Seneca County’s new historian will shed light on the region’s fiery past in a free public event next week in Ovid.
Pam Becker, appointed county historian in early 2024, will present “Famous Fires of Seneca County” on May 21 from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Edith B. Ford Memorial Library. The program is open to all and will include updates to her popular historical presentation, now featuring the recent Main Street block fire in Ovid on January 21.
A lifelong Seneca County resident, Becker taught history at Mynderse Academy for two decades and later worked as an archivist and docent at the Waterloo Library and Historical Society. Her talk will explore the evolution of firefighting—from colonial-era fire rattles in New Amsterdam to the Silsby steam pumper, a pioneering engine built in Seneca Falls that served communities nationwide until World War II.
The event offers a chance not only to dive into the area’s firefighting history but also to meet Becker, who succeeds longtime historian Walter Gable.
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