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 writing to lindaday@historicalsocietiesnh.org.
--Linda Day, Association of
Historical Societies of NH
E Up Front:
Here come two newsletters in a
row. The newsletter
was twice as long as I like it to be, so I cut it in half.
Then at last I am caught up! Thank goodness for the person who
suggested a table of Contents! The 1st six items are requests for help of
one sort or another. You may respond directly to the petitioner. If
you also cc me, I will share--your choice.
Good conferences coming up: Historic
Preservation (NH Preservation Alliance, Belknap Mill Society) and
Material Culture--good docent training venue (Arts Alliance of Northern
NH). Also Telling Your Story, for those interested in Oral
History.
Latest on Insurance. And
wait until you see the article on the Jane's Trust grant.
E Contents:
1) Franklin considers purchase of
Bldg
2) E&S Insurance offers Insurance
Comparison
3) Ashland inquires about Boards
& about Docent Training
4) Columbia wonders Nonprofit vs
Municipal
5) Model RR-er seeks Restoration
Specialist
6) Free-lance Cataloguer
Sought
7) Carl Schmidt is
honored
8) "Telling Your Story" features Ann
Sprague
9) Historic Preservation
Conference
9*) Accommodations in Conference
vicinity
10a) Jane's Trust Award to NH Preservation
Alliance
10b) NHPA seeking Field Service
Professionals--for us!
E "P o l l t h e A u d i e n c
e!"
1) from
Franklin, What do we need to know to get a bldg?
The Franklin Historical
Society, after meeting in churches, community centers, and the VFW, and storing
its archives in wherever it could find the space, is now on the verge of ...
taking over the most prestigious building still in private hands: the
Webster Mansion &Tay House at Webster Farm (Sisters of Holy
Cross).
I would like to hear from
Societies who have acquired historic buildings as their
headquarters and museums, with input such as: how much funding
was available when the building was first acquired; what (if any)
condition problems immediately surfaced and how were
they dealt with; what is the annual budget for
maintenance requirements; who has
insured the property; what
grants were sought and who wrote them; and if you had to do it all over again, would
you?
All replies can be directed to
me, Leigh Webb, President of the Franklin Historical Society, by either writing
to POB 43, Franklin, NH 03235, emailing me at nhconnection@earthlink.net or calling me at 934-8222. Thank you in
advance for taking the time to respond.
2) from
E&S Insurance, Any volunteers for a "test
run?"
I did not forget you!! I did get a response from several insurance
carriers regarding our request for a some type of plan that all the Historical
Societies and similar organizations might be able to take advantage
of. Great American is the one company who was very
interested and willing to endorse a program. ...they would
underwriting each risk on (its) own merits. Also, they have a $1,000
minimum ...premium per risk which might be high for many.
Unfortunately, it's not
going to be a master policy for all members (which) you would have liked to
see. The underwriters find that in such cases they get adverse
selection, as the best of the best can go off ...while the more
...hard-to-place risks end up in the master program, leaving the insurance
carriers with inadequate rates for payment of
claims.
Do you have a couple or organizations who would be willing to have us use them
for quoting purposes just as a sampling so we
can compare their current program to the Great American
program ? We obviously want to do something that would be
beneficial to your members as we don't want to offer a program that isn't the
best and attach your name or our name to it.
...Insurance companies all have to be competitive though so there is no
guarantee someone wouldn't be able to go out on their own and find a lower
price. We'd be looking for a comprehensive program with fair and
stable pricing.
(Ed. Note: Now my question,
"What are the criteria of a 'bad risk?' You
mention helping people change to improve their insurance program. What
things would Great American be looking at?" Ms Spinazzola responds,)
I would consider a bad risk as something that doesn't
show pride in ownership, no maintenance program and no concern
for liability exposures. An insurance company would not particularly
like high-valued property ten miles from a fire station, either, because of the
potential for a total fire loss. There are many
considerations.
I'm thinking I should head out one weekend and do
some driving around to visit the properties of a handful of your members and
take a look at the outside. A picture is worth 1000 words. What
do you think?
(Ed.
Note: So, Audience, How many Societies are willing to have a comparative
quote prepared for them--and hopefully share it with the rest of us? And,
Are there Societies in driving distance of Meredith that we may visit to give
Ms. Spinazzola a look at us?)
