Annual Report of the Historical Preservation and Restoration Committees (2003-2004)

Purpose:

The Historical Preservation Committee is responsible for the identification, restoration, and preservation of the history of First Parish Church.

The Restoration Committee is responsible for identifying and restoring the original building structure.

Highlights/Accomplishments:

Our archivist Trina Purcell had an opportunity to pursue her career in Colorado. She helped us search for another archivist who we hired for the summer, Anne Ostendarp, who continued Trina’s activities. She worked towards our Strategic Plan and developed processes for us to follow after she left.

The tower clock cable was replaced and bat proofing was installed in the clock room.

Member of: Congregational Christian Historical Society, Boston MA; National Trust for Historic Preservation; Partners for Sacred Places.

Preparing to apply to the New Hampshire Division Of Historical Resources to list our church on the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places. See their web page at: www.nh.gov/nhdhr

Current event history: Current event items (primarily newspaper articles about First Parish and its members and friends) are displayed on a bulletin board in Currier Hall. Gay Apgar organizes these into scrapbooks.

Displays: Update the contents of the display cases and mounted history items. Rearrange the exhibits in MacGregor hall.

Responded to genealogy requests and information about Forest Hills cemetery.

Bulletin Boards: Current Events and Curator’s Corner (where the Strategic Plan is posted).

Accepted gifts of a historical nature to the church.

New member talks and tours.

Represented on the Sanctuary Restoration Committee by Ginny True.

Our Heartfelt Thanks to:

Anonymous angels, who clean the display cases in the sanctuary, polish the silver, cleaned the curtains in MacGregor.

Paul Dionne, who oiled the tower clock and winds weekly.

Paul Dionne and Dan Allen who bat-proffed the clock room.

Dave Douglas who took black-and-white photographs for our application to the NHDHR.

Carl Hepworth and the Road Race crew, for the donation to the Restoration Fund.

Alan Mitchell, who built an archival-quality display case to protect the 275th Anniversary quilt.

Continuing Concerns:

We continue to be concerned about the bats in the tower and the damage they do to the building and the tower clock.

Hopes for 2004-05:

Continue to work to our Strategic Plan, such as preserving the historical papers displayed in the Sanctuary.

Recruit volunteers to help with many of our activities.

Revise the process for the Current Events preservation.

Preserve the only original windows on the west side of the tower.

Seal the clock room from the bats.

Submit our application to be listed on the New Hampshire State Register of Historical Places.

Continue to review and edit the audio-, videotapes, and photographs we have, including identifying the people.

Resume the Curator’s Corner in the monthly newsletter and post the articles on the church’s web site.

Members: Marilyn Ham, Sue Lindemann, Ginny True