LeRoy Pennysaver & News

LE ROY PENNYSAVER & NEWS - JANUARY 10, 2021 by Lynne Belluscio In last Saturday’s issue of the Batavia Daily, they included some comments I had written about collecting and preserving objects that reflect the year 2020. I mentioned that this is a hot topic in the museumfield right now. Unlike historians or archivists who maintain files or write papers and books about a topic or an event, a museum curator uses objects to tell the story. The objects might eventually be included in an exhibit. And as curator of the LeRoy Historical Society, I want to make sure that the objects that are chosen to go into the collection, reflect this community’s involvement or reaction to an event. So the objects should come with “provenance” - that is the story of the object. For example, one of the objects that will come into the collection is a face mask. The story behind the mask - - After the March closedown, many people started sewing face masks. My daughter called and asked if I would drop off a pair of Jell-O boxer shorts that we have for sale in the Jell-O Gallery. “Sure,” I said. “Why do you want them?” “I’m going to make a couple of face masks.” And sure enough, she cut apart the boxer shorts, and made several face masks, that say “JELL-O Watch it wiggle. See it Jiggle.” I gave one to Sean at the Depot, and he always gets great comments from folks. I gave one to Ruth Harvie, who used to work at the Jell-O Gallery, and just turned 96 this past fall. We had folks ask if they could buy one, but we really didn’t plan to go into production. I think a few more were made for “Team Jell-O” at the High School. Another item for the box of stuff to be saved, is a roll of toilet paper. And again, there is a back story to this roll. When the panic started and you couldn’t find toilet paper anywhere, I told the folks who work at the Jell-O Gallery, that I couldn’t promise them a job for a couple of weeks, but I could provide them with a few rolls of toilet paper, because we had just received a shipment with the thought that we would be seeing several bus tours in April and May - - which of course never happened. And then there are the package of Keeney Bean seeds. As some of you might remember, when we had to cancel our spring gardening program with the first grades, we had a two- pound bag of Keeney Bean seeds that we planned to give out. And although we did send out some seeds with the education packets that we sent to school, we had a lot of seeds left over. So, we solicited donations, and donors would receive a packet of Keeney’s Yellow Pencil Pod Beans. I also thought that we should include some food “clamshells,” because, many organizations, including the Historical Society, continued to raise money by holding BBQ drive throughs. And then a lot of local restaurants, the D & R Depot, LeRoy’s No Finer Diner, Capish, the Eagle, and Pizzaland, continued to provide their menus with curbside pick up. And then there were the lawn signs – “ A LeRoy Senior Lives Here,” “Black Lives Matter,” “Trump.” The Biden sign arrived at the Historical Society with a note. “Our other one was stolen.” I’m hoping when things calm down a bit, I can get the sign at the entrance to Crockers. And Crockers also supplied us with our two hand sanitizing stations which will fit into the collection, because they fold up nicely and don’t take up a lot of room. I’ll also donate Amazon and Chewy delivery boxes for the collection. I know I have a couple of plastic Easter eggs (without the candy) – a reminder of the canceled Rotary Easter Egg Hunt. Here’s a few other things I am looking for: • Locally made face masks or face masks from local organizations. • Program and poster from “Into the Woods” – the canceled school musical • Little League shirt from this year, because they managed to have a late season. • Last menu from the L.B Grand which closed this year. We will be including in the collection the two education kits that the Historical Society put together for the fourth and first grades this past spring. Also, a bird feeder - part of the project to supply bird feeding stations to the folks at the Village Green nursing home that started when the pandemic closedown occurred. And a roll of blue tape that we used at the LeRoy House to mark off the floor for visitors to maintain social distancing. I guess we’ll have to include photographs of some of the objects, such as the “Sidewalk Books” from the Woodward Library, the “igloo” dining areas form the Creekside, the stencils of social distancing on the sidewalks, and the signs on the church pews. I also need to get a photograph of the “Heroes Work Here” from the Village Green. Like so many other communities, LeRoy has given up so much in the year 2020, but it has also gained a lot. Compassion and concern for one another, a stronger sense of community, a better understanding of its history, a pride in being from LeRoy - - I’m not sure how these intangible objects can be saved in a box. Perhaps they can only be saved in the memories and hearts of the people who lived through 2020. Signs of the Times