3) from Ashland, Help
creating a Board & Training Docents:
Linda, I enjoy reading these messages and
find lots of good ideas in them. The problem in our society is that we
have so few active members and those of us who are still engaged already do a
lot. It's overwhelming to even think about incorporating new ideas no
matter how good they are.
We seem to be at a crossroads where
something has to be done to sustain the viability of our historical
society. We are considering the possibility of creating a board of
directors to take care of the business of the society. I would love to
hear from other societies that have Boards. What are the
positives and negatives, as you see them, of having a board, vs taking every
decision to an ever-narrowing number of members that attend the meetings.
We also need a docent training
program. Do we need to reinvent the wheel for this or is there
some kind of template that we might employ? I realize that the information
for each museum is different but is there standard material that should be
covered in docent training and is there any training format?
Any input will be greatly
appreciated.
--Sandy Ray
4) from Columbia, Just
starting--Non-Profit vs Municipal?
Question. This society is just
forming and I would like to know what is the better approach for the
Town: a separate non-profit entity or a Town of Columbia historical
society?
Once the organization is formed, will the
NHCF be more likely to fund a separate non-profit entity or a Town owned
historical society? I want to be sure I give them the right
advice. ...A prospective funder says, Non-profit, but I know
there're grants out there strictly for collections that are owned and cared
for by municipalities.
Any advice
appreciated.
All the Best, --Rick Johnsen,
Director; Columbia Emergency Management; Columbia Citizen
Corps; The Poore Family
Foundation; 237-5500; johnsen@ncia.net
5) from the Concord Model Railroad
Club, Seeking help in Preservation:
Can you recommend any one who specializes in restoring old maps? I
have recently acquired map from
the 1800s, and need to find the best way to
repair and preserve it.
(Ed. Note: I don't know why this one is
grey.)
6) from
Belknap Mill, seeking Cataloguer:
Do you know of a free-lance cataloger
available? The Laconia Public
Library, Laconia Historical & Museum Society and the Belknap Mill are
looking to hire a free-lance cataloger FT for about 13 weeks. Do you have any ideas?
--Mary Boswell, MBoswe@metrocast.net
E N e
w s & E v e n t s
7) Our own Carl
Schmidt receives recognition:
The New Hampshire Historic Agricultural
Structures Advisory Committee is pleased and proud to announce that its chair,
Carl W. Schmidt of Orford received the Andrew L. Felker Award on Saturday, February 4, at the
annual NH Farm & Forest Exposition awards breakfast. The award is named for
New Hampshire's first Commissioner of Agriculture, and recognizes extraordinary
volunteer leadership in promoting the growth and prosperity of New Hampshire
agriculture.
8)
from Lake Winni, Conference includes "Telling Your
Family Story:"
The seminar is a day
long event organized and hosted by the Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications
in Manchester on Saturday, March 11.
Fritz Weatherbee
and John Clayton will be on the first of the day's panels. I'll be
on the second panel.
I will be discussing
my personal experience - when my dad died we put together a
PowerPoint presentation that was set up as a "slide show" at his memorial
celebration; and also had put together a hand out with photos of throughout his
life with little comments within it (so everyone has photographs of the family
throughout time).
I will also speak about
the role that historical societies can play to help people tell
their family's stories - the breadth of resources that the local h/s may possess
- actual genealogical records, programs to share your family's stories (speakers
at lecture series) or oral histories in which you can participate. Can
also talk about the fact that h/s tell the stories of the community's past every
day.....that type of thing.
9)
NH Preservation, Belknap Mill, & AHSNH present 2-day
conference:
This two-day statewide
gathering brings local leaders together to provide much needed
training and networking in the field of
historic preservation. You will learn how to create
historic commissions and districts, study bricks and mortar applications and
share practical information. Choose among several options: interactive
panel discussions, affinity group roundtables and other formats for learning and
sharing. Take a tour downtown and see finished projects and other projects
in progress. When you leave, you will receive a package of
resource materials and contact lists.
