Soldiers & Sailors Opens Historical Exhibit

As Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hospital continues to celebrate its 100^th birthday, the Finger Lakes Health Foundation invites the public to visit a small historical exhibit on the ground floor of the hospital.

The exhibit features photos, documents, newspaper clippings, memorial books, nursing and hospital Auxiliary uniforms, and other items from the hospital’s archives, as well as items on loan from Yates County History Center. “Honor Roll” boards from Soldiers and Sailors Auxiliary’s “Remembering Those Who Served” project, listing the names of service members recognized by a gift to the Auxiliary from a family member or community organization, will also be on display. Beginning Monday, October 28, coloring sheets, part of a Centennial Birthday Cake Coloring Contest, from local elementary schools will be added.

The exhibit is located on the ground floor of Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hospital, 418 N. Main Street, Penn Yan, to the right, just inside the main entrance. It will be open weekdays (Monday to Friday) from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. through Veterans Day, November 11. Note: the exhibit will be closed Thursday, October 24, and on weekends.

“The history of Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hospital is woven into the last century of Yates County’s history,” says Mary Sue Dehn, Finger Lakes Health Foundation Director of Development. “We are grateful to the Yates County History Center Board for the loan of several items which help round out the exhibit at the hospital, and recognize that the hospital is only a part of the legacy of caring for others in Penn Yan.” Yates County History Center’s Oliver House maintains a small permanent exhibit about the hospital, as well as an extensive public collection of medical equipment, books, and mementos that once belonged to the Oliver family, three generations of physicians who lived in the house in the mid-19^th and early 20^th centuries.

Check out Celebrating Soldiers & Sailors Centennial Geneva, New York (NY), Finger Lakes Health (flhealth.org) to stay on top of all the Centennial Celebration events!