HERKIMER — Herkimer County Historical Society Executive Director Sue Perkins sat at a table at the society’s library Wednesday morning with a script and container of Clorox wipes in front of her.

The historical society, like other organizations, is closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, but Perkins and Administrative Assistant Caryl Hopson make weekly trips to the headquarters building in Herkimer to respond to requests for information and materials. They also are working to keep an active online presence.

One way they’re doing that is to film Herkimer County History Minutes to post on the society’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.

This week’s segment is about Lois Wing Burrell, whose collaboration with Loomis Burrell of Little Falls to determine how best to sterilize the hoses on milking machines, led to the development of the product now known as Clorox. The collaboration went even further; the two married and made their home in Little Falls.

The article and a photograph of the couple appears on the “Women Belong in History Books” Facebook page and drew plenty of attention, said Hopson.

“It got so many shares and more people ‘liking’ the page. The timing is great,” she said.

Perkins credited Angela Harris, who wrote about Lois Wing Burrell for Women Belong in History Books, Volume 2, and Lori Gabriel Knapp, who put together the brief article used for the segment. In addition to hearing Perkins read about Burrell, viewers also see photographs of her and Loomis Burrell and the places that were important in their lives.

“We use our collection and use Fulton History for newspaper articles,” said Perkins of the illustrations.

The “minutes” also include segments on entertainer Mary Zoller, aka Polly Jenkins, and teacher and Principal Marcella M. Foley. A video from several years ago, called “Climbing Your Family Tree,” with Steve McMurray as the guest, also is available for viewing.

“We’re trying to stay active,” Hopson said. “To connect with people on a daily basis, we’ve been creating crossword puzzles and putting them on our Facebook page. People can learn about history. If they don’t know an answer, they can look it up.”

“We’re monitoring our email and people contact us on Facebook,” she added. “We love to help people with their genealogy research or local history questions.”

As for purchases from the historical society’s gift shop, a promotion is under way. Items that are ordered will be mailed with no charge for shipping. Also, the book, “Murder and Mayhem in Herkimer County,” is being offered for $25. Those interested can check out the offerings on the historical society’s website and place an order there.

The shutdown is hurting the society financially, Hopson said. Two fundraisers have been canceled and a third — the annual celebrity server breakfast in June — could have to be called off as well.

“That’s our biggest fundraiser,” she said.

Advance time is needed for the servers to collect donations.

Two bus trips and several programs also had to be canceled.

“We’re hurting like everybody else is,” Hopson said. “We want to let people know we’re here for them, so we’re trying to stay active on Facebook.”

People who want to help are invited to sign up for a membership, make a donation or purchase a book from the gift shop, Perkins said.