At the Valley Historical Society meeting, historians Patricia Pihl and Sharon Howe Sweeting were the guest speakers.

SINCLAIRVILLE — The Valley Historical Society met at the Sinclairville Firehall for their monthly meeting with two historians as guest speakers. Patricia Pihl who is a personal historian, told of how she assists people with the writing of their own personal history. People want to write their history with photographs and ranging from individual sheets to full hard cover books. Ms. Pihl said that she encourages people to develop a plan and select individual photographs for their project.

The second historian to speak was Sharon Howe Sweeting, who is the historian for Cherry Creek. Mrs. Sweeting serves as the Cherry Creek librarian and the historian. She talked about the museum there and showed samples of historical items in the museum. Acquiring material can be done in many ways, she said, with many items being donated to the museum. Both historians had a very interesting and informative presentation.

Larry Barmore is the Valley Historical Society president, and welcomed all to the meeting, leading all in the Lord’s Prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance. The minutes of the previous meeting were read by secretary Sue Peacock, and the financial report read by treasurer John Sipos.

Others who participated in the historical program were Mrs. Peacock who showed a 1930 glass dish made with uranium. Using a black light, one could see the color change. Evelyn Thorndike showed a cloth stitchery from the 1800’s. Victor Richardson had a copy of the family history genealogy of the Cushman relatives dating from 1617 to 1855.

Following the presentation, festive refreshments were served by John and Susan Sipos. The next meting of the Valley Historical Society will be on Tuesday Dec. 7 at 6 p.m. in the Sinclairville Firehall dining room. This will be a Christmas dinner, and all those attending are encouraged to bring a dish of food to share and their own table service. The program will be the summary of each person’s research for the year. The Valley Historical Society dates back to 1977 when John and Ruth Smith, Bill Hulett, Walter Waite, and Rev. John Rough felt a need to preserve the history of the Cassadaga Valley area. The museum was purchased one year later. New members are always welcome.