The Opening of the Bovina Museum Forty Years Ago

Forty years ago (July 1, 1978) the Bovina Museum was dedicated as part of the Bovina Town picnic. The late Dot Ryder took a number of pictures of that day as did I.

Dot Ryder photo

Dot Ryder photo

Barbara Hilson at the dedication. Also in the picture on the left are John Kloepfer, Fletcher Davidson, Helen Thompson, Hugh Lee, Corine Loos, Gladys Wickswat, Harold Lounsbury, Lillian Ormiston, Frank McPherson and Enid Carter. (Ray LaFever photo)

Another shot of Barbara Hilson speaking at the dedication. To the right are Charles and Leona LaFever, Celia Coulter, Que Aikens and partially hidden Dot Russell. The reporter is Tom Coddington.(Ray LaFever photo)

Fletcher Davidson speaking at the dedication just before cutting the ribbon.(Ray LaFever photo)

The crowd at the dedication. (Ray LaFever photo)

Dot Ryder photo

Dot Ryder photo

Dot Ryder photo

Here are some photos of the museum I took the day of the dedication.

Postcards and the Bovina Historical Society Calendar for 2014

I am starting work on a Bovina History calendar for 2014, proceeds to benefit the Bovina Historical Society.  If things move along ok, I hope to have the calendar ready this summer, so you'll be prepared for the new year in good time.

The theme is going to be Bovina postcards.  I have some good postcard images, but am asking for your help in finding some others.  If you have a postcard with a Bovina scene on it and you aren't sure whether or not I've seen it, assume I haven't and get in touch with me.  Sometimes, I might have the image, but your card may be in better shape.  Though I'd like to see any Bovina postcards that are out there, for the calendar, our preference is black and white images. If you don't have a scanner, don't worry, I can arrange to come and scan the card myself or make whatever other arrangements to capture the image.

And below are several images for which I have low resolution scans only.  Some of these came off the Delaware County genealogy web site and were provided by the late Alan Davidson.  They are great images, but I need a higher resolution scan (at least 300 dpi) to make them work for a printed calendar.

Does anyone recognize where this is?

This is now called Silver Lake or Cole's Lake. It's right on Route 28 as you head towards Andes.

There are some very old Bovina postcards which, unfortunately, are of such poor quality that they will not blow up to 8 1/2 by 11. I do hope, however, to include some of these in a set of four on the inside pages of the calendar.  The card below, recently shared by Dan Finn on Facebook, is a wonderful view of Bovina Center that, unfortunately, is very blurry.  He scanned it at a good resolution, so the issue here is not the scanning.  The card is black and white but has been somewhat 'colorized' - basically, leaves and grass have been colored green!  If anyone has a version of this image that is clearer I'd love to see it. 

So start digging through those boxes of treasures and let me know if you have Postcards from Bovina.

Bovina History Calendar for 2013

After an absence of several years, I'm thrilled to announce that there is a Bovina History Calendar for 2013.  The calendar is a joint project of the Bovina Historical Society and the Bovina Town Historian.  The calendar will sell for $10, proceeds to benefit the historical society.  It'll be available at Russell's Store and other venues to be announced.  If you wish to order one by mail, the postage will be $5 for up to two calendars.  You can send an e-mail to me at bovinahistorian@gmail.com, but you will need to mail a check made out to the Bovina Historical Society to Jan Bray, PO Box 42, Bovina Center, NY  13740.  The mail orders will be processed around December 14.

I put this calendar together a couple of years ago, but a number of factors prevented me from getting it ready in time for distribution. I'm grateful that the BHS was able to work out an arrangement to get it printed and sold this year.  2013's calendar is an eclectic mix of people and scenery, including a striking photo by Jane Hilson of the old Scotts bridge in the winter, the Bovina Cornet Band from the 1890s, Russell's Store in the 1970s, and the Bovina Fire Department in 1963.  One month features the Bovina Center Ladies softball team from the 1920s and the Bovina Dairymen from the 2010s.  August features Clayt Thomas pointing out flood damage in his garage from August 1953. And the month of November will feature a couple of photographs from the 1970 celebration of Bovina's Sesquicentennial.  Here's a sneak preview:

Mary Pelletier and her mother Jan in the August 1970 Bovina Sesquicentennial parade.  Photo by Charlie Winter.  Thanks to the Pelletier family for sharing this great shot.

So don't miss out on this chance to add to your Bovina History Calendar collection!

Bovina Museum Opening for 2011

The Bovina Historical Society's Museum will be open on selected Saturdays starting May 21.  I will be staffing the museum on the following dates (10 to 1 each day): May 21, June 18, July 2, August 20, September 17 and October 8.

