NEWTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Minutes of June 8, 2009
Merrimac Savings Bank
Members present: Bill Moisan, Stuart Jones, Ron Saunders, Cheryl Saunders, Myrtle Rogers, Karen O'Malley, John Meserve, Kathy Meserve, Diane Morin, Sally Woodman, Marilyn Landry, Bill Landry, Irene Nally and Pat Wonson.
Meeting called to order by Pres. Landry at 7:01 PM
Secretary’s Report – Bill Landry
John Meserve made a motion to accept the minutes of May 11, 2009. Sally Woodman seconded the motion. The motion passed on a unanimous vote.
Treasurer’s Report – Bill Landry
The May 31, 2009 account balances were:
Kathy Meserve made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report. Irene Nally seconded the motion. The motion passed on a unanimous vote.
Old Business:
2009 Dues are due (Life Members excluded). Bill Landry reported that membership renewal forms were mailed to non-active members requesting their 2009 dues.
Life member Stuart Jones signed up his wife Amy and their twins as life members. Eric and Emily Jones became the youngest members ever to belong to Newton Historical Society. They are just 7 months old.
Schoolhouse Repairs:
Floor – Ron Saunders and Bill Landry met with Rob Hayes to discuss the next step on the floor replacement. A work date has been set for Sat. & Sun. June 27 & 28 to begin the removal of the sub-floor. Rob Hayes mentioned he had a friend who buys the type of boards that are in our sub floor. They are 20” wide pine boards. Three options were discussed regarding the removal. (1) We remove the board and sell them to Rob’s friend to help defray our costs or (2) Rob’s friend removes the boards and we do not charge him for them, which will relieve the members of the tough job of removing the floor. (3) We reuse the boards that are in good condition. We are waiting to hear from Rob.
Old Business: (CONT)
Schoolhouse Repairs: (Cont.)
Electric – Ron Saunders will put a stock list together and Jim Giannatsis, a Master Electrician, has agreed to file for the electrical permit with the town. The electrical work will be done when the new floor joists are installed but before the new sub floor is installed.
Ceiling –The peeling paint on the tin ceiling has bubbled in one section and will be repaired after the sub floor is installed but before the finished floor.
Marshall House Cobbler Shop Roof / House Window Repair – Cheryl Saunders reported the insurance company has looked at the damage and quoted a repair cost of $ 1,500.00. The town has a $1000 deductible on the policy and they feel FEMA will pay the deductible as part of the Ice Storm program and the insurance will pay the rest.
The insurance will not cover the mold problem on the cobbler shop ceiling. The society will look into removing and disposing of the ceiling.
Advertising Stage Curtain at Grange Hall – Ron Saunders reported he met with Polly Morse, a Grange member. She feels the society should take possession of the curtain but, the Grange is trying to raise money and the sale of the curtain would be one method of raising cash. She will bring this topic up at the next Grange meeting and report back to Ron. Ron will also contact either Jim Doggett or Mary Allen.
The society feels the grange should donate the curtain but if necessary we would consider purchasing the curtain to keep it in town. Stuart Jones suggested that if we could find a way to affix a value to the curtain that possibly the Grange would then consider donating it to the society and take the tax write-off.
Granite State Grange Honor Roll Plaque – The plaque was given to Ron Saunders and we plan to hang it in the school building. A discussion was held on how we might “dig up” some biographical information on the people listed on the plague. Irene Nally suggested that there may be info at the Gale Library. Karen O’Malley suggested that if we could obtain “minutes” from the early Grange meetings we might gather some info on these people. We may have info in the boxes at the schoolhouse. After the floor work is completed we will research this.
New Hampshire Magazine Article – The society was asked by the Selectmen’s Office Manager to help with a request from the magazine about a Newton landmark and one interesting fact about Newton for an upcoming article.
Diane Morin, Sally Woodman, Marilyn Landry and Bill Landry put together some information on the Village Primary School for the landmark portion and a write-up on the Hayford Carriage business in Newton for the “one interesting fact” portion.
New Business:
None
Correspondence:
The society received information regarding the “Hancock Women’s Club Historic Homes and Garden tour in July. There was no interest by the members in attendance.
Other:
Pat Wonson is continuing work on her project to update her album of photos of older Newton homes with current photos and current owners.
Next meeting is 7:00 PM Monday July 13, 2009 at the Merrimac Savings Bank.
A motion was made and seconded to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed on a unanimous vote and the meeting was adjourned at 7:45PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Marilyn Landry, Secretary Designate
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