By Joanne Kosuda Warner,
President, Andes Society for History and Culture
The Andes Society for History and Culture (A.S.H.C) celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2025. We own and maintain 3 historic buildings in town: The Hunting Tavern Museum from the 1820s, The Old Andes Fire Hall (1896), now the Andes Thrift Shop, and The Pleasant Valley Meeting House from the 1850s.
Since we opened the Museum in 1999, the Andes Thrift Shop has been our major fund-raising arm. In the past few years, funds from the Thrift Shop, our Year-End Appeal, and grants from the O’Connor Foundation have been used to install a new roof on the Museum, replace the handicap ramp and add gutters to the building. The Thrift shop has had sills and joists replaced, gutters installed and a freshly painted front entrance. But more work needs to be done. Most critical this year is to install a new heating and cooling system to replace the 30-and 40-year-old equipment.
We are pleased to report that the O’Connor Foundation will support this work with a grant of $14,050. This is a matching grant, and we are working hard at the Thrift Shop to cover the remaining expenses.
A wonderful team of 9 dedicated volunteers has been busy since March to re-vamp the shop, organize and price the donations and open the new second floor sales space. Your donations of gently used, clean items of clothing, housewares, small furniture, toys and books have been excellent and plentiful! Thank you for your donations and purchases—the Andes community keeps us going and we are on our way to match the grant money!
Our hours are 10-4 pm Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. We have remained so busy this entire Summer that we need 4 volunteers a day at the shop. If you are interested in joining us in the effort to preserve Andes history, please leave your name and number at the desk.