Warwick Historical Society Minutes - September 19, 2012 The meeting began with a presentation by retired teacher and archaeologist Bill Schweikert , entitled "Archaeology of the Pioneer Valley." The WHS business meeting was called to order at 7:45 by Larry Carey. Present at the meeting were Larry Carey, Ed Lemon, Joe and Alana Mankowsky, Dave and Bev Shepardson, Freddie and Calvin Fellows, Ann Miner, Charlie Brown, Michael Carey, Barbara Walker, Betsy Lochhead, Mel Kitchen, and Martha Morse. Secretary's Report: The minutes of the June 20, 2012 meeting were accepted as read. Treasurer's Report: Arline Lincoln was absent. Martha gave the balances in the accounts: Checking: $2,050.24 Savings: 4,052.94 CD 10,170.06 TOTAL 16,273.24 There was no information available on income and expenses. Slate of Officers for 2012-2014: A motion was made and passed unanimously to accept the slate of officers for another 2 year term, as nominated at the June 20 meeting: President: Larry Carey; Vice-President: Charlie Brown; Treasurer: Arline Lincoln; Secretary: Martha Morse; Curator: Ed Lemon; Auditor: Rodney Whipple; Trustees: Joe and Alana Mankowsky, Barbara Walker, Patty Ernest, and Clare Green. Housekeeping matters: Barbara Walker reported she purchased two window shades for the museum for $12.98 each. She will be reimbursed by the treasurer. She also mentioned that the bush near the museum door needs to be shaped. The work will be done by Brian Miner. Larry will take care of the pipe protruding from the ground on the west side of the building. Fundraising: Larry noted that there are only 25-30 t-shirts left, none of them large or extra- large. Larry said that 144 were ordered long ago (possibly 3 years?), potentially producing a profit of $700. The 4-color screen shirt is produced at a cost of $4.00 each . A motion to order more t-shirts and to charge $8.00 for small and $10.00 each for all other sizes passed unanimously. Larry said he needs more help selling the t-shirts. Security at the Museum: Michael Carey reported that he has purchased a security device for the Museum, with the following specifications: it has 4 cameras, can see 35 feet, has no alarms, records 18 days of video, and can be connected to the Warwick internet. It can accommodate 5 individual password users, with one to be designated for notification. After discussion, and motion was made and passed unanimously to reimburse Michael from WHS funds the $249 he spent for the system. Dues collected: Annual membership dues were collected by Martha in the treasurer's absence: Paid are Larry and Cathy Carey, Calvin and Freddie Fellows, Dave and Bev Shepardson, Charlie and Elaine Brown, Ed and Pat Lemon, Mel Kitchen, Alana and Joe Mankowsky, and Michael Carey. Others can pay at the December meeting. Other: Dave Shepardson spoke about the home-made ice cream project at Old Home Days in August 2012. David is aiming for Feb. 9, 2013 for the next ice cut. Hopefully with thicker ice and better insulation the Moore's Pond ice will last until August. Bev Shepardson reported she is compiling a list of Warwick residents who have received the golden cane. So far she has 9 names, and asked if anyone knows of others . Ed Lemon gave the Curators Report, and it is attached. The next meeting will be Wed. December 19 and will feature the Yankee Gift Swap. The meeting was adjourned at 8:28 p.m. and followed by refreshments. Respectfully submitted, Martha Morse, secretary Curator's Report Sept. 19, 2012 Museum attendance We had a good season overall, with at least 45 visitors, most of them during Old Home Days, but quite a few during the Ice Cream Social as well. There were two school visits and a number of out-of-towners who found our museum information online and stopped by. Several people showed up during our Monday work sessions, including noted photographer Barbara Bosworth, who is doing a government project on the M & M Trail, which involved photographing some of our mineral specimens. A big thank you to all who came in on Sundays to host the museum opening. Inventory and Cataloguing Project Although we had fewer participants this season, the inventory and online catalog continued with stalwarts Bev, Freddie, Cal and Deb. Liz and Martha Morse also stopped by when they could. We wound up the files on Warwick families, which is to say, they are now inventoried, but also ready for more information to be added. Some of the files are awfully thin! Lately we have been labeling items and rearranging them according to themes. We plan to continue this during the remainder of the 2012 season. In one of the downstairs closets, Cal found a box of items, clearly from the William Howard collection, that included such items as a swatch from Mrs. George Washington's wedding dress, and a piece of "Old Glory". As far as we can ascertain, both of these items are genuine. Deb Paulson has begun the daunting task of conserving our paper documents. She is sealing them in mylar film so that they can easily be examined without damage. Since we have many such documents over 200 years old, this is a timely and necessary task. Donations There have been some notable donations this year. Pat Johnson gave us an antique saddler's bench, and Lois Macy donated many, many volumes of family history along with valuable genealogical books. I have been negotiating with Peter King about acquiring the plaque that stands by the site of the Stevens Homestead. To that end I have made up a donation form for you to inspect and make suggestions about. 250th Anniversary Projects We are starting work on the essays we plan to collect for the book we're calling "Warwick's History in X Objects". Those of you who signed up to do a project at our June meeting should be getting those essays in shape! To remind you what you signed up for, I'll pass around another sign-up sheet. Those of you who haven't already volunteered may do so now. Respectfully submitted, Ed Lemon, curator