CATO -- "It's been 10 long years," Peg Sweetman said as an excavating crew lowered a set of steel beams with a backhoe Monday.

A few other excited members of the CIViC Heritage Historical Society joined her on a cool and soggy morning to witness a decade of work fall into place off Route 34 in the village. It will be some time before the 50-by-80-foot structure has "Four Towns Under One Roof" as a sign at the site near South Street promises, but the pile of framework resting on wooden slabs indicates the project is under way.

The society hopes the progress is just as reassuring to the potential benefactors as it is to the society.

"Once they see it's actually happening, I'm sure people will jump on board," member Bob McCadden said.

About $135,000 in state and federal grants will cover a third of the cost for the CIViC Heritage Historical Center. The society has $50,000 to contribute, but a bulk of the remainder will come from Cato Rotary Club fundraising this spring.

The history collective primarily representing Cato, Ira, Victory and Conquest has been searching for a place to store and display its documents and artifacts since the late 1990s. High renovation costs and a failed grant application forced some historical buildings off the list.

For the complete story, read Tuesday's edition of The Citizen