APRIL 1st STARTS SOCIETY'S 80TH YEAR WITH A PROGRAM Featuring Glenn Knoblock
“Brewing in New Hampshire”, a slide show, will be presented by historian/author Glenn Knoblock. This presentation will provide a fun filled account of a beverage that has been popular from early colonial days down to the present. Included will be rare and humorous images of period beer advertisements. This lecture is appropriate for all ages and one whose history will interest the teetotaler and imbiber alike!
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT - Jim Rogers
What a year 2006 was! We mustered up all our courage, broke the 80 year curse and took action to provide appropriate housing for our artifacts. We bought an 1800’s antique barn, fashioned a preliminary set of plans; authored, produced and presented a Video to the Town selectmen and received approval to re-erect the structure on Museum grounds.
Our intention was to have the frame erected and closed in by snowfall. Alas a number of events occurred that conspired to prevent progress at such a prodigious rate. Nonetheless, we were able to complete repairs to the frame (far more extensive than expected), excavate, pour, and cover the foundation. In addition we carried the normal full WHS program with attendance improved over previous years, and membership remittance at an all time high. I have to say this could not have happened without dedicated, unselfish contribution of time from key individuals on the board. For duty beyond the call in the barn project special mention must be given to Don Moodie, Gene Denue, and Rudy Kruger. There were many sore backs from lugging the underpinning and sill beams from the pile and installing them on the foundation. Moodie worked so hard we made him a Director-his comment, “no good deed shall go unpunished”. Other generous donations of labor and equipment, were provided by Joe Balboni, Paul Bennett, and the Evans brothers. Essential architectural skills were provided by Rick Mazzarella of Spenser Hughes and Fenton Varney.
Generous financial contributions were received from Jack and Shelly Blais, the Hurlbert Fund and John MacCabe . This year we must get serious about fund raising! Thus far we have spent $ 99,415 of WHS funds, and rough estimates place the additional costs at another $200,000. Included with the Crier this year is a multiyear donation form and a plea to help us realize the vision of appropriate storage for our artifacts and records. Please feel free to ask me for extra forms for your wealthy friends.
Our thanks go out to the Garden Club once again for their efforts in relocating the Herb Garden. It is a source of great pain to me that after all our efforts to prevent it, a portion of the garden was damaged by construction. We will endeavor to correct this through the Summer months.
Special thanks to Sue Glenn and her staff this year for taking the lead in replacing the firehouse roof shingles, fixing the rodent ravages on the Clark house bedroom windows, and the continual pumping of water out of the barn foundation.
This Spring will find us back at it; sobered and somewhat daunted by the magnitude of the task at hand, but resolved to see it through.
Technology upgrades are well underway. With the addition of our new computer system both Video and Audio disks are now available at the Library and can be sampled at the 1805 one room schoolhouse. Visitors can now make copies of documents on site, including scanning of pictures, and production of CD-ROMs.
I am also happy to announce the addition of three new interim members to the WHS Board. Don Moodie whom was mentioned above, Dave Garbarino, and Leslie Gerace. Departing the board are Ed Roundy, June Hutchins, Diane Rogers, Paul Lang, and Margaret Marshner we thank you for your service.
The Nominating Committee will present the above interim board members, together with a slate of Officers at the 1 May meeting as opposed to the 1April Annual Members meeting as called for in the Bylaws. We beg the indulgence of the members in this deviation.
A vote of thanks also goes out to the returning Board members, Lois Carey, John Cochrane, Bill Wiebe, Pat Hansen, Ruth Wallace and Glenn Knoblock. It’s a great privilege to work with such a dedicated group.
Once again a big thanks goes to our “boots on the ground” the CMC Volunteers. We still have your names, numbers, and we know where you live, Kathy King and Dave Garbarino will soon be after you for the upcoming season. As always we invite all our members to join in the fun, just note your interest on the membership card when you return it and you’ll be surprised how much fun community service can be..
FINANCES John Cochrane
Financial Notes: Our membership support was steady providing 51% of our total revenue. Membership income and the Town appropriation supports our basic expenses for operating the Clark House Museum. All restricted building funds are now being conservatively invested in secure certificates of deposit. Expenditures from Restricted Building Fund for the Barn Project are $99,415 to date. The Hurlburt donation was recorded after 1 Janurary bringing total revenues for the WHS year thus far to $14,842. Funds received as contributions to the Barn Project are entered as “restricted funds” and exceeded $5000.
THE CLARK HOUSE MUSEUM COMPLEX - A Work in Progress – J Rogers
Primary emphasis for 2006 was, of course, the Barn project. Progress in this area was treated in the opening paragraph and will not be repeated here. In addition, three additional projects were carried out under the leadership of the town’s Parks & Recreation Department. The first was a “measured response” to the continuing attack by gray squirrels. Windows in the Main Street upstairs bedroom were repaired. The second was the shingling of the Firehouse, and the third completed the painting of the Schoolhouse, and the front of the Clark house.
For 2007 the focus will remain on the Barn Project, and the primary goal will be to complete the task of making the barn “weather tight”. Even this will be a challenge since only $10,000 is available if we stick to our original guidelines of not spending more than $100,000 of existing WHS funds to achieve this milestone (~$10,000 of new money has been donated). The primary reason for the additional expense is the cost of repairing the existing barn frame, and the delays incurred by redesign efforts. We had been assured that the frame could be repaired and re-erected for ~ $10,000 beyond the purchase price of $60,000. Over $10,000 has been spent in this effort with beam repairs completed and only barn underpinning installed.
