HISTORICAL SOCIETY MEETING MINUTES
Minutes of August 8, 2011
Newton Town Hall
Members present: |
Bill Landry |
Mary Riordan |
Karen O’Malley |
Pat Wonson |
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Lisa Fortin |
Courtney Jason |
Sally Woodman |
Diane Morin |
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Cheryl Saunders |
Ron Saunders |
Mike Hughes |
Barb DiBartolomeo |
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Marilyn Landry |
Ann Miles |
Phil Lang |
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Bill Landry called the meeting to order at 7:03 PM.
Bill Landry introduced new member Phil Lang.
Secretary’s Report – Mary Riordan
Cheryl Saunders made a motion to accept the minutes of July 11, 2011. Pat Wonson seconded the motion. The motion passed on a unanimous vote.
Treasurer’s Report – Bill Landry
The Checking income was a transfer from the Money Market account. Expenses were for the electric bill and materials for the Primary Schoolhouse. The Money Market income was from interest. Expense was a transfer to the Checking account. Cheryl Saunders made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report. Courtney Jason seconded the motion. The motion passed on a unanimous vote.
Old Business:
Review of the Museum Grand Opening:
Courtney Jason’s mother saw people attempting to try things on upstairs in the Marshall House. She suggested someone should be upstairs. Bill Landry suggested a sign saying not to handle the items. Cheryl Saunders suggested we rope off the rooms upstairs in the Marshall House. People could still see the items from the hallway but not touch them. Diane Morin asked if the Victrola worked because she tried it but could not get it to work.
Comments from visitors were very positive. The people who had donated items were impressed with our displays. People read the write-ups with the displays. Ann Miles commented on how other towns work for many years for one museum and we have readied 2 museums in a short time. She also noted we have 2 Hayford carriages that were made in Newton. Ron Saunders suggested we put Will Avery’s name on the railroad items he donated.
Bill Landry reported that 68-70 visitors had signed the guest books and most people had visited both museums. Larry Kennedy from the Carriage Towne News took pictures at both locations.
Bill Landry reported we received $120 in donations during the event.
Total cost of Primary School Renovations – Bill Landry reported what we have spent in 1 ½ years renovating the Schoolhouse. In 2009 we spent $2,945, in 2010 $2,665 and in 2011 $4,558 on the renovation for an approximate cost of $10,200. He received a labor cost estimate from Rob Hayes,
Nick Giorgio and John Neveau of $15,000 for the work they donated. Ron Saunders estimated the electrical labor was $2,000. Bill commented on how we could not have done this without the work of Rob, Nick and John.
Ron Saunders gave special thanks to John & Kathy Meserve for their fund raising efforts for the Fall Festival that provided the money for the renovations.
Future Openings of the museums – Ron Saunders suggested we open the museums in the Fall and in the Spring. The next opening may be at the end of September. There was discussion on opening them on the Fall Festival day. Issues discussed were overlapping times and display of items at both locations. Cheryl Saunders suggested displaying items at the bank that we don’t mind being handled. Phil Lang offered to donate an acid-free binder.
Distribution of keys to the new museum – Bill Landry reported a deadbolt lock has been on the Schoolhouse entry door. Bill Landry, Ron & Cheryl Saunders, Courtney Jason, Lisa Fortin and Karen O’Malley have the new key. Ron Saunders asked the members to refer anyone wanting to donate items to him so the curators can determine if we want to accept it.
Dave Cheney Artifact Donation – Ron Saunders and Bill Landry reported they looked at the wind driven water pump and decided we would not accept it because it was very large and if we were to assemble it outside at the Marshall House it would be difficult to secure and make safe.
Slide show on Channel 20 -- Bill Landry asked Diane Morin if we could put a slideshow on Channel 20. She said it would have to be converted to an MPG file. She suggested he contact Donna Judge about doing this. Diane will send Donna an email asking her to help Bill with the conversion.
Bill asked Diane if the Historical Society could have a set time slot on Channel 20 to show some of our VHS tapes. She said it was possible.
New Business:
Society’s focus – Bill Landry suggested our focus should now be on the Accessioning project and continuing to have Presentations.
Fall Festival -- Bill Landry received information from John & Kathy Meserve. The event will be on Saturday October 22 from 4:30 – 6:30 PM at the Merrimac bank. Cheryl Saunders will check on when the Labelle family event is schedule for. John will send out the letters in early September, by September 1st the posters and tickets will be printed, by October 1st the posters will be distributed for display and the papers notified. The displays will be determined by Ron & Cheryl by October 20th.
Reports of Curators & Committee Chairperson:
Curator -- Ron would like to wait until after August when it’s cooler to clean the barn. Ron asked for volunteers to help clean the barn. He will set the date by the next meeting. Ann Miles left painters canvases to cover the carriages. She has handouts on cleaning the leather and greasing the wheels. Ideally, the carriages should be up on blocks to keep the weight off the wheels.
Ron reported the barn needs work on the walls because the weather can get in between the wall boards.
Historian - Courtney Jason – She is looking through the magazines in the Marshall House. She is looking for a Guide book of railroads. If anyone comes across them, please let her know. Courtney informed the members she will not be attending meetings for the remainder of the year due to a class she is taking. Lisa Fortin asked Courtney to help her with a baptismal dress she found.
Archivist - Lisa Fortin – She hopes to finish the accessioning of the hallway and front hall in the Marshall house this month. Ron Saunders mentioned that someone at the Grand Opening mentioned that the stove in the Cobbler shop was used to heat irons and that the wheel tool in the Marshall house was not a surveying tool but a “traveler” used to measure wheels. Lisa Fortin
distributed the new accession form. The new form is more closely aligned with the computer software.
Lisa had samples of mission statements from other historical societies. There was discussion on them. Lisa Fortin, Karen O’Malley, Barb DiBartolomeo, Ann Miles and Cheryl Saunders will be on the committee to review and propose a mission statement.
Lisa spoke to the Fire Chief about the luminaries for the planned Tree Lighting ceremony in Dec. He said it is a state road and we should contact them and the people along Rt. 108. She asked how far we thought we would line up the luminaries. Bill asked if we were going to try to co-ordinate with the Library. Lisa replied she thought we would have story hour where children would make ornaments for the tree, then we would light the bags and have the tree lighting. She said Larry Foote would see if the Town would supply hot chocolate for the event. Ron Saunders suggested contacting Common Grounds about refreshments.
Lisa Fortin will chair a committee to organize this event. Diane Morin, Cheryl Saunders, Bill & Marilyn Landry, Mike Hughes, Ann Miles and Courtney Jason volunteered for the committee.
Programs Sally Woodman – The New Hampshire Humanities Council subsidizes speakers up to $200 and mileage up to 100 miles. We would have to pay a fee of $25, $55, or $75. We could only do 3 per year and have to give them 10 weeks notice. We would choose the speaker and submit an application to the Humanities Council. There is a $35 registration fee.
Sally is working on the Whittier presentation for September.
Other: None
Correspondence: None
Cheryl Saunders made a motion to adjourn. Marilyn Landry seconded the motion. The motion passed on a unanimous vote. Bill Landry adjourned the meeting at 8:35 PM.
Next meeting is Monday September 12, 2011, 7:00 PM at the Town Hall.
Respectfully submitted,
Mary Riordan, Secretary
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