Vol. 3, No. 3                                                                                       May 2008

Gilsum to Host Spring Meeting

The Gilsum Historical Society will host our spring meeting on Thursday 19 June 2008 beginning at 9:30 a.m. We will hold our meeting at the Congregational Church on Main Street (Route 10) in Gilsum.

The meeting will include our traditional roundtable gathering during the morning, along with discussion on the next collaborative project. After our brown bag lunch at the church, we will be given a tour of the Gilsum Historical Society's blacksmith shop and old tools and of the Old Town Hall, which they are in the process of turning into a museum.

Next Collaborative Project

Our first meeting to discuss our next collaborative project on Education and Schools in the Monadnock Region went well. The exhibit and companion publication are scheduled for the fall of 2009 and will coincide with Keene State College's 100th anniversary celebration of its founding in 1909.

The theme of the exhibit and publication will explore how education has evolved over time and the style and architecture of school buildings. The time period would span the mid 1700s to today, with a greater focus on 19th to mid 20th century changes.

Preliminary ideas for the exhibit and publication included the use of oral stories from retired teachers, journal and diary entries from former teachers and students, architectural change of school buildings, recreation of a one room classroom, and an open house tour of the region's historic school and academy buildings.

After our initial discussion in February at the Horatio Colony House Museum not much has happened because we need a subcommittee to start pulling all the ideas together and to develop a working plan.

In order to do this collaborative project will we need a small group of volunteers, a least four, to work with HSCC's Alan Rumrill and Tom Haynes as a subcommittee to create and develop the exhibit and publication. To date, we have had only one volunteer. We were hoping to have the subcommittee in place by the spring Roundtable meeting so we could present any project updates.

The amount of time needed for subcommittee work will not be extensive. The main task for the subcommittee is to conceptualize and create the working plan for the exhibit and publication so each historical organization can do their individual work on the project. Tasks will be kept to a minimum knowing that all of us have full schedules. If you have an interest in being part of the fun and creative aspects of developing an exhibit, please contact Tom Haynes at 352-1895 or dired@hsccnh.org.

Fall Meeting in Harrisville

Historic Harrisville, Inc. has agreed to host our fall Roundtable meeting, which will be held on Thursday 16 October 2008 beginning at 9:30 a.m. In addition to conducting our Roundtable meeting and business, we will get a chance to learn more about the work Historic Harrisville is doing to preserve its working village and be given a tour of many of its buildings. More updates on the fall meeting will be in the July and September newsletters.

Genealogy Trip to Boston

Looking for an opportunity to conduct genealogical research all day at one or more facilities in Boston? Looking to have a day to explore downtown Boston to visit historic sites and museums, partake of a National Park led historic walking tour, or to enjoy the many shopping opportunities? If so, please join HSCC on Wednesday 16 July for their third annual summer Boston bus trip.

The bus will leave HSCC at 6:45 a.m. and will stop at the National Archives Regional Office in Waltham, downtown Boston at the New England Historic and Genealogical Society on Newbury Street and the nearby Boston Public Library, and then on to the J.F.K. Library and Massachusetts Archives at Columbia Point. The bus will leave Boston about 5:00 p.m. and return to Keene about 7:30 p.m. Cost for HSCC members is $27.00 and $32.00 for non- members. To make this trip possible, HSCC needs at least 40 people to participate, so please spread the word about this inexpensive way to visit Boston for a day of research and fun. To sign up for this trip or for further information, please contact HSCC at 352-1895 or hscc@hsccnh.org.

Contact & Web Site Information

For all questions or concerns regarding any aspect of the Monadnock Historical Societies Forum, please contact HSCC's Tom Haynes at 603-352-1895 or dired@hsccnh.org. Please remember to post and share this newsletter with your members. Also, please remember to submit your events for posting on the Roundtable Events page of the Roundtable Forum web site.