When Jim Denison visited Brookside Museum on July 22, 2021, he never expected to see family. Nor, for that matter, did Janet and Jean Kussius. Brookside’s brand new exhibit on Saratoga County country stores offers viewers a charming, and often surprising, glimpse into the not-too-distant past.
Mr. Denison, born in 1949, recognized his father, as well as a few other friends and family, in an enlarged cartoon entitled “Friday at the Four Corners.” Meanwhile, the Kussius sisters, who are twins born in 1942, identified a store their parents purchased back in 1953 (it closed in 1962). Just a few decades ago, the country store played a vital role in people’s lives, providing easy credit, sundry supplies, and a social gathering place. Though the sun has set on those days, the country store still looms large in our individual and collective memories. Many who visit the exhibit will learn about a bygone past, while some, like Jim, Janet, and Jean, will relive fond reminiscences.
“I am delighted at the connections people are making between their own experiences and our shared past,” notes exhibit curator and History Center Vice President Field Horne. “We work hard to bring history to life and to enlighten the lives of all who visit Brookside. When people recognize family and friends in our exhibits, it only reinforces the need to preserve and teach the past.”
“The Country Store in Saratoga” is just one of four new exhibits carefully curated at Brookside Museum by the trustees and staff of the Saratoga County History Center. The other exhibits include “Century of Ice Cream! The Dake Family and Stewarts,” featuring never-before-seen pictures, business paraphernalia, and family mementos from the beloved Stewart’s brand, “The Social Life of Hats,” based on the innovative spring 2021 course at Skidmore College, and “Mystery Photographs from Eastern Saratoga,” which offers unexpected and puzzling snapshots of social associations, business clubs, and dance troupes.
