Photographs and memories: Visitors asked to share the past

Apr 10, 2022

Photos tell the story of a town’s history. That is one reason that, as Connie Esbach of the Rochester Historical Society reports, the society museum will host an event for the public to share photos, scrapbooks and memories. 

The goal of the Rochester Historical Society is to preserve as much of the town's history as possible and to share it with the community. 

At the museum we have historical items, many, many documents and pictures. I often think that it is the pictures that do the best job of taking us back to the past and of depicting the changes that have occurred over the centuries. 

The two pictures shown here are a case in point. One shows us the Hartley Sawmill in its heyday when it was the town's biggest employer. The second picture shows the mill office, which is all that is left today. No big trucks, loads of logs, or busy workers can be seen anymore.

The museum, located at 355 County Road, is planning an evening of pictures and scrapbooks at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 20. 

We hope to see pictures of babies, ancestors, and places that have changed or disappeared over the years. Once we have put out the pictures, we will try to match them with the people who brought them. 

The evening will prove that a picture is really worth a thousand words. For more information about the program, contact eshbach2@aol.com.