NEWTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Minutes of August 12, 2013
Merrimac Savings Bank
Members present: |
Bill Landry |
Mary Riordan |
Karen O’Malley |
Marilyn Landry |
|
Diane Morin |
John Meserve |
Kathy Meserve |
Courtney Jason |
|
Ron Saunders |
Cheryl Saunders |
|
|
Bill Landry called the meeting to order at 7:01 PM.
Secretary’s Report – Mary Riordan
John Meserve made a motion to accept the minutes of July 8, 2013. Karen O’Malley seconded the motion. The motion passed on 5 yeas and 5 abstensions.
Treasurer’s Report – Bill Landry
The Checking income was from donations during the presentation. Expenses were for the electric bill, presentation fee and a donation to the Newton Food Pantry. The Money Market income was from interest. Expenses were for NHNC 2014 Presentation fees, DanTree Service and an adjustment to July Interest income. Kathy Meserve made a motion to accept the July 31, 2013 Treasurers’ Reports. Marilyn Landry seconded the motion. The motion passed on a unanimous vote.
Old Business:
Removal of tree at Schoolhouse: Bill Landry reported the tree has been removed.
Create Historical presentation for Middle School: Bill Landry suggested making a slide presentation of current building and what use to be on the sites. There was discussion on what kids of Middle School age would be interested in. Suggestions included baseball in Newton, Civil War medals and history of the railroad in town.
Fall Festival: Kathy Meserve reported the Fall Festival will be October 19th. Kathy suggested we add some meade to our refreshments this year. Bill Landry asked if anyone thought we should change the event. John Meserve noted that people like to view the artifacts and meet new people in this kind of setting. John suggested bringing one of the carriages to display outside the bank. He has a tent that could be put over it. We would have to bring it over and back to the storage the same day.
New Business: None
Other:
Reports of Curators & Committee Chairpersons:
Curators:
Barn repair: Bill Landry has not received anything from Rob Hayes on the cost of the repair.
Run power to Marshall House Barn:Bill Landry spoke to Mike Pivero about digging the trench from the building to the barn. Mike indicated he could do it. Sam Zininni told Bill we would need an inspection when the pipe is laid in the trench and a final inspection when it is completed.
New shelving in schoolhouse office area: No report
Museum Open House: We will open both buildings on Sept 21st from 12 noon – 1:30PM. This is Town Day in Newton.
Donation from Ellie Coffin of Kingston: Bill Landry was contacted by Ellie Coffin of Kingston about cobbler tools and a Rowe’s Corner calendar she would like to donate. Bill will pick them up on Thursday and take care of the Deed of Gift and accession forms. Diane Morin suggested showing how shoes were made and its importance to the Town for the school presentation. Cheryl mentioned Limmer boots in Conway still measures the foot and makes custom shoes.
Historian: Courtney Jason reported on her work in California this year cleaning a historic Park Service house. She is changing jobs and will not have access to the variable suction vacuum anymore. She explained that she cannot use a household vacuum to clean the textiles we have because the suction is too strong. There was discussion of the textiles in the large display case in the Schoolhouse. Courtney needs to make a hanger for the clothing going in the case. Karen O’Malley asked where we are going to store the boxes of textiles. There was discussion on how much space they need. The can be stored under the tables in the Schoolhouse.
Archivist:
Old newspapers donated by Rebecca McGowan (Myrtle Rogers): Bill Landry looked through some of the newspapers. He asked how we should accession them. Karen suggested we put them in binders by years and accession the binder. Bill will bring them to our next meeting and we will divide them up among the members and cut out the articles pertaining to Newton. We should put the date and paper name on the articles.
Karen O’Malley reported she has finished with the items in the large display case so it can be closed up. Ron suggested not putting the clothing in the case because it is hard to open and close the case. We will put the textiles back in the case for the Town Day opening and then remove them.
Programs:
Review of “That Reminds Me of a Story: Diane Morin reported we had 40 people attend, 38 people completed the survey. The presentation was rated very good to excellent. People from 10 different towns attended the event. Most people found out about it from the Carriage Town News, the Historical Society email or the NHHC Calendar. We matched the $53 donated during the event for a $106 donation to the Newton Food Pantry.
Sept 18th “Lizzie Borden Took an Axe, or did she?”: This event will be at 7PM at the Town Hall.
2014 Presentation schedule:
April 16, Adam Boyce – Fiddle contests of New England
July 30, The Woods – Mr. & Mrs. Lincoln – this has not been confirmed by NHHC yet.
Sept 24, Winning the War, Shaping the Peace: Industry, the Civil War and the Birth of Consumerism.
Correspondence:
Letter from Edward Andrews: He is restoring house and is looking for 18th century wood. He would donate $100 to the Society if he found something through our contact. Bill Landry received an email from Ann Miles that she has some flooring for sale. Bill said he would forward her information to Edward. Ron Saunders expressed concern that this may not be what it appears to be and we should be careful about appearing to endorse this person.
Mark Bragdon request for info. Re: The Peanut Trail: Mark is writing a fictional book about Newton. Bill Landry sent him a 250th Anniversary Book and some information he received from Mary Marshall.
Cheryl Saunders received a call from a woman about the curtain grant. She gave the woman Bill Landry’s cell phone number. Bill will check with Chris Hadsell of Curtains without Borders.
John Meserve made a motion to hold the October meeting on October 7th instead of October 14th. Cheryl Saunders seconded the motion. He noted the 14th is Columbus Day. The motion passed on a unanimous vote. The meeting will be October 7th.
Next Meeting: Monday September 9, 2013, 7:00 PM at the Merrimac Savings Bank.
Bill Landry adjourned the meeting at 8:05 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Mary Riordan, Secretary
| 
