By Patricia Breakey
DELHI _ The Delaware County Historical Association will present three awards of merit at its annual meeting at 1 p.m. Sunday.
The award recipients are Bovina town historian Ray LaFever, Roxbury community resources director Peg Ellsworth and the Deposit Historical Society.
LaFever was nominated for his dedication to collecting and presenting information about Bovina's past.
"I just want to say how pleased I am to be recognized by the DCHA for my work as town historian," LaFever said Friday. "My dad always loved Bovina and loved talking about its history. I was honored to take over from him as town historian after his death in 2004.
"I'm particularly pleased because the nomination came from the Bovina Historical Society," LaFever continued. "I've enjoyed working with the society in what is challenging work to ensure that Bovina's history is not lost."
LaFever compiled a calendar of aerial images of Bovina from negatives taken by Bob Wyer in 1946, and has compiled numerous articles for the Bovina United Presbyterian Church Newsletter about Bovina's history. He was nominated in a letter from Janine Bray, representing the Bovina Historical Society.
Peg Ellsworth was nominated for her creative spirit and organizational drive to restore Kirkside Park and develop Roxbury's Turn of the Century Days.
"To Ellsworth, the massive restoration project that brought Kirkside Park back into community life and the creation of an all volunteer 19th century style baseball team were just a good start. From there, she saw the potential of history as a vibrant economic engine and not just a static exhibit of the past. And she thought that the first people to experience the richness of Roxbury's past should be its young people," Trish Adams wrote in Ellsworth's nomination information.
Ellsworth, who is also executive director of the MARK Group, was out of the area Friday and could not be reached for comment.
The nomination letter for the Deposit Historical Society lauded the group for its significant contributions to the preservation and presentation of local history.
The Deposit Historical Society formally dedicated its second museum building this year _ the Oliver T. Bundy House _ which also houses a reference library and research room. The house is located next to the group's original bank building museum.
Kay Hoban, society spokeswoman, said the group is thrilled.
"It's grand to be recognized for the treasury of Deposit's history and for trying to preserve mankind's history and celebrate our future," Hoban said Friday.
For more information about the Deposit Historical Society, visit www.deposithistoricalsociety.org.
The annual meeting begins at 1 p.m. with a luncheon catered by the Cross Roads Café in the Norris Gallery at DCHA, which is located on state Route 10, 21/2 miles north of Delhi.
After the luncheon, the awards will be presented. Then, Robert W. Arnold III will present a slideshow, "1812: New York's War, New York's Impetus," in which he examines the impact of the war and its aftermath on the people of New York.
The cost of lunch is $25 per person. Arnold's program is free and open to the public.
