CATO - Having moved to the town of Ira in the spring of 1962, it didn't take long for Dorothy Southard to be captivated by the town's history. And this year marks her 30th anniversary as the town's historian.

“I come from a family that has deep roots in Onondaga County,” she said during a reception given in her honor Saturday afternoon at the Ira Town Municipal Building. “I have always been interested in history.”

Southard said that her husband's family has lived in the town since the early 1800s and that being the town's historian has just grown on her.

“It is nice to help people find answers to the many different questions,” she said. “Whether it be finding cemetery plots or researching in different books, it just grows on you.”

With an open house that featured many of the notebooks that Southard has filled through the years, guests enjoyed cake and punch while they toured the many displays.

“I have notebooks filled with many of the different research topics that I have done,” she said. “Whether it is old barns in the town, schools, local veterans, or the highway department - I don't think that there is a subject that I haven't covered.”

Southard said that the afternoon was also a way to open the municipal building to the general public who don't normally visit the building.

“The offices are open and people can just tour the building,” she said. “We are there to answer any questions that they may have.”

Southard said that she has enjoyed working with local schools on the different history projects that they have done and that helping people discover their roots is what it is all about.

“It is very rewarding,” she said. “People want to keep in touch with their history in many different ways. I enjoy being able to help them to do that.”

She also said that finding old family cemetery plots is a popular way for people to keep in touch with their roots. Southard recalled a research project that she completed for the local American Legion in which she listed names of all past veterans that had lived in the town.

“That was a notebook that I enjoyed putting together,” she said. In the 30 years that Southard has stood as Ira's historian she has quite a few stories to tell and encourages anyone with questions to contact her.

“I am here to help,” she said.