MONTGOMERY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Unapproved Minutes of Meeting
Pratt Hall
Wednesday, July 16, 2008 @ 5:30 PM

THESE ARE THE UNOFFICIAL MINUTES UNTIL APPROVED BY THE BOARD.

Board Members and Members Present:    
Scott Perry, Sue Wilson, Parma Jewett, Bill Branthoover, Pat Farmer, Marijke Dollois

Scott Perry called the Meeting to order at 5:35 PM.

Show and Tell: 
a)    Highgate Historical Society donated several 150-year old letters by Montgomery residents to the MHS.
b)    Nicol S. Brisbane donated Montgomery GAR journals dating back to 1885-1886 to the MHS.
c)    Betty Stanton donated several letters and photographs to the MHS
d)    Art Soule donated several letters dating back to the 19th century to the MHS

Recognition of visitors:
    Ave Leslie – A summer resident from the University of Chicago, Graduate School of Anthropology working on his graduate thesis “Civic engagement in Community Life and Local Government in the Town of Montgomery”. His study will bring him back to Montgomery over the next three years.

1.    Minutes of 06/18/08: Sue made a Motion, seconded by Bill to approve the Minutes of 06/18/08 as written, with the amendment to read: “Show and Tell (b) …..Bill Branthoover’s grandson”. The Motion was unanimously approved.

2.    Treasurer’s Report:
        Checking Account    $    4,878.74
        Stained Glass Window fund CD    5,516.17 @ 1.74% - matures 10/24/08
        Capital Improvement CD    1,859.49 @ 1.74% - matures 12/10/08
        Lalia Pratt Hays Scholarship CD    6,824.61 @ 1.74% - matures 11/06/08
       
        Heaton House Mortgage     $23,891.54 @ 6.49% fixed – matures 12/20/2010

Parma made a Motion, seconded by Pat to approve the Treasurer’s Report of 07/16/08. The Motion was unanimously approved.

3.    Membership Update:
Marijke reported the following:
    168 members - $ 8,125.00
      13 new members

A reminder letter will be sent to those who have not yet renewed.

 
4.    Old Business –

A.    June 20-22 History Expo – The display was a great success.

    1.    Crate is still in Ohio. USAir has agreed to refund the ticket in the form of a one-year credit. Options were discussed on how to get the crate here without going to a great expense.
    2.    The representative from the Vermont Wood Industry Association asked Scott to publish the text of the display in Vermont Life or Vermont Historical Society’s Quarterly. This will require a more thorough bibliography and there might be copyright issues. Scott will investigate.
    3.    The display is now available on the MHS website.

B.    June 27th Annual Meeting – Scott thanked everyone who helped out with the organization. Parma thanked Marijke and Noela for the set-up. Scott stressed that everyone present at the Meeting are ambassadors of the organization.

C.    July 5 Jenni Johnson concert was a success with 65 attendees. Marijke reported that to date $2,275 has been received in sponsorships.

D.    August 22-24 Art Show/Member Appreciation Evening – Noela is still checking out appropriate lighting possibilities. Otherwise, no further report.

E.    Speakers –the Abenaki presentation by Jean Burke will be on October 4th. Sharon Anderson will display a 19’ wigwam on the lawn during the afternoon and prepare Abenaki food.

F.        Pratt Hall/Heaton House – Scott has not been able to connect with Brad Elliott to remove the chimneys on the Heaton House, patch the roof, and remove the small window in the Pratt Hall tower.

G.    Insurance coverage – No report.
   
H.     New Board Members – No further report.
   
I.    August 9th at 7:00 PM Town Library - Betty Stanton will make a presentation with letters and photographs on the subject of Life in Early Montgomery. It was suggested that Bill Branthoover do a book signing at the event.

J.    Butler Decorative Cloth – Bill Branthoover wrote a letter of interest to Douglas Butler but has received no response to date. Marijke has the original letter with Polaroid photo sent by Douglas Butler.

5.    New Business:
 
    A.    July 25th presentation to VHS at St. Albans historical Society – Scott will represent the MHS and discuss the current status and operation of the organization. He has also completed a survey for the VHS on “Connecting to Connections”.

    B.    Mortgage principal reduction – Scott suggested a possible reduction by Christmas depending on the final state of the MHS.

    C.    Agatha Blodgett will hold a small memorial luncheon on August 2nd for her brother Charles Keelan at Pratt Hall; Marijke will be the liaison for MHS.

    D.    Wedding Sep. 6th – Sarah Betts

    E.    Scott received a request from John William Meyer, a Middlebury College student working for the University of Vermont's Landscape Change Program, to scan all our photos in high resolution and save them on a CD; the subject of the project is “Changing Landscapes – now and then”. The request was tabled for further discussion.

F.    Parma and Sue proposed a display for Summer/Fall 2009 of Marion Towle’s artwork; the 3 Gillman sisters lived in Montgomery Village; the only married sister, Marion Towle, painted/embroidered many pieces depicting scenes of Montgomery. Several of these pieces are still owned by local residents. The display would include a biography of the sisters. It was discussed that the display, in reduced size, could be used for the 2010 Tunbridge Expo. Marijke made a Motion, seconded by Bill to approve the proposal. The Motion was unanimously approved.

G.    Pat received a notice from the Preservation Trust regarding a grant writing seminar. Scott will look into it and it is important to apply for grants to help with restoration of Pratt Hall.

H.    Marijke visited the “Old Maps” booth at the Tunbridge Expo. The 1857 Franklin County map was available on CD. She suggested that we could possibly have the West Hill map donated by Ken Cota scanned and reproduced. Parma will e-mail a copy of the map and dimension so Marijke can follow-up with Old Maps. Scott was hoping to get the early 1800s hand drawn copy of the original charter map that is currently held at the Town Clerk’s office reproduced at a scale that is similar to the Montgomery Tax Map.  This would allow people to approximate who the original grantees were of their property.  These could be sold as a fund raiser.

6.    Adjourn: 
        Pat moved and Bill seconded a motion to adjourn at 6:45 P.M.  Said motion passed unanimously.


Respectfully submitted,
Marijke M. Dollois