NEWTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Minutes of April 12, 2010
Merrimack Savings Bank
Members present: Bill Landry Marilyn Landry Diane Morin
Mary Marshall Mary Riordan Sally Woodman
Ron Saunders Cheryl Saunders Stuart Jones
John Meserve Kathy Meserve Karen O'Malley
Irene Nally Barbara DiBartolomeo Nancy Wrigley
Kathy Hoffman
Bill Landry called the meeting to order at 7:02 PM.
Secretary’s Report – Mary Riordan
Mary Marshall made a motion to accept the minutes of December 14, 2009. Marilyn Landry seconded the motion. The motion passed on a unanimous vote.
Treasurer’s Report – Bill Landry
Bill Landry $475.00 expense was for repairs due to the recent storm. He reported a tree had fallen during the last storm and had torn the electric wires from the building. With the help of the town Emergency Director Larry Foote, selectman Trish McCarthy, Town Administrator Nancy Wrigley, and electrician Pat McCuster the power was restored within 24 hours. Road Agent Mike Pivero helped with removing the tree. We still need to repair the corner of the roof on the building.
Sally Woodman made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report. Irene Nally seconded the motion. The motion passed on a unanimous vote.
Old Business:
Schoolhouse Repairs
Ceiling - Bill Landry reported Nick Giorgi did a terrific job painting the ceiling. He passed around pictures of the completed work.
Electrical – Bill asked Ron about the interior electrical work. Bill indicated the electrical work should be done before we patch and paint the walls. Ron said the new panel would be lower than the current one. He asked if it should be recessed in the wall or mounted on the wall. Ron will determine the best way to do it.
Scraping / Painting Work Party – Bill asked for volunteers to scrap the inside of the windows on Saturday April 17th at 10:00 AM. Several members said they would be there. Mary Marshall reminded us the entry way still needs to be painted. She still has the paint if the walls need to be touched up.
Floor – Bill will not contact Rob Hayes until we finish the painting. Bill asked the members what color we should stain the floor. The members agreed on a medium dark color. Diane Morin asked if we could get samples of color.
Bill Moisan Visit – Stuart Jones reported he had recorded 4 hours of conversation with Bill and Joe Foy just before Bill passed away. He gave a summary of the conversation. They talked about the railroad lines and that Bill's wife commuted to Boston on the railroad and the trolley tracks that went down Main Street. Bill had many postcards and photographs printed by Heath Printing Company in Newton. He had many baseball stories including the clump of birches in the outfield. Stuart showed an autographed Bill Moisan baseball card. Stuart will review the recordings and provide more information for the group. Bill worked at the Portsmouth Navel Shipyard as a plumber and worked for many years on nuclear submarines with asbestos.
Spring / Early Summer Fund Raiser Event – Bill asked if anyone had suggestions for a Spring fundraiser. Sally Woodman asked Bill how soon he thought we can re-open the schoolhouse. Bill estimated around June. Karen O'Malley suggested doing an architectural tour of houses in town. We could speak to the owners of homes to see if they would be interested in having their home on the tour and providing information about the architecture of their home.
Scanning accessioned items project – Karen O'Malley reported all the books that were in the bank had been scanned. She suggested we take pictures of the accessioned items. Karen asked how we can identify the accessioned items. Mary Riordan asked if the items had been labeled with the accession number. Irene and Mary Marshall said some were labeled, but they were not sure all the labels would stay on the items. Bill asked if this would be easier to do after the Primary schoolhouse is finished. Mary Marshall thought it would be easier to do where the items are currently.
New Business:
Corporate Membership / Donation Drive – Bill Landry reported he sent out 17 letters to Newton businesses for the annual drive. He received 5 or 6 responses for $135.00 in dues for Corporate memberships and $150.00 in donations. Bill reminded the members that dues are due now.
Display case donated by Peabody Museum (Don Slater) – Bill Landry reported Don Slater, an archaeologist, offered a large display case from the Peabody Museum at Phillips Andover. The case was 15 feet long, 6 feet high and 3 feet wide. Due to its size, we should have professionals move it. Bill suggested we may be able to separate the case into 5-foot sections. Cheryl Saunders made a motion to expend $425.00 to hire Bresnahan Movers to move the case from Phillips Andover to the Barn at the Marshall House. John Meserve seconded the motion. The motion passed on a unanimous vote. Ron Saunders suggested the case be moved directly to the Primary Schoolhouse. There was discussion on where to put it in the schoolhouse and whether it would be in the way of
Rob Hayes finishing the floor. Bill indicated we would have to move it within the next couple of weeks.
Donnie offered the Museum conference room for one of our meetings, then he would give us a tour of the Museum. We will discuss which month at our next meeting.
Donation of “Newton” Quilt by Helen Angell – Bill Landry showed the quilt donated by Helen Angell containing the names of 50 Newton women. Helen's grandmother had the quilt made in Newton in 1922. Helen would like us to let her know when the schoolhouse is finished so she can visit it.
Correspondence: None
Other:
Granite State Poker (Sharon Rogers) – Bill Landry reported he received a call from Sharon Rogers of Granite State Poker. They are looking for non-profit organizations for their charity days. Bill had an article from the Lawrence Eagle Tribune on the Granite State Poker organization. Mary Riordan asked what we had to do to qualify. John Meserve said when these organizations are licensed they must contribute a percentage of their proceeds to non-profit organizations. Stuart Jones suggested we get the paperwork and see what is involved. Mary Marshall made a motion to direct Bill Landry move forward with Sharon Rogers to sign us up for a Granite State Poker non-profit organization day. Marilyn Landry seconded the motion. The motion passed on a unanimous vote. Bill Landry will
contact her to get the paperwork. John Meserve suggested having a lawyer review the paperwork. He suggested contacting Sumner Kalman. Diane Morin indicated she could have the paperwork reviewed by a lawyer free of charge.
Rev. Nathaniel Day Diaries (Betty Day Randel) – Bill Landry reported he received diaries from Betty Randel dating from 1858 to 1891. Bill emailed Betty that two names on the quilt were Lulu and Minne Day. Betty responded that they were her great aunts and gave Bill more information on them and Rev. Nathaniel Day.
Bill Landry recognized Nick Giorgi for his excellent work on the ceiling of the Schoolhouse. Mary Marshall suggested we acknowledge Rob Hayes and Nick Giorgi for their work on the Schoolhouse at our Open House.
Marilyn Landry made a motion to adjourn. Karen O'Malley seconded the motion. The motion passed on a unanimous vote. Bill Landry adjourned the meeting at 8:10PM.
Next meeting is Monday May 10, 2010 at the Merrimack Savings Bank.
Respectfully submitted,
Mary Riordan, Secretary
| 
