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Recipients are encouraged to participate by writing to lindaday@historicalsocietiesnh.org.
--Linda
Day, Association of Historical Societies of NH
Up
Front:
I would like to share some pointers on the structure of
your meetings. Not all these observations will fit all your
Societies; feel free to pick and choose what is appropriate for you. (As
the poet says, I am lavish with advice--I'm not using it so I may as well give
it away.)
We encourage Societies to consider having the business
meeting before events, and definitely before refreshments. The idea
is to draw people to your meetings. Having the draw
before the meeting gives people permission to tell themselves the meeting does
not concern them, is just for members, so they may excuse themselves and slip
out.
By starting with the meeting people will learn what you
are about. Follow with the feature, and follow all with the refreshments
as a thank-you.
Another advantage to having the meeting first is that it
will discipline the procedure. If you have star power
waiting in the wings the society is more likely to stick to the agenda; whereas,
if there is no one coming after you, the talkers may keep on until dawn,
although I am not thinking of any of us.
You ought to tell the presenter that
the meeting will be first and the presentation will begin at (e.g.) at 8:15; but
the public should not be told more than perhaps, "the meeting will be followed
by..." so those with manners will most likely come early.
Also, we recommend referring to the Society's portion of
the program as a "meeting" rather than as a "business
meeting." Calling it a business meeting has two shortcomings: One,
it implies that it only concerns those who have business already with the
Society--so, not new people; and two, big bore factor.
From time-to-time, the presenter's timetable may require
the event first, followed by the meeting. Not bad; it will keep people on
their toes. But in any event, the refreshments should be very last.
I even recommend, if the refreshments are to be laid out, covering them
with a tea towel to tacitly convey the protocol.
Contents:
1) Material Culture, Docent
Training
2) Sugar Hill School Program, Spinning
Guild
3) Andover Shares Board Structure,
By-Laws
4) Franklin Hosts Program on Styles
Bridges, Governor & Senator
5) Andover Inquires re Board
Insurance
6) Lake Winni hosts BINGO
7a) Sugar Hill Artisans
7b) NH Photography in
Littleton
7c) Ice Cutting Exhibition in St.
Johnsbury
7d) Conway hosts Conversations
7e) Plymouth discusses Tourism
8a) New North Country
Societies
8b) Update on North Country
Brochure
1) from Arts Alliance
of Northern NH, Docent Training:
Every Thing Speaks: Introductory workshops on Material
Culture
Thursday, April 13, 2006, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Franconia Heritage
Museum We invite you to attend this workshop, presented by
the Arts Alliance and the NH Humanities Council for K-12 teachers and for staff
and docents of historical societies and museums
You can
download the flyer and registration form from our website homepage at http://www.aannh.org. Participants will learn how to use
objects like those found in most local historical societies to
provide hands-on learning and develop school/community
partnerships. We will explore how to integrate artifacts into the
teaching of both American and foreign cultures. We encourage museum and
historical society staff to attend with school partners if
possible.
There is a fee of $35 for the
workshop – which includes lunch, coffee, and materials.
If you are interested in attending but need scholarship aid, please let us
know.
2) from Sugar Hill, School
Programs & Wool Gathering:
We have a school outreach
program, in the Spring we visit three out-of-the-area schools (Whitefield,
Jefferson, Lancaster), with slides and artifacts, featuring the one
room Schoolhouse of the late 1800's.
In the Fall we invite three
area schools (Lisbon, Franconia, Bethlehem) to come to the Museum for a
program, tour and refreshments.
ALSO
We do have a wool spinning
guild here in our area. We have them give classes for our Artisan's Guild
and they do demonstrations for local events.
--Winnie Harwood, Sugar Hill
Historical Museum
3) from
Andover, Board & By-Laws:
The
Andover Historical Society has had a Board of Trustees since its
inception. Several years ago we made a dramatic change in the way we
manage our affairs and it has proved highly successful. I would be happy
to send you our by-laws that outline in more detail our format, but basically it
is as follows:
We
now have a President, a Secretary and 4
Directors who together are in charge of the day-to-day
operations of the Society. These Directors are:
Fiscal Management
Director: Serves as Treasurer and also is involved in fund raising, grant
applications and all things fiscal.
Museum Management
Director: Responsible for operation of our museum, curator, displays,
staffing etc.
Community Relations
Director: Responsible for publicity, newsletters and
memberships.
