State History

The Oneida County History Center has named Mary Pat Connors 2019 Volunteer of the Year. Volunteers, such as Mary Pat, are an invaluable asset to the community and essential to the daily operation and long-term care of the History Center.  Mary Pat was chosen for her exceptional contributions to the History Center by her co-volunteers, History Center staff, and the Board of Trustees. This honor was announced during the annual Hall of Fame and Living Legends Awards Banquet on September 25. 2019.  

Mary Pat has volunteered at the History Center for just under two years, but has already made a large impact. She started in the spring of 2018 and has had her hands in all parts of the collections from top hats and personal diaries to photographs and ballot returns. Her primary task is to prepare donations and found items for inclusion in the History Center collections.  She identifies items, conducts research on each, and catalogs items relevant to Mohawk Valley history. She finds other homes for items unrelated to our local history at other museums or historical societies.  Currently she is working on organizing and cataloguing the Mohawk Airlines collection, along with Digital Archivist Lauren Robinson, which contains thousands of documents, slides, and items from Mohawk, Empire, and Allegheny Airlines.

A retired school librarian, she joined the History Center to keep her mind active and stay involved with the community. She loves to research and organize, so assisting with collections management is right down her “librarian alley” so to speak.  Her favorite part of the job is the interesting discoveries she makes almost daily. There’s always a new story to discover (or re-discover) within the 250,000+ documents, artifacts, and images in the OCHC collections.

Mary Pat, mother of 4 and grandmother of 5, keeps a full schedule apart from her work at the History Center. She is the president of the Tramp and Trail Club in Utica and participates in many of their activities including hiking, biking, kayaking, skiing, and snowshoeing.  She also manages the club’s online photo archive and is a member of their history committee.  She plans to coordinate a special 100^th anniversary celebration for the Tramp & Trail at the History Center in 2021.  Lastly, Mary Pat loves to travel. Recent journeys include trips to Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia.

The History Center staff, volunteers, and board of trustees would like to thank and recognize Mary Pat Connors for her dedicated service to the History Center and the community.  We are grateful for enthusiastic volunteers and active community members like Mary Pat. Without them, we simply could not exist. 

The Oneida County History Center is a private 501(c) (3) not-for-profit educational institution and is dedicated to preserving and promoting the history, heritage, and culture of the Greater Mohawk Valley. Admission to exhibits and programs is free for the general public; donations are encouraged. Please contact the History Center at 315-735-3642 or visit the OCHC website (www.oneidacountyhistory.org) or Facebook.com page for additional information.