“It’s hard to say enough about her, it’s a great loss to the community.”
Those words, spoken by Brockport Deputy Mayor Bill Andrews about Eunice Chesnut, are being echoed throughout the community by those who fondly remember the former historian at the Western Monroe Historical Society/Morgan-Manning House, who died Sunday, April 10 in New York City at the age of 90.
Eunice retired from her historian post at WMHS less than two years ago, after serving there for 37 years, and moved out of the area in 2015 to be close to her family.
Andrews, a Western Monroe Historical Society trustee and historian emeritus for Brockport, called Chesnut a, “wonderful local historian … she maintained a fabulous clipping file of Brockport area history, which I often made use of, and which was housed at the Morgan-Manning House. She was a very witty, very gracious person, hardworking and creative,” Andrews said. “She was a founder of the Fourth of July Celebration, which has been a tremendous success.”
Eunice also began the popular annual Peddler’s Market at the Morgan-Manning House. During a retirement reception in 2014, then WMHS president Alicia Fink called Eunice, “… the soul of the Western Monroe Historical Society.”
Eunice was a prolific writer about local history – with nine books to her credit. She compiled a two volume “Encyclopedia of Brockport,” which includes the stories of almost 2,000 people, back to the earliest settlers of the Brockport area.
Archie and Patty Kutz, former owners of the Lift Bridge Book Shop in Brockport, have many happy memories of Eunice. “As booksellers in Brockport, we enjoyed the many years we knew and worked with Eunice as she was publishing her books,” they said. “We had a lot of fun, from the initial joy of knowing a new title was on the way to the time her books sold out and were no longer available. We remember her well.”
In addition to the Encyclopedia of Brockport, Eunice’s other books included topics on food (Hoe Cakes to Hamburgers), incidents and entertainments in the village (That Reminds Me), and a history of Lakeside Hospital (Quality Care Close to Home).
Gary Skoog, former Western Monroe Historical Society president, knew Eunice for many years.
“She was incredibly helpful teaching me about the history of the Morgan-Manning House and the Society when I was a new Board member and then president,” Skoog remembered. “Eunice was very creative, highly intelligent, thoughtful and sensitive. She absolutely loved her job as historian, the contact with people in and around our community … (she was) filled with worthwhile ideas, she brought forward the wonderful Fourth of July Community Celebration, built the history program and house visitation of our fourth grade students, among many, many other activities and functions. She was just what the Society needed to help (it) grow and develop.”
Skoog described Eunice as the receiver of information and the historian who was a highly respected and loved gatekeeper for the Society. “I also knew her husband, John, who was my college freshman English teacher,” Skoog said. “Eunice and I had many conversations about John and my experience in his classes. I remember many of the words of wisdom from that man. I will never forget all the good things that Eunice taught me and others.”
Eunice’s son, Mark, said his parents moved to Brockport in 1950. He called his mother, “a pretty amazing woman” who earned her undergraduate and master’s degrees after being widowed and while working and raising her children. “She was also incredibly funny and had a better social life than most people half her age,” he said.
In addition to her son, Mark, Eunice is survived by her daughter, Glynn Chesnut, two sons-in-law, a grandson, Rory Smith, a granddaughter-in-law, and a sister.
A memorial gathering in Brockport is being planned for Saturday, May 7 at 2 p.m. at the Morgan-Manning House, Mark says. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Eunice’s name to the Western Monroe Historical Society or the Brockport Food Shelf.
