Asahel's Emporium Shop closing Clearance Sale

CWTHS Members Only - February 14 & 15, Noon-5 pm

PUBLIC Welcome - February 16 & 17, 10 am -7 pm and February 18 Noon-4 pm

Clearance Merchandise Discounts at 40% - 50%

Includes: Gifts for all ages, Spring, Easter, Fall, Halloween, and Christmas decor items, and much more

Excludes: Society Publications and custom "Centerville" items

Consignment items are no longer available.

The Centerville-Washington Township Historical Society is making a few changes.  You may already know, "Asahel's Emporium" has recently been closed and is soon to be reopened to our members and the public for a final sale of all merchandise.  Several regular customers, as well as members of the Society have expressed their disappointment and were wondering why this decision was made.  If you have already surmised that this was a financial decision you are correct; and here's a brief explanation, probably more than you really want to know.  Perhaps I should be titling this article "Historical Society Economics 101."

Paying the Historical Society's bills is a lot like being a home owner...but multiplied by four.  The Society owns the Walton House and the Nutt Cottage (they were both gifted to us) and we are the caretakers of the Asahel Wright House and also the building that is now "Asahel's Emporium" formerly "Peppermint Shoppe Gifts."  Both of the latter houses are owned by the City of Centerville.  Just think about it...we have all the regular household expenses like heating, cooling, water, phone, and security.  Then there's lawn care, snow removal, and insurance to cover these buildings and their priceless collections.

We are also fortunate to have a part time staff that works to keep the Society in line with other top notch historical societies around the country.  All members of our staff are dedicated to the Society and therefore have agreed to accept meager wages...I call them semi-volunteers.  Nevertheless, we have to meet our payroll each month and provide them with the things they need to do their jobs.

Maintaining the Historical Society's collections and funding our programs such as the school children's educational program, summer workshops, and monthly speaker programs are a top priority.  The most expensive project that we are currently working on involves rewriting and updating the very popular publication A Sense of Place.

You're probably asking yourself about now, "Just where does all this money come from?"  The answer to your question is: city and township funding, membership dues, contributions, and fundraising events.

Because of recent legislature at the state level, our local government support is being reduced.  By next year we expect to be receiving about half of the amount that we received in 2011.  We (the Board of Trustees) are thankful for every dollar we receive and have agreed to tackle this situation head on.  This year we have agreed to cut our losses...and tighten our budget.  All of this brings me back to "Asahel's Emporium."  I'm sure you get the picture.

Cherie Nelson, our gift shop manager, worked hard to make the Historical Society's gift shop the best it has ever been and her dedication is deeply appreciated.  We all hope that she will choose to remain a part of the Centerville-Washington Township Historical Society family.