Buildings and
Grounds Director: Responsible for overseeing the maintenance and repair of
our four buildings and their grounds.
We
also have 15 Trustees who serve staggered three-year
terms. It is our goal in selecting Trustees that they be willing to take
an active role on one or more of the committees set up to
handle special events or projects, and not just “lend their name” to our
Society.
The
Officers, Directors and Trustees meet five or six times a year to decide the
affairs of the Society.
4) from
Franklin, "Styles Bridges, Yankee Senator:"
Thursday, April 6, 2006, at 7:30
pm The Franklin Historical Society will be meeting in the FRANKLIN VFW
HALL, 26 Peabody Place, next to the Peabody Home, featuring guest speaker
James J. Kiepper, author of "Styles Bridges, Yankee
Senator", who will talk on the life of the U.S. Senator from NH and be
available afterwards to sign his book. Everyone is welcome, there is no
admission charge, and plenty of free parking. Light refreshments will be
served after the presentation and before the Society's regular business meeting,
for which everyone in attendance is encouraged to stay.
(Ed. Note: I have spoken with Mr.
Kiepper. He and his backers are on a labor of love which includes not only
his willingness to make presentations for us, but also the donation of a free
copy of his book to your Society. Do feel free to contact him on
either/both.)
5) from Andover, Inquiry
re Insurance for Board:
The Andover
Historical Society has become concerned whether we should have liability
insurance to cover our officers and
board members for complaints regarding misbehavior or fiduciary
improprieties.
We have received a
proposal from a local insurance agent for a policy with $1.0 million coverage,
at a cost of $744 per year. This would be a serious
financial burden to our society, since our annual budget amounts to only about
$15,000, which includes $1,800 for fire insurance coverage on our
buildings.
Also it has been
suggested that we should have in place a "Sexual Harassment"
policy, to help avoid legal challenges of that nature. This seems
to many of us to be a bit silly for an organization such as ours.
We would be interested
in hearing from other societies as to how they have dealt with these issues.
Responses are invited to the Andover Historical Society president:
(Ed. Note: You may respond directly to
Pat Cutter; if you cc me, I will be glad to share your
response.)
6) from Lake
Winni, Bingo:
Looking for
something to do Saturday night? LWHS hosts Bingo games every Tuesday and
Saturday nights!
(Ed. Note: How does
this work, Ann? Is the same person there two nights a week? Does
that lead to burn-out? How many visitors come? How much do you
charge/make? Did you start out, bang, with 2 nights a week or work up from
e.g., once/month...? Do you need a gaming license from the
State?
(On a personal note, I
would hate to have us crowd each other out when we learn about other's good
ideas. That is, I hope neighboring towns respect the fund-raising turf, as
it were. But, state-wide, it pleases me to have you use this newsletter to
strengthen your organization. We are sister organizations, so borrow
ideas from one another. In traveling the state I meet so many of you who
impress me with your hard work and your willingness to help your
colleagues. You are a good bunch.)
7) North Country
Bulletin Board: (Thanks to Arts Alliance NNH)
7a) Sugar Hill Artisans' Guild
Meetings
Carolina Crapo Memorial Building; Main Street,
Sugar Hill (603)
823-8431
Saturday, March 18, 10am-3pm
- Quilting Class
with Sue
Peabody. Project: Machine Quilted Bezel blocks.
Material list available when you call to
pre-register. Registration $15.
7b) Images by Slattery Exhibit at Flora
Latte
Monday-Saturday, 9am-5pm; Sunday, 10am-2pm; 17 Main Street,
Littleton (603)
444-7600
http://www.floralatte.comPeter Slattery is a NH photographer who has had a home in
Bath since 1997. His images are of NH and New England. Peter is
a self-taught photographer who served as a deployment photographer many times
during his 31 years in the CT Air National Guard. He also served for 8
years as photographer for the Union Agricultural Society in Somers,
CT.
7c)
Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium Exhibits
1302 Main Street,
St. Johnsbury, VT (802) 748-2372;
www.fairbanksmuseum.orgCurrent Exhibit - Cold Harvest: Ice-cutting in the
KingdomIn the early 1900s, ice was
cut and packed tightly in an ice shed and would last all spring, summer and
fall, ensuring that everyone with an icebox had a steady supply to keep food and
milk from spoiling. Blocks of ice were delivered to households and shipped to
urban areas in the south throughout the year. The Newport Ice Company, run by
the Handy family since 1913, enjoyed a monopoly on the ice business in northern
VT, from Burlington to Newport. Photographs of the Newport Ice Company
showing the tools and process of this labor-intensive work are on view in the
Museum's upper gallery.
