From: Linda Day <lindaday@historicalsocietiesnh.org>
To: "Hureau, Richard"
Subject:    AHSNH/Listserv--Vol I, # 7
Date:    May 12, 2005 11:53 PM
This newsletter is sent via Blind Copy to Historical Societies and interested parties from the Association of Historical Societies of New Hampshire.  If you do not wish to receive this, simply hit Reply and respond, "Please remove."  Recipients are encouraged to participate by posting inquiries and resources.
 --Linda Day, Association of Historical Societies of NH
 
Up Front
Is there any discussion about programming?  The Association will be distributing copies of the Program Catalogue from the Humanities Council at the workshop on April 30.  The Humanities Council is probably the primary resource in the State for program ideas--and funding.  Fundraising events comprise another portion of our programs. Where do your other ideas come from?   What portion of your programming is educational?  Does a single person do your planning or do you have a committee?  Is there a pattern to your programming?  Are there any Societies doing research?  transcribing documents?  Do you give periodic reports on what you are learning?
 
The Association's website, www.historicalsocietiesnh.org,  has a place under the Forum, for you to give contact information for people in your Society who are willing to go to other Societies to deliver talks.  I have seen some good articles in a few newsletters that imply there are a few of you who know your beans.  Why not circulate?
 
I notice this listserv/newsletter is being used primarily for announcements--which is fine.  I also hope readers will use it to participate in discussions and to share ideas--not to mention "lessons."
 
Contents:
New London opens new website       New Hampton hosts Blaine
Stratham posted on Div/Tourism        Horatio Colony events
Alstead hosts Rumrill                          Ossipee looks to region's future
Hampton fund-raiser                            Sanbornton Historical Documents offers
Association workshop                               web services and workshop   
NH Archives workshop
 
 
from New London:
Do visit our new website www.newlondonhistoricalsociety.org! 
(Ed. note:  They get bragging rights--It's a nice site!  Hey, you know what we should do?  Let's have a group "vacation" and everyone "tour" each other's web sites this week.  Go to the Association website, click on Directory, and scroll down to link to all the websites.  Then we can have a discussion about everyone's ideas.)
May 14  Scytheville Tour
Elkins, NH, historical walking tour.  Reservations req'd:  763-9782
May 17, 9:30 am   Container Gardening
featuring Laurie Lauridesen.  No fee but bring a chair
May 22, 11 am  Model A Visit
A Ford model "A" car club drops in for an hour's visit.  All welcome
June 24-26  Art Show & Sale
Our annual fundraiser.  Reserve for Friday's Preview or come to open hours on Sat, Sun.
 
from Stratham:
(in response to, Good news from the Division of Tourism and Travel.  They put out a map and a directory.  I noticed few of us are listed, so I called.  Any museum that has regular hours through the summer--that should include weekends--is eligible to be listed in their directory!  And everyone may be listed on their website!  So head on over to http://www.visitnh.gov>www.visitnh.gov and get your information listed!  Maybe you'll get some tourists!)

Thanks for the info.  I sent our Historical Society's address, hours, etc., for inclusion on the website.  So we'll see what happens !
 
(Ed. note:)  What was entailed in that?  Was it difficult?  Have you had any response--not that tourists are really rolling in yet--?
 
from Alstead:
April 20,  Wednesday - 7:00 p.m.
The Alstead Historical Society's Spring Meeting will feature, Alan Rumrill, Director of the Historical Society of Cheshire County, who will describe early glass making activities in Cheshire County using objects from the AHS Museum glass collection to illustrate his talk. Other glass items from the AHS collection also will be on display during the meeting. The program will be held in the Shedd-Porter Memorial Library.  Refreshments will be served. For additional information please call Lark Leonard (835-2573) or David Moody (835-7900).
 
from Hampton:
On April 23 at 6PM, the Hampton Historical Society will host a Barn Fundraising Dinner. After the dinner, John Porter, barn expert and author, will discuss the history of barn development in NH. For more info, please visit the calendar of events on our website at: http://www.hamptonhistoricalsociety.org/calev.htm
 
from the Association of Historical Societies of NH:
April 30, 10 - noon   Team Up with NH, The Role of the Historical Society in the Identification of Local Treasures.  Featuring Edna Feighner, Historical Archeologist, and Linda Wilson, State Historic Preservation Officer, of the NH Division of Historical Resources.  Is the Division "Big Brother" (a la 1984) or Big Sister?  Work hand-in-glove with the State--What?  How?  Following the meeting, Horatio Colony House and Wyman Tavern will be open.  Program Catalogues from the Humanities Council will also be available for distribution.
 
