Happy Holidays from the Stamford Historical Society

We were overwhelmed by the support and generosity shown by the community’s response to our summer membership drive. It takes a great many people to make an enterprise like the historical society function and you all stepped up to help make it happen. Some of you renewed lapsed memberships, others joined anew, and many made additional donations along with their memberships. Thank you.

Beverly Reed happened to be visiting family in Stamford at the time of our membership drive. She had brought with her a number of items connected to Stamford Seminary that had belonged to her mother, Florence E. (Canfield) Van Dusen. Beverly was actively seeking to connect with someone from the Stamford Historical Society about donating those items when our membership letter came to her attention. So thank you, Beverly, for the school catalogs, issues of the Stamford Seminary Camera and Stamford Seminary Reveille. The additional material about your family’s guest house, the Maple Farm Inn, might become one of our spring programs.

We expect to begin meeting again in late winter on Sunday afternoons and hope to see many more of you at our programs. We are also following up on the excellent suggestions you shared when you stopped by our table at the Scarecrow Festival.

This year saw the release of a school bus stamp honoring the iconic yellow bus that was part of Dr. Frank Cyr’s vision for rural schools. Stamford Historical used that stamp for our mailing. Many of the ones you sent back to us with your membership forms shape this holiday star, our end of year greeting. It illustrates how together we can make something special. Happy Holidays!