At a time when the Friends are focused on their goal of bringing history alive for the families in the community by restoring the Grist Mill to working condition and developing exhibits that will interpret the history of the surrounding area, we wanted the Gala to celebrate the Preserve's past by displaying some of the archival materials in the Friends' collection. Gala guests were offered an informal exhibit consisting of reproductions of old photographs of some of the members of the Southside Sportsmen's Club as well as three guest books containing signatures of prominent men of the 19th century who after toiling to build up their great fortunes came to the Club for the abundant fishing, hunting, and socializing that the place offered them.

Past times were also represented in the Gala's Live and Silent auctions, which featured Victoriana and other collectibles. One of Jamie Reason's contributions, his "River Spirit" carving, evoked a more remote time when the Eastern Woodland Indians fished in the Connetquot River with its representation of a spirit fish and an Indian fishhook made of deer toe and carved in each stage of its construction. The carving is mounted on a base made of wood from the original foundation of the Grist Mill.