Donate to the Construction Fund
The WHS annually collaborates with the Lake Placid-North Elba Historical Society and the Lake Placid Elementary School on a 4th grade History Fair. The students each choose an artifact to research and the project culminates in a presentation on the final day of the Fair.
This year, a talented 10-year-old student decided to make her presentation in the form of a puppet show, creating characters on popsicle sticks, with her stage being a cardboard box with curtains that she had sewn herself. Her chosen artifact was an Owaissa Club sign advertising their Country Fair fundraiser on August 20th, 1937. The Owaissa Club was created by Clara Merrill and her sister Martha Brown in 1920 in honor of Clara’s daughter, Mildred Merrill, who died at age 10 in an automobile accident in 1917. Excerpts from the following story are an example of how history meets the future through the eyes of a child.
In her own words, our 4th grader manipulated her puppets to say:
Clara: “Hey, Martha! Would you like to start a club in honor of my daughter, Mildred?”
Martha: ”Sure! What should we call it?”
Clara: ”I heard this story one time. It was about a Native American father who wouldn’t let his daughter see her immigrant friends. She disobeyed him, and sailed off in a canoe and was never seen again. It claimed that you can still hear her name in the waves. The name was Owaissa, which means “bluebird” in the Native American language. I used to call my daughter little blue bird.”
Martha: What would we do?”
Clara: ”I was thinking that we could go kayaking and row boating and biking and hiking and skiing and other fun stuff. It could be a Girl’s club…We could meet up at the beach in Wilmington.” The puppet show continued with the rest of the Owaissa Club story, with much applause by the rest of the students in the 4th grade classes.
Our thanks to the creativity of this student for telling the story that is still relevant today. The WHS wants our children, families, businesses and visitors to know and experience our history. It is who we are today, and you play an important role.
Our future handicapped-accessible history center will house a research and genealogical library, archives-safe room, displays of artifacts, and much-needed town meeting space, all intended to increase our connections through our heritage and our community. To date, contributors like you have given nearly $270,000 toward the building effort. The preliminary engineering and architectural plans plus pro-bono water and electrical taps have all been completed. We have received a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts. We are setting a financial foundation for upcoming construction expenses.
As a partner in our work, you can increase your impact by making a monetary donation to our building fund. Please contribute to our Wilmington Historical Society Building Construction Fund by using the button below. Your donation will be doubled as our benefactor, Dennis Keegan, has pledged to match donations received for the Ruth and Thomas Keegan Memorial History Center. Your gift may be tax deductible. Keep in mind that this kind of donation is also a great way to memorialize or honor a loved one. Planned giving through Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs), will, trust or estate plan is also an option.
We thank you for your generosity and support. It takes an entire community to preserve our remarkable Wilmington and Whiteface Region history!
With much gratitude,
Karen Marshall Peters, President