Ever wonder what it was like to live in Latham during the early 1900s?
Well, Aimee Richardson, building director at Sheehy Manor, and her father Bill Luther have started a project in which they hope to compile artifacts, photos and other items to tell a story of what Latham was like prior to the 1970s.
“I’ve always kind of had an interest in Latham’s history,” said Luther, 68. “I remember when my grandparents and my parents told me stories. I wish I had the foresight to record some of the things they certainly knew of and talked about.”
Now, with the help of residents of Latham and Sheehy Manor, a Colonie Senior Services Center housing facility, Luther and his daughter are sending out a questionnaire to members of the senior community. It asks questions of seniors, like where they used to hang out. They are questions meant to trigger memories of the past, Richardson said.
“We try to get specifics and pictures to back them up,” she said. “Things such as activities that used to take place around here are what we’re looking for.”
If a person is not able to fill out the questionnaire, Richardson said they would be more than willing to visit the person at their home and do an interview with them.
Luther said he’s not just looking for people to donate their photographs to the cause, he’s even looking for artifacts such as school report cards or even items from a scrap drive in the town. Richardson said they also would love to know about what went on in the various neighborhoods in Latham and what businesses were around. What she is really interested in hearing, though, was what it was like for the WWII veterans.
“There are a lot of war heroes that have a lot of neat stories people would enjoy,” she said. “That’s the fun part. I’ve lived in Latham my whole life and every time I sit down with people and talk about the past I learn something new. It’s very cool.”
There is a committee that will be getting together to decide what exactly to do with the materials that have been collected. Luther said they may compile everything together and try to write a book about what they have found. Richardson said there might even be a chance that a video is created, but the end product has yet to be decided
“We definitely want to put it in a format for everyone to enjoy,” she said. “Whether it is a book or a video is up in the air. I have a feeling there will be a lot of interest, though.”
Luther admitted that the task might be an ambitious one but he said he is excited to go through the process. He said he had worked with the town historian a bit but said that he hopes he can find information on his own that he could lend to the historian.
Still, Luther said he wanted to put everything together before the opportunity faded away as many seniors are getting older. After the “Remembering Wolf Road” book was released by Richard Nary, director of the town’s library, and Peter Platt, Luther said he found the motivation to organize a committee to put together a history of Latham. So, any help that can be provided to the committee’s cause would be much appreciated.
“Right now, it’s just the beginning,” Luther said. “We’re really enthusiastic and hope we’ll be able to accomplish this. If we accomplish 50 percent of what we set out to do, we’ll be happy.”
If you would like to get in touch with the committee you can contact Luther at 433-5830 or [email protected]
