May. 2007
Marlow Historical Society Minutes & Reports

May 2007


Marlow Historical Society / Executive Board Meeting / May 15, 2007, 6:30 PM

The meeting opened at 6:40 PM with Mary Blank, Loisanne Foster, Art Schmid and Candy Wiggum present. The Secretary’s Report was read and accepted as read.  Since our meeting in April consisted of preparing to mail the membership and contribution forms, it was the March minutes which were read. The Treasurer’s Report was read and accepted as read.

Old Business:

Loisanne reports that Kathy Harvey is continuing the conservation work on our 1876 Album Wedding Quilt. We have received and set aside donations specifically for the project adequate to cover the cost, so no money will be expended from the general fund for this.

In support of Marlow Conservation efforts, we have donated to the Marlow Library Saving Special Places: Community Funding for Land Conservation  by Brian Hart of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests and Dorothy Tripp Taylor of the Center for Land Conservation.

Mary reports that John Asseng has pruned the elms which were planted in the fall. We thank you, John! We still need to stake the trees and protect the trunks.

Candy has repainted the sign for the Hearse House, and it will go up soon. Candy has also planted pansies in the Murray Hall window boxes.

Al and Mary Blank will set out and apply sealer to prevent decay and secure the bench by the new elms at  the Quiet Spot beside Murray Hall. Art Schmid advised getting a “high-end” sealer for the job. The money for it will come out of our Liberty Elm Fund. Mary will contact Joe Baril and ask him to set the plaque for The Quiet Spot in concrete. Al will repair the outhouse before Memorial Day. Loisanne will ask the Marlow Art Colony if they would be willing to paint it fancifully after a coat of spray paint has been applied. Mary reports that the cost of painting Murray Hall is now entirely paid.

New Business:

Our 2007 project for Murray Hall will be to have an identification sign made for it. Candy reports that the cost will be $120.00.

We hope to improve the Highway Department peninsula along Route 10 north of the village and plant two of our three remaining elms there. Mary will meet with the Selectmen and Highway Department about the feasibility and process for accomplishing this. A drainage problem will need to be solved and fill added before grass seed and elms are planted.

We have one elm tree left, after the two for the peninsula. Candy suggested that we put the last elm where the cherry treefell along the side of Jones Hall. We agreed.

Another 2007 project for MHS will be to restore the Hearse House. This will involve a thorough cleaning, inside and out, including a power wash for the outside; scraping, as necessary, and painting. Art Schmid volunteered to contribute the paint, a new ultra-paint that flexes. Art asked about the condition of the Hearse House roof, and Mary reported that it is in good condition. We hope to accomplish the painting with the help of a work crew, perhaps for our June 21 meeting, if the prep work can be accomplished by then. Art will ask Bucky White what needs to be done to prepare it. Loisanne suggested the title, “The Magic of Midsummer’s Eve.”

This plan is in keeping with our new policy of generally involving our membership rather than attempting to entertain in a world filled with media entertainment.

We need to be ready for Memorial Day and the opening of the MHS Museum at the Chapel. We need to clean the museum and move the new bookshelves from the middle of the floor to the office. Art, Loisanne, Mary, and Candy volunteered do this Saturday morning and Mary will fine-tune before the opening. Mary volunteered to take care of the refreshment table on Memorial Day and Loisanne volunteered to be the docent at the museum from 9:30 AM until noon on that day. [Since Loisanne was, after all, unable to do this,  she found two people who graciously agreed to fill in for her, Gen Ells and Johanna Kent.  Pam Little, Gerry Plotts, Leaugeay Taylor, and JoAnn Hartwell indicated that they would be willing to help with this at another time.] We agreed that our public event for May would be our participation in Memorial Day and museum opening. Loisanne and Candy volunteered to take care of the June and July museum hours.

Mary has discovered more Marlows in her “Other Marlows” Project:

  • Marlowe, West Virginia

  • Marlow, New Zealand

  • Marlow, Australia (New South Wales)

  • Marlow, South Africa (Eastern Cape)

  • Marlow, Germany (Mecklenburg)

Monadnock Music Concert and Dinner will be on a Saturday night this year: August 11. We need to raise $600.00 through solicitations. We will do a letter asking for donations for the concert at our June 5th meeting at The Chapel.

We will participate in the Newport History Fair with a Marlow booth. Mary is preparing the set up and display, and Loisanne is preparing booklets from our MHS archives.  Although we will be selling sweatshirts, note paper, and the usual items, we plan to emphasize our projects and our Web Forum, especially the genealogical aspect. We will be giving out bookmarks with our web address. The fair will be at the Newport Opera House from 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM  on Saturday, June 2.  Mary, Loisanne, and Candy will cover it.

The HSCC Forum is at the Jaffrey Civic Center on June 21, beginning at 9:30 AM

“Four Days of Fury,” the Marlow fire documentary by Charlie Strickland and Tracy Messer will be shown at Stoddard Old Home Days on July 12.

Mary suggests that we do a fall program emphasizing Marlow genealogy highlighting the work of the MHS Web Forum. She suggests that Loisanne make a Powerpoint presentation on this.  Loisanne is considering.....  

The meeting adjourned at 8:20 PM.

Respectfully submitted, 
Loisanne Foster

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