DEKALB -- People, places, events, movements and more local history are the subjects included in the DeKalb Historical Reader, recently published by the DeKalb Historical Association.

The material was researched, compiled and written over many years by Bryan Thompson and other local authors.

Copies are available at the Meetinghouse Museum Wednesdays from 11 a.m. until 3p.m. and Thursdays from 4 to 7 p.m. or by contacting Thompson at 347-1900 or bryan@dekalbnyhistorian.org.

The book is also available from Amazon. Copies are $15.

As the book explains, in 1996 when area residents banded together to start “Herd Cow,” their own internet service, they were following in a community tradition.

In 1909 local farmers formed their own phone company when no other company was willing to string lines on their remote road. That story is just one in the section on communications.

The history of mines, railroads, cheese factories and plank roads are all told in the readable section on businesses. Schools, influential people, the settlement of the Town of DeKalb and the organization of local religious communities are also included.

“The association’s mission is preserve our past and share it with our present residents to increase our understanding of our community’s rich heritage,” says Thompson. “We thought publishing the book was a great way to do this.”

A resident who purchased the book began reading one evening and told Thompson she couldn’t wait to get home the next night to continue reading.

While the book covers DeKalb’s history, its subjects are shared parts of the region’s history as well.