July 2010
3rd QuarterNumber 23 |
Artifacts
& Fiction Montgomery Historical Society P.O. Box 47 Montgomery, VT 05470 e-mail pratthall@gmail.com www.montgomeryvt.us/mhs.htm Click here for a printer friendly pdf version |
TD Execs tour Pratt HallPhoto by Ken Secor |
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Scott Perry - Chair/Editor Bill McGroarty - Vice Chair Marijke Dollois - Secretary Sue Wilson - Treasurer The MHS Board meets the third Wednesday of the month at 5:30. Pratt Hall in the summer, Public Safety Building Conference Room in the winter. Note cards based on the Stained Glass
Windows of Pratt Hall
make a wonderful gift.
Montgomery History Quiz:
1. How many school districts were there in Montgomery in 1865?
a.1 b. 7 c. 11 d. 17 2. How many students were there in 1865? a. 99 b. 234 c. 365 d. 438 |
Chairman's Message At the Annual Meeting in 2009 I remember jumping up and down and shouting "free money" to exhort members with savings and checking accounts at TD Bank to designate the Society their TD Affinity partner. If we could get 50 members to do so we would qualify for a donation from the bank of at least $500. The bank uses a formula based on the average 12 month balance of all those Affinity members so it's possible to receive even more but we had no expectations beyond the $500 minimum. Fast forward to June 2010 and we were literally stunned to learn TD Bank would be donating over $7,800 dollars for our first annual donation. The MHS was the only Vermont non-profit to receive a check under the TD Bank Affinity program and was ranked in the top twenty of all donations given by TD Bank in the U.S.! During a lunch at Pratt Hall, I thanked TD Bank Senior Vice President, Leslie Di Luigi, and stressed this donation would make a huge impact on our work. (I also asked her for help to change the program so we could include our members with Canadian accounts.) We need to keep our Affinity numbers up if we are to remain eligible for the program in future years. If you are already our Affinity Program partner, thank you. You don't need to do anything to remain in the program. If you are not, please consider joining up. If you are already a TD Bank account holder, or are willing to open an account, and are willing to designate the Society please call or visit your nearest TD Bank branch , or call Sue Wilson, 933-2116. A big thank you to ALL of our members. We have lots or challenges ahead as we begin some major restoration and repair. We couldn't do it without you. Scott Perry Chairman |
PAGE TWO
| 2010 Annual Meeting
Our fun filled and informational Annual Meeting was attended
by about 40 members and guests. We enjoyed Parma's delicious food,
exhibits, conversation, reports, and jokes... Information disseminated
included the:
Membership Report as of Jun 24, 2010 Membership so far - 160 New Members - 8 Business Members - 13 Membership Donations - $7,620 Average Donation - $48 Median Donation - $25 Slightly ahead of last year at this time Treasurer's Report as of Jun 23, 2010 Cash on Hand Checking - $ 10,708.28 Lalia Pratt Hays Scholarship CD - $590.55 Capital Improvements CD - $ Transferred Stained Glass Window Fund CD - $5,747.41 Domina Print Fund Raiser - $276.53 Liabilities Line of credit loan - $0, Zilch, Nada! State of our Society is VERY good. Metrics include: More Awards Membership #s & $s steady NO Debt Savings & Participation Steady Acquisitions Increasing Are We Having Fun??? Challenge - Keep doing what we are doing and make major structural repairs to Pratt Hall. We need a major grant(s). Memorial
Day 2010
The Society hosted its 16th annual Memorial Day commemoration
on May 31st. About 35 people listened to this years’ speaker, Lt Commander,
Mary Carol Mankin, USN. Her duty included the aircraft carrier, USS
Nimitz, and 4 separate deployments to the Persian Gulf. Thanks to her, and to American
Legion Post 42, Parma Jewett, Tim Chapin, and Sally Newton for
making it a very nice remembrance.
Photo
by Lynda Cluba
|
School
Days Exhibit
Kudos to Bill and Margaretta Branthoover for the latest compilation
and historical analysis of Montgomery's schools and school districts.
(It's on our web site under the History link). We used
it as a point of departure to put together a small exhibit
for the Annual Meeting and will keep it together for the summer and
fall. It includes a 20 X 30 inch photo reproduction of the 1871
Beers Atlas map of Montgomery with the districts colored. We
hope to offer the exhibit to the school as well.
Eastman
Charitable Foundation
As I write this the Society has paid off the remaining loan
incurred by the purchase of the neighboring Heaton property in 2005. This
closes the transaction which cost the Society $45,000. We are now
debt free and have enough money pledged and in our general fund to cover
the $7,500 match for the Vt Div. for Historic Preservation Grant for the
front entry / vestibule foundation project.