Conference Presenters:
Steve Bedard, Bedard Preservation and Restoration;
Scott Bogle, Rockingham Planning Commission; Michael
Bruss, Bruss Construction; Linda Day, Association of
Historical Societies of NH; Elizabeth Durfee Hengen, Preservation
Consultant; Lynn Emerson Monroe, Preservation Company;
Jeananne Farrar, Keene Heritage Commission; Linda
Frawley, Belmont Heritage Commission; Scott Hagan,
Attorney; Nancy Jewell, Meredith Historical Society; Tim
Jordan, Jordan Associates; Ellen Koenig, NH Charitable
Foundation - Lakes Region & the Corporate Fund; Judith L. Loto,
Laconia Historical & Museum Society; Alan Monoian, Laconia
Main Street and New Urban Northeastern LLC; Jim McConaha, NH
Division of Historical Resources and Concord Heritage Commission; John
Merkle, TMS Architects; Mike Provost, Dover Main Street;
Barbara Rimkunas, Exeter Historical Society; Rachel
Rouillard, Land and Community Heritage Investment Program;
Kathleen Shea, Association for Rollinsford Culture and History;
Yvonne Stahr, NH State Council on the Arts; Bill
Veillette, NHHS, Amherst Historic District Commission; Diane
Viera, Historic New England; Christopher P. Williams,
Christopher P. Williams Architects AIA; Linda Wilson, NH
Division of Historical Resources
9*) Accommodations in Conference Vicinity:
For accommodations in
and around Laconia, visitors could check with the Greater Laconia Weirs Beach
Chamber of Commerce at http://www.laconia-weirs.org or the Meredith Chamber of Commerce at http://www.meredithcc.org. Mention that you are booking to attend a conference "with the
Association of H/S of NH"--if you later discover 10 or more staying at the same
location it is reasonable to request a group discount.
10a) Jane’s Trust Awards Grant
for Shared Field Reps
The New Hampshire Preservation Alliance, http://www.nhpreservation.org/html/home.htm, and the
National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Northeast Office, http://www.nationaltrust.org/about_the_trust/regional/northeast.html,
in Boston will launch a major new
preservation field services program this spring to help communities advance
historic preservation projects. Thanks to a two-year grant of $230,000
from Jane’s Trust, these two leading preservation organizations will make
two seasoned preservation experts available to provide historic
preservation help to communities throughout the Granite
State.
"Through generous funding from Jane’s Trust, we are
delighted to bring to NH a program which has made such a difference to
community preservation efforts in VT & CT. The addition of NH to our
network of field service professionals--preservation ‘circuit riders’--brings us
closer to our goal of making preservation assistance more accessible in all
states in the Northeast region," said Wendy Nicholas,
director of the
Northeast Office of the National Trust.
"This grant from
Jane’s Trust serves as a major catalyst to expand our services to communities,
in partnership with the National Trust," said Jennifer Goodman, Executive
Director of the NH Preservation Alliance. "It will enable us to meet the
growing demand for help to guide development and save
irreplaceable
landmarks, such as the farms, religious landmarks, grange halls, old mills, and
waterfront properties which are such treasured aspects of our state’s special
character and vitality."
The field services partnership
between the National Trust and the NH Preservation Alliance is modeled after
similar partnerships between the Trust and Statewide Partners in VT, CT, IN, and
MI. The Field Services Program will build on current successful NH
Preservation Alliance and National Trust programs and
resources to support
and encourage preservation of NH's many historic places.
New preservation "circuit riders" will traverse the state, providing
information, advice and small grants, offering workshops, and establishing new
networks of citizen/advocates for historic preservation.
10b) --and the resultant Job Offers:
The NH Preservation Alliance and the
National Trust's Northeast Office in Boston are delighted to announce that we
will launch a major new preservation field services program this spring to
help NH communities advance preservation projects. Thanks to a
two-year grant from Jane's Trust, we will make seasoned preservation
professionals available to provide historic preservation help to
communities throughout NH. This Shared Field Services
program is modeled after similar programs which have made such a difference in
VT & CT, with preservation pros traveling around those states, delivering
expertise and the programs and services of both the National Trust and the
statewide organization to foster preservation results.
We are currently recruiting
candidates for the position of Shared Field Representative. At
this point, we are considering both candidates for full-time or part-time position
employment. (Contact NH Preservation Alliance
for job description.) Interested parties should send
their resume and cover letter to the NH Preservation
Alliance.
Please spread the word to help us
find some really great preservation advocates for NH. Mind you, this is
not an entry-level job; the field rep(s) need to know their stuff! They
need to be effective communicators and advocates, and ideally be familiar
with NH.
Many thanks for your
help.
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