Liz Safanda, former Executive Director of Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley leads a group of students on a tour of the 1850 William Beith House, 2010.
Preserving local history probably sounds like a difficult, almost impossible task. How does one person preserve all the significant stories of the past? Well, for one thing, it takes a lot more than one person. In fact, it takes all of us! Everyone and every place has a story, and everyone can share the stories of the people and places they discover. Local history is your history and is all around you. Read on for seven surprisingly simple steps you can take today that help preserve local history.
1. Tell a story.
Nearly every conversation stems from a story about the past. Think about the last thing you told somebody about yourself. Likely, you told that person about something that happened IN THE PAST. Sure, it may have been something that happened yesterday or last week, and it may have been something mundane like what you had for lunch or profound like seeing your daughter take her first steps, but it happened in the past—it was history. Every story you share is preserved because another person knows it and can pass that story on. Nothing is simpler for preserving history than that!
2. Take a walk.
There are many things we see but do not notice, especially in the places we frequently go. Take a walk in your neighborhood or in another area you frequent and look for details you have not noticed before. Most of us act with intention and the flowers we plant, the efforts we make to maintain our property, and the design of our buildings (architecture) all tell a story about who we are. Appreciating the details of the buildings around youcan make you more excited about preserving those you connect with. Preserving history is about preserving the best or most significant things that tell us about ourselves. Discovering what those are for you can motivate you to want to preserve them.
3. Shop or dine in a historic commercial district or building.
Historic preservation of buildings is crucial to telling the story of the people who used them in the past. However, buildings, no matter their historic significance, must continue to be used so the incentive remains to maintain the building. Therefore, every time you shop or dine in a historic commercial district or building, you are providing that incentive!
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Geneva History Museum (current temporary exhibit is The Curious World of Colonel Fabayan)
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Batavia Depot Museum (current temporary exhibit is Markets and Meals: How Batavia Got its Food)
4. Visit a museum or historic site.
Learning the stories of the past often inspires us to want to preserve them. The most common comment we receive at our museums is “WOW! I never knew this was here.” Usually, this means visitors were not aware of these places or the stories we tell at our museums—and after learning those stories, they find them interesting and important. As wildlife photographer and founder of the Photo Ark, Joel Sartore has explained, “You can’t save what you don’t love.” This is true of animals as well as buildings and the stories they tell.
Beyond learning about and enjoying the stories of the past, visiting a museum or historic site helps keep the museum running. Entrance fees, donations, and numbers of visitors which are used as metrics for receiving grants all contribute to the funding necessary for a museum to do all the work it does. Which local museums have you not visited in a while… or ever?!
5. Volunteer.
Historic sites and museums need volunteers to operate. Whether you have time every week or only every once in a while, providing your time is a critical resource that makes it possible for local history to be preserved.
6. Follow and share on social media.
Preserving local history requires broad support from the community. Follow your favorite local history organizations (such as Preservation Partners @preservationpartners on Facebook and Instagram!) and share their posts that interest you to your friends and followers. This helps spread the word about what is happening in the community and helps organizations that are preserving local history gain more support.
7. Join Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley.
Giving a little bit of money or your time supports the preservation of local history. Membership fees help cover the expenses of running our museums and expand your voice on preserving local history. We relentlessly follow local developments and attend many local government meetings. When a preservation issue comes up, we alert our members with our “FOX FLASH” email so they are informed, and we speak on their behalf at public meetings.
Membership to become a Preservation Partner starts at only $50. Our best valued membership is $150 which includes a FREE Frank Lloyd Wright Trust reciprocal membership with discounts at other Frank Lloyd Wright museums. Or, if you agree to volunteer at least 15 hours in a year, we will give you our $150 membership for FREE!!!
Visit www.ppfv.org/membership for more information and to become a Preservation Partner!
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