Peter Roland

Lake Placid-North Elba Historical Society President Peter Roland said Welsh will also work on the musem's exhibit makeovers and manage the museum's collections.
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"We're very excited to have a young, energetic, somewhat experienced person who is excited to learn and do something," Roland said of Welsh.

"We are going through an extreme makeover," said Peter Roland, Jr., president of the Historical Society."You've been here before.

Recently, JRB member Peter Roland resigned.A second member has indicated his intention to step down.

But until now, said historical society president Peter Roland, things at the History Museum in the old depot on Station Street have lacked a cohesive feel.

"We had a lot in here, but it wasn't coherent," Roland said.
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Central to the museum's mission, Roland said, is carving out its own niche in a town where history is prominently displayed.

With the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympic Museum, the historic John Brown Farm and the pending Adirondack Museum branch on Main Street, Roland said they try not to duplicate information people can or will be able find elsewhere and also try to cross-promote each other's facilities.

"We have Olympic artifacts, but you'll notice there's nothing in here really about the Olympics," he said."The idea is for each of these places to complement each other."

Right now, however, Lynch and other volunteers are scrambling to get their exhibits finished for their members reception on Thursday.

"This is the first revamping of the exhibit space is anyone's memory," Roland said.

Primarily, each exhibit serves to tell a small story that while able to stand alone also flesh out the greater story of the village and town.

With an old Adirondack guide boat that used to frequent Mirror Lake serving as the centerpiece of the main exhibit area, visitors can learn about local guides, the area's first settlers, the birth of winter sports in the region, agricultural heritage and the area's great camps and hotels through a diverse collection of photographs and items.

Once all is said and done, Roland estimated that the renovation will have cost a total of $20,000 - a price tag the dues paid by the society's 400 member households could not meet.

Instead, the society turned to local and state grants, as well as individual contributions from society members and patrons to get the work done.

And Roland said this project is just the first step in a long revitalization process that will see the renovation of the rest of the museum's exhibit space where the former Newman Post Office, general store and rustic furniture exhibits currently sit.

Also involved in the revitalization process, Roland said, is a future facelift for the exterior of the museum and the cataloging of all the museum's artifacts and items.

JRB member Peter Roland recently resigned and Rogers said another member has expressed a wish to step down.