Archive: Around Town

Lansing Historian Louise Bement was among five honorees at the 3rd annual History Center of Tompkins County awards gala.  The awards ceremony followed a reception at the First Unitarian Society of Ithaca building March 1st.  Bement was honored along with Ithaca College Director of Programs & Outreach Dr. Sean Eversley Bradwell, the Ithaca Aviation heritage Foundation, Wharton Studio Museum Executive Director and Co-founder Diana Riesman, and Tompkins County heritage Tourism founder Stuart W. Stein.

"She is known as the 'Good Will Ambassador of Lansing' and takes special pride in helping out newcomers to the community, people who may want to know about the history of their house, or maybe a relative that lived there," said Lansing Community Library Trustee Ron Ostman. "She's good with genealogies and many different things."

Ostman also recounted Bement's participation in chronicling the development of the Lansing Community Library, now in its 10th year.

"We wanted to document the history of the library before the people who were instrumental in getting it going were no longer available to be interviewed or to make recordings of what they did, or to dig through their files.  Louise really shined when it came to that kind of task.  She likes to get her hands in the paper and the photographs, and she loves Lansing and its stories."

Municipal historians are required by New York State law in every community with 400 or more residents.  Bement has served as Lansing's official historian since 1981, and is President of the Lansing Historical Association's Board of trustees.  She keeps regular hours Saturday mornings at the Lansing Archives building, and provides programs at the Field one-room school house next door.


Last year Bement wrote a 'Lansing Bicentennial Minute' for each 2017 issue of the Lansing Star, short paragraphs with interesting snippets of Lansing history to celebrate the Town's 200th birthday.

During the year she helps many people who are looking for information about their families, and buildings in the Town.  She was also called upon to give talks for local organizations and write materials for exhibits and other projects.  She was part of a project involving municipal historians across Tompkins County that produced brochures on each municipality's history.

While a 4th grade Lansing teacher, she and her students produced four books on the history of the cement company on Portland Point, the International Salt Company that used to be located on what is now called Salt Point, Cayuga Lake, and the rock salt mine now operated by Cargill.  The books are still available for sale at events where the Historical Association has a presence.

"The History Center Trustees and employees view the awards as a way to honor those who are making history, engaging with local history, interpreting local history, and/or whose work resonates with our mission statement," said History Center in Tompkins County Executive Director Rod Howe.

Howe also noted that the 4th annual awards gala would take place in the History Center's new home on the Ithaca Commons.  The building was recently purchased by Tompkins County for a permanent home for the History Center.

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