In that regard, we owe a big Thank You to Steve and William Hays for their support of our request to the Eastman Charitable Foundation which will be donating nearly $5,000 to the Society over the next three years to help finance this project. All of you should take great pride in these accomplishments. Your continuing enthusiasm and support of our work were (and remain) critical to every success. Recent Accessions, Thanks To: Steve Ferriole for a copy of a civil war photo of his relative John Manosh. Douglas Butler for photos, postal ledgers from the Parker Store and other Parker ephemera, and a decorative cloth from his mother's engagement party. Mr. Butler (90 years young), whose grandfather was Carlos Parker and grand uncle was Natt Parker, let us do an oral history interview while he was here too. His family owned the Village store, the house at the site of the Toy Factory, and both houses now on either side of Pratt Hall. June Rosenburg who made a presentation of a tiny almanac and jar of receipts from the Parker Store at the Annual Meeting. Much of this was on exhibit at the Annual Meeting and will also be shown this summer and fall. We are thinking about putting together an exhibit on the Parker Store. Got any ideas? artifacts? stories? |
PAGE THREE
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Scholarship Program
Kaitlin Deuso won the 2010 Lalia Pratt Hays scholarship awarded
by the Montgomery Historical Society. The selection committee had another
tough job this year, saying all the applicants were very competitive.
Kaitlin plans to attend the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and
State College and major in Dairy Science.
Concerts By The Common News Steve Hays has confirmed three new artists
for our 22nd season of "Concerts By The Common". They
are:
July 17- Constitution Brass Quintet July 31- Peterman Jazz Quintet August 14 - Hewitt/McGuire Harp Flute Duo All concerts are at Pratt Hall at 8:00p.m. Call Lutz Automotive (802) 326-4528 for advance tickets. Tickets are $12 each ($10 for MHS members). Purchase the entire series for $30 ($25 for MHS members). Discounts for groups of 10 or more are available. Tickets are also available at the door the evening of the performance. Click here for more information Thanks to TD Bank, The Eastman Charitable Foundation, The VT Arts Council, and local sponsors and patrons for underwriting these VT and New England performers Art Show and Sale
The Board decided to cancel this year's Member Appreciation Art Show
Reception, and the Show and Sale, due to the anticipated start of demolition
on the front entry way. Depending on conditions we may open
for tours and exhibits on the 28th, the same day as Harvestfest and several
other local events.
Town History Update |
2010 Membership Campaign Reminder Our membership count stands at 160 as
I write this. If you haven't renewed yet, please
take a moment to do so. You can print the necessary form
from our web site if you can't find our March mailing.
Thanks to all of you who have
become members for 2010. Tell your friends about the good work
we're doing and suggest they join you.
Pratt Hall Bugs
We've found fresh signs of Powder Post beetles in the Tower
and are consulting some experts on what we should do next. We will
keep you updated.
Pratt
Hall Clock Update
The clock is keeping time but
it's not chiming the hour.
We will continue our efforts to repair it.
We also need a new clock winder (aka Quasimodo). It needs to be wound once a week and we are willing to pay $50.00 a month. Please contact a Director if you have any questions or are interested. 
MHS Chairman Scott Perry receives a TD Bank Affinity Program check from Leslie DiLuigi, Senior Vice President TD Bank, surrounded by his Directors and TD Bank's Dave Estes and Sue Wilson. Photo by Ken Secor. |
PAGE FOUR
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Vermont History Quiz Answer
1. c. Eleven. There had been 12 but District 7 was
merged into Districts 2 and 9.
2. d. 438. This was the largest student population recorded, even though the highest Town census would be 1900 35 year later. We're An Open Book As a reminder, the Agendas and Minutes, which include the Treasurer's Reports, are available on our web site. The MHS Board is...
Scott Perry, Bill McGroarty, Sue Wilson, Marijke Dollois, Pat Farmer, Tim Chapin, Ken Secor, Elsie Saborowski, Jo Anne Bennett, Parma Jewett, Bill Branthoover, John Beaty |
Web Site Update
We're always adding content
to the Society Web Site. New additions
include: Histories of all the Montgomery Churches. History
of Montgomery Schools, a copy of the 1871 Beers Atlas map of Montgomery,
a new About Us page, and an updated Affinity Program page. As
always we welcome your ideas.
Test your luck in our summer raffle. Tickets will be for sale
for $2.00, or 6 for $10.00, at the Concerts and at Lutz’s Automotive with
the drawing being held at the end of the August 14th performace.
OR...Purchase it directly by clicking the link above. |
