Hinesburg Historical Society

Meeting Minutes - March 26, 2009

Present: Nancy Boyle, Gil Coates, Donna Cunningham, Marshall Delaire, Maggie Gordon, Aaron Kimball, John Roberts, Sue Roberts, Ann Thomas

Several members brought in materials to share. Gil brought information on clothing preservation that had been presented at the Monkton Historical Society on Monday night. Ann shared copies of a Hinesburg timeline (compiled by Leonard Carpenter in 1961) that she had borrowed from the library to type into the database. She hopes that members can update it and continue to add to it.

Ann said that Jean Masseau, a local artist, has been drawing portraits of long-time Historical Society members, and that an unveiling of the portraits at the fall festival is possible. Jean can also make copies of the portraits available for sale.

John gave an update on a series of black and white photos that an woman in Maine sent to us. The family had spent their summers at the Carse house (before it was the Carse house) and John is doing research on where each of the photos was taken. He is uncomfortable storing them long term, however, and is looking for other options. One possibility discussed is scanning them, then passing them on (to Special Collections at Bailey/Howe, perhaps). Nancy, who knows the archivist at Shelburne Museum, will look into storage options. She also mentioned the possibility of making negatives of the photos.

Ann mentioned again the idea of having a glass case in the upstairs hall of the town hall for display purposes (to replace the folding tables where flyers are kept now). Nancy warned that long-term exposure to light would be harmful to older documents, and that theft is also a possibility whenever older documents or artifacts are displayed.

John talked about a book of photographs that was put together of the Town of Plainfield: the book generated a lot of interest in the town, and John wondered whether we could do the same thing for Hinesburg. There was unanimous approval of the idea. Aaron pointed out that Hinesburg will celebrate its 250^th anniversary in 2 years. Would that be enough time to complete the project? Nancy suggested that if we can’t do it in 2 years, then we could at least launch a major materials drive during the anniversary. There must be dozens of photos of Hinesburg languishing in residents’ attics. Aaron asked if John’s friend, Richard Pettit (who organized the Plainfield book) could come and talk to the HHS. John said that he would ask.

Ann said that she and Sue Barden, the library director, would love for John to reprise his presentation at the library. Several people expressed a desire to continue the momentum begun last summer with the revival of the historical society, the fall festival, and the one-day museum in January. Suggestons on how to do this included keeping the web site current, advertising through various venues (the Record, Front Porch Forum), posting “Do you recognize…” photos on the web site to encourage local interest, and encouraging questions that come through the web site. Ann shared several that Aaron had forwarded to her: questions about genealogy and one of the cemeteries, as well as an offer of ledgers from the Moretown Historical Society (which we decided to gratefully accept). 

Nancy expressed an interest in organizing information by family. She would also like to do a regular column for the Record in which she highlights one document from the vault each month. There was overall approval for this, and Aaron suggested that it could be serialized and put on the web site as well. Ann interjected that because of the many resources at the community school library (including the digital archive on their server) that it would be a good idea for the HHS to have a liaison with the school, and that Nancy is the perfect candidate.

Ann suggested establishing a sister historical society with New Milford, Connecticut (where the original proprietors were from). Perhaps the towns share a similar architecture, or street names? Sue volunteered to contact the New Milford historical society to see if there is interest on their part. Ann also mentioned that Erastus Bostwick walked from New Milford to Hinesburg in 8 days (several times!) and that following in his footsteps (perhaps along the Appalachian Trail?) might be a fun project for a young person to undertake.

Nancy asked that language on the web site be written to reflect the accuracy (or lack thereof) of the information posted as well as invite additional information or corrections.

Gil proposed moving forward with applying for non-profit status, and Aaron suggested appointing a small committee for that purpose. Aaron, Gil, and Donna volunteered to be on the committee, and they will report back to the group at its next meeting. It is believed that Jean has a copy of the notes and bylaws that were decided on at a previous meeting.

Actions to be taken by the next meeting:

Ask Richard Pettit from Plainfield to speak to the HHS about his experience in compiling a book of town photographs (John Roberts)

Contact New Milford Historical Society about possible sister-relationship (Sue Roberts)

Move forward with applying for non-profit 501-C3 status (Aaron Kimball, Gil Coates, Donna Cunningham)

The next meeting of the Hinesburg Historical Society will be held on Thursday, April 23, 2009 at 7pm in the Town Hall.

- Maggie Gordon, Secretary