400 unpacked boxes later, genealogy group settles into new home

RICHMOND, Ind. — Marcia Sloan flips through her legal pad, each page filled top to bottom with notes about the contents of numbered boxes.

Box 271 has the stuff from a desk. Box 283 holds a scrapbook index (VERY HEAVY).

On and on for nearly 400 entries, each of which corresponds to a piece of local history.

The boxes belonged to the Wayne County Genealogical Society, a small nonprofit group that researches family histories in the community, as members made the move from their now-former home at St. John Lutheran Church at South E and Seventh streets to the basement of First Friends Meeting on Chester Boulevard.

► RELATED: Wayne County genealogy nonprofit (and all of its historical records) needs a new home

Society members had to find a new space because the church had switched hands earlier this year, and renovations were underway on the building. They decided if they must move at least temporarily, they might as well find a new permanent home.

It wasn't easy.

"We called about 70 businesses and businessmen and churches and funeral homes in Richmond," Sloan said.

A lack of funds made things difficult. The society had been paying $150 a month for the space it used at St. John, and it couldn't afford to pay much more than that.

"That's why we were having such a hard time finding a place and anybody that would deal with us and work with us," society member Jane Pyle said.

The search eventually led them to First Friends Meeting, and after a couple of visits, society members voted to make the move.

That's when the really difficult work began. Records, scrapbooks, family histories, maps and other materials collected over nearly 30 years all had to be boxed up in the middle of the summer with no air conditioning.

"We could only work a couple of hours at a time because it was so hot," Sloan said. "They had turned off the HVAC (system) because they needed a part. ... We just had three huge fans going."

Eventually, moving day arrived on Sept. 23. After a moving company spent the day dealing with furniture and other large items, society members and their friends and family used the next few days making a back-and-forth procession to transfer boxes from one site to the other.

"Boy, we were tired that week," Sloan said.

It took another six weeks to unpack all the boxes and figure out how to fit some five rooms' worth of items into just two. 

"As you put away, it's like, 'OK, we can downsize this. Get rid of this. Do this. Do this.' And it's worked. It's come together," Pyle said.

Now comes the work to stabilize the group again. The society shuts down each December and January for the holidays and the worst part of winter. When it gets back to business next year, there will be a membership drive and open house as well as a need for donated items for the group's annual rummage sale and Christmas bazaar.

"We can start accepting nice, decent items left from other people's garage sales or moving sales that they want to donate," Pyle said. "We have to start from scratch again. We have to build up our inventory for our sales, hopefully next spring or next summer, because that's how we make our money."

The society has more than 30 members, not all of whom are local residents. Their office is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays, during which members will come and go throughout the day, doing research, compiling new information and sorting through files.

"We have a lot of projects that need to be done, so we need help," Sloan said. "We did set up for the Archway Days over in Centerville, and people were surprised to know, 'You do what? I didn't know there was such a society.'

"Genealogy is not cut and dry. You can't find everything on one page. You get a little tidbit here, a little tidbit there, point you in this direction. ... You just follow the trail. That's what we're doing, and we have a lot of trails here."

Anyone interested in helping the Wayne County Genealogical Society can reach the group by calling (765) 277-9606 or emailing wcgs2599@yahoo.com or wcgsresearch@yahoo.com.

Jason Truitt is the team leader and senior reporter at the Palladium-Item. Contact him at (765) 973-4459 or jtruitt@pal-item.com.