When the nation celebrates a new president come 2021, Lansdale Historical Society will be doing the same within its own ranks.
In the year of its 50th Anniversary, the nonprofit will welcome fourth-generation Lansdale resident Bill Henning as its new President. He will succeed Dick Shearer, 75, who has been president for 18 of the last 20 years.
Henning, who is co-vice president of the Society, will take over March 1.
“It’s time for new blood,” Shearer is quoted in the December 2020 edition of “Jenkins Journal,” the newsletter of Lansdale Historical Society. “I indicated last year that this would be my last term as president, and for once, I stuck to my guns.”
Shearer, who will remain on the Board of Trustees as second vice president, will become Historian of the Lansdale Historical Society, a newly created position in his honor. Shearer will concentrate on historic research and continue to oversee the Society’s Facebook page.
Shearer said in the newsletter that the duties were becoming too taxing on him at his age. The Society, he said, needs new ideas, new energy and a new leader who can carry the mission forward into the future.
“Bill is the perfect choice for that,” Shearer said.
Henning holds Lansdale in the highest regard and the tasks he has undertaken in the borough are proof. He has been dedicated to the Freight House Restoration Project, sits on the board of nonprofit Discover Lansdale, and is a part of the borough’s 150th Anniversary Celebration. Lansdale Borough’s Sesquicentennial is August 24, 2022.
Perhaps Henning and his family are best known for its longtime business, Henning’s Model Trains, located at 128 South Line Street.
“Being born and raised in Lansdale, and a fourth-generation resident, I have a natural passion for the area and have a lot of respect for all the work the past Presidents and Society have done,” Henning said. “Dick is leaving me some big shoes to fill.”
Henning said he is simultaneously nervous and excited to take the reins.
“(Shearer’s) knowledge and dedication sets the bar pretty high, and as President, I intend to make sure he doesn’t go far. I have too much to learn.”
Henning considers the historical society the town’s biggest hidden treasure.
“So many people don’t realize just how easy it is to get lost there, when you start looking at pictures or reading and learning about its history and Lansdale’s history,” he said.
It is vital, he said, to introduce the Society and all it has to offer to the next generation.
Some things in our technology-heavy, TikToking world are not as easily accessible as a simple Google search and a click of the mouse. The Jenkins Homestead and Historical Research Center on Jenkins Avenue is the headquarters of the historical society. Within the 1770-era Federalist-style farmhouse are artifacts, memorabilia, documents, photographs, and other ephemera that predate the 1872 incorporation of the Borough.
“We have such great volunteers and members now, but we need to get the younger crowd involved, get them to find their passion for their hometown’s history,” Henning said.
Despite the unpredictable nature of things now, Henning believes 2021 will be a great year for the Lansdale Historical Society.
“I am looking forward to diligently working with the Board members and the society’s volunteers to find ways to continue to bring its resources to all to learn from and enjoy,” he said.
According to its newsletter, Clarence Kinsey will remain as vice president, and will serve as administrative assistant to Henning, in 2021. Kinsey heads the photographic preservation effort at the Society.
Secretary Janice Bennett and Treasurer Anne Scheuring will remain in their positions in 2021. Trustee Frank Krimm will join Raymond Walton in trustee emeritus status. Krimm will be replaced by Lower Gwynedd resident and volunteer researcher Marsha Althouse. Remaining trustees Chris Cooke, Marti Drumheller, Linda Evans, Ruth Madison, Steve Moyer, and Pat Rieker will each return for another term.
Lansdale Historical Society is located at 137 Jenkins Avenue and can be reached at 215-855-1872. Email them at [email protected].
The Jenkins Homestead and Research Center is open to the public during the pandemic Wednesdays and Thursdays 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Saturdays 9:30 a.m. to noon. Masks are required. Free tours are available to groups of four or fewer.
Charges may apply for research projects. Visit lansdalehistory.org for more details and to learn how to make financial donations.
See also:
Lansdale Historical Society Presents ‘The 1950s: The Boomer Generation’
Lansdale Historical Society To Display High School Memorabilia
Hatfield Historical Society To Display Aerial Photos Of Hatfield History
Lansdale's Oldest Church Is Closing Its Doors
Lansdale Historical Society Series To Profile The Decades, Starting With The 1960s
