The 20-member Polk Township Historical Society is working on restoring and displaying historical items at Lodge Hall, which recently received a fresh coat of paint.

The Historical Society also recently held the first open house for the public to view the historic building at 104 Lodge Hall Road and various items from the past.

During the COVID-19 pandemic the organization had disbanded, but it started up again in January.

“We don’t want to lose the township history,” said Nancy Wright, treasurer of the organization.

The Historical Society worked for three weekends to organize and present some of the items to the public. But there are many more artifacts that still need to be properly preserved and shown.

“We’re going room by room to clean and preserve what is here,” Wright said.

The plan is to add more items for the public to view, as well as to re-create a bedroom from the past on the second floor of the building.

Among the items the society has is a 1-foot by 2-foot “County Book” from 1875 that includes extensive information for every township in Monroe County. Every house is labeled with the name of the homeowner and other information about the township properties.

And a “Friendship Quilt” on display was made with Polk Township family themes. It was raffled in the first fundraiser by the Historical Society in 1998 for $2,000. Earl Smith donated it back in 2003.

Other items currently available for viewing include an ice cream cone warmer, old cash register, old stove and U.S. Army uniform from World War II, as well as ledgers and documents from the rich history of Polk Township.

“I love history, as I lived on an old farm and always talked to people about what life used to be in this area,” Historical Society Vice President Gus Randazzo said. “There’s a lot of cool history, especially known by the people who built the houses.”

He encourages other young people to join the organization.

Raymond Andrews, a teacher at Pleasant Valley and Polk Township whose picture is in the lodge, helped foster Norman Burger’s interest in history. Burger is president of the Historical Society.

“You can’t know who you are until you know what your history is,” Burger said. “We build on the past.”

The Historical Society building was constructed as a business by brothers Aaron and Nathan Christman in 1888. It was used as a furniture store and “funery,” Aaron being the only undertaker in Polk Township. Brother Lewis bought the property in 1901 and used it as a furniture store and then a general store, adding onto the back.

In 1925, Kresgeville Camp of the Patriotic Order Sons of America bought the building to use as a lodge hall. The Sons of Union Veterans Civil War and its women’s auxiliary also used the building.

Membership in the P.O.S. of A. declined following WWII. After the lodge disbanded, Richard and Blanche Strausberger purchased the building in 1981 and used it for storage. The Strausbergers donated the lodge building to Polk Township in 1998 to be used as a museum and house archives for the Polk Township Historical Society.