Warwick Historical Society Minutes June 16, 2010 The Warwick Historical Society met at 7 p.m.on June 16, 2010 in the basement of the Town Hall with 19 people present. The business meeting was called to order by Larry Carey. The secretary's report was accepted with two corrections: change WCS to WHS; under #2, change "Ed Lemon offered to do this" to "Mike Carey will look into having membership cards printed." Treasurer's report accepted as presented. Total in society accounts is $15, 018.30. REPORTS: Larry Carey wrote up a historical perspective of the WHS, covering its inception and development. Ed Lemon reported on the work of the Archival Committee and the progress made thus far by Cal and Freddie Fellows and Bev Shepardson on the inventory. Others are encouraged to join them on Monday afternoons from 1:00 - 3:00 at the historical building as work continues. The full report is attached below, outlining things that need to be done soon to prevent further damage to the building and its contents from moisture and squirrels. Also on the needs list is a wifi-equipped desktop computer with a large monitor for researchers to access our database. Pat Lemon reported on her investigation of possible funding sources for crucial repairs and upkeep of the Society building, in particular insulation and a combination furnace/air conditioning system to maintain a steady temperature of 60 degrees. It was noted that the WHS owns the building, not the town, so work is not subject to state bidding or prevailing wages. Pat noted that in order for the building to be on the state historical register, it must first be designated as a federal historical building. On another matter, Pat noted in her report that since the Historical Commission members are also Historical Society members, they are in violation of the open meeting law due to meeting without posting notice. See motion below. MOTIONS: It was moved that the Historical Commission and the Historical Society meet on the same day. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously. The Commission will meet at 6:45 p.m. before the start of the quarterly Society meetings at 7:00 p.m. Nick Arquimbau moved that the Historical Society authorize the select board and the Energy and Building Committee to investigate and propose a solution to the environmental problems of the WHS in preserving its collection and the building. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously. A motion was made, seconded and passed unanimously that the WHS petition the selectboard to allow it (HS) to sell original prints to raise money for historical preservation and to be able to sell reproductions of the 1830 Blake map. It was moved that up to $1,000 be put aside for the archival committee for building needs. Motion seconded and passed unanimously, Arline Lincoln noted that this will come from the checking and savings accounts, and, as always, receipts are required for all expenditures. A motion was made to re-nominate the current slate of officers and trustees to be elected at the September 2010 meeting for another 2-year term: Slate is a follows: They are: president - Larry Carey; vice-president - Charlie Brown; treasurer - Arline Lincoln; secretary - Martha Morse; curator - Ed Lemon; auditor - Rodney Whipple. Trustees are: Joe and Alana Mankowsky, Clare Green, Patty Ernest, and Barbara Walker. Members present signed up for working at the society building on Sunday afternoons from 2:00-4:00 in July and August: July 4 - Barbara Walker July 11 - Calvin and Freddie July 18 - Rod and Helen Whipple July 25 - Clare Green August 1 - Patty Ernest August 8 - Case and Arline August 15 - Martha Morse August 22 - NO ONE August 28 (Saturday of old home day weekend) - NO ONE August 29 - Pat Johnson Larry Carey said he will fill in where needed. Meeting was adjourned at 9:00, follows by refreshments. The next meeting will be September 15, 2010. . Respectfully submitted, Martha Morse, secretary Report - Archival Committee - June 16, 2010 Our small group (Cal & Freddie Fellows, Bev Shepardson, Ed Lemon) started working Monday afternoons again once the warm weather began. We are usually there from 1 to 3 p.m. if you want to join us! As of last Monday we have essentially finished the ground floor top-level inventory. About 270 separate objects or collections of objects have been photographed and added to our database. Items of great value do not appear on the online database except to account holders. Ed and his daughter-in-law are still working on improving our software. Suggestions are welcome. Extensive winnowing of the objects has been done to enhance the appearance of the collection. The rooms have been cleaned and some exhibits have been moved to different rooms for aesthetic reasons. We are gradually replacing hand-printed labels with larger, more legible computer-printed ones. The two downstairs closets have not been included in the inventory; one, which is kept locked, has Society materials for sale and valuable museum equipment. The other is used to store items that haven't been classified yet, and general supplies. The entrance corridor has been rearranged to facilitate the entry of visitors to the museum. The "Open" signs and flag are now stored in the closet off the "office". Volunteers doing Sunday duty during July and August should return the signs to the closet so as to keep the entryway clear. A new light fixture has been installed in the SW room (1A) so as to better illuminate the two display cases. At the moment it has no switch and needs to be plugged into the outlet behind the display case on the west wall when the museum is open to the public. The safe which used to be in that room was opened and found to contain several important items which unfortunately had mildewed in the moist environment inside the safe. Inside were a first draft and manuscript copy of Jonathan Blake's History of Warwick, several account books, and some other documents dating back to the 1770's. They are currently drying out on top of the display case in 1A. Next week we will be starting the upstairs inventory. In the meantime, volunteers to do the second level inventory of the ground floor would be welcome. Anyone with a wifi equipped laptop can enter data, as we now have our own wifi router. We need knowledgeable long-term residents to check our data entry! We are unable to identify some of the portraits of notable townspeople, and some of the items' origins are unknown or unclear. Things that need doing sometime soon: 1. There are signs of water damage in the "office". Plaster is buckling and ceiling tiles are stained. 2. Squirrels are nesting somewhere in the building. The holes in the eaves of the north and south faces have been patched, but there is still damage occurring inside the building. 3. A wifi-equipped desktop computer with large monitor should be made available for researchers to access our database. 4. The Iversen dollhouse needs plexiglass panels to replace the plastic which is taped and thumbtacked to the model. Things that need to be accomplished before we open in July: 1. Deal with the floor in the "office". There are mold spores in the rug, and probably the best thing to do would be to dispose of it, wash the floor with bleach, and put down a new rug. 2. The shrub next to the door needs to be severely trimmed back. Respectfully submitted, Ed Lemon