HOPE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Minutes for June 21, 2016

The meeting was called to order by President Donovan Bowley at 7:06 P.M. Present were Donovan Bowley, Bob Appleby, Gwen Brodis, Ann Leadbetter, Barbara Ludwig, Mary Ireland, Ronald Smith, Bill Jones, Florance Merrifield, Lewis Merrifield, Cindy Della Penna, Marie Berry, Juanita Hunt and Linda Hillgrove. Guests attending included John Elberfeld and Jane McLean of Belfast, Bill Borch, Eleanor LaCombe, and Vicki Harriman of Union and our guest speaker, Meghan Vigeant.

SECRETARY’S REPORT: The May 17th, 2016 Minutes were summarized by Linda Hillgrove and were unanimously approved.

TREASURER’S REPORT: Treasurer, Gwen Brodis, reported the Balance on Hand: Savings: $7,097.88; Checking: $786.45. Expenses totaled $49.40 with a Total Income from Coastal Opportunities, Dues and the Bake and Crafts Sale of $626.66. The Treasurer’s Report was unanimously approved.

OLD BUSINESS: Donovan announced a member has offered to buy a projector screen and another generous member has offered to mow the lawn. Work is being done to improve the Memory Garden.

PROGRAM COORDINATOR: Ann Leadbetter announced the July 19th meeting will be held at 9:30 A.M. for a tour of Kiss My Boots and the metal works shop owned by Ben and Carl Leavitt. Refreshments will be provided by Judith Jones and Gwen Brodis at the July 17th meeting. The speaker for our August 16th meeting will be John Boeckler. Mr. Boeckler won Best of Show in 2015 for his photos.

WEBMASTER: Bob Appleby reminded us of the Hope Town Clerk ledger circa 1804-1848 (details can be seen on the document section of our website. Several People have shown interest in transcribing the handwritten document into text files. We need someone to coordinate the operation. Anyone who has an interest in the job contact Donovan Bowley or send an email to webmaster through the website: www.hopehistoricalsociety.com.

Bill Jones introduced the speaker of the evening, Author Meghan Vigeant and her “Stories to Tell”. Meghan explained how she began as a story collector and author of several books including ‘The JOYS and DANGERS of Story Telling”, “GUTS, FEATHERS and ALL” “Stories of Hard Work and Good Times on Swans Island, Maine”. Swans Island Seaside Hall was the meeting place of the island’s Historical Society until it was sold and all the historical items moved to the library which later burned to the ground. She gleaned information and photos for her book from local residents for her book. Meghan stressed that we should have several places to store our family history, photos and other historical information. Meghan can be reached at www.storiestotell.net.



Respectfully Submitted, Linda Hillgrove, Secretary                                        return