After 37 years of dedicated service, Eunice Chesnut is retiring as historian for the Western Monroe Historical Society (WMHS). A reception and celebration was held for her at the Morgan-Manning House in Brockport on Sunday, September 14.
“It was the best retirement party that anybody ever had. It was perfect,” Eunice said in a recent interview. “I was quite flattered that so many people came. People were lining up to talk with me; that was really nice.”
At the event, Eunice was regaled by testimonies from present and former WMHS trustees and others: Pete Randazzo, Mary Lynne Turner, Gary Skoog, Bucky Ackles, Sue Savard, Ruth Rath, Kathy Goetz (absent, her words were read), Sandy Wright, and current WMHS president Alicia Fink.
Fink’s presentation of a plaque (see side bar) and gift to Eunice began with: “For 37 years you have been the soul of the Western Monroe Historical Society. You started as a volunteer and soon became the Historian. During this time, you have been the receiver of the stories of the House, the keeper of the documents and oral history and the person most knowledgeable about the details of the House. You have been the one constant, the one who knew the most.” Fink added, “The plaque will hang in the hallway, along with the plaque which lists the names of the persons who were instrumental in bringing the House back to life, almost fifty years ago.”
Among Eunice’s contributions cited by Fink were “two of the most important yearly events, The Old Fashioned Fourth of July and Peddlers Market. They were your creation.” She praised Eunice’s books on the history of Brockport: Two volumes of Encyclopedia of Brockport, and six others on topics such as food in area farms and restaurants, entertainment, founding leaders, and Lakeside Hospital.
Fink presented a gift from the members of the Western Monroe Historical Society, “a symbolic Key to the House.” The Key to the House was made from one of the skeleton keys that actually belong to the house. It was attached to a strand of pearls “which we hope will remind you of the many friends you have among the members of the Western Monroe Historical Society.”
Eunice reflected on 37 years. “We started really with nothing; nobody came in and out of the house.” Her files originally were “two bushel baskets (family letters from the attic) that I had to carry around with me” in the Morgan-Manning House for lack of an office. “As I gathered more historic material and interviewed more people, the board approved a file cabinet,” and soon gave her a vacated apartment on the third floor for an office. Now, there are 26 file cabinets filled by Eunice. She praised the WMHS boards that supported her over the years.
That support was there for her first book, Hoe Cakes and Hamburgers, about the food industry in the Brockport area. She was nervous about the $2,000 to print it. She was afraid to ask the board for the money, but she did, and the book sold out in a couple of months. The same fear set in when planning the first Old Fashioned Fourth of July. “Is anybody going to come,” she thought, “And will I be paying for these 100 hamburgers I purchased?” But the board had supported her plan. “People came in droves and I kept going back to buy more hamburgers at Ryan’s (Big M grocery store).”
“I am very lucky to always have the support of the board,” Eunice said. “It’s hard to have a job like this if you do not have the support, and even enthusiasm, of a lot of people. That’s what made it easy.”
“I am retiring but I will still be at Morgan-Manning House to volunteer once a week or so,” Eunice said. She said she loved the string of pearls with the Key to the House as an open welcome in retirement. “I do not want to cut my ties,” she said. “This is my second home.”
The Western Monroe Historical Society
Confers upon
Eunice Chesnut
The title of
Historian Emeritus
In honor of 37 years of
Outstanding service to the Society
Presented with loving wishes on the occasion of her retirement
September 14, 2014
Photo by Dianne Hickerson
