Marlow Historical Society / Executive Board Meeting / April 9, 2008 / 6:30 PM, Chapel

Mary Blank, Gen Ells, Loisanne Foster, Pam Little, and Candy Wiggum were present. The meeting was called to order at 6:35 PM. Loisanne read the Secretary’s report which was accepted as amended. Mary gave the Treasurer’s Report which was explained and accepted as read. Mary reported for Maria Baril, Membership Chairperson, that we now have twelve sustaining members, members who are willing to donate a $100.00 each year to help cover operating expenses. Many of them are lifetime members. With our operating costs covered, we are freed somewhat from fund raising and more able to throw our energies into preserving Marlow’s history.

Old Business:

Album Quilt

Candy Wiggum asked about the status of the quilt project. Loisanne reported that Kathy Harvey of Swanzey, our quilt conserver, still has Marlow’s 1876 album quilt and has not been contacted for awhile. Loisanne agreed to call her to get a report on the current status of the conservation project. We have $250.00 set aside to pay for this conservation.

The Burnap House

Pam Little reported that she had researched with the department of Environmental Services to see if there is contamination on any of the property involved in the Burnap House Audio Accessories proposal to MHS. There is not. Mary reported that she met with Joe Feurer about the Pocett property which would be donated to MHS if we were willing to move both the Burnap House and the Aldrich House onto it. It is a residential plot of 1.4 acres. It is non conforming to residential guidelines for the area, but the condition is preexisting. It has more than the required one acre, but it does not conform to the minimum 175 foot frontage. It has only 85.5 frontage. Such being the case, only one house is allowed on the lot, and so we cannot accept the conditions of the recent proposal by Audio Accessories and Pat Gallup. that Audio accessories would donate the Burnap House if MHS would be willing to move it and the Aldrich House to the Pocett property which would then be donated to MHS by Pat Gallup.

We decided to continue to negotiate with Audio Accessories for the Burnap House. We have studied the Aldrich House, and we are not interested in it. We are back to square one. We still hope to work out a plan for preserving the Burnap House.

Meet the Candidates

We discussed the small attendance at the last Meet the Candidates event. Although the discussion was interesting and lively and there were important issues at stake, not all of the candidates attended and the audience was small. Candy suggested that we should either increase participation or skip it next year. We agreed that two factors diminished attendance in 2008. First, the weather was wild. Second, there were few contested positions. We decided to try it another year and work hard to increase participation.

New Business:

Marlow Home Models

Gen Ells brought with her a model of her home built by Ronald Lake. We admired its detail and accuracy. Gen told us that there are 20 or more such model homes made by Ronald Lake around Marlow. Ronald Lake still has some in his keeping, but many have been given out. She suggested that they should be displayed for all to enjoy. “It would be up to us to call in those that have been given out.” Candy Wiggum suggested that we display them at the Art Show at the Harvest festival, and we agreed this would be a wonderful idea. Loisanne suggested that, somewhere down the road, HSCC might be interested in displaying them as well. Candy said, “I think they should be shown here first.”

Stevens Donation and CD

We agreed to set aside the $250.00 that Leon and Lydia Stevens recently donated in a CD rather than allow it to lie fallow.

MHS Visitor

Loisanne will meet with Forum correspondent Tina Peters on April 16. Tina is a descendent of John and Jonathan Raymond of Marlow. John Raymond was buried in 1853 in the Village Cemetery. The Raymond homestead, now a cellar hole, was in the vicinity of the Reed Road. Loisanne has located and copied information at the Town Offices for Tina. We will exchange information.

MHS Web Lens

Loisanne explained that we now have an adjunct to the MHS Forum, a lens which focuses on a particular topic and features links to related web sites. The focus of the new lens is the relationship between Marlow and Lyme, CT. The lens allows us to display photographs.

New Members’ Reception

We arranged for the New Members’ Reception on April 17. Mary will send invitations to the eight new members. Pam will vacuum the museum and Mary will arrange it for a new member tour and set up a display of MHS activity photographs downstairs. Mary will make posters and send out new telephone trees. Gen, Loisanne, and Pam will bring goodies, and Mary will arrange for beverages.

Monadnock Music Dinner

The date is tentatively set for Friday, August 1.

Announcements -

Tag Sale - There will be a town-wide tag sale on May 17. Lisa Bell is in charge.

Field Trip to Bennington, VT sponsored by the Women’s Group - This will be on Saturday, May 17 also. Jeannie Merwin is the chair. [Note: The date has been postponed until May 31.]

The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 PM.

Respectfully submitted,
Loisanne Foster
Secretary, MHS
Respectfully submitted,
Loisanne Foster

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