BETHEL — The Bethel Historical Society’s board of trustees voted unanimously on Jan. 24 to create the Florence Bickford Hastings Traditional Crafts Fund. The interest-generating fund, originally established to name a planned crafts room in the expanded Robinson House, includes gifts in Mrs. Hastings’ name received from family and friends.

A long-time member of the society, Mrs. Hastings was a talented craftswoman who was especially interested in the teaching, exhibition and preservation of traditional crafts.

The fund will provide a continuing legacy that honors her memory while increasing the society’s commitment and capacity to study, promote and preserve traditional crafts relating to the history of western Maine, the White Mountain region and northern New England.

Income from the Hastings Fund will be used to support a variety of programs and projects at the Bethel Historical Society, including lectures, courses, demonstrations, workshops and preservation projects related to traditional crafts.

A plaque honoring Mrs. Hastings (1904-2008) will be displayed in the Robinson House, and an exhibit of her various crafts will open in early September 2011.

For more information, call 824-2908 or 800-824-2910 or email [email protected].