Guy/Albion Historical Society seeking leaders

Items on display at the Guy/Albion Museum. Photo courtesy Roger Farrell.

Roger Farrell, president of the Guy/Albion Historical Society, said word has been put out in the society’s newsletter seeking people to step up and fill leadership and board positions which will soon be vacant.

There has been no response as of yet.

“We’re looking for some people to head up the historical society,” Farrell told the Gazette. “I am ready to step down from my position, and there are some other board members who are ready to step down. We need to have some people step into some leadership roles.”

Farrell said specifically the society is seeking someone to take over the roles of president, treasurer and newsletter editor/secretary. He said anyone wishing to step up does not have to reside in Albion, and the time commitment is minimal.

“About five hours a month,” he said. “It’s not very much really. It could be a little more for the newsletter editor.”

Additionally, the society is seeking more board members.

“We’re looking for a couple of additional board members,” Farrell said.

Farrell said the historical society meets about three times per year and hosts an annual meeting in the fall for the entire membership. There are about 45 members who pay dues to the society, he said. He added the need for new leadership and board members will help to distribute the work load more evenly.

“It’s just too much to try to do dual and triple roles,” he said, noting he had to recruit his wife to help as treasurer.

Farrell described the responsibilities of the board members.

“Board members are responsible for making decisions for continuing the operations of the historical society, making the decision for the displays and to keep the museums current and viable options for the town,” he said. “Keeping all those alive and in good shape.”

The Guy/Albion Historical Society is responsible for two museums, which Farrell described as a collection of Albion historical artifacts such as pictures and clothing.

“Just information about Albion’s past,” he said.

One of the museums is the Dee Harrison Museum.

“She was one of the founders of the Guy/Albion Historical Society,” Farrell said. “She founded it in 1980, and we had our first annual meeting in 1981.”

Farrell said Harrison was instrumental in helping to preserve Albion’s history. He said she and her husband, Burt, moved to Albion in the ‘40s. Burt was at one time a recipient of the Edward R. Murrow Award for broadcasting and was also previously mayor of Albion. Dee passed away in 2003, and Burt passed away in 2004.

Farrell said the society is hoping to have new leadership and board members in place ahead of the next annual membership meeting, which he said will likely be in October. Those meetings, he noted, have seen declining attendance in recent years.

“The last two years, not one of the members have shown up to the meeting,” he said. “I’ve been president for four years, and I’ve struggled to keep the organization going.”

He said he fears seeing the society disband if no one steps up.

“If we can’t get anyone to step into the leadership roles, there’s a very good chance the organization would dissolve,” Farrell said. “There’s a very good chance it would go away.”

He added that if that happens, the society would be prepared to follow its constitution for the appropriate way to do that.

“We have a constitution and are bound by that constitution to dissolve under certain conditions,” he said.

And if that does happen, Farrell said he hopes to see some help from the Whitman County Historical Society.

“I’d love it if the Whitman County Historical Society would take a role in preserving some of our displays if it goes away,” he said.

Farrell described that the society used to bring bands to town as an example of how things have turned in the past few years.

“At one time, we sponsored a band concert in the fall to get the community some options for entertainment,” he said. “But that fell by the wayside. We’d bring the band, and we’d have maybe 10 people show up. That’s kind of been the whole problem with all our efforts. We put forward the effort, and no one shows up.”

He said he hopes to find a way to bring that back and get more people involved.

“We do fun things. The interest just isn’t there, I guess,” Farrell said. “It’s just been a struggle to keep the interest flowing in the society.”