Kira Manso Brown first encountered the Reher Center for Immigrant Culture and History while visiting her mother in Kingston’s Rondout neighborhood during the pandemic. As the museum's new executive director, Brown is driven by a passion not only for history but the present and future.

“I’m a descendant of immigrants to this country but also of people who were trafficked to this land and enslaved, as well as people indigenous to Turtle Island,” Brown said. [Turtle Island is a term used by many indigenous persons and advocates for North America.] “Toggling between the personal stories and the local and geopolitical stories and histories has always been important to me and it excites me that this is part of the work I get to do at the Reher Center.”

The Reher Center was originally a bakery run by a Jewish immigrant family, the Rehers, that served as an important social hub for Kingston’s working-class and immigrant community. From the late 19th to early 20th century, the Rondout neighborhood in Kingston was home to German, Irish, Italian, Polish and Jewish immigrants who worked on the D&H Canal, in the brickyards and in local

factories and shops, bringing their unique cultures and forming a tight-knit community.

The bakery closed in the early 1980s and was left untouched until 2002, when former Ulster County Historian Geoffrey Miller envisioned turning it into a museum. In 2004 it was willed to the Jewish Federation of Ulster County, and between 2008 and 2016, Miller raised funds to convert it into a museum.

Brown is excited to continue telling the story of the Reher family, and the story of immigrants in Kingston both past and present, at a moment that feels “especially vital,” considering the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration.

“Today, Kingston continues to be home to a growing and diverse immigrant population, and we see our role as both preserving the stories of the past and honoring the evolving stories of newcomers in the present,” Brown said. “Our work is grounded in the belief that understanding these histories helps us build our shared future.”

In an interview with Kingston Wire, Brown described being struck by the community and connection centered around the Reher Center from staff, volunteers and the wider community. For her, it’s not just about the history, but also as a space for “meaningful dialogue” and to “build bridges in the present.”

On Wednesday, March 12 at 5 p.m., the Reher Center will celebrate the completion of their roof restoration at the Reher Center Gallery with refreshments, tours and the community. According to Brown, museum staff will offer a look at the capital restoration projects they hope to focus on next, share objects from the museum’s collection, and give tours of their historic places, including those not typically open to the public. Most importantly to Brown, they will celebrate the joy of gathering together as a community.

Brown looks forward to meeting the Reher Center’s supporters, hearing their stories and what they want from the museum.

“One of my aims at the Reher Center is to help center and lift up the stories that help remind us of the human realities of immigration,” Brown said. “The Reher Bakery was a community hub and I hope the historic site and the gallery will continue to serve this purpose — bringing the neighborhood together and sharing Kingston culture and the culture of our area with those who choose to visit us and spend time here.”