The Clarendon Historical Society was recently notified by GO ART that a grant request had been approved for the year 2001 to fund two separate projects. In the past the Society has received grant awards that have funded five other projects that were completed and benefited the CHS museum and community.

One year ago, upon a suggestion by member Jim Hecky, the CHS undertook a project to photograph all the pre World War II barns in Clarendon. Several winters of heavy snows and the infamous Labor Day storm of 1998 had taken a toll on these structures, and many were quickly disappearing. Two Clarendon photographers, Ginny Flynn and Jim Patt, volunteered to lend their expertise. A separate committee undertook listing the barns, road by road, and securing owners' permission for the photography. At the time, the goal was to archive all the photos for future reference. In January 2001, Andy Rock, also of Clarendon, joined the photographers to provide additional help on the growing project. The work produced has far exceeded the original expectations in both quality and subject matter. A public formal exhibit of this work seemed the next logical step. GO ART has funded the CHS with $875 to set up the Clarendon barn photo exhibit at the Society's museum barn. The exhibit will be appropriately named "Barn Praising" and open on Wednesday, June 20, 7 p.m. at Farwell's Settlement which is at the corner of Route 31A and Church Street in Clarendon. The Committee is also looking for old photos of the Clarendon barns to copy and incorporate into the exhibit.

The second funded project is the Polly Tavern booklet, which is being published under the direction of LuAnn Wurst, Ph.D., of SUNY Brockport. Dr. Wurst is in the archaeology department at the college. In the summer of 1999, she and a group of her students undertook a dig at the site of the Polly Tavern in Clarendon. Over 34,000 artifacts have since been cataloged from the site. Five of her students are preparing articles for the booklet, which will interpret their findings. This publication will be available for purchase later in the summer.