Marlow Historical Society Minutes - March 2012
Executive Board Meeting
Marlow Historical Society
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
6:30 PM
Present: Maria Baril, Mary Blank, Gen Ells, Loisanne Foster, Johanna Kent, and Joanne Thomas
Loisanne read the Secretary’s Report written by Maria Baril. It
was accepted as read. Mary presented the Treasurer’s Report which was
accepted as given. We currently have $3247.48 in our combined accounts.
We now have a debit card to expedite purchases on line and cut down on
the checks we write. Maria reported that responses are coming in on our
membership drive. We have fifteen responses so far.
OLD BUSINESS
We are working on the plaque for recognizing donors for the
Tinshop Pond Fence. We discussed the idea that those who gave larger
amounts might receive special recognition, but decided that all should
be equally recognized as each gave according to his ability. Johanna
suggested a handwritten thank you card for each donor when the plaque is
installed.
Johanna suggested that we be sure our newsletter is distributed
at all Marlow public events such as the St. Patrick’s Day dinner. The
suggestion was duly taken.
The September membership meeting will be Saturday, Sept. 15 in
the early evening. Fred Hill will speak and perform music of history,
topic to be announced. Joanne requested that Fred be asked to write a
few sentences about what he does.
Joanne reported that Faye, the textile expert from Alstead, will
meet with her and others who can be present at The Chapel in April to
evaluate our textiles and advise us in their care. Joanne suggested that
perhaps we can build a program around our textiles.
Monadnock Music has a new artistic director, and they do not yet
know their schedule; however, we have let our intention to host them
this summer be known.
Our NHHC public event with speaker Marcia Schmidt Blaine,
“Runaway Wives”, will be on Sunday at 2:00 pm on April 29. The Marlow
Women’s Group will cosponsor with us and help with hosting and
refreshments at Jones Hall. We will serve tea in bone china cups. Mary
will reserve a samovar. We will notify other historical societies and
put out fliers and posters in our radius.
NEW BUSINESS
Joanne has met with Gwen Gaskill of Washington and has read two
years of Cora Hurd’s forty years of diaries. Cora was a spiritualist.
Gwen impersonates her and is willing to do a 40 minute program for us.
We decided to do it on Sunday afternoon, perhaps early in June or in
October, depending on what is right for the speaker. If we wish he to
include many of the Marlow connection, October would give her more time
to locate them. We will plan refreshments or perhaps a pot luck buffet
at The Chapel.
Another program idea Joanne suggested is a joint event with the
Marlow Conservation Commission, a kayak trip on the river toward Gilsum
with a picnic lunch back at the Chapel and a presentation about life on
the river. There is a new Goodby NHHC program. We know he is wonderful,
so we can keep that on our radar. Since he was such a hit at Perkins
School, we might again arrange to have him present there during the day,
As long as we open the program to the public, we can schedule it at a
school. Linda Feuderer is a local archaeologist we can keep in mind for
future programs. Joanne also suggested a program on drama in Marlow,
featuring productions within living memory, perhaps asking those who
participated in the 1970’s +/ - to be involved and we might produce a
one-act play as part of the program, maybe in the late fall or early
winter.
We discussed archival procedures. We now have an accession form
for each new acquisition. Also, we have a sign out sheet for board
members who take material from the file for use. We are still cataloging
what is on the shelves.
Joanne suggested that, since there is such a strong Washington -
Marlow connection, we purchase The History of Washington. Loisanne has
The History of Gilsum, first published in 1880, which she purchased
some time ago at the Gilsum Library. It contains genealogy which
connects to Marlow’s early citizens and many great local stories. She is
willing to donate it to MHS.
Maria has been entertained this winter researching the archival
finds and she is enthusiastic about her discoveries. She has researched
several houses and also the lives of Roy and Roxy Forbes of Marlow Hill,
beloved eccentric citizens of the last generation.
Johanna voiced concerns about our insurance coverage. First, is
the nonprofit board covered if a member is sued relative to MHS
business? Yes, we are covered because we are incorporated. Second, is
there a second exit upstairs? Yes, there is a fire escape. We need to be
sure the passage to it is cleared. Joanne also suggested skid strips
for the steep stairs to the museum. While the Methodist group is liable
for the building, we heartily agreed that this is a great idea and
agreed to carry it out.
We thank David Stewart for his many years dedicated to
maintaining Marlow’s unofficial web site and posting for the community
our minutes and events. We appreciate his prompt responses and creative
approach. We thank Stephanie Tickner for taking over the site and
appreciate the continued opportunity to go public under Marlow’s banner.
We decided that, instead of asking Stephanie to post all our former
minutes which David has saved, we will post only those from here on.
<sticknermarlownh@gmail.com>
We agreed that the next newsletter can be larger, and we will
think about formal articles. We discussed the possibility of selling ads
enough to cover the cost of publishing the paper and decided that is
proper.
Respectfully submitted,
Loisanne Foster