History Buffs Give Their Time
BUTLER — Bonnie Custead thought she’d never go back to a classroom after teaching for more than three decades. But she changed her mind when it came to volunteering for the Butler County Historical Society.
Custead, 60, now dresses in garb from the 1830s as she gives tours of the Little Red School House in Butler. She said the best part of the job is children’s reactions when they hear about how school operated hundreds of years ago.
“It’s fun to see the expression on the kids’ faces when they hear about how school used to be with the one community bucket of water, the outhouse, the dunce hats,” she said. “It’s fun and a wonderful way to preserve the past.”
Custead, who taught for 32 years at South Butler Elementary School, volunteers for about four hours per week at the historical society. She loves antiques, American history and especially the history of Butler.
What she loves most, however, is the “absolutely fascinating” opportunity to share knowledge with other people, a passion that led her in to teaching and then to volunteering.
“Once I retired I said I’d never go back in to school, and here I am back here all the time,” she said. “It gives me a reason to leave the house, to spread out and give back to the community. It’s been wonderful and I’ve met some absolutely lovely people.”
She got into volunteering three years ago with her husband, Doug, a self-described “jack-of-all-trades” and a retired librarian, who recataloged and reorganized more than 1,500 documents for the historical society’s archives.Bonnie remarked that volunteering with her husband has “overflowed into every aspect of our lives and made them much fuller and much richer.”Doug Custead, 61, volunteers about eight hours a week doing assorted tasks for the historical society. He’s previously helped renovate and restore the Jay Bee Miniature Circus and helped move the historical society’s office from the old National City building at Main and Jefferson streets to its new offices at the Lowrie-Shaw House.Currently he’s simply a handyman on call for any problem that pops up at any historical society exhibit or building.He said volunteering is a great way to keep busy after retirement while helping the community he loves at the same time.“When one retires I think a person needs to find something productive to do,” he said. “It’s great too to give back to the community a little in a beneficial way, and it’s provided me with new friends and an educational experience at the same time.”The Custeads don’t receive monetary compensation for their work, nor would they ask for any if they could.Becky Crum-Reinsel, executive director of the historical society, is the only paid employee at the organization and works only part-time.She said the historical society’s existed since the 1920s as an informal group that met to discuss preservation of county history. It became a non-profit organization in 1960 and in 1991 it became the official historical society of the county.She said the organization, which runs on a budget of less than $200,000 a year, completely relies on the 40 or so volunteers who selflessly give their time and energy.“We do completely depend on our volunteers,” she said. “Their time and effort is greatly appreciated because without them the organization would not be able to exist.”She also said the organization offers unique research services for community members looking further back into their genealogy or for those simply looking to learn more about Butler County. She said research services are available for $10 an hour plus the cost of photocopies and postage.The historical society owns and operates four properties in the county. Its main office is in the Lowrie-Shaw House, a historical building given to the organization in 1986. The house was built in 1828 by Walter Lowrie, Butler’s only United States senator.It is next door to the Butler County Courthouse.The society also runs the Little Red School House, which was built in 1838 in the city and described on the society’s Web site as a “living history museum.”The society also runs the Cooper Cabin Pioneer Homestead near Cabot and the Butler County Heritage Center, a three-story building in Butler with more than 4,500 square feet of exhibit space.The historical society has a full slate for 2009. Crum-Reinsel said it is gearing up to participate in an exhibit honoring the 150th anniversary of the discovery of oil and will introduce a traveling photographic exhibit of the region’s history in April.
<B>Butler County Historical Society</B><B>ADDRESS: </B>123 W. Diamond Street, Butler, PA 16003<B>PHONE: </B>724-283-8116<B>WEB SITE: </B>www.butlerhistory.com/<B>SERVICES: </B>Historical research, tours<B>WHO IS SERVED:</B> Anyone in Butler County<B>HOW MANY ARE SERVED:</B> Anyone in Butler County<B>AREA SERVED: </B>Butler County<B>STARTED: </B>Founded informally in 1920s, became nonprofit in 1960<B>BUDGET: </B>Less than $200,000 annually<B>NUMBER OF VOLUNTEERS: </B>About 40<B>TO VOLUNTEER: </B>Contact the office at 724-283-8116