The museum also will be open for Bovina Day on July 16.

As well as the regular exhibits, I will be creating a display on the April 29, 1945 plane crash near Bramley Mountain that took the life of a West Point cadet.  I have copies of several newspaper articles and the accident report.  Also on display will be one of the cylinders from the plane, recovered by my father when he was a teenager.

Bovina Celebrates - Celebrate Bovina

I just met this evening with Shannon Shoemaker, a Bovina Historical Society trustee. We discussed creating a DVD of images and videos showing Bovina celebrating -- town picnics, tugs of war, ball games, parades, church celebrations, rock concerts and other ways that Bovina celebrates its heritage and, well, has fun. And we hope to use local musicians to provide the musical track to go along with the images.

We have a number of images but could always use more. Images from the town picnics from the 20s, 50s and 60s are especially desired, but anything showing the different ways Bovina had fun are always welcome. I am happy to scan any non-electronic images you have and return them to you. I also can provide you with an electronic copy. We'd like to have all of our images collected and identified by April 1. Shannon is hoping to use students at SUNY Delhi to put together the DVD.

I'll keep you all posted as this develops. We're hoping to premiere it in the fall and have it available for sale, proceeds to benefit the BHS.

Status of Bovina History Calendar - Mea Culpa

Sorry to report that once again there will not be a Bovina History Calendar for the coming year. As I mentioned in a November 29, 2009 posting, much of it is done, but it needs some final design work and we need to line up printer. These final steps did not happen. This was partly due to my situation in rather suddenly retiring from my full time job and moving down to Bovina. There also were circumstances simply beyond my control. I have met with the Bovina Historical Society and we are developing a plan to ensure that in 2012, there will be a calendar. My being full time in Bovina will help considerably.

It has been some time since the last calendar and I am sorry for this. Here's hoping that there will be a 2012 Bovina History Calendar.

Help the Bovina Historical Society

A local government historian can't do it all alone. He or she has to have partners who have similar goals of preserving a community's history. In Bovina, I have the Bovina Historical Society. Founded in 1974 (I was a charter member), the society works tirelessly to save Bovina's history.

The BHS is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the Old Fire Hall, the Bovina Museum, and Russell’s Store. The society is committed to the preservation of these buildings, historical Bovina artifacts and the colorful and rich history of Bovina, NY.

With the aid of the Mark Project and the O’Connor Foundation, the society continues to restore and renovate Russell’s Store, but more needs to be done. Russell's Store is not only a historic building. Through the efforts of Bea Sohni, the proprietor, it is a viable business that is an important hub in Bovina. With winter coming, the heating bill she faces makes it extremely difficult to get by. There are a couple of ways you can help the society make Russell's Store more energy efficient.

John Finn, and his band, Esquela have offered to play a Bovina Historical Society Benefit on Saturday evening, November 27 at the Andes Hotel at 9pm. A suggested donation of $10.00 is requested at the door, but please be as generous as possible. All proceeds will go directly to the Russell’s Store Renovation project. The Bovina Historical Society is a not-for-profit 501c3 organization and all donations are tax deductible.

If you can't come to the Andes Hotel on the 27th, a donation to the BHS would be most welcome. You can send a check to Box 97, Bovina Center, NY 13740. Some of you may be receiving a mailing soon about this benefit.

And in the spring, I will be working in tandem with the BHS to collect more images of Bovina, still and moving. Stay tuned for further details. And help the society save Bovina history and the important community hub that is Russell's Store.



Cecil Russell in his store, late 60s or early 70s.

Bovina Day 2009 DVD

Back on July 19, I reported in my blog about Bovina Day 2009. Well, during my brief visit to Bovina today, I bought a DVD of Bovina Day, produced by Chris Ingvordsen and presented by the Bovina Historical Society. It opens with yours truly making some of his remarks at the town picnic. Don't worry, it gets better from there! The DVD includes excerpts of the Bovina Dairymen baseball game, the parade, the pie eating contest, and the tug of war. And I finally got to see snippets of the famed "Brushland Melodrama," presented the evening before, featuring Brent and Kent Tremble, Snidely Jeepers and a previously unknown branch of my family tree, Lily "Lips" LaFever. The DVD is available at Russell's Store for $10, proceeds to benefit the Bovina Historical Society.

Bovina Historical Society Holiday House Tour

The Bovina Historical Society presents a Holiday House Tour this Sunday, December 13 from 1-4 pm. Self guided maps are available for $5 at Jan Bray's, right next to Russell's Store. The society also will be hosting its annual soups, desserts and beverages, served at the Mountain Brook Inn Restaurant. Goodwill donation. Help the BHS match a $5K grant from the O'Connor foundation to help make Russell's Store more energy efficient.