Advisory
Board Member Profile: John L. Scherer
John Scherer graduated from the New
York State University at Albany with a BA in history.
He later graduated from the Cooperstown Graduate Program
with an MA in Museum Studies and American Folklife.
Scherer has been Curator of Decorative Arts at the
New York State Museum in Albany since 1967. He has
done numerous exhibits relating to New York furniture
and decorative arts, the Shakers, historical prints,
musical instruments, and popular entertainment, including
the circus and theatre. Scherer has also published
extensively on these topics, including five museum
catalogs, numerous brochures, and articles in publications
like The Connoisseur; The Magazine Antiques; Art and
Antiques Magazine, and The New York-Pennsylvania
Collector. He continues to lecture on a variety of
antiques related topics, and teaches a graduate course
on material culture at the University at Albany.
John Scherer has also been Town Historian for the
Town of Clifton Park, Saratoga County since 1978.
He was instrumental in setting up a Historic Preservation
Commission for the Town and served as its first chairman.
He has published three books on Clifton Park history,
writes a monthly article on local history for The
Community News, a Southern Saratoga County newspaper,
and lectures extensively on Clifton Park history.
Scherer has also had several articles published in
The New England Historical and Genealogical Register.
He currently serves on several Town committees, and
is chairman of a committee to restore a historic building
that will serve as a historical and cultural center
for the Town.