Wellsville Historical Committee outlines digitization plan, veterans program and archival needs

The Wellsville Historical Committee presented a detailed update to the city council on March 4, describing a large volunteer effort to catalog and index donated documents, photographs and recordings and a long-term plan to digitize the collection.

Ron Case said the committee, reactivated 11 years ago, relies on roughly 14 weekly volunteers who are processing donations including extensive materials from the estate of the late Wilma Hall. The work includes creating physical indexes, assessing historical value and moving items into preservation boxes; Case said digitization is under way but will be a multi-year effort.

Committee member Heather Rowser outlined the Veterans on Main Street program, which has honored 128 veterans to date (99 buried locally and 29 buried elsewhere). Rowser said the banner project is self-funded through sales and thanked city maintenance staff for help with installations. She added, "freedom is not a spectator sport," to describe the committee’s educational outreach with sixth-grade students and cemetery tours.

Christine Lindley and Brenda Leishman described other recent acquisitions and preservation work: city ordinance books from 1883 and 1925, Cache County tax records with 1940s photos, and digitized recordings of former Mayor John Russell Archibald and musical performances. The committee said it receives a $1,000 annual city supplies budget but has largely self-funded projects and may request additional support as archival storage and digitization costs grow.

The council thanked the committee for its volunteer efforts and commitment to preserving Wellsville’s history; members invited officials to tour the history room and asked the council to notify them of upcoming events to ensure items are archived.