Past historical society president shares her own history
By Nora Cardec Journal Correspondent

Lillian Whitney (l.) stays active in town, after her two-year term as president of the Ashby Historical Society.

A retired bookkeeper, Lillian Whitney, has made it her job to remain active in the town's affairs.

After serving as the president of the Ashby Historical Society for the last two years, Whitney passed the baton to Elaine Kelsey at a recent society meeting.

"I wish her the best and I'll be there to help," she said in reference to Kelsey's new post.

Whitney first became involved with the historical society during the 1960s after learning her husband's great-grandfather's musket was part of the society's inventory.

"It was a Whitney connection. That's what got me into the historical society in the first place,"

she said.

Sometime in the late 1950s, Whitney said her father-inlaw inspired her to look into the family's genealogy.

During her genealogical research, Lillian said she found out a very interesting piece of information about two of her husband's ancestors who died in the 1800s.

She said the two Whitneys - a father and son pair - both whom had served as brigadier generals during the Revolutionary War, although buried in the West Cemetery in Ashby, all their records had been sent to Ashburnham.

"This started me thinking about the origin of the town," she said.

Whitney took upon herself to study the origin of the town. And eventually, the project evolved and became her biggest project as part of the society.

During her study, she found interesting facts, such as that the territory that used to be West Ashburnham is now Ashby; and that John Fitch, who lived in land once considered part of Fitchburg, fought for Ashby to become a town.

After learning all she could about the town, Whitney created a detailed chart of how Ashby became a town, which she has presented at various venues including the First Parish Hall, the Gardner Museum and at the society's headquarter in town.

Throughout her many years of involvement with the historical society, Whitney has been involved with many activities including the two largest annual fund-raising events for the society - the Bluegrass Festival and the Chili Wagon at the Ashby Pumpkin Festival.

Whitney was also instrumental in obtaining a copy of the original town's charter from the state archives, and in 1976 she put together "This Country of Ours Pageant."

Whitney, along with other members of the society, created a display of Ashby's history, using photographs and other historical artifacts, which is a permanent exhibit at the Town Hall.

For a space of close to 20 years between 1970 and 1990, the Ashby Historical Society lay dormant, mostly due to lack of a facility, she said. The group and their work had been housed at various locations in town including the Legion Hall, the Granger Hall and the Town Hall.

The society currently occupies the former fire station on Main Street.

Whitney's involvement in town has not been limited to the historical society. She has been a member of the finance committee; a Girl Scouts troop leader; and the past Master Granger.

Whitney also did the dedication of Allen Field and is currently in charge of coordinating the Ashby 240th Anniversary, which will be celebrated next year.

"Preserving the past, collecting the present and having a preview for people in the future" is one of the many sayings that Whitney tries to follow.

She pledges to continue helping the society in whatever she can even though she is no longer president. "I'll be on the sidelines," she said. "I won't stop. It's very important to keep going."

- + - Nora Cardec is a correspondent for The Community Journal and can be reached at: ncardec@yahoo.com or (978) 827-3386. Ext. 10.