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Byrd steps up at Bath County Historical Society
 | | Keene Byrd has been hired as administrator of the Bath County Historical Society, where he and his wife, Betsy, have volunteered for more than three years. Byrd's roots in Bath go back to 1747. (Recorder photo by Margo Oxendine) |
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WARM SPRINGS - Byrds have been a part of Bath history since 1747, long before the county was founded. One of Bath's earliest legends concerns the September 1756 massacre of John Byrd, and the kidnapping of his family by marauding Shawnees. Since then, Byrds have played a part, and often a starring role, as history unfolds.
It is only fitting, then, that Keene Byrd should be the new administrator at the Bath County Historical Society. Byrd and his wife, Betsy, have been volunteer docents at the museum and research center for three years.
"There are a number of things about this new job that excite me," Byrd noted last Friday, his first day at the helm. "Of course, I've always been a student of history. Most of the reading that I do for fun is about, or related to, history. So for me, the chance to really become the curator, or the person who protects what we have, is more than exciting. You can read about it in one place, hold it in your hands in another, and before you know it, Bath history has come alive.
"That's really what I would like to do more than anything else," Byrd added. "To make our history come alive, so people can really understand it. A lot of people love it here; they call Bath home, and are proud of it, but a lot of times, they don't really know the story behind it all, how it got here, why it's here. And our very history in some ways influences what they will do with their lives, or their children's lives."
There are many aspects to Byrd's job at the society - the museum, the genealogical research library, fund-raising, community outreach and education.
"I'm very impressed with what I see in the museum," Byrd noted, "and I think the work of a lot of people has gone into making this museum a reality. A lot of our people living here don't know about this museum; they've not been here, they've not been in to see what's here. One of the things the (society) board wants to do, and I'm very interested in doing, is taking the history of the community back to its foundation."
Byrd explained. "Let's say we take the first 100 families who came into the Valley. And from that 100, we'd build a tree of all the descendants. Then we could start building festivals around that. I think if people who live here today really knew that their greatgrandfather's old house is in a photograph in this museum, they're going to take an interest in that. So, if I can find a person to be responsible for the Kincaid family, the Byrd family, the Warwick family, or the Armstrong family, then I can try to build a volunteer organization around that. They'd really be looking after their own history."
The research library at the society headquarters in Warm Springs is known to genealogyseekers across the country as a valuable resource. Throughout the spring, summer and fall, they show up at the door, lugging laptops and bulging briefcases, a hopeful gleam in their eyes.
"During my work here as a volunteer, I saw a lot of that," Byrd said. "I know that people can get very focused on this, and they can get very frustrated trying to find the facts that can fill in their family tree. The more I can learn about what's here in our library and files, the more valuable I can become in that regard. I'm an avid, voracious reader; I absorb things rapidly and tend to retain them, so I'm hoping I can help them."
Genealogy researchers can, indeed, become frustrated when trying to fill gaps in the branches of their family tree. On the other hand, the elation at discovering one scrap of paper, one mention in a book about wills or marriages, one entry in a 150-year-old Census, can bring joy.
"To point them toward something that they never knew existed, and watch their reaction, well, that is pretty exciting," Byrd noted. "For instance, I had a call today. A man was trying to find his greatgrandmother, who was raised here by another family. Trying to figure that out can be a little daunting, but if I can zero in on it, or at least get him into the area where he needs to be, well, that should be very rewarding."
What Byrd sees as one of his biggest tasks is to continue and expand the community outreach of the historical society. Groups of school children and senior citizens love to visit, to see the artifacts of time gone by, to learn about the hows and whys of Bath history.
"We'll have stops and starts with that," he acknowledged. "But really, all you can do is try to make what is here available, and then try to convince people that we're serious expanding the base, and drawing them in. I think I can do that by finding people, young and old, and showing them some aspect of their history so that they can't help but become excited and involved. If I can pull those two groups - the young and the old - together, then I have a good chance of coming up with a good volunteer organization. I really think that is the key: getting people interested, and letting them know that their interest is appreciated here at the Bath County Historical Society."
The society has recently switched to winter hours:
Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. -4 p.m. In May, summer hours commence and the
doors are open Wednesday through Saturday. To learn more, call (540) 839-2543;
e-mail: bathcountyhistory@tds.net, or find it on the Web at
www.bathcountyhistory.org.
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