Vol. 5, No. 1                                                                                January 2010

Fall Roundtable Meeting Recap

The fall meeting of the Monadnock Historical Societies Forum was held at the Sullivan Town Library on Wednesday, 14 October 2009. We want to thank Chris Pratt of the Sullivan Town Archives and the library's staff for hosting our fall meeting, and to the friends of the library for supplying us with tasty refreshments. There were twenty people in attendance from thirteen different organizations.

The meeting consisted of our morning Roundtable gathering, deaccessing discussion, schools and education exhibit planning, and a tour of the Sullivan Town Archives.

Greg Bixby of Keene, a professional auctioneer, appraiser, and HSCC volunteer, who has been working with the Roundtable Forum on a deaccessing venture, is ready to help us deaccess our unneeded items. One question that came up during discussion, was the lowest value one object needed to be in order to have this process financially work. Greg feels that any one object about $25.00 or more is worth trying to sell on eBay. If there were several items of less value, but combined to form one lot of $25.00 or more, that would be fine.

Alan Rumrill has done a trial run of some items from our fall auction that did not sell, and the process worked fine. So we now have, thanks to Greg's willingness, an avenue to sell items in our collections that are unneeded to help generate revenue. HSCC will be the drop off place for items to be sold. Greg is also available for consultation if needed to help determine the value of an object/s. I have posted the eBay process and Sales Contract that Greg will use on the Roundtable pages of the HSCC website.

Winter Meeting at the Horatio Colony House Museum

The winter meeting of the Monadnock Historical Societies Forum will be on Thursday, 18 February 2010 at the Horatio Colony House Museum beginning at 9:30 a.m. The meeting will consist of our traditional Roundtable gathering, along with discussion on associated exhibit programs, a Roundtable brochure, next exhibit, and site for our spring meeting in June. There will also be a presentation on working with The Keene Sentinel on "The Way We Were" articles. After our brown bag lunch, Anita Carroll-Weldon, the museum's director, will give us a tour of the museum.

The Horatio Colony House Museum is located at 199 Main Street in Keene. Parking is at the St. Bernard's church parking lot, next to the museum.

Highlighting Historic Buildings Through The Keene Sentinel

For those of you who read The Keene Sentinel, you may have seen the bi-monthly "The Way We Were" articles on historic building in Keene or the region. The Keene Heritage Commission has been writing and submitting these to the Sentinel since 2003. Beginning this winter, The Heritage Commission will no longer offer this information to the Sentinel. The Sentinel, however, is interested in continuing this service to its readers.

The Roundtable Forum has an opportunity to step in to fill the void left by the Heritage Commission. At the February winter meeting we will present information about the project and discuss its potential for the Roundtable community.

School and Education Exhibit and Publication Completed

On Friday, 4 December 2009, HSCC and the Roundtable Forum held the opening reception for our new exhibit and publication entitled The Nursery of Liberty: Schools and Education in the Monadnock Region. We wish to thank the exhibit's subcommittee of Alan Rumrill, Dick Boutwell, Jan Carpenter, Laurel Powell, and Chris Pratt for all their time and efforts, along with everyone who contributed items for the exhibit and photographs and text for the publication. We also wish to thank Connecticut River Bank, for generously supporting the exhibit and publication. We are very pleased with the results, and encourage everyone to come and experience the exhibit, which will be on view through the 2nd of July 2010.

The 84 page exhibit publication is available to purchase. The cost for Roundtable members is $9.00 per copy or four copies for $25.00. They are available at the HSCC Museum Store during regular museum hours or by appointment.

Contact & Website 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.