Forest City Historical Society vice president Peg Brager will conduct tours of the new historical society museum in the former Forest City Methodist Church at an Open House on Sunday, May 25, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Photo by Tom Fontana)
BY TOM FONTANA
Correspondent
“Everything old is new again!” should be the rallying cry this weekend when the Forest City Historical Society opens its new museum in the former Methodist church on Main St.
Although Forest City will celebrate the 150th anniversary of its founding this summer, the historical society is barely four years old.
“I’ve been collecting artifacts from our town’s history for many years,” explains Peg Brager, one of the society’s founders. “Some people follow sports, others knit. I collect stuff like old high school photos and miner’s shovels. It’s just what I’ve always enjoyed doing.”
As a result of her life-long passion for preserving local history, Brager’s extensive variety of what some people might call ‘old junk’ desperately needed a home where it could be shared with others interested in remembering the past.
About four years ago, Brager and her childhood friend John Kameen, owner of The Forest City News, decided to form a historical society, and organized monthly meetings with area residents who have similar interests.
The Forest City Historical Society Museum will open this weekend in the former Forest City Methodist Church on the corner of Main St. and Dundaff St., featuring an Open House and tours on Sunday, May 25. (Photo by Tom Fontana)
“In 2012, we found out the Methodist church was closing,” Brager says, “so we approached them about selling us the building to use as a museum.”
Instead of selling it, earlier this year the Susquehanna Methodist Conference decided to donate the historic church to the Society, so work began immediately to give the church a new purpose and renew the society’s commitment to bringing the past alive.
The fruits of that labor of love will blossom on Saturday and Sunday, May 24 and 25, with a gala dinner at the new Forest City Historical Society Museum on Saturday night, and an Open House from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday. The dinner is sold out, but the public is invited to a free presentation by Dr. S. Robert Powell (president of the Carbondale Historical Society) on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Tours of the museum will be offered on Sunday by Society members. Entering the church vestibule at the corner of Main and Dundaff streets, visitors will first encounter a review of local church history in the form of photographs, hymnals, and artifacts such as an old wooden collection plate and a large steel cross.
Rounding the first corner into the church, guests will see displays honoring the service and sacrifices by local men and women who wore military uniforms in defense of our country. Around the back of the church, fond memories will be revived on viewing photographs of former Main St. storefronts and schools.
Other glass cases along the church walls include a tribute to The Forest City News, and a variety of toys, clocks and clothing that depict various eras of the town’s history.
A special treat at the Open House on Sunday will be the opportunity for guests to pull the rope that rings the church bell. Those who are successful will receive a small souvenir bell to commemorate the experience. (The bell has not been rung in recent years due to an obstruction in the belfry.)
The church building was completed in 1884, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the founding of American Methodism. Thus, the church was named the Forest City Centennial Methodist Church. Membership grew rapidly, and the church was enlarged in 1906. A parsonage built next to the church was completed in 1894, where Honesdale National Bank is today.
The public is invited to celebrate with the Forest City Historical Society by attending the presentation on Saturday night and the Open House on Sunday.
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