Notes from July 26, 2012 RCHS Meeting
Date 2012/7/31 15:14:49 | Topic: General Interest
| The Roane County Historical Society, Inc., met Thursday, July 26, 2012 for their regular monthly meeting at the Roane County Public Library. Rick Greathouse, president, called the meeting to order and opened the meeting with prayer. The pledge to the flag was recited by all. Thirteen members and one guest were present.
No regular Recording Secretary minutes available so Linda Liss, Corresponding Secretary, read the notes which she prepared as a July Newspaper article. These were accepted as minutes and approved as read. Copy to be filed with regular minutes.
Carol Board-Westfall gave the Treasurer’s report reflecting a balance of $17,700.22. Copy filed for audit.
Linda Liss reported one new family membership, George & Ramona Wenmoth of Vienna, WV, bringing the membership to 206. As of 7-26-12 forty-five members have not renewed membership.
Correspondence included: 1. sympathy card to Phil “PJ” Miller at the death of his sister
2. Request for certain copies of “The Journal” newsletter to be placed in a special binder at WV Archives & History Library in Charleston. Those back copies will be delivered by Rick.
3. Mrs. Annette Spaur, Spencer resident, requested information about building at 345 Market St. which she & her husband are buying. They want photos inside & out during the 1920-30’s & 40’s era to help restore the bldg.. to that time period.
4. Linda reported that she had sent thank you letters to Mr. Hart SAR & Mrs. Simmons of DAR for their presentations at the June meeting.
Carol B-W reported that she had purchased the rest of the Calhoun County birth record books compiled by Judy Hildreth for the historical society’s library.
Carol also reported that she had rec’d a thank you letter from Mr. Joe Geiger, Director of the Archives & History Library in Charleston, for the donation of $350 toward subscriptions, books, etc. The society voted in June to make a donation of the Roane County newspapers to the Archives but she later learned that they receive those issues free of charge.
Further, Carol reported that she had checked on the [Uriah] Gandee property at Gandeeville. The present owner, David Gandee, told her he was living in the house but wanted to donate the log house center part of the structure to some group or someone who may be interested in it because of its historical significance. Carol said she had researched the property and had gotten back to Book 3 that had records to 1866, but to go further back she would need to go to Kanawha County records.
She also stated that it is not planned for the near future to publish any new cemetery books, however, if anyone knew of a cemetery that was not previously recorded, to submit that information and it could be put in the historical society’s reference file.
Purchase of a scanner for the Historical Society was again tabled for a future meeting.
No further report on the 2012 Genealogy Fair scheduled for September 22nd.
Rick read a press release provided for our August 23rd meeting’s guest speaker. The 18th century Shawnee leader Cornstalk will be portrayed by Dan Cutler of Milton, at our August meeting. The presentation is made possible through the History Alive! Program of the West Virginia Humanities Council. As hosts we are encouraged to present the press release through different media and invite area groups to come explore events that has shaped our history.
Refreshments will be served.
Motion was made by Carol Board-Westfall and properly seconded to go ahead & send Mrs. Marilyn Craig a check in the amount of $286 for the Craig portion of the sales of 20 “Once Upon a Tuesday” books which were printed recently. The motion carried unanimously.
Patty Wyatt reported she had placed all obituary clippings she had in the obituary file. She had made copies of all the clippings but would keep those as she wanted index them.
It was suggested we get microphones for the officer's table as it was difficult for some members to hear what is being said during the meetings. The proposal will be noted for further discussion, prices, etc.
Linda Liss, Nominating Committee Chairman, reported a slate of officers for the 2012-13 fiscal year.
President............Richard I. “Rick” Greathouse
1st Vice President.......................Jack Nida
2nd Vice President.................Melissa Swisher
Recording Secretary...................Susan Tucker
Corresponding Secretary........Linda Cottrell Liss
Treasurer....................Carol Board Westfall
A motion was made and properly seconded to elect the slate of officers as presented. Motion carried unanimously.
The business meeting was closed and the program continued with a time of Show and Tell of items the members had
to share from their past;
Linda Liss brought a small leather coin purse she had inherited from her grandmother who was born 1867 and died 1948. The purse has a double-clasp pockets and lined with red velveteen. In it was a silver dollar that Linda had inherited that her grandmother had given her father with his birth year of 1901. Linda also told about a tortoise-shell ornamental hair comb that her grandmother had given to her mother when she married in 1927 as she had very long hair. Linda's mother gave it to her when she married in 1971 as she also had long hair. Linda gave it to her eldest son's wife when he was married in 2001 as she, too had long hair. Maybe someday the daughter-in-law will pass it on to one of their daughters.
Carol Board Westfall brought a framed envelope that depicted the “first day cover envelope” sent from the new Post Office in Spencer dated February 26, 1937 with a 3 cent stamp. Mr. Brumbaugh gave it to her the first day the post office was opened. Carol is donating it to the Historical Society. Carol also brought a friendship quilt that was made by several members of the community which included three blocks made by three of her older sisters 63 years ago. as a wedding gift. Carol said when she got it, it was not in good shape, however with the help of four other members of the Society, they were able to repair it back to almost new.
Hazel Cottrell Gandee said she had brought a gift that had been passed to her by her uncle. The story behind it was that her mother loved to whittle. Her mother had told her father, Fleet Duffield, she wanted him to bring her a couple of logs (she indicated the size she wanted) so she could whittle a gift for her mother. Hazel said she watched her whittle it and she had given it to her mother (Hazel's grandmother). Sometime after the grandmother’s death, Hazel said she had gone to visit her uncle and he told her he had a gift for her but she was not to open it until she got home. She said when she got home she was surprised to find the rolling pin her mother had made for her grandmother years before. The rolling pin was made & dated 1935.
Peggy Starcher brought two quilts with one being made in 1898 by her grandmother who died in 1902. The quilt was handmade and the stitches were very close. The quilt was beautiful. She also had the pattern. The second quilt was one that had been made by the Keffer Church community with their signatures embroidered for Preacher Kennedy when he retired from the Church. She was able to come by the quilt through her daughter’s learning where it was and then she bought it. She knew many of the people who had made the blocks for the quilt.
Melissa Swisher brought two graduation diplomas from her husband’s Swisher ancestor. The dates on the large diplomas were May 25,1917 and then in 1920. Her presentation also included photos of that ancestor.
Melissa also brought clippings and pictures of Charles deForest Chandler, called the Father of Aviation who had flown an hot air balloon from St. Louis, Missouri to Walton West Virginia, a distance of 437 miles and won the race for the longest flight in an air balloon at that time. His original destination was Charleston, WV but the balloon went off course. He had left St. Louis September 19, 1907 and arrived in Walton October 18, 1907. He reported the “roads in West Virginia were the worst he had ever traveled”. The event was nationwide news but received only two lines in the local papers.
When Patty Wyatt was called on to tell what she brought, she said she brought her husband, Bernard, as he was in her past in 1947 and had not seen him for 58 years until 2005...Everyone laughed.
The meeting was dismissed at 8:12 PM. Those present were Carol Board-Westfall, Linda L Cottrell Liss, Hazel E. C. Gandee, Evelyn D. Starcher, Peggy L. Starcher, guest Scott Starcher, Marvin Stemple, Rick Greathouse, Melissa Swisher, Phillip J. “PJ” Miller, Reva Paxton, Bernard and Patty Wyatt and Paul Hughes.
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This article comes from Roane County Historical Society, Inc.
http://www.wvroane.org
The URL for this story is:
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