The Williamson County Historical Society held a fall membership meeting Sunday, October 22nd, 2017 at the Williamson County Museum and Genealogy Library at 105 S. Van Buren Street in Marion. Society business and projects both completed, ongoing and upcoming were discussed. Elections for the 2018 board of directors was held. Elected to office were Sam Lattuca, President; Colleen Norman, Vice President; Helen Sutt Lind, 2nd Vice President; Ursula Richey, Secretary; and Bob Jackson for Director. The position of Treasurer was unfilled.
The guest speaker was Jon Musgrave, local historian, who spoke about the scary bits of Southern Illinois found in history including the practice of witchcraft and superstition in the area’s early history.
Society member, Dolores Thetford, was inducted into the Society’s Honor Roll due to her dedicated service to the organization. Thetford joined the society in 1977 and has served as Treasurer for the last 17 years.
Planned renovations on areas of the museum were discussed and recent accessions to the museum were displayed. The museum and genealogy library are currently open six days a week, Monday through Saturday from 9:30 till 3 PM. After Thanksgiving it will reduce its hours over the winter due to heating costs down to Saturdays only until the beginning of March.