We recently purchased new books for our wonderful gift shop, as a service to our  members and visitors. The title is When I’m Gone, by Kathleen Fraser. It’s an upbeat  and expertly detailed fill-in book and resource manual that helps people organize all the  elements of their lives that loved ones will need access to “at the end”. Legal  documentation, finances, home maintenance, and medical care, along with personal  history and “favorite things”. As so many people bring items to the SHS saying “no one  in my family wants this or that and I can’t bear to throw it away”, we thought it would be  a useful guide. But the title is very personal for me also, as this is the final Stroll  Skaneateles article I will be writing as I will be retiring from my position of Museum  Director this fall.  

After 5 plus years at the helm, I feel it is time for someone else to come in and  take the organization to the next level. It has been a privilege and a pleasure to work  with and for our amazing volunteers, civic leaders, residents and visitors to our beloved  community. As of this writing, my replacement has not yet been chosen, so if you know  someone who has a passion for history and Skaneateles, loves to work with volunteers,  can wear many hats and juggle many responsibilities at once, have them contact the  SHS. Running an organization that is 90 years old, in a 125 year old building,  managing 50 plus volunteers, and overseeing day to day operations of a museum in a  tourist community is a challenging and unique job. I’ve made so many friends, and  grown so much as a person doing it.  

Below is an excerpt from my very first Stroll Skaneateles article in 2019. Aline  and Bob Moses were kind enough to allow me to submit a monthly article for the  Historical Society. I have loved doing this, and am so touched when people have  reached out to tell me how much they have enjoyed reading them. Wilma’s rocker is  indeed my favorite piece in the collection still. Someone asked me what my legacy will  be, and I easily replied “the honor I had being the 

‘caretaker of people’s memories’ here  in Skaneateles”.  

“Pictured here is a child’s rocker which sits in my office at the Creamery Museum.  It was donated during my first week as the new Museum Director at the Skaneateles  Historical Society, (SHS), and it is a daily reminder of why this job is so rewarding. And  magical. 

It was given to the SHS by the son of its original owner. Her name was Wilma  Horsington and she won it as the first prize for the “best letter to Santa”, in December 

1916, as part of a community Christmas program. An article about her achievement  was found by our resident researcher extraordinaire, Mr. Ted Prindle, from the microfilm  of the Skaneateles Press dated December 26, 1916. (By the way, scissors were  awarded for the second and third prize!). The chair is presumably a Skaneateles Sinclair chair, locally referred to as a Mottville rocker, although it is not stamped as such.  As Wilma’s son Nelson Jameson wrote on the donation form, it is a “rocker gaily  decorated for a young person and certainly a prize to be treasured.” It was used and  treasured by her, and Nelson, and then his children as well.  

The rocker is in my office for the time being for several reasons. It is such a  charming piece, with a very moving story, in addition to Mr. Jameson having so  generously donated it to the SHS my very first week. It also makes me think about all of  the people whose stories we tell through the extensive collections and archives here. I  think of those items that were used, cared for, and treasured during their owners’  lifetimes and then were donated to the SHS. I also think of the many volunteers over  the SHS’s 51 years since its incorporation, who in turn donated their time to document  these items, catalogue them, display them, and share their stories with our members,  our district’s school children, our visitors, and now through our website to people from  all over the globe.  

Wilma’s rocker makes me smile each time I see it, as I think of her delighted  excitement at winning it all those years ago. It makes me grateful that her family  thought to donate it to us for others to enjoy. It reminds me that I am the current  steward of the collections and artifacts and archives of our community’s past. The past  is indeed here at the SHS. Our mission is to “conduct and encourage historical  research and to collect, preserve and exhibit historical material in connection with the  town of Skaneateles.” I will strive to honor those who have done so in the past to the  best of my ability, along with the help of our dedicated Board of Directors, our committed  members, and our exceptional volunteers. I hope our future monthly articles will inspire  the Skaneateles Life readers to visit the museum and to possibly consider donating their  own Skaneateles related family treasures at some point. The rocker will be in my office,  please stop by to see it.”