LIVERMORE FALLS — History sneaked up and surprised historian W. Dennis Stires early Saturday afternoon at the Maine Paper and Heritage Museum on Church Street.

Stires came out on a rainy Saturday to listen to his favorite storyteller, Norman Vashaw of Canton talk about the early days of logging.

Vashaw’s talk actually served to camouflage the 1:30 p.m. recognition ceremony for Stires, 70, of Livermore, who dedicated more than 35 years of his life to preserving the heritage and history of the Livermore Falls area.

So, when Vashaw’s 30-minute lecture ended, Rep. Gary Knight stood opposite Stires while holding a large Legislative sentiment plaque and began extolling the work of Stires.

“If there’s one person here who gathers history and is responsible for bringing out pride in our community, it is Dennis Stires,” Knight said as the standing-room only crowd erupted into applause.

He said Stires has spent hundreds, perhaps thousands, of hours collecting the history of the Livermore Falls area.

“This area, as we know, is just loaded with great traditions and great people, and sometimes we take that for granted, because we don’t realize what we have,” Knight said.

“Dennis has just tenaciously gone after that and has let us know that we need to remember ourselves, and to really take great pride in this community and what the people of this area have done,” Knight said.

According to the plaque, the 124th Legislature and people of Maine recognized Stires for his 37 years of “exemplary contributions” to Livermore and Livermore Falls, and to Maine itself.

Stires has served as chairman and board member of the Androscoggin Historical Society and as a board member for the Livermore-Livermore Falls Historical Society.

He also helped to establish the Maine Paper and Heritage Museum and serves it as a board member.

Stires “created the local annual History Night (Main Street USA), which brings people from the community together for an outdoor event, including local vendors, artists, musicians and entertainers,” Knight said.

Stires also worked for many years at the Washburn-Norlands Living History Center.

Then, Phil Poirier, of the Livermore Falls Downtown Betterment Group stood and gave Stires a plaque on behalf of the group. It honored Stires for his “continued efforts to keep our history and heritage alive.”

Poirier said Stires was instrumental in helping to document the history of the town’s buildings, enabling them to get a Community Development Block Facade Grant.

Next, Sherry Judd, executive director of the Maine Paper and Heritage Museum, also recognized Stires.

Reading from a third plaque, Judd said it honors Stires for his “tireless dedication to the preservation of the heritage and history of our area.”

“You have been instrumental in efforts to bring our town back to life and in restoring local pride,” Judd said.

“He’s been the enthusiasm for everyone around here,” she said, while cake and ice cream were doled out.

Afterward, Stires said that he hated history classes as a student in Sussex High School in New Jersey, from which the Patterson, N.J., native graduated in 1957.

He moved to Maine in 1974, found work with Wilton Printed Products, and became smitten with history.

“When people from away move here, they’re usually fascinated by a community, and the challenge is to get to know it,” Stires said. “I used to dislike history in high school. It was just a jumble of dates and numbers until I got older, and then, it clicked.

He said that of all the history projects on which he’s worked, the one that fascinated him most was the 1995 five-town Bicentennial celebration for Canton, Fayette, Jay, Livermore and Livermore Falls.

When asked what he’d do with the three plaques, Stires simply joked, “We’ll hold up the wall with them and cover any holes in it.”

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Flanked by his wife, Peggy Stires, left, and daughter, Kim LaRoche, right, Dennis Stires checks out the plaque he was given by Rep. Gary Knight, second from right, as he was recognized for all that he has done with the Androscoggin County Historical Society and the Maine Paper Museum in Livermore Falls Saturday at the museum.