By Kate Hill
Staff Writer
For over a century, the Cazenovia Public Library has served as the town’s historical society and “community attic.”
This fall, the Library Museum installed a new local history exhibit to provide visitors with greater insight into the town’s storied past.
“Cazenovia Memories” showcases locally important materials from the collection of Danna DeVaul and her late husband, Charles.
DeVaul donated the vast collection last spring with the intention of enhancing the library museum’s collection of “Cazenoviana,” such as Cazenovia-related memorabilia, historical documents, maps, artifacts/antiques and artwork.
Accumulated over several decades, the DeVaul’s collection includes legal documents associated with long-running local lawsuits; fund transfers between well-known town residents; nineteenth century deeds and bonds; personal journals and scrapbooks; local bank checks and notes; materials related to Lorenzo and the Cazenovia Seminary; books published in or about Cazenovia; business ledgers and sales receipts; postcards, stereo cards and photographic portraits; local business giveaways; apothecary and milk bottles; advertising cards; souvenir plates; and signs.
“Charlie and I have enjoyed collecting these treasures of Cazenovia over many decades,” said DeVaul last spring. “[As] a native of this area, he took great pride in purchasing items from Cazenovia, Erieville and Chittenango . . . If he was still alive, my husband would be very humbled and honored to have his collection on display . . . The collection is now at home in Cazenovia for all generations to enjoy. The [materials] will help give future generations a chance to look back and envision what life was like in the late 1800s and early 1900s.”
According to DeVaul, most of the items in the collection were purchased from local homes and acquired through estate liquidations.
Many of the objects feature the names of recognizable Cazenovia businesses, such as Brown’s Dairy, Aikman’s Hardware, Lawrence Pontiac, F.D. Squires, George Morse, H.M. Cushing and R.H. Kohler Furniture and Undertakers.
A few of DeVaul’s favorite items include images of ice harvesting on Cazenovia Lake; early photographs of a circus (including an elephant) parading down Main Street; a rare 1897 book containing John Lincklaen’s journals documenting his 1791-92 travels through the northeast; and the 1891 leather-bound diary of J.H. Hunt, a young boy who lived in between Cazenovia and New Woodstock.
Jonathan Holstein, a member of the Cazenovia Public Library’s Museum Committee, facilitated the donation.
“Mrs. DeVaul’s extremely generous gift significantly enriches the library’s Cazenovia holdings, and it will inform future historians of our village and town,” Holstein said.
Pat Hill and Julia Shotzberger, the library’s museum educators, and Archivist Elisha Davies selected the items on display in the new exhibit.
Hill and Shotzberger arranged the objects to maximize their impact.
“It’s a wonderful display of Cazenovia memorabilia,” DeVaul said. “They did an excellent job and they deserve an A++ for their efforts. There was so much to sort through, it must have been hard to pick and choose what to include. The color coordination and balance are [well done] too.”
The display features a diverse array of historic objects, including advertising giveaways; milk bottles; a year book; souvenir plates, postcards and trays; local pharmaceutical bottles; a unique knife from Cazenovia Bakery; artwork by Merrill A. Bailey; and an advertisement for a $2 stay at the Lincklaen House.
“[Our staff members] created an exhibit that gives a glimpse at the creative merchandising items used by shops and services decades ago,” said Library Director Betsy Kennedy. “The community is fortunate that people like Danna DeVaul, Amanda Bury and others value our history to save these little slices of everyday life.”
Additional items from the DeVaul collection will be featured in the museum’s local history exhibit hall, which is scheduled to undergo a renovation starting this winter.
“The library is always excited when we can create and display new exhibits, but even more so with ‘Cazenovia Memories,’” Davies said. “This new exhibit not only showcases new artifacts, but it also kicks off a renovation of our local history exhibit, something we’ve wanted to do for years.”
The library was recently awarded a William G. Pomeroy Foundation grant to complete the renovation project, titled “A Timeline of Cazenovia History (1525-Present Day).”
For more information on the Cazenovia Public Library, visit cazenoviapubliclibrary.org.