PORT BYRON #- Saturday was a long day in the kitchen for Betty Smith.

She arrived at the Port Byron Federated Church at 10 a.m., ready to cook a pasta dinner for more than 100 people. But, by now, Smith is a practiced hand at this.

Saturday was the fifth pasta dinner fundraiser for the Lock 52 Historical Society and Smith, a long-time member of the historical society and a member of the board of directors, has been behind the scenes doing the cooking all along.

“We've pretty much got it down to science now,” Smith said. “I got here at about 10 and we started with the sauce and meatballs. We went through about 12 pounds of spaghetti last year. We plan on cooking for about 100 people.”

And dinner after dinner, Smith's cooking is not to be missed.

Historical society president Dorothy Walker said that the dinners have always been well attended, thanks in no small part to Smith.

“We've been pleased with how these have gone,” Walker said. “People hear she is cooking and they don't want to miss it.”

Funds raised from Saturday's dinner go toward the support and upkeep of the Lock 52 Historical Society house, located at 73 Pine Street, which has proven to be a fitting home for the historical society.

Pine Street and the historical society house were among the first in the village of Port Byron and the original Erie Canal route, built in 1819, ran directly behind both.

“It is one of the oldest houses in the village,” Smith said. “It was built with wood that came up on the Erie Canal and as the family that lived there grew the house grew.”

And being an older house, it has the same needs for maintenance and upkeep that any other old house would need.

In recent years, through funds raised from donations, grants the village has received and funds raised from efforts like the spaghetti dinners, the house has been the beneficiary of some important repairs recently.

Walker said that among the repairs that have been made possible for the house through donations and fundraisers have been things like new electrical outlets, new eaves and drainage from the roof, repairs to the basement and foundation and some new windows.

But there is still more work to be done not only to maintain the house, but also to help the historical society expand into the future.

The house has served as a repository for many historical items from Port Byron and the Town of Mentz's past, from pictures, to year books and genealogical records.

The historical society has also come into possession of numerous items such as uniforms and photographs, representing America's involvement from World War I to present day conflicts.

Smith was adamant that a display needed to be created for all of these historically significant items.

“It all started with all these uniforms we had from all the different conflicts,” Smith said. “This is important memorabilia, so we decided to put it downstairs. We painted the walls and fixed the ceiling, and it turned out really nice.”

Along with other maintenance on the house, such as new windows, Smith hopes to use some of the funds raised Saturday to help expand on the veterans display.

There are plans for a November presentation with members of the U.S. Army National Guard speaking about their experiences overseas, as a grand opening for the veterans display.

Smith said she also hopes to use the display for educational purposes, perhaps reaching out to the schools to help students better understand the war time experience.

Efforts that have been made possible by the support received through fundraisers like Saturday's dinner.

“Things like this have helped greatly,” Smith said. “All the support we've received and all the people that help have really helped us a lot.”