Hours: October-April, Tuesday-Saturday 9am-5pm;
Sunday, 1-5pm. Admission $5 for adults/ seniors and children (5-17)
$47d) Conway Public Library, (603)
447-5552
Tuesdays, 3:00-5:00pm -
Conway ConversationsConway Public
Library in cooperation with the Conway H/S invites you to “Conway
Conversations.” The program is an informal sharing of reminiscences about
our Valley. Come in, have a cup of tea or coffee and swap memories.
Listeners are welcome, too! If sufficient interest is demonstrated, the
program will be offered on the last Tuesday of each month from 3:00-5:00 pm.
No registration required.7e) Silver
Center presents Sidore Lecture Series: Local and Global
Tourism
Wednesday, March 15, 7pm; Plymouth State University, Main
Street, Plymouth (603)
535-ARTS
http://www.silver.plymouth.eduLocal and Global Tourism: Panacea or Placebo? Oriol
Pi-Sunyer, University of Massachusetts; Mark Okrant and Grace
Fraser, Plymouth State University. Call for free tickets.
8) from Arts
Alliance of Northern NH:
8a)
Programs
for New North Country Historical Societies &
Museums
Quite a few of you have
expressed interest in working with us on a series of discussions in which
experienced historical-society directors and volunteers share their hard-earned
knowledge with newer members of the field. We are working on organizing
this series, and would like to hear from you if:
• you have specific ideas
for discussion topics
• you would like to present or be part of a panel
•
you would like to attend as a representative of a new or developing
society/museum
8b) Heritage
Map & Guide
Thanks to all of you who have
provided guidance and materials for the North Country Heritage brochure.
Janina Lamb, a wonderful professional artist, is currently
designing the brochure, with the goal of stimulating interest in historic
Northern NH. As you know, space on the brochure itself is very limited and
we are not aiming for a comprehensive listing so much as a way to get visitors
and residents intrigued and to guide them to information and resources (many of
which will be on the web, both at our site and yours, if you have
one).
Janina, who is working on a tight timeline to ensure
that we have the brochure ready for this summer, is looking for vintage images
and could use your help immediately with the following:
Vintage photos or
postcards on:
• railroads
• early winter sports
• summer sports
(hiking)
• early tourists (the verandah of a grand hotel looking out at the
mountains?) or tourists on horseback?
• something that represents the
earliest pioneer settlers . . . perhaps a drawing/painting?
• the logging
industry
• vintage engravings of natural sites (to show some of the loveliest
natural attractions, and have a geographic spread -- something from far north,
far southeast, south west, mid east, midwest of our region – e.g., Old Man, the
Flume, Glen Ellis Falls, Beaver Brook Falls)
• vistas or scenes with a
close-up component, and lakes, mountains
• early depictions of the White
Mountains (Mt. Washington)
• vintage photos and drawings of important
historic buildings and/or bridges which are STILL STANDING – train stations,
grand hotels, beautiful churches, schools, town halls, farms, or stately
homes
• old postcards of Main Streets
The photos will
be printed quite small, so they need to have close-up, vivid subject
matter, rather than a distant view. She will need something that is--or
can be--scanned at a high resolution (ideally 600 dpi at 2 x2); she can scan
photos herself (if anyone is willing to lend us actual photos we promise to take
good care of them and return them promptly).
Content and
opinion:
--Any tidbits of info that are
especially interesting re a particular town or area.
--The three best books
on Northern NH history. We will have a very short bibliography, either on
the brochure or on the web--which can be somewhat longer.
--We welcome any
other thoughts or suggestions you may have. As we have said, only a
limited amount of material can get on the brochure, but we’d like it to be as
interesting visually as possible, and will then include additional material as
we build the website. Please call Kelly (726-8843)
or Frumie (323-7302) with any questions. If you
have materials, let us know and we’ll arrange how best to get them.
| Arts Alliance of Northern New Hampshire
Frumie Selchen
Executive Director
phone: 323-7302 |
Arts Alliance of Northern New Hampshire
Kelly Bryer
Membership Services Coordinator
phone: 726-8843 |
|