By: Chelsie Firestone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
Fayette has never stopped looking forward – but it has also never forgotten the importance of the past. The residents there have always known what it seems so many have forgotten… You cannot move forward if you have no idea where you started from; securing the future rests hand in hand in preserving the past.
Fayette Mayor Ruth Marlatt addressed a full house and opened the January 27 meeting of the Bean Creek Valley History Center, explaining the good that will come from the Gene Beaverson family’s recent donation of the building, which formerly housed the Fayette Review, to the Bean Creek Valley History Center. An empty building will be filled, the History Center will have the space to store and showcase their artifacts, and both residents and scholars and will have a place to go and learn about the Bean Creek Valley and, perhaps, their own history.
The donation was idea of the Beaverson daughters, Barbara Lester; Fawn Schaffner; Cindy Mitchell; Chris Pennington; and Danni Keefer, who wished to donate the building in memory of their brother, Mike Beaverson. Those involved with the Bean Creek Valley History Center could not be more thankful for the loving and thoughtful donation, which both honors a brother and which gives the Center much needed room for its growing collection of artifacts.
The building will serve as a museum for the Bean Creek Valley History Center. The use of an old newspaper building to house a museum is fitting as both work, albeit in differing ways, to archive and preserve the past.
The Bean Creek Valley History Center was formerly under the umbrella of the Fayette Opera House. While the two entities are still very much tied together and working together, they are now separate entities as the Bean Creek Valley History Center has incorporated.
The mission statement of the Bean Creek Valley History Center reads “The corporation is organized exclusively for charitable and educational purposes and to encourage and facilitate the gathering and sharing of information, to attend workshops, do genealogical research thus expanding the knowledge of the history of the Bean Creek Valley Region.”
As such, the Center is seeking donations of artifacts to help tell the story of the Bean Creek Valley. Artifacts for archival or display that are related to the Bean Creek Region, which runs from Devil’s Lake to just north of the turnpike, are appreciated as the Center works to continuously build it’s collection. The Center is especially interested in artifacts related to the Yost family, who owned and operated the Fayette Review for several years.
Anyone wishing to become a member of the Been Creek Valley History Center is encouraged to send correspondence to the Been Creek Valley History Center, Inc., 118 W. Main Street, PO Box 27, Fayette, Ohio 43521. Membership dues are $25 for an individual and $40 for a family. Those seeking more information on the Center or the Bean Creek Valley Region can also contact the incorporators of the center: Colleen Rufenact, President (419.388.3518); Ruth Marlatt, Vice President (419.237.3061); Lucy Molitierno, Secretary (419.237.2830): Julie Miller, Treasurer (419.445.9743), and Tom Spiess (419.237.2683).
Chelsie can be reached at
chelsie@thevillagereporter.com