To the editor:

Reading through many of the East Rochester Church papers and the minutes of the early Rochester Historical Society that are housed in the Museum, it becomes clear that while memberships in both groups would ebb and flow over the years, there was always a core group that kept things going. During the 2020-21 pandemic, the current Rochester Historical Society has been reduced to that (at times very small) essential core.

Now as the world, the community, and our Society and Museum reopen, we need our members, past, present and future to join us again in keeping both active. The Museum with its new exhibit is currently open on the second and fourth Sundays of June and July, as well as by appointment. We also have some upcoming events scheduled.

The first is a yard sale on Aug. 7. Donations can be dropped off at the Museum on Fridays in July, from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Arrangements can be made for alternate drop off times by calling 508-763-4932. We accept a large number of items, but not large electronics (smaller items must work) or clothing. We will need lots of volunteers for both the day of the sale and on Aug. 4 and 5 to help with setup.

The end of September and beginning of October will bring a new exhibit, "Curator's Show Part II" along with a Cranberry Bake Sale and other activities. The date will be announced later. We will resume our evening meetings beginning Sept.15 at 7:00 p.m. The program will be a "Historic" Show 'n Tell. Attendees may bring an item or article to share or just come to see what others have brought. This will give us all a chance to reconnect and also to enjoy some tasty refreshments. Our meeting on Oct. 20 will be Parlor Games and Entertainments presented by Mack Phinney.

Hopefully, in October and November we can come up with a healthy slate of candidates for the November election at the Thankful Supper and we have hopes of a December organ concert. For information on anything Society or Museum related, you can call Sue at 508 295 8908 or Connie at 508-763-4932 or email sash48@comcast.net or eshbach2@aol.com.

Connie Eshbach

Vice President, Rochester Historical Society