Volunteers passionate about Greene County’s history have turned a downtown building once used for data processing into one for historic preservation.
The Greene County Historical and Genealogical Society opened the doors to its new offices during a grand opening celebration earlier this month.
The society, or GCHGS, is composed of about 25 volunteers who work to document and preserve Greene County’s history.
“We preserve Greene County history and the history of Greene County families, and we also promote the history and the saving of it by going to various organizations and even go to schools, and we preserve all that we can,” said volunteer Norma Addison.
The new facility contains an assortment of records detailing not only the history of Greene County, but also its families, two things Addison considers inseparable.
“If you study your family, and try to find your roots, you’re going to study history,” she said.
The new facility contains rooms dedicated to archives, and separate rooms for families. The society also works to preserve the archives by publishing quarterlies and books on marriages, cemeteries and veteran records, among others.
Addison said the society also helps individuals trace their family history, or genealogy.
“Not only do we assist them with finding their ancestors, we show them how to go about it,” she said. Addison and volunteers have traced numerous Greene County families back hundreds of years and are working to maintain detailed files in the new facility.
No one in the society is paid for his or her services.
“In fact, I like to say it costs to be a volunteer,” Addison said. “We not only donate our time, but also our resources.”
The society’s new home, donated by First National Bank, was once used for data processing and storage. The society met previously in a building on Pruett Street and in the county library before that, after being reorganized in 1987.
“Due to the fact that we are a non-profit organization, we don’t have a means of making money other than through memberships and donations and sale of our literature. We cannot afford to pay rent, utilities and that sort of thing. We had to look for a place that we can have rent-free, and we were very fortunate to have found this place,” Addison said.
Addison said the society moved into the building at the end of July and began clearing it out and repainting it. The structure had to be rewired for computers and telephones.
“It has just been a lot of hard work,” she said. “We have a great bunch of volunteers.”