Local History Snapshot: Lee Freeman

Lee Freeman, who is our historian extraordinaire and Local History and Genealogy Department associate, made the move from the former library building to the present one. We asked him how the new space compares with the old.

“No comparison,” he said “The old building was great for 1949 but we had long outgrown it by the time plans were being made for a new library. With its flat, leaky roof, HVAC system that fritzed out every few weeks in the summer, and limited space, especially in the basement, it was time to upgrade. The conference room wasn't big enough, and we only had limited space for computers.”

Lee started working at the library in April 1997. He had applied for a position at circulation, but the day he went for his interview, then-assistant director, Rick Freemon, told Lee there was a position as local history-genealogy librarian that was available. He knew Lee was a history geek!

“I worked part-time for a couple of years until (then-director) Elisabeth South offered to make me full-time. I've worked under five different directors in my tenure here,” Lee said. He said he loves history in general and researching topics that haven’t been researched much, or at all. He said he also loves the “excitement and romance” of studying another culture from another time

“On a practical level, I really believe that if a community doesn't know where it's been, it won't have any idea where it's going. Who we are is, to a great extent, who our ancestors were – for good or ill – and we need to be conscious of the fact that they weren't perfect and to try to celebrate their positive achievements while also trying to learn from their mistakes so that we don't repeat them.”

Lee said he has learned that history is “incredibly rich and varied, not a one size fits all situation at all. I'm always learning something new that I didn't know before. What I've learned in 25 years is a drop in the proverbial bucket. But it's great to work with the other area historians and help to tell our very unique collective story and individual stories. It's definitely never dull! And it's a great thing that our community takes its history as seriously as it does, because not every community can say that.”