Springfield Art & Historical Society
EST. 1956
Serve & Donate - Want to help?
We have lots of options:
Serve
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Officers: President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Recording Secretary & Correspondence Secretary
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Board of Trustees Member
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Committee Members (Collections and Finance)
We currently looking for new citizens to join our Board of Trustees! Interested in history and live in Springfield, come join our Board of Trustees! We are also looking for a "finance assistant" to learn the ropes of the Treasurer. This position is volunteer but the person doesn't have to be a board member so hours are few - and flexible. Contact us if interested. 886-7930 or email sahs@vermontel.net
We would also love to have help staffing the Saturday openings 1:00 - 4:00 pm. If you are interested in receiving training to do this, contact us. You wouldn't be alone but would serve with another member. It's a chance to learn more about the museum and the exhibits. You don't have to know the history, just be welcoming and show people the museum.
There are many, many opportunities to volunteer and strengthen the Society. Some is work to do at SAHS, other is work you can take home to do. Let us know if you are interested. For much of it, you don't have to know extensive history of Springfield.
AND we do need people who have lived here a long time and know some history. Help!!
We are pleased please with the work of our current volunteers that help our society continue to do the work of preserving Springfield's history.
If you'd like to donate to support the good work of SAHS, you can send a check to the address below. At this time, we cannot accept credit cards. Thanks!
Donate Money:
We have been very fortunate over the years to have received many generous donations from the community. Monetary donations are tax-deductible and we will provide you with a receipt. If you have items you would like to donate to our collection, or donate funds to support our programs, please contact our President, Theo Avent at spfldahspresident@gmail.com or simply mail your check to:
Annual Fund
Springfield Art & Historical Society
PO Box 336
North Springfield, VT 05150
Thank you for your support!
A special thank you to Board members putting in the extra time! Thank you to;
Marc Kimball, David Byam, and Carol Hansen for working diligently on cataloging our extensive collection of artifacts and putting them away in archival bags and boxes. There are thousands of items and more new ones arrive all the time.
William and John Lashua donated their father’s collection of negatives to the Springfield Art & Historical Society. Bernie Lashua was a professional photographer and town police officer. This collection of negatives, from the late 1940s to 1980s, includes social and business gatherings, school, weddings, and passport pictures, Springfield Reporter pictures, and general Springfield photographs. Although it is impossible to tell at this point, it is estimated that there are over 20,000 negatives. Fortunately the negative sleeves are labeled and they are sorted by year. The Society is pleased to add this comprehensive collection to our archives but there is a lot of work to be done to preserve them for the future. The Springfield Art & Historical Society thanks the Lashuas for their valuable donation of Springfield’s history. The photos have been used for the past (and current) calendars and are a big hit.
Carol Hansen, Board of Trustees Recording Secretary and long-time volunteer has worked diligently to sort, scan and organize the Lashua negatives. Thank you, Carol, for the many hours of work!
Then
And now
What Have We Been Doing?
Walter Martone and Bunni and Hugh Putnam toured the Brown/Bakery Building, just before it was torn down. Hugh took several pictures and the Society was interested in retrieving any artifacts that were there. Unfortunately the building was pretty cleaned out. However, from the Flying Saucer Café (formerly the Springfield Lunch), the little restaurant on the left side of building that hangs over the brook, we were able to save the banner, a lighted table ornament, a pastry keeper and a large, green blowup ET who will be our mascot for the sale but it is not for sale.
The pastry keeper has a stained glass motif and appears to be from the time that it was the Springfield Lunch which opened in 1934. If anyone can confirm that, we would appreciate it. The keeper measures 3’w x 4’t x 16”d and we have the glass doors and shelf and hardware and it is heavy.
As you can see the case needed a lot of work. It had several coats of white paint inside and out (some of it just peels off.) We wanted to bring back the original wood finish and use it as a display case. We are extremely pleased that John Hunter offered to work on this project and has done a wonderful job. Stop in and see the finished product. Thank you, John!