michael T Keene – “Steeped in Legends and Haunted by A Cure”, the Folklore and Legends of the Rochester Area. Rochester, NY has been the cradle of the modern spiritualist and anti-Masonic movements, religious sects and communes. This unusual history has given rise to strange legends and shrouded the city and surrounding the city in mystery. was the corner of Main and Elm Streets McCurdy's Department Store cursed? Who was Captain William Morgan and why did he suddenly disappear? What stories lie behind Rochester's first murder and the execution of William Lyman's killer? What is hoodoo, and who is the Hoodoo Doctor? Native American tales, the history of the infamous Fox sisters and the secrets of the Freemasons are woven into these and other legends of Rochester. Mr. Keene will be sharing these are more tales of the Rochester area in his talk. His book will be available for purchase at the program.

Our bi-annual Nunda History Days will be held on Wednesday October 10th and Thursday October 11th. Watch for details!

Wednesday, October 10th 7PM- Ford Best - “The War of 1812 in Western NY” part of Nunda’s History Days Did you know that Nunda's first town supervisor was a casualty in the War of 1812? Join as local expert and re-enactor Ford Best tells the story of this important event. 2012 is the Bicentennial of the war that shaped the history of our area and America.

Wednesday, November 14th PM- Honoring our Veterans: The story of Honor Flights by Steve Rapp Nunda Resident Steve Rapp tells the story of the Honor Flights that take WWII veterans to see the World War Two Memorial in Washington DC. Steve, a leader of several flights, will take the audience behind the scenes of this wonderful program. All the Veterans in attendance will be be recognized.

Wednesday, December 12th 7 PM – Annual Show and Tell - Bring your favorite item and the story that goes with it to share! Or bring a mystery item for the crowd to help solve!

Latest NHS News

Press Release for August 13, 2011

Event Nunda Historical Society to Host Nunda Area Homecoming

Nunda area residents, old and new, are invited to a free afternoon at the Nunda Historical Society & Rose Shave Gallery at 24 Portage Street on Saturday, August 13th. In the past, this annual gathering was known as the Reunionists event.

Meet old friends and neighbors to enjoy special history presentations or just visit and catch up on all the “news.” Also view the new renovations to the museum and latest additions to the Collection, including two Rose Shave paintings.

The afternoon reception/open house begins at 1:00 PM with a Book Signing for Nunda, Portage, Genesee Falls, a June 2011 Arcadia Publication by Tom Cook. At 1:30 PM Caryn Adler will present "So You Want to Write the Family History".

Caryn Adler, a resident of Michigan, has been researching her family genealogy and assisting others with their research for over 30 years. To date, there are about 5,600 names in her database, with one line traced back to the year 1066. In 2009, Caryn became interested in writing stories about several of her ancestors. She also discovered that many other genealogists shared this desire, but were unsure how to proceed. In response, Caryn developed and launched three Family History and Memoir Writing Groups. Since then, the number of groups has ballooned to nine! In the past few years Caryn’s research brought her to Nunda where she joined the Historical Society. She has now generously offered to share her expertise with us.

Caryn is a popular speaker in Southwest Michigan and Donna Odom, Executive Director of the Southwest Michigan Black Heritage Society, offers the following: “Caryn Adler combines over 30 years of experience in genealogy research and a passion for helping others write their family histories. Her no-nonsense approach and attention to detail combine to create an engaging and informative presentation that will satisfy the beginning genealogist, the memoir writer, or the family historian. She does not disappoint.”

At 2:45 PM, a brief meeting will be held to plan for 2012. This will be followed at 3 PM by “We’ll Rally ‘Round the Flag” - An Introduction to Nunda and Portage in the Civil War, presented by local historian, author, and popular speaker, Tom Cook. When the Civil War began one hundred and fifty years ago, the people of Nunda and Portage “rallied ‘round the flag.” Travel back in time with Tom as he examines how the Keshequa Valley went to war and the impact the conflict had on the two towns. Interested people may also join Tom at 4:15 PM for a Civil War Tour of Oakwood Cemetery. Participants will visit the graves and hear the stories of some of the Nunda areas Civil War soldiers as well as the resting places of abolitionists, former slaves, and other important figures of the 1860s.