Please pre-register with Linda Day, lindaday@historicalsocietiesnh.org, or 753-9846.  $5/person, or, if 2 or more people come from the same historical society, $10/society.
 
from New Hampshire Archives Group: 
5 May, Thursday,  9:00 - 3:00   “From the Attic to the Box”
A Workshop on Archival Arrangement and Description -- Annual Meeting
At the Society for the Preservation of NH Forests; Concord, NH (call for directions)
 
James Roth of the Kennedy Library will present the basics of Arrangement and Description.  Topics will include: basics of processing collections, creating finding aids, processing principles and creating access. Learn the best practices for processing and learn principles for handling and describing manuscript materials.  
 
In the afternoon, discuss your specific issues with archivists from New Hampshire.   Copies of the Bruce Stark Processing Manual will be available for purchase.
Workshop Registration (includes lunch) - Checks made out to NHAG;  $10 for Members, $15 for Non-members.  Contact for registration:   Craig F. Evans, NHAG;  P.O. Box 888; Sanbornville, NH 03872-0888    
Questions:  Elizabeth Slomba;  603-862-2956; eslomba@cisunix.unh.edu
 
from New Hampton:
Wednesday, June 8, 2005 • 7:00 p.m.   Hill Country Abandonment, 19th Century Sandwich, NH
featuring Marcia Schmidt Blaine, Ph.D., UNH-Plymouth  at the Gordon Nash Library (place to be confirmed)
The population of early nineteenth-century Sandwich was prosperous and growing. Farmers, the vast majority of the population, produced a sizeable marketable surplus. However, just before the Civil War, the population of Sandwich, and much of New England, declined precipitously. By focusing on one community, we will try to understand what happened to the inhabitants of Sandwich. Using letters, maps, and other documents, the program will look at some of the individuals who left and those who stayed to try to understand the motivations for leaving town.

from the Horatio Colony House Museum:
199 Main Street , Keene, New Hampshire;  (603) 352-0460
All programs are offered free of charge: reservations are advised as noted
 
May 1 through July 24   CHILDHOOD TREASURES: 1900 TO 1905
2005 marks the 105 anniversary of Horatio Colony’s birth. The museum celebrates this anniversary with an exhibit featuring items from the museum’s collection pertaining to Mr. Colony’s early life from birth to 5 years old. Items on display include photographs, toys, clothing, furniture and excerpts from his writings about his childhood in Keene. Open Wednesday through Saturday - 11:00 to 4:00. Free.
 
Saturday, May 7 - 12:00 to 3:00 PM   QUEST FEST
A quest is very much like a treasure hunt, with maps, riddles, and pictures to lead you through special places to hidden treasure boxes. You will be given a booklet filled with quests that can guide your explorations of Keene’s cultural and natural history. Some of these quests take place right in downtown Keene, while others will lead you out into farms and woodlands.
Begin the festival by getting your booklet and refreshments at the Horatio Colony House Museum.   Visit other quest sites throughout the day. After questing, come back to the museum for snacks and awards at 2:30 PM. Free.  Happy Questing!
 
Thursday, June 16 - 7:00 PM  NEW HAMPSHIRE WRITERS SERIES: Growing Up in Keene 100 Years Ago
What can we learn about childhood in the beginning of the 21st century by looking at Horatio Colony's childhood in the beginning of the 20th century?  Was childhood better then or are children much better off today? What's been lost and what's been found in the last 100 years?   Can we learn something from Horatio Colony's childhood that could help us reclaim some of the lost elements of childhood in our post-technological age?
The museum will host author David Sobel. Dr. Sobel, author of Children’s Special Places, Mapmaking with Children, and Place-Based Education and Questing: A Guide to Creating Community Treasure Hunts, will describe Horatio Colony’s childhood pastimes in the early 20th century and relate them to New England childhood today.  Free.  Reservations required.
 
Sunday, June 26 - 4:00 PM  WALKING STICK WORKSHOP & HIKE
View the museum’s walking stick collection, learn how to make a proper walking stick, then hike the Horatio Colony Nature Preserve.  Mark Nicholson from "Wilderness Creations" of Dublin will lead the workshop & hike.  Reservations required.  Free
 
Thursday, July 14 - 2:00 to 4:00 PM  OLD-TIME CHILDREN’S GAMES IN THE GARDEN
Rolling Hoops, Game of Graces, Jaxs, Marbles; enjoy the merriment of these old-fashioned games. This is an excellent family program. Free.
 
