Spaghetti Dinner Helps Chelsea Museum and Honors Lynda Collins

The Chelsea Area Historical Museum will hold its annual Lynda Collins Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser on Monday, April 28, at the Chelsea Depot starting at 4:30 till 8:00pm

The event helps raise funds to support the Museum’s mission of preserving and educating the community about Chelsea’s almost 200-year history.  Perhaps more importantly, it honors the spirit of Lynda Collins, one of the founding members of the Chelsea Area Historical Museum, as well as the Chelsea Depot.

“Chelsea history and the Chelsea community were so important to Lynda,” said her son Matthew Collins, who took the reins of Thompson’s Pizza, after his mother passed away in 2015. Thompson’s Pizza is donating the spaghetti, salad, and breadsticks for the fundraiser.

“As you can imagine, the loss of our mother was devastating, a loss that is still felt very much today,” said Collins. “We feel like it’s important to carry on where she left off – caring for the community she loved in “small ways” as she would say.”

“The Chelsea Area History Society was one of those things she cared deeply about,” he said.  “My mom was notorious for donating spaghetti dinners for benefits and fundraisers, which is why we thought it would be the perfect way to honor her memory and carry on her legacy.”

Collins also remembers his mom — who received the Chelsea Lifetime Achievement Award, among many other honors — as determined. When some people doubted that enough money could be raised to purchase a permanent home for the museum, Lynda Collins thought otherwise.

“There wasn’t much that could deter our mom from achieving what needed to be done. When others saw obstacles, she saw opportunity,” said Collins.

“She understood the importance of educating the youth, especially on our history. She knew that and a permanent home would provide that.”

The Lynda Collins Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser for the CAHS will be held at the Chelsea Depot on Monday, April 18, from 4:30 to 8 p.m. Diners can also bid on a simple but super Silent Auction. Adults are $12; youth under 13 are $6. Spaghetti, bread sticks, and salad provided by Thompson’s Pizza, with a variety of desserts prepared by CAHS volunteers.  Take-out will be available.

The mission of the Chelsea Area Historical Society is to gather and preserve Chelsea area history, educate the public, and promote the restoration and preservation of historic buildings and sites for future generations. The museum is located in the 1853 Boyd House, at 128 Jackson St., across from the Chelsea Depot. The museum is open Saturdays, noon to 3 p.m. and on Thursdays evenings, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., during Sound & Sights. For more information, visit www.chelseahistory.org or call 734.800.1850.