Hinesburg Historical Society

Minutes for October 22, 2009 

Present: Kate Bissonette, Gill Coates, George Dameron, Marshall Delaire, Maggie Gordon, Jean Miner, Suzanne Richard, John Roberts, Sue Roberts, Ann Thomas, Dona Walker

Kate is preparing an article for the Record about hauntings and murders in Hinesburg, and she asked if members had any suggestions for additional material.

Jean passed around a brochure from the Vermont Historical Society about their upcoming annual meeting in St. Albans. She mentioned that Caroline Harvey, an early member of the HHS, is not doing well. Caroline will celebrate (we hope) her 97th birthday on November 5, and Jean circulated a birthday card for members to sign. Ida Crowley, who died in August at age 97, wrote down a history for her family, and a copy has been given to the HHS.

Jean also received a letter from Jeanne Wilson about sending in the Agency Request Form to apply for funding. She wasn’t sure it was worth sending in since the HHS was denied funding in the previous year. Maggie, who served on the town committee that made that decision, explained that the reasons for denial were 1) the HHS was not a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provided social services of the type provided by other nonprofits seeking funding, and 2) that it would be more appropriate for the HHS to apply for funding directly from the selectboard. It was decided that we should enquire as to the possibility of applying to the selectboard for funding, and Maggie offered to call Jeanne Wilson for more information. Gill said that it costs $300 to apply for Federal nonprofit status (we’ve already received the letter of approval from the state). Maggie confirmed that we have $185 in our checking account. Kate suggested a fundraiser: perhaps compiling a book of recipes. George thought that we might apply to the selectboard for one-time funding specificallly to cover the application fee. We should also keep open the possibility of continued funding for other projects, such as purchasing recording equipment for the Oral Interviews project.

George mentioned compiling a list of walking tours available to residents, which could include the village, the mill walk, cemeteries, Beecher Falls, and the cellar holes of the hill farms up in the town forest. The Lincoln Hill cemetery was mentioned as a possible addition, but Jean said that there’s nothing left after the vandalism that destroyed the stones, and no written records exist. George mentioned a recent walking tour in Jericho that was a successful fundraiser: the tour included $15 tickets, 20 open houses throughout the town, and refreshments at the community center. Would local residents be willing to open their homes for a fundraiser? George also mentioned a detailed booklet he’d seen on historic homes in Middlebury that could be a model for what we’d like to produce someday for Hinesburg. He will be conducting a practice run for the village walking tour in mid-November, and will invite all members to attend.

Jean pointed out that the houses of Hinesburg are not going away, but that we’re losing the people. Jean probably won’t have the opportunity to speak with Caroline Harvey again, and when she dies, a wealth of information and stories dies with her. Jean mentioned an oral history project (the Foxfire project?) that was done over thirty years ago, and wondered where that material was. She said that they had interviewed her father. Ann said that the collection was on cassettes in the library, and that she had a written summary of what was contained on each cassette. Jean expressed a need to gather up everything that’s already been done in one place. Kate said that her grandmother had written down answers to questions that Kate asked about her family and the town. George suggested a small committee be formed to oversee the Oral Interview project, and Marshall asked about the type of equipment we should use. Kate said that she would ask at the school about borrowing equipment. 

Ann mentioned that the Folklife Center in Middlebury has information and classes on conducting oral interviews, and talked about storing photos and maps on the server at the school. There followed a number of digressions, with people sharing various photographs and maps around the table. Ann said that she has scanned all the HHS material located in the library onto the server, and hopes that one day there will be a link from the website to the server. George pointed out that the website should have information about the digital archive: what’s on it and how to access it, for example. Ann said she’d also like to have something on the website asking people to send us stuff for the archive. She also said the Old House project should be added to the List of Projects that Maggie compiled for the Fall Festival. 

It was also suggested that people be assigned to work on specific projects. They can be responsible for taking action on the project, giving information for Aaron to post on our website, and reporting back to the group. It was also suggested that there should be an article in the Record every month as a way to publicize our activities and to solicit additional help on projects. One person could keep track of deadlines, assign articles, and prioritize projects. Kate offered to take responsibility for articles in the Record. George and Aaron have taken responsibility for the Village Walking Tour, and Marshall and Kate will head the Oral Interviews Project. Ann said that digital recorders are not too expensive: a good one can be bought for under $50.

The minutes for August and September were approved.

Maggie offered to contact Aaron to see if he is still able to continue with the HHS, and if he could update the website with minutes, the list of current projects, information about the archives (to be provided by Ann), and the date of our next meeting (December 10, 2009). Since many of the current members have never seen the digital archive, Maggie asked if there was any interest in holding the December meeting in the library at the Community School for an introduction to the archive. Ann suggested that the HHS invite the Ancient Roads Committee to give a presentation of its work at a meeting that would be open to the public. Both Suzanne and Ann wondered what should be done about people who might ask to copy photos from the archive. Jean though that people might not give us photos to be copied if we couldn’t assure that they would be protected. George said that he would ask an archivist at Saint Michael’s for advice. 

George also asked if there was a need to protect the Police building from being torn down, and whether the HHS should write a letter to express our concern. Jean wasn’t sure about the age of the house, and didn’t know whether the it was worth protecting. It was decided that the HHS wants to stay abreast on discussions about the future of the house without taking a stand on whether the house should be protected, since we don’t have enough information on its historical value. George will send an email to Jeanne Wilson saying that the HHS would like to stay informed on the future of the house. Jean said that David Lyman’s parents lived there, and that he might know more about it. Marshall pointed out that we don’t want a house, just a corner somewhere where we could store and display the materials that have been collected. In the meantime, a display case would be a good first step.

The next meeting of the Hinesburg Historical Society will be held on Thursday, December 10, 2009 from 7 p.m. - 9 p.m. downstairs in the town hall.