This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
05/24/2016 02:30 PMThe doors of the Chester Museum at The Mill will open for the season on Saturday, May 28 with a brand new Chester Historical Society exhibit, focused on Chester clubs and organizations that have aided in making and keeping Chester a beautiful, active town.
The exhibit fits in with the theme over the past two years, “Pastimes in Past Times.” Last year’s seasonal exhibit focused on Chester at Play with early team sports, recreation, and games and toys at home. The exhibit included interactive games for all ages, with displays that contained items such as old dolls, board games, card games, Erector sets, trains, and scenes and memorabilia of the most famous pastime of all time…baseball.
Chester Historical Society President Skip Hubbard explained that, as the 1800s came to an end and people began to have more free time, they not only began to spend time doing fun things to pass the time, but they also began to get out of the house more and out into the community, volunteering and getting involved. That’s how this season’s exhibit came about.
“We wanted to highlight the organizations throughout town, both past and present, that have helped shape Chester and have been part of the town throughout history,” said Hubbard, who added this encouragement to everyone to come out and see the new exhibit: “It’s free.”
Over the past several months, the society has been busy contacting different groups and long-time town residents collecting a combination of several different items, which will be part of the exhibit. Society members Sandy and Keith Dauer are the exhibit chairs and curators of this season’s exhibit, which includes a look back into town organizations such as the Garden Club, the Fife and Drum Corps, the Grange, the Boy and Cub Scouts, the Deacons Motor Group, the Chester Alumni Association, the Chester International Links Association, and more.
“Really what we are trying to do through this exhibit is celebrate Chester’s community groups as well as volunteerism in town,” said Hubbard.
Each of the clubs and organizations highlighted in the exhibit have been recognized for their impact on Chester’s community through preserving natural spaces, providing scholarships, raising money for worthy causes, educating themselves and others, and helping to make Chester a great place to live.
This exhibit will be the fifth seasonal exhibit at the Chester Museum at The Mill, which features two floors of award-winning permanent and seasonal changing exhibits.
The Chester Historical Society continually works to promote “an interest in the history of Chester as a prototypical New England small town that has survived and thrived by adapting to cultural, economic, and demographic changes since its settlement in the mid-1600s,” according to its website.
The museum opening day is on Saturday, May 28 at 1 p.m., and will include a performance by the Chester Fife & Drum Corps. Admission to the museum is free, however donations are always welcome. For more information, visit www.chesterhistoricalsociety.org.