BATH TWP.: During the meeting on Nov. 19, trustees honored Lee Darst with a resolution for her “love of all things historic” and helping the township to “develop a great appreciation of significant events and notable characters which built the township,” according to the resolution.
Darst led the Bath Township Museum Board and helped direct the research, collection and documentation of the history of the township. She led the efforts to celebrate the 100th birthday of Bath’s Historic Town Hall and establish that building as the Bath Township Museum, for which she was the first administrator. As that administrator, Darst also catalogued artifacts of the Bath Township Historical Society, collected new memorabilia and administrated a library and research center about Bath and its families.
Also, as the museum administrator, Darst planned and opened 12 interpretive and educational exhibits, along with 10 cemetery tours and a Stony Hill Schoolhouse tour. In addition, as a corollary to those exhibits, Darst edited and published three books and is currently working on a fourth.
“It was an easy job because the people of Bath are so supportive,” said Darst, adding that the residents have made the Bath Historical Society and museum essential parts of the township’s history.
Darst reminded those in attendance that the current exhibit at the Bath Museum, “Bath Township 1900 to 1950,” focusing on daily life in the township from 1900 to 1950, will close Dec. 19.
While Darst stepped down earlier this year as the museum administrator, she continues to be part of the historical events in Bath and said she is “looking forward to 2018, when we will celebrate the Bicentennial of Bath Township.”
