Richland residents lay groundwork for reviving historical society
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A group of Richland residents have taken a first step toward ensuring that documents and artifacts chronicling the township’s history don’t get lost to time.
The nearly two dozen people who responded to a call to revive the Richland Historical Society gathered online on March 6 to begin developing a plan for what to do with the thousands of photographs, maps, books and documents that were collected over the decades.
Nearly all the documents are at the home of Barbara Bardonner, whose late husband Bill was a long-time member of the historical society.
Bardonner, who attended the kick-off meeting, said once the new members of the organization decide how they will operate, the most important mission should be finding a safe, permanent home for the historical collection.
She is hoping they will continue the effort she has begun to do that.
“I approached the (Northern Tier) library and asked if they were willing to take the items and they said yes,” Bardonner said. “I personally feel that the library is the best place to house it because it has the room and offers the opportunity for exposure (of the collection) to the public.”
Lisa Erb agreed that housing the collection at the library makes more sense than trying to obtain a dedicated site for the material.
“I like the library idea a lot because of the access for the public,” she said, adding that the library also would provide easy access to the collection for historical society members who want to work on cataloging items or conducting research.
Erb said finding another building to house the collection also could make it vulnerable to vandalism since the facility would not be used occupied most of the time.
Bardonner said the library also is a good option because the historical society does not have a source of income to cover rent, insurance and other costs associated with operating its own facility.
If the historical does get to the point where it can have a “fully functioning” facility, she said, it could borrow items from the library to put on display for the public.
Bardonner said while there have been some discussions in the past about asking the township to provide space in the municipal building for the collection, that would be a less than desirable option.
“The township building is only open five days a week during the day,” she said.
Cono Passione, who spearheaded the effort to revive the historical society after spending much of the summer clearing debris from the abandoned Baker Estate Cemetery to help preserve the site, agreed that protecting the document collection is a critical task for the group because it provides continuity as membership in the historical society changes over time.
“The idea of the library or the township (taking over the collection) is a long-term solution,” he said. “Without it, it (the historical society) will die off again.”
While Passione hopes the group will eventually be able to work on acquiring the abandoned cemetery property and restore it to its original condition, he acknowledges that there are other more pressing tasks to accomplish first.
“Right now we want to see if we can get organized, to see what our priorities are,” he said. “I got involved because I’ve always been interested in history and realized it’s right here in my backyard. So I’m willing to help if we can get this off the ground.”
Susan Bicker, who has lived in Richland for 18 years, said her interest in working with the group because it’s an opportunity to keep history alive as the generations pass.
She said she marveled at the stories told by family members while she was growing up “but now I don’t remember any of these stories.
“We’re losing these people who know all these things, so I’d love to get involved in something like this,” she said.