Saturday Well Spent

I celebrated my birthday on Friday with my son Andrew, his wife Renee, and my two granddaughters Celine and Moriah. They lived in Amarillo, Texas, having them close, and spending an entire day with them was a true blessing.

Saturday I drove to the Chestnut Ridge Historical Society in Stahlstown, Pennsylvania. Earlier in the week, I promised to share some of my postcards in a display. Members try to create new ideas for a showcase where contents change frequently to draw the public. It displays photographs and items from local towns and villages. They were trying to decide which town to present next. They’d nearly exhausted fresh displays for the area.

When I made the suggestion of sharing my postcards for the display, they asked to see them. When I got home, I sorted through my large collection of cards that were passed down from my in-laws and my parents. I selected cards from World War II, Easter, Christmas, New Year’s, greeting cards, and of course, cards with the older local pictures of buildings, bridges, and images from the early 1900’s to cards that were more recent. I even took a few letters dated from 1885.

On Saturday, I joined an older volunteer at the building and we spent the afternoon with no interruptions. Her O.C.D. kicked in as she viewed the cards, sorting them into more precise piles. With that task finished, she went to work filing documents and my imagination began to wander. A large desk and all of the displays are in a single room. Limited space causes some exhibits to suffer. One side and corner of the room is filled with a library of family information in black or multicolored binders. The distracting rainbow detracts the eye. I thought the library should be in a less obtrusive place. Making room for more display cases and historic articles swept over me.

I began to consolidate things. I emptied battered and torn cardboard boxes, placing their contents in reinforced boxes with lids and easier to store. I stacked chairs and moved some non-essential items. The volunteer listened as I shared my vision to put the library out of sight behind the display cases. The binders could still be accessed. Moving them would give room for more display cases.

I may be in deep trouble and possibly lined up for a musket firing squad when the leaders of the group return and begin to search for a specific box only to find it has a new home. It was a bold step for me as a new member, but I listened as they shared they needed more space for their artifacts, books, and old letters and ledgers. I just carried out their wishes, even though some members are resistant to change.

So, pray for me my dear friends. I plan to go back Wednesday to face the music. The building is open for visitors Wednesdays from 11 to 3 pm and Saturdays 10 to 2 pm. Please come to visit, you may just prevent them from scalping me.