PHS meeting minutes, Sept. 27 08

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Putney Historical Society minutes—September 27, 2008
Present:  Barbara Taylor, Tom Jamison, Tim Ragle, Maryanne Toffolon, Stuart Strothman, Lyssa Papazian
President call to order:
Minutes of the annual meeting are in process—will be reviewed at next meeting.

Veterans Memorial—we know of a few more names to put on the memorial, and will check with Laurel and/or Marion Daley.  We still have money to add names.
We have a Boy Scout who wants to do a history project for  his Eagle badge—we will talk to Laura  H and do some research to see what we have for  him.
Pierce’s Hall is seeking grants—will look to Windham Foundation, and will have no conflict there—they will seek a letter through the Preservation Trust for possible additional support.  We mentioned a few other grant sources, and Anne said she’d look into that.
Painted Curtains Event Oct 4, 11-4 at Putney Town Hall— came in and started to repaint—will come back and paint all day on Oct 4, and we’ll be open for public display—Barb is trying to get 14 tables for that Saturday—town is hard, but will look into church and/or Putney School.  She’ll get back to us if needing help.
General Store Project—Stuart briefly introduced our status as of Thursday evening’s task force,

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Annual meeting minutes, Sept 23 08

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Putney Historical Society Annual Meeting Minutes
Putney Community Center
September 21, 2008

Board members present: Stuart Strothman, Tim Ragle, Tom Jamison, Jane Rawley, Maryanne Toffolon, Ruth Barton, Barbara Taylor
Also present: Selectboard member Josh Laughlin, Paul Bruhn of Preservation Trust; maybe 150-175 PHS members and other attendees.

President Stuart Strothman called the meeting to order.

Malcolm Donaldson, a Putney School student, performed song inspired by the Putney General Store fire.

Business Meeting

Approval of last years minutes.  Ruth moved to accept minutes.  Seconded by group.

Financial statement.  Moved by Ruth Barton.  Seconded by Maryanne Toffolon.

Marianne read slate of officers for PHS.

Pres. Stuart Strothman
VP Tim Ragle
Sec. Lindley Speers
Treas. Tom Jamison

Ruth Barton moves to accept slate of officers.  Seconded by group.

Painted curtains Oct. 4th Saturday will be on display in Town Hall.

After discussion of Store project, members will be asked for show of hands if they approve the project.

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Community Discussion of General Store Project at Annual Meeting, September 21 08

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Whether you are a historical society member, or simply a concerned citizen, please attend our informational discussion at the Community Center on Sunday, September 21, 2008, at 2 p.m, to learn about our phased plan to save the General Store. This will be our annual meeting, beginning with the introduction of our new slate of … Read more

Minutes: August 23 08–draft

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The minutes below should be considered a draft, pending approval by the PHS board.

PHS Minutes, Aug. 23, 2008
Present: Stuart, Ruth, Lyssa, Tom , Tim, Maryanne, Lindley, Jane
Meeting called to order at 9:30 a.m.

Prior to meeting: We determined that the Joy family settee recently offered us was not from Vermont, and so we will not accept it. Ruth will encourage the donors to research the Joy family in Ohio instead.

Stuart Strothman called the meeting to order.

Minutes of May 31, 2008 accepted.

Putney General Store
Lyssa summarized the efforts of a group of concerned citizens trying to prevent the historic Putney General Store from total decline, before it is too late to preserve it. Since the April fire, the 1769 structure has remained boarded up in the center of town.

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Genesis Church of the Brethren

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The Church of the Brethren bears an historical relationship to the Quakers and the Menonites, as one of the three main branches of brethren-related churches which have grown from colonial and early American communities organized in Pennsylvania. Here in Putney,

In 1981, in late summer, three families moved to southeastern Vermont to establish a Church of the Brethren. They purchased a large New England farmhouse [the old Bentley house, out West Hill Rd] in Putney which they renovated into three separate apartments. The family had met several years before at Bethany Theological Seminary. Through their three years of study they formed a House Church. It was during that time that the idea of planting a Church and sharing a common ministry was born. They envisioned going into an area where the Brethren had never been, [hoping] to establish a church based on their best understanding of the New Testament and historic Brethren values, yet…far…from…modern cultural Brethrenism.
-Carl Bowman, mailed to Paul Grout, May 29, 2001

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PHS receives Thwing Mill in 2002

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In 2002 the Historical Society received the Thwing Mill as a gift from Greg Wilson. Last operated by Charlie and Mary Thwing for 58 years, the mill closed shortly before Charlie’s death in 1946. We continue to hold great hope for the mill’s potential to enhance our mission of education, preservation, and fostering respect for … Read more

The New Putney History Book, Published in 2003

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As a special event to celebrate Putney’s 250th charter anniversary, the Putney Historical Society Board decided to update the town history, first prepared in 1953 by the Fortnightly Club. Planning for town wide participation began in 1999. Interviewing was conducted for two years. Well over 200 people contributed by interviewing, being interviewed, taking notes, donating photos, writing, editing, and reviewing many versions of the manuscript.

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Town Hall Entry Newly Painted

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Front doors of town hall
The Putney Town Hall was constructed in 1871 as a proud example of Victorian architecture in post-Civil War Putney.  Sporting many attractive architectural features in the entry, it provided a locus for innumerable town events including dances, plays, dinners, veterans’ gatherings, and the annual town meeting.  Sometime before 1950, the beautiful foyer received a light blue coat of paint, over a previous, dark green coat.  No attempt was made to highlight architectural features of the building at that time; the trim and the walls were given the same thick coat of semi-gloss.

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