A place’s history can reveal a lot about a place’s character and that of its people, and that can say a lot about where that place might go.

Thankfully, Alpena has a treasure downtown where our history is preserved, recorded, and our stories told time and time again.

Alpena County Library officials this week unveiled the newly renamed George R. and Edith Angell Cook Special Collections department, News Lifestyles Editor Darby Hinkley reported.

Thanks to a generous donation from Richard Cook, the son of George R. and Edith Angell Cook, and his wife, Terry Lahti, the department was able to buy a new microfilm machine and additional state-of-the-art digitization equipment.

The Cooks, from the Hubbard Lake area, can trace their lineage in Northeast Michigan all the way back to the earliest days of white settlers.

Their story, and the stories of untold numbers of other families, can be found inside the Special Collections archives, where visitors can learn intimate details about Northeast Michigan’s earliest logging days through its agricultural era through the modern industrial era. Copies of The News’ archives reside inside Special Collections.

We’re grateful Special Collections exists to help preserve all that cherished history, and we’re grateful to the Cooks for their donation to help make the department even more effective.