BETHEL — After serving as the Bethel Historical Society’s executive director for nine years and working for the Society a total of 34, Randy Bennett has retired.

While historical resources didn’t change in that time, the means for researching them have.

“It’s a different world,” said Bennett, because the past has now been brought into the digital present and future.

He recalled years ago when a group from Lunenburg, Vt., would make an annual trip to the BHS to do genealogical research. During that period it was common for eight to ten people a day to be in the society’s research library.

Today, much of that information can be accessed remotely through the BHS website and via other associated data bases.

Bennett, a Rumford native, has been associated with BHS since 1974, when he graduated from the University of Maine at Farmington with a degree in secondary education. While student teaching at Telstar High School, he connected with the fledgling BHS as its Moses Mason House (on Broad Street) was being restored. The society’s first curator, Stan Howe, was hired a short time later. At that time, BHS collections consisted of “a few boxes of papers and artifacts,” Bennett said.

Over the next few years he worked on various projects that had received grant funding, including newspaper indexes and surveys of Oxford County architecture. He also edited a book, “Sunday River Sketches,”  by Martha Fifield Wilkins.

In the mid-70s, the TV mini-series “Roots” “really gave genealogy a boost,” Bennett said.  He found himself in the middle of the surge and was an integral part of organizing it at BHS.

In 1985 Bennett formally joined the staff of the society as its curator of collections. The BHS collections and records continued to grow, and Bennett helped make them available on microfilm, in addition to print form.

While people doing genealogical research benefited from society resources, the benefit went the other way too, said Bennett.

“Many families sent us copies of their research once they discovered how broad-based our resources were,” he said.

A special grant provided funds to expand the “Eva Bean Research Room” to hold additional town histories, photos, letters, and other materials.

The society’s focus also became more regional, as people tracing their families “typically were also connected to towns around us,” said Bennett.

Today, the BHS has the largest collection in the region of published histories and genealogies, along with manuscripts, maps, and photos.

Adding space

The society also has grown physically over the time under Howe and Bennett. In 1998 the Robinson House, next door to the Moses Mason House, was purchased from the Bethel Inn.

“I saw that as a gamble – a gamble that paid off,” said Bennett.

Since then, the old ell on the house has been rebuilt as the Mary Valentine Collections Wing and a new barn, the Huntoon Center, has been constructed on the site of an original barn razed in the 1930s.

Now, said Bennett, “we finally have space available to display and show many more artifacts and images in themed exhibits.”

The society focuses on western Maine and northern New Hampshire in its collections, exhibits and programs. “Having the Robinson House has also given us proper, and in some cases, fireproof, collections storage space,” he said.

Collections that had been stored out of sight and that were inaccessible are now visible and/or accessible. One example is the society’s collection of 50-plus quilts.

All of these developments, said Bennett, “are rewarding to see.”

During his time at BHS he has written and/or edited a total of 12 books, with topics that include histories of Bethel, Rumford, Gorham, N.H., and the White Mountains, plus the historic architecture of Oxford County.

Favorite exhibits

He was asked what some of his favorite exhibits have been over the years.

An exhibit associated with the Smithsonian Museum, entitled “Barn Again,” featured the history and use of barns throughout the U.S., and was on display in three Maine locations, including Bethel.  That exhibit was featured on a PBS “Made in Maine” segment.

Another, entitled “A Good Stand of Buildings,” centered around northern New England’s connected farmsteads.

After the Robinson House came into use, Bennett said his favorite exhibits have included “All Aboard: 150 Years of Railroading,” which featured railroad-related artifacts, photos, and models, in recognition of the railroad’s prominent role in Bethel’s history.

There was also “Molly Ockett and Her World,” and “A River’s Journey: The Story of the Androscoggin.”

Some of those exhibits can still be viewed online.

Among his favorite society programs and presentations were a panel discussion on author Louise Dickinson Rich and a talk by WMTW 8 Mt. Washington meteorologist Marty Engstrom.

Bennett credits Howe’s connections for bringing in many quality speakers over the years.

Keepers of the truth

Some of the society’s day-to-day activities have brought with them mixed feelings, Bennett said. As genealogical researchers and advisors, it is the historians’ jobs to share the truth with people, whatever it might be.

“Sometimes people visit to do research believing they are descended from notable ancestors, and when they find differently, they’re unhappy with the results,” he said. “We hate to spoil stories and legends.”

The Bethel Historical Society (known now as the “Museums of the Bethel Historical Society”) will move forward from Bennett’s tenure with nearly 800 members and plans that include a major permanent exhibit in three galleries to be entitled “Bethel and Beyond.”  It will have a heavy emphasis on Bethel, but in keeping with the society’s regional character will include displays on farming, logging, education, tourism, and other topics common to the wider area.

Bennett, meanwhile, plans to stay on in a voluntary capacity, continuing with some of the director’s duties as BHS searches for a new permanent director.

He will look back on his BHS decades with fondness, he said.

“I’ve met thousands of wonderful people, and have enjoyed working with some of the most incredibly talented volunteers and staff members,” he said.

(Note: A public open house for Bennett will take place Oct. 25 from 3-5 p.m. at the Moses Mason House.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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