The Then & Now Historical Library near the corner of 18^th Street and 142^nd Avenue in downtown Dorr may have only a couple of years to vacate the building in which it operates.

The Township Board Thursday night disclosed a letter from William Fifelski Jr. of the Fifelski Marathon gas station and towing service of intentions to expand the business, which means Then & Now must find new quarters. Fifelski indicated he has a healthy respect for what the historical service does in the community and would allow it to continue for perhaps two years or time enough to find a new home.

The service continues to operate Wednesdays and Saturdays of each week in providing historical documents, obituary information and data on veterans, but its longtime run at the site has been in jeopardy because its is an expense to the township and Fifelski’s business would put the property back on the tax rolls.

Because Then & Now is a non-profit service, it does not pay rent, nor does it pay for utilities for the building. The township has picked up the expense ever since the library moved to its new quarters more than a half dozen years ago.

The site is the former home to the township hall and later to Dorr Township Library, both of which now are located elsewhere downtown. The township hall is virtually across the street at the corner of 142^nd and 18^th and the new library is further north on 18^th Street.

There was a campaign several years ago to have Then & Now occupy a new addition to the library, but Library Board President Rachel Vote told the Township Board last November it is not feasible for that project to continue. Former Library Director Natalie Bazan spearheaded an “Arts Alive” fund-raiser in 2015, with all proceeds to go to the addition for Then & Now.

The Library Board decided to turn over the $18,000 in the fund to Then & Now to help in its search for a new home, perhaps somewhere in downtown Wayland.

Then & Now, staffed entirely by volunteers, is open from 1 to 5 p.m. Wednesdays and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays. Volunteers help anyone dropping by with information about deaths, local history and genealogy. The historical library is where Townbroadcast picks up information for its weekly “Bygone Days” feature telling what happened in northeast Allegan County 25, 50, 75 and 100 years ago.

Then & Now is actively seeking more members to help in working with history and geneaology. Vice President Linda Stoepker has said the volunteer work is ideal for retirees interested in local history and preserving it. Financial donations are not discouraged as well.