Cortland County Historical Society Awarded Bright Ideas Grant From CNY Community Foundation

The Cortland County Historical Society (CCHS) has announced they have been awarded a grant in the amount of $5,000 from the Central New York Community Foundation through the Bright Ideas Grant program from the organization. The CCHS says the grant funding will go towards developing a memory preservation lab to preserve the Cortland community’s history in the digital age.

“The lab will include a digitization station where community members can digitize photos, negatives, and documents from their personal collections. Digitizing materials will allow for easy sharing among family members and provide CCHS with digital copies for its archives, ensuring planned redundancy and preserving these memories for future Generations.” The CCHS said in a release.

The lab will also include an oral history interview area that will capture personal life stories, intergenerational family conversations, and discussions regarding contemporary issues between those with different perspectives on things. The CCHS says the conversations will offer a valuable insight into present time at the local level. The organization also plans to start a podcast to discuss local history with interesting tales/stories from the past.

Next month, the Historical Society will be celebrating their 100th anniversary. The CCHS has been dedicated to collecting, preserving and sharing the history of the county since 1925. You can learn more about the organization by visiting their website, CortlandHistory.org.