Move over Gerry Smith, there’s a new history buff in town.

County Executive Jason Garnar announced today that he has selected Roger Luther to serve as the new Broome County Historian replacing Smith who retired recently after decades on the job.

Luther has already been active with the Broome County Historical Society, working on efforts to preserve the old Castle building at the Binghamton Psych Center and organizing events celebrating the anniversary of women’s suffrage in New York State.

Luther also serves as Executive Director of the Preservation Association of the Southern Tier, or PAST, which, like the historian position, is a part-time job.

Roger Luther says, “I see that as a big plus.  We can get better coordination between the two groups, and collaborate on activities.  In fact, there is a collaborative effort coming up very soon, that’s going to be a hard hat tour of the Carnegie Library.”

Luther says he wants to increase the use of social media to promote our area’s history.

He already creates a daily post on the Historic Binghamton Facebook page that selects articles from the Binghamton Press that are exactly 100 years old.

And he’s the author of two books, Treasures of the Tier and Expressions of Faith.

The county legislature is expected to vote on Luther’s appointment next month.