Meetings will inform public about upcoming anniversary

When Allison Cuthie was approached to organize the yearlong celebration of the 300th anniversary of the founding of New Holland in 2028, she knew she would need to appeal to the whole community to pull off events befitting the occasion.

Cuthie began by organizing a small committee to consider ways to celebrate the founding of New Holland in 1728.

New Holland Area Historical Society (NHAHS) board member Don Horning was part of that committee. "Occasionally at museum or historical society planning meetings, the approaching 300th anniversary subject would come up," recalled Horning. "We knew that with our limited volunteer base and ambitious agenda, we would not be able to manage such a task in-house." Horning said that NHAHS members also knew that Cuthie had the skills and talents needed to lead this effort. Horning talked to Cuthie, and "the plan was hatched." "Now we need the town to step up to help her pull it all together," Horning said.

With the NHAHS as the sponsoring organization and volunteers from that organization offering to serve as resources for historical information, Cuthie and her committee began discussing possibilities with the goals of educating the community on New Holland history and raising awareness of the impact of New Hollanders on the outside world. The group also seeks to involve diverse members of the community, including multiple generations all while increasing awareness of NHAHS.

To that end, Cuthie and the anniversary celebration committee have organized two upcoming meetings that the public is invited to attend. The first will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 11, at 6 p.m. at Garden Spot Fire Rescue, 339 E. Main St., New Holland. The second meeting will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 18, in the chapel at Garden Spot Village, 433 S. Kinzer Ave., New Holland, at 1 p.m. Cuthie explained that the sessions will be identical with one in the evening and one in the afternoon to make it easier for members of the greater New Holland area community to attend.

Once the original committee had begun meeting and brainstorming, Cuthie reached out to leaders of area organizations to start a conversation about how those groups could be involved. "The third step is to hold public informational sessions," said Cuthie of the upcoming meetings, which will be designed for attendees to learn about the celebration and see where they might participate or support an event.

According to Cuthie, a number of possible celebration ideas have been discussed in the brainstorming sessions.

More information about NHAHS may be found at https://nhhistorical.com or by searching for "New Holland Area Historical Society" on Facebook.