Sunday, July 24 - 3:00 to 4:00 PM   TEDDY BEAR’S TEA
A special tea party just for Teddy Bears and their young caretakers. Children are asked to dress up but Teddy Bears may come as they are. The party will feature a special guest appearance of Horatio Colony’s own Teddy Bear. Tea and tiny sandwiches will be served. Seating limited to 10 children so Reservations are required. Free
 
from Ossipee:
...I once imagined people in an historical society would be sitting around discussing historical topics...
 
We have recently acquired the Carroll County Courthouse in Ossipee (a spectacular building if you have never been there) which we intend to use, not only for our own headquarters, but as a center for Carroll County Historical Research. One of the ideas ... to publish a Guide to Historical Resources in Carroll County, with pages for each individual society in the county to describe an historical asset (with photos, history, directions to the site, hours of operation, etc) which would be available for all of the county societies to distribute. We are looking at this also as a way to develop the courthouse, because it is situated in the lower part of the county) into a center where tourists going into the north country might stop and get information on historical and archaeological sites that they might visit in the towns where they are planning to stay.
 
I am planning a meeting in June to discuss the questions of regionality (county-wide) as a distinction to local history.   As I know you are aware, local histories have been written about specific individuals and their accomplishments, but environment, transportation, population growth and movement, national economic factors, to name a few, are often not taken into account. These broad topics would become part of a regional study and might engender research that would inform local historians to understand that these topics are just as much a part of local history as regional history.
 
(For example, aren't you interested in...) the effect of mail catalogues (such as Montgomery-Ward) in the late 19th-early 20th centuries, (which) had a tremendous effect on local merchants. Second, ...the effect that itinerant peddlars had on local commerce during about the same period. There are other such locally-unexplored historical phenomena...
 
from Sanbornton Historical Documents Foundation:
1)   Web hosting for Historical Societies and other Historical Organizations

The Sanbornton Historical Document Foundation is offering web services  to New Hampshire Historical Societies and Organization's with a historical mission. The goal is to enhance the presence of Historical Societies on the Internet thereby promoting historical programs and projects to the public.

The web services will be provided under the domain name www.histsoc.org

There are currently two options for web services: Basic and Standard.  The Basic Service provides a template of one page that contains an image or logo, contact  and program information. It includes an email address that can be forwarded to an officer of the organization or accessed via an email account or through a private web mail page.  The organization can elect to have an on line membership form as well. This is a form that can be filled out and sent electronically or printed and mailed to the organization.

The Societies may choose among several layouts, color combinations, and graphic placements.

The content information for the web page is prepared by the organization via a simple on-line form that has been developed.  Once submitted, the information is placed on the web for review.  After careful verification, it is made public. The content can be updated quarterly by the organization.
The organization defines their name for the website and keywords that will be incorporated into their page to insure search engines will find the site. An example for the Franklin NH Historical Society, the url would be www.histsoc.org/nh/franklin  A keyword on the page would be Franklin NH so someone who types Franklin NH into google should readily find the Franklin Historical Society page.  An example of the basic page can be viewed at http://histsoc.sanbornton.org/demo/basic/

Sanbornton Historical Document Foundation services are provided by the Coordinator, Jennifer Mayo (603 279-5499)and Technical Consultant, Brandon Sussman.  Cost $175 first year, subsequent years $150

The Standard Service provides a template of five pages:  a home page, much like the basic offering, and separate pages defined by the organization, such as a calendar, historical projects, and other relevant information. Templates and pricing are being developed and should be finalized shortly.
 
2)  May 7, 10 am  1 pm   Textile Preservation, Storage & Display
At the Steele Hill Carriage House. The types of textiles will include garments, needlework, rugs, quilts, linens, shawls and ties. The information presented will include: What to keep, ideal storage environments, how to clean, options for displaying.   Feel free to bring an item that you have to receive some guidance.
The presentor is Annette Andreozzi, who specializes in historical costume, has a background working in Hollywood as a Motion Picture and TV costumer.  She has her own Kimona Collection, is resident of Franklin and is active in the Franklin Historical Society. 

Bring a bag lunch, drinks will be provided. The cost of the workshop is $15, a special discount is available of $5 for members of Historical Societies.  Registration required by phone 279-5499 or email jmayo@sanbornton.org