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lE SEA COAST ECHU—SUNDAY, JULY 6, 1997
>ciety
Continued from Page 1A
il camera, Gray plans on g photographs of every
■	in the county put on the uter, arranged by street ss and accompanied with story.
searchers will not only be ;o locate information, but source that information from.
1 records in the computer >e followed in parenthesis s source,” Gray explained, .von’t vouch for the accu-just the source.” ice all reports of an event, source, will be in the com-, one event may have sev-iifferent accounts, mpleting such an under-g takes a great amount of
ay, along with Karen s, Director of the Kate Lo-) House, can usually be I on the premises working ojects, or greeting visitors, ditionally, the society s from a strong volunteer
“We were running between 500-600 volunteer hours a month last year,” Gray said, noting that the hours are down some now, partly because working with the computers may have scared some volunteers.
He stresses that there is “a need for any talent” and volunteers are welcome, and needed, to do anything from filing to computers to scrapbooks.
It is hard to imagine the massive amount of history which has been compiled since 1974 when the historical society was organized, followed by its incorporation in 1975.
The first president was Norton Haas and Peggy Gibbens maintained all records at her home.
“(The Hisorical Society) held monthly meetings in various local restaurants for about 10 years because they didn’t have a permanent home,” Gray said, explaining that the Kate Lo-brano House was donated to the Historical Society in 1988.
Although many changes have been made to the structure, including additions, visitors can still view rooms from the original house, of barge board construction, built in 1896.
“That was a standard form of architecture (in areas) from here to New Orleans,” Gray explained. “It was cheaper to rip up the barges and sell the lumber, then try to bring them back up river against the current.”
Furnishings in the front room of the house are of the period from 1853-1890.
Since the house had been abandoned for several years prior to its donation, it was in need of much renovation, which members of the society came together to do.
“The first year (in the house) we made morning tea from a water faucet on the front lawn and had to take the dishes to Ruth’s (Cakery) to run through the dishwasher,” laughed Gray.
Since obtaining the house,
the society has completed two additions adding over 1,400 square feet.
Monthly luncheon meetings can accomodate over 60 people. The luncheons are open to the public and cost $6.
A monthly newsletter, The Historian of Hancock County, goes out to over 600 members, and contains interesting history as well as current happenings and notices of upcoming events.
Gray contributes to the newsletters and in any conversation with him, his knowledge and enjoyment of local history is immediately apparent.
Before moving to Bay St. Louis and buying his home, Beachwood Hall, Gray admits he was “a lousy history student.”
Once here, he began doing research on his home and neighboring property, which eventually led him to Mary Leigh Weston, whose parents owned the Weston house on the beach.
The home was destroyed in Hurricane Camille, but Gray received a photo of the home from Weston.
A second photo, one of Stah-ley House, came from Hubbard, and Gray was on his way.
“One is not a collection, two is. When I got those pictures, I then had a collection,” Gray said. “Once we had a collection people started adding to it.
The collections continue to grow and visitors of the Historical Society are the lucky beneficiaries.
The Historical Society is located at 108 Cue Street in Bay St. Louis. It is open from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Historical tours may be 'rranged.