Janet began her involvement with Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley in 1979 as a docent at the Durant-Peterson House Museum. With bachelor's and master's degrees in history and several years of teaching history, Janet quickly became co-chair of the education committee with her sister-in-law Liz Safanda. By the end of 1979, she was elected to the Board of Preservation Partners (then known as Restorations of Kane County). Her involvement with education at the Durant-Peterson House included the publication in 1980 of "The Durant Primer," an activity book for children that sold 1,000 copies by 1984, and executing a $5,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities in 1983 for a year-long series of youth programs titled, "The 19th Century Family at Work and Play." In 1985 she resigned from the Board to become co-executive director of PPFV with Liz. The following year she was appointed to the Geneva Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) but was controversially removed in 1988 along with the rest of the commissioners for their opposition to a development at State Street and River Lane. In 1993, Janet announced her retirement from PPFV and left at the beginning of 1994 while Liz remained as sole executive director. After her death in 2012, Janet was described by the Kane County Chronicle as "a fierce defender of history [and] a powerhouse for preservation."
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PHOTO: Janet Safanda (left) sharing history with two girls at the Beith House Museum circa 1986.
SOURCES: Restoration Advocate (1979-1994), Archives of Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley, St. Charles, IL; "Out and Around," Geneva Republican, April 24, 1986, 4; Rick Nagel, "Council Fires Preservation Commission, Geneva Republican, November 24, 1988, 3-4; Brenda Schory, "Safanda was a Powerhouse for Preservation," Kane County Chronicle, August 8, 2012, https://www.shawlocal.com/2012/08/07/safanda-was-a-powerhouse-for-preservation/ajc4bxr/.