BY DEBI MARTONE
STAFF WRITER
The Kezar Branch of the Romeo District Library has become the recipient of 149 years of Romeo area history that was recorded in The Romeo Observer newspaper.
Stacie Guzzo, branch manager, welcomed hundreds of boxes of newspapers and photographs that were once owned by Mel Bleich, the longtime owner of The Romeo Observer.
Bleich gave the archives to the library when the building that once housed the Observer business was sold.
“This is a dream come true,” said Guzzo, who, in addition to her library science degree, is also a certified archivist.
With her extensive education, history and interest in archiving, Guzzo will spend the next several months organizing and chronicling all of the newspapers, dating back to 1866 when The Romeo Observer was first published.
Guzzo said Bleich donated items from other Romeo clubs and organizations that she assumes he or his wife may have belonged to in the past as well.
Once it is all in place, the lower level of the library will be called the Local History and Genealogy Room and will be open to the public.
“We received Romeo things from Mel other than just The Romeo Observer, like old publications from The Monday Club and a lot of other groups,” Guzzo said.
After all of the items are organized, Guzzo and a team of volunteers will begin digitizing all of the newspapers, documents and photographs
Eventually all of the archives will also be available to view online. Guzzo said having all of the historical information, such as newspaper articles, photos, obituaries, in one place will be much easier for those doing personal or professional research.
“Having this here opens up so many avenues,” Guzzo said. “I can’t wait. It’s going to be amazing.”
Guzzo said she hopes to be able to hold a grand opening of the room in October of this year.
In the meantime, those looking for newspapers dating from 1951 until the last publication of The Romeo Observer in June of 2015 are available to view at the library.
Guzzo said she is dedicated to preserving all of the items the library received and that some of the oldest newspapers will not be available to the public until they are in digital form.
Duplicates of everything will also be given to the Romeo and Washington historical societies.
“Bringing the past to the future – that’s going to be our new tagline,” Guzzo said.
