My favorite thing

I am a charter member of the Belmont Historical Society.  It was started in 2005 by 7 gentlemen who wanted to make sure that the history of Belmont is preserved for future generations.  We were given a house by the Stowe Foundation for our 'Cultural and Heritage Learning Center'.  It is the 3rd oldest house in Belmont and we are very proud to be the recipients of such a great gift. 

There are 5 rooms and a long hallway with displays in them.  Some of our displays are permanent and some are temporary.  We have pictures of old churches and schools, and items from businesses that used to be in Belmont.  My favorite display is a scrapbook that was started by the Chamber of Commerce in 1946 or 1948.  We were given the scrapbook when we opened in 2007.  Since it was about the local businesses in Belmont, there are ads from years ago.  If a supermarket was having a grand opening, they took out a full page ad and listed prices of their food.  At Christmas, toys might be advertised along with Santa's visit to the store.  There are car, furniture and clothing ads.  Some things have gone up in price whereas other things have gone down in price. 

It is a lot of fun to sit there and look through the book and compare prices to things nowadays.  If you live in the area, stop in one day and look over the book.  It will certainly take you down memory lane.  I wonder how much a Thanksgiving dinner would have cost back then.