Please join us for this 2011 Nunda Area Homecoming. Remember that friends from both in and out of town look forward to visiting with you. We also welcome your help in planning for an expanded event for 2012.

May 2011 - The Society has begun work on the next GetSet grant (see below) and has installed carpeting in the new exhibit area. The dedication of the newly renovated areas will be held on Mary 27th. The Victorian Tea was a success raising over $400.00!

April 2011 - The Nunda Historical Society has received notice that a GetSet grant from MuseumWise has been approved. The grant will be used to bring Mr. Walter Mayer of the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society to our museum building to review our collections and help us organize our new archives room.

March 2011 - It is not too early to sign up for our special trip into history that the Nunda Historical Society has scheduled for July! See details!

February 2011 - The work on this phase of the Museum building has been completed! Watch for the upcoming issue of our newsletter for more information.

January 2011 - Work continues on the renovation project. The two new rooms will be completed by February 1st except for flooring and furnishing. See our upcoming newsletter for photographs and details. Donations are still needed to finish the project! We are also finishing our strategic planning process. Watch for the publication of the new plan on this website.

- The Oakwood Cemetery Association has announced a new website for Nunda's Oakwood Cemetery. Be sure to check it out!

September 12 2010 - Our newsletter will be on its way soon!

May 30, 2010- We have received word that we were awarded a GET SET grant which will allow us to create a strategic plan. This is very important to the Society at this time with our coming expansion of exhibits and archives space. We will be working with Sally Treanor again to develop the plan. The Board is planning to meet with her in late June. Any member who is interested in participating should contact Tom Cook.

May 2010- The replacement of the roof is underway. The Museum will be closed until further notice due to the construction!

March 2010 - The Nunda Historical Society has announced a Museum Building Fund Drive with a goal of $25,000. It was determined that the roof system of the rear portion of the building has to be replaced this spring. The monies raised will pay for this work and allow the Society to begin interior work. Here is the link to the letter we published in the local shopper.

February 2010 - The Nunda Historical Society Board met with consultant Sally Treanor in a four hour workshop funded by a Get Ready Grant from the Upstate History Alliance. Completing this step of the grant allows the Society to participate in GET SET grants, which will provide consultants to help with strategic planning, museum exhibit planning and design, collections development and more. The Society is currently completing the application for the first of what is hoped several GET SET grants.

December 2009 - Work continues on the renovation project at the Historical Society building. Large bay doors have been removed and replaced with a solid wall. The interior walls have been stripped of tin and wood, and recently the old ceiling has been removed. After some needed repairs are made to the roof area, work will begin in insulating the walls.

September 2009 - The Nunda Historical Society has announced the publication of another book in the Bicentennial Series - " The Development of the Nunda School System" by Sandra Bonadonna. The book is available at the Nunda Historical Society, the Nunda Family Pharmacy, and Bell Memorial Library.

September- The Society has just published the latest issue of our newsletter! Check it out!

April 2009 - The Nunda News is now online! Go to the reference desk for the link to the site. Also, work will begin in enclosing the wall in the rear portion of our historical building. Hark Homes will soon be removing the old bay doors, and building the new wall. Interior work will follow later this year.

February 15, 2009 - The Nunda Historical Society announced that the Nunda News will soon be online. Working with Tom Tryniski of www.fultonhistory.com, all issues of Nunda's newspaper from 1859 to 1982 will soon be online. A link will be placed on the Society's website as soon as the data becomes available!

September 4, 2008 - The Nunda Historical Society announced the publication of its first newsletter "Historical Nunda". This newsletter will be published several times a year and will replace the former annual membership letter. The 8 page newsletter includes historical photos, the latest news, a list of members, and much more! The newsletter can be viewed as a pdf file by clicking here. It is also available at the Museum, the Bell Memorial Library, and several other locations in Nunda.