The second major consideration for the Barn Project will be ground water management. The majority of the foundation is at a 4 foot depth. There is not a problem for this portion of the foundation. A smaller portion, designed to house utilities is at a 6 foot depth. In this area a sump has been installed and water is currently being expelled directly on to the Museum lawns. This works fine but must be modified to provide a more permanent solution.
The Clark Museum grounds have always had a surface water problem that results in “pooling” around the Schoolhouse foundation after heavy rains. We intend to work with the Town to combine resources in a re-grading and water management solution that will solve both problems.
The last item on the radar is to find a permanent solution to the “rodent” problem. Squirrels are trying to eat the Clark house, and are raising havoc with the security system in the Schoolhouse. Our first approach will be to identify and remove points of rodent egress by blocking holes in the foundation. Assistance will be sought from the Town in addressing this problem as well.
NOTES FROM THE ARCHIVES Cindy Scott
Efforts in archiving material have been enhanced by the installation of our computer system. An initial “access” database design has been produced for cataloging historic maps and data entry in this area will continue. Much of the effort in archiving awaits progress in the Barn project. In the interim I will be working with Leslie Gerace to identify and select software that is compatible with State based archives.
2006 CARPENTER SCHOOL STUDENTS DAY -AN EXPERIENCE BACK IN TIME Leslie Gerace
June of 2006 once again brought ninety 3rd grade students from Carpenter School, accompanied by a beavy of teachers and parents. They visited the Museum Complex, toured the Monitor Fire Station, the Clark House, "went to school" at the Pleasant Valley School House, and participated in historic games.
Arrangements are underway to repeat this successful project in June 2007, and the next generation of 3rd graders will visit the Clark Complex . Specific dates are still in review
WOLFEBORO HISTORICAL SOCIETY PROGRAMS – 2006 Lois Carey and Glenn Knoblock
Please mark your calendars early, as you will not want to miss this year’s exciting slate of events and historical programs!
All programs will be held at the Community Center on Lehner Street at 7;30pm on the dates listed below unless otherwise noted. For further information, please call Program Chair Lois Carey at 569-3696.
Monday
“Brewing in New Hampshire”, a slide show presented by historian/author Glenn Knoblock. This presentation
April 2will present a popular and fun filled account of this popular beverage from the early colonial days down
to the present. Included will be rare and humorous images of period beer advertisements. This lecture is
appropriate for all ages and one whose history will interest the teetotaler and imbiber alike!
Monday WHS President Jim Rogers will present a program updating WHS members and the community at large
May 7 on the progress of the Barn Project now underway at the Clark House complex. Those interested in
contributing to the project, whether by donation or volunteer work, as well as those who just love the
idea of helping to restore a historic barn are encouraged to attend.
Monday
June 4 “Jane Pierce: Wife of the 14th President, New Hampshire’s own, Franklin Pierce”, presented by Virginia
Gerseny. Dressed in period costume, Gerseny tells the real story and achievements of a first lady often
mis-portrayed in history as “the saddest woman who ever lived in the White House”. You won’t want to miss
this historic portrayal by a dramatist well known for her costumed story-telling!
watch the Granite for an update
SaturdayANNUAL ANTIQUE APPRAISAL DAY / COMMUNITY FLEA MARKET
June 18 Clark House Museum Complex. Appraisals 10 am-1 pm. Flea Market 9am-4 pm.
The Boyds of Eliot, ME return to appraise your treasures - $5 for one item, $12 for three.
Set up your own yard sale table and explore the surprises at the others. Food and fun.
Monday “Letters to William”, by author Jackie Rogers Cleary. Through the use of historic letters, Cleary
July 2vividly recalls the romance between Martha Orne and William Rogers of old Wolfeboro
in the 1840’s. This is a documented love story between members of two of this town’s
oldest families that you won’t want to miss.
Monday “The Old Man of the Mountain”, by lecturer Brian Fowles. This sure-to-be-popular presentation will take a
August 6 look at the history of one of New Hampshire’s most beloved symbols and the geological reasons
for his untimely demise. You’ll want to get here early to get a seat for this “must see” event
MondayAnnual Pot Luck Supper and auction, 6:00pm, First Baptist Church. C’mon down and enjoy this
Sept 13popular event with friends and family. Bring your favorite dish and a wrapped “mystery” gift (with a value of
$5 or more) and enjoy some great food and convivial after-dinner bidding! A fun and exciting event for all.
A great fundraiser for the Society, a chance to reconnect with old friends and heckle our auctioneer.
What treasure(s) might you come home with?
Monday“The Shaker Legacy”, presented by noted Shaker historian Daryl Thompson. In this lecture sponsored by
Oct 1 The New Hampshire Humanities Council, Thompson offers a wonderful insight and history of the
Shakers and their unique religious life, with a particular emphasis on the Shaker Village at Canterbury,
New Hampshire. Raised among the Shakers in his youth, Thompson offers an intimate portrait of the
Shaker life.
Monday“Wolfeboro Education in the 19th Century”, by WHS Historian Phil Decelle. Based on his detailed study of the
Nov 5 Benjamin Franklin Parker diaries, Phil offers a detailed account of the role played by Parker in educating the
youth of Wolfeboro over 100 years ago as only he can.
All the WHS Volunteers, Board Members, and Officers extend our best wishes to you for a safe and profitable summer season. Make sure you drop by to see us.
If you wish to contact us by email our address is archivist@wolfeborohistoricalsociety.org
or protopipnit@comcast.net
