In June, Granby lost a town treasure.

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Carol Laun was the curator and archivist for the Salmon Brook Historical Society, a volunteer position she had held for decades. Although Carol was from Milwaukee, she took on the role of preserving Granby’s history as if her roots were here.

My first real contact with Carol occurred not long before the start of the pandemic. I attended a talk she gave about the origin of Granby’s street names. Afterward, I approached her about volunteering at the society, and we soon settled on a way I could help. The job she gave me was to organize and label the society’s digitized photos. This was not a job I could just sit down and do. It required Carol to identify the people, places or events in the photos. Thankfully, this task was something we could work on remotely during the pandemic. I learned pretty quickly how much knowledge of Granby history Carol had, from straightforward facts to wonderful anecdotes about people long gone. Thankfully, much of that knowledge was passed on through the articles she wrote for the Drummer.

I am heartbroken to have lost someone I admired so much. Approaching Carol after her presentation was one of the best decisions I have made. I am so thankful to have known this remarkable person, who is an important part of the Granby history she worked so hard to preserve.

Sarah W. Langdon