WHO WERE (AND ARE) THE ROYCROFTERS?

Elbert Hubbard attracted hundreds of creative types to his Arts and Crafts community on South Grove Street at the turn of the 20th Century. Some, like famed artist Alexis Fournier, were invited. Others simply showed up, in the hopes of landing a job at the Roycroft, a place where putting “head, heart and hand” into one’s work in equal measure was encouraged in a world otherwise dominated by the assembly-line mentality of the Industrial Revolution. Robert Lowell Goller will discuss his research for an upcoming book into what it was like to work at the Roycroft and share the stories of some of the personalities—both famous and not-so-famous—who made (and continue to make) The Roycroft Campus and Village of East Aurora their workplace and home.

Robert Lowell Goller is a public historian and former journalist who has served as the town and village historian in East Aurora, N.Y., since 2007. Through his books, monthly newspaper column and weekly livestream on Facebook and YouTube, he uncovers previously untold stories of the past and places the history of small towns such as East Aurora in the context of national and international events.