Clarence High School Teacher Named Clarence Town Historian
Clarence High School Teacher Named Clarence Town Historian
Updated
Whether in his work as a history teacher at Clarence High School or in his new role as Clarence Town Historian, Joseph McGreevy said he wants to connect members of the community with the past.
“It’s so important to know your local history,” McGreevy said. “Knowing what people before us did helps us to appreciate what we have in our community today.”
McGreevy, who was named to the historian role in January, said his love for history grew as a young child growing up in Clarence Center. Digging up dishes and bottles at his home, which previously served as a doctor’s office, gave a young McGreevy a passion for history and archaeology.
“Archaeology is a different connection to the past, and that’s what sparked my interest in history and learning about life long ago,” he said.
In addition to his teaching work at Clarence High School, McGreevy’s work experience includes contract archaeology in the area with the University at Buffalo and time teaching English in China. McGreevy has also supported the Clarence Historical Society in different ways for about 15 years.
Among McGreevy’s goals in the town historian role are to digitize and share town records with the community and to provide educational opportunities with the community. Some of that work building excitement has come in the classroom already. The SUNY Albany and Canisius University graduate has also been teaching a western New York history class at the high school for the past two school years, with students able to connect with key figures and events in the region’s past.
“It’s all a part of this bigger picture,” McGreevy said. “Our community is very important, and it’s important to be a part of what happens in it.”
More information about the Clarence Town Historian’s office can be found at https://www4.erie.gov/clarence/town-historian, as well as
