By Kim Gasuras | FreeWire – Your News, Your Voice
Photos courtesy of the Bucyrus Historical Society / FreeWire
BUCYRUS—The Bucyrus Historical Society has a new curator, and he is gearing up for a great year to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary.
“This is a special year so Fourth of July events will be big,” said Roy Raby who took over the position from Alison Kovac a few months ago.
“I started as a volunteer in the Summer of 2024,” said Raby, who like Kovac, is a history major.
Raby was born and raised in Bucyrus.
“I joined the US Army in 1971 and served 20 years, retiring in 1991 after varied assignments around the world,” said Raby. “I married my second wife in 1982 (from North Carolina) and we have three children, five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.”
Raby holds two master’s degrees, one in Adult Education and the other in History, and spent the past 30 years teaching at various schools, the last fifteen at Robeson Community College in North Carolina.
“I have always loved history and stay active in anything dealing with the past. I came back to Bucyrus in 2023 for a family reunion and my cousins were trying to sell their mother’s house, so we bought it. My wife and I have spent the past two summers there working on the house and enjoying the area,” said Raby.
He said while working on the house, he began volunteering at the Scroggs House, home of the Bucyrus Historical Society Museum at the corner of East Rensselaer and South Walnut Streets, as a docent and to update their database of artifacts.
“I really enjoyed the work and when Alison decided she needed to curtail some of her travel from Worthington, she suggested that we switch roles. I was recommended as curator and she stayed on as a volunteer,” said Raby.
The board approved his role as curator in July knowing that he had to go back to North Carolina for one more winter.
“So, from October to now, Alison has been filling in for me. We are moving back for good this winter and I will continue on in the role of curator full time,” said Raby.
He said the Historical Society and Scroggs House are important as a repository of the past in artifacts, records and as a place to connect with the past.
“We collect items of interest to the community that show the current generation what their ancestors experienced, provide research material on places and families, present interesting aspects that are unique to Bucyrus and the surrounding community, and interact with the community during special events,” said Raby.
He said it is a team effort as the board members, curator, and volunteers protect, catalog and present many delicate items that express the area in the best light possible for visitors to the Historical Society to enjoy with no cost to them.
Michelle and Steve Ritzhaupt visited the Historical Society during Candlelight Christmas.
“I have lived here for seven years and did not know that this was here,” Michelle said as she made her way around the first floor of the Scroggs House. “I am learning so much about Bucyrus that I didn’t know.”
Raby said the Scroggs House is now closed to the public for the winter until mid-March.
“We close the Scroggs House to the public during the winter for public safety and low interest. However, I will be working regularly on the records and communication and can open the house by appointment,” said Raby.
He also said that donations to the collection are still processed during the closed period each year.
Raby will be busy over the winter working on upgrading the database on the artifacts, for better management and presentation.
He will also be monitoring all forms of communication with the Historical Society and meeting with people who make appointments to tour the Scroggs House until it reopens for regular hours in the spring.
The Historical Society and the Bucyrus Little Theatre will join forces in June to hold a Cemetery Walk with the focus on the Hopley Family that Hopley Avenue is named after.
Raby said there will be many events this summer, including the Fourth of July events to celebrate America 250.
“This is a year we join much of Ohio for a special open house this summer,” said Raby. “We are open extra times for the Bratwurst Festival. We will be doing some sort of special event for Revolutionary War Veterans buried in Crawford County,” said Raby. “And, we are planning a special display for important sports figures from the area sometime this summer.”
For more information about the Bucyrus Historical Society Museum, located at 202 S. Walnut St., visit www.bucyrushistoricalsociety.org. Admission is free and to book a tour during the winter, call 419-562-6386 and leave a message.
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