THE LOWER MERION HISTORICAL SOCIETY

 

Executive Board Meeting

Thursday, June 19, 2008

The Lower Merion Academy

 

Present: Jerry Francis, Ted Goldsborough, Joanne Murray, Ross Mitchell, Anna O’Hora, Bruce Reed, Dennis Montagna, Alison Graham, Leon Levine, Jack Hagner, Max Buten & Bobbie McElroy

 

Excused Absences: Andy Amsterdam, Betty Cannon & Denise Francis

 

Guests: Marty Piltch, Phil Eidelson, Jim Easter & Steve Selinger.

 

Jerry Francis called the meeting to order at 7:31 P. M. Ted Goldsborough led the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

A moment of silence followed, in memory of Bob Swartz who passed away on May 31^st. Ted then gave a few remembrances of Bob. Ted had hoped that Bob would be able to ride in his 1938 Ford, which Ted drove in the May 26^th Ardmore’s Memorial Day Parade, but Bob was not well enough to do so. The Family asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to The Lower Merion Historical Society.

 

The Minutes of the January 17, 2008 Board Meeting were approved, after the correction to add Leon Levine to the “Present” list.

 

The Minutes of the April 6, 2008 Annual Meeting/Open House were approved.

 

Barnes Foundation: Marty Piltch, Chairman of Lower Merion Township’s Historical Commission, addressed his concerns to the Board about the historic preservation of the Barnes Foundation property. Currently, the Barnes is only listed as a DOE on the National Register of Historic Places, and after the possible re-location of the collection to Philadelphia there will be no protection what so ever from future demolition, etc. Marty requested that members of the Historical Society Board meet with the Executive Director of the Barnes Foundation to encourage them to consider having their facility listed as a “Class I” property on the Township’s Historical Resource Inventory. Having the property listed as a “Class I” would protect the buildings and the Arboretum.  Further discussion of this item was deferred to later in the meeting under “New Business.”

 

Reports: Jerry emphasized the importance of enhancing the stability of the Historical Society over the next 5 to 10 years. This can be accomplished by having realistic and focused goals, “best practices’ management of our assets, building on our current and future partnerships, ongoing visibility and good will in the community, and continued growth of our volunteer pool and services to the community.

 

Cynwyd Train Station Stabilization Project: Jerry reported that on March 27^th the Historical Commission approved our requested changes to the Station and made a positive recommendation to the Board of Commissioners. On April 9^th the Board of Commissioners accepted the Historical Commission’s report. On June 26^th we are scheduled to appear before the Zoning Hearing Board to ask for two variances in order for stabilization to proceed. Jim Easter reported that re-construction work is proceeding at a reasonable pace and is on schedule and on budget. The building has been gutted, the basement rebuilt and the first floor joist beams replaced with re-cycled or new materials. This phase of the project took longer than planned because of the extensive fire, termite and water damage that had occurred in the past. The estimated total cost of Phase I is $443,000, and as of May 31^st we have spent $124,000, which leaves us with a balance of $319,000.

 

Cynwyd Trail Research Project: Congratulations to Max Buten who was honored on May 13^th by the Historic Preservation Committee. At their awards ceremony, Max was the recipient of the 2008 Robert DeSilets Award for his work of documenting the “changing landscape of the Lower Merion and Narberth communities.”

 

In recent months, both Max and Steve Selinger have been pro-active in doing historical research on the abandoned Schuylkill Valley Railroad, the Schuylkill Navigation Canals, and the industrial development along the Schuylkill River in the Manayunk area. In addition to field explorations, they have collected valuable materials and enhanced our knowledge of this local region. Max’s research has been primarily in the Philadelphia region; such as: Free Library of Philadelphia, The Athenaeum of Philadelphia, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Reading Community College, Library Company of Philadelphia, etc. while Steve’s research has reached all the way to the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. and the National Archives in College Park Maryland. When their research is completed, a report of their findings along with many illustrations will be published. Also, much of their research work will be used by the township in their Cynwyd Trail Master Plan and for historical signage along the Trail area.

 

2007 Financial Review Report: Phil and Ann Bagley submitted their year ending December 31, 2007 report to the Board. Everything was in order and the motion was made, seconded and the Board approved the report as presented.

 

2008 Statement of Financial Position Report: Jack Hagner presented his report, that as of May 31, 2008, the Society had total assets of $207,679. This number does not include $450,000 “restricted” funds that will be spent on the stabilization of the Cynwyd Station and the ~$15,000 outstanding balance that will come to us from the S. Hamill Horne Charitable Trust. The motion was made, seconded and the Board approved the report as presented.

 

2008 Budget: Jack and Jerry presented this report that showed a total income of $237,760 and total expenses of $240,579 with a change in net assets of $-2,819. The motion was made, seconded and the Board approved the budget as presented.

 

Request for New Expenditures: Jerry presented a New Expenditures List by Category of 15 items for consideration by the Board.

 

Building Maintenance:

#1) Re-string and repair 5 units of damaged venetian blinds for ~$550. This item was moved, seconded and approved.

 

#2) Janitorial services at $75/month, for 2-3 hours/month at a total of ~$900/year. This item was moved, seconded and approved.

 

#3) De-humidifiction in the archive’s room. This upgrade is essential to keep the humidity level at +/- 45% for preservation of our materials. Jim Easter (JECB Construction) proposed that a new unit to dehumidify be installed in the attic, with vents in the floor and airflow to the outside. Project cost $2,000 to $5,000. This proposal was moved, seconded and approved.

 

Conservation:

#4) Conservation of the 1886 J. L. Smith Atlas “Properties Along the Schuylkill Valley” (23 plates). Scan, encapsulate and bind these plates. Decision deferred until we have a better understanding of the costs.

 

#5) Repair of the 1900 J. L. Smith “Atlas of Properties Along the Pennsylvania Railroad” (34 Plates). Encapsulate and bind. Decision deferred until we have a better understanding of the costs.

 

#6) Conservation of the 1948 Franklin Maps “Atlas of Properties along the Main Line” (18 plates). Encapsulate and bind. Decision deferred until we have a better understanding of the costs.

 

#7) Hexamer Survey Drawings (27 plates) from the Free Library of Philadelphia & Franklin Maps. Print, encapsulate and bind. Decision deferred until we have a better understanding of the costs.

 

#8) Donation or purchase of a new or used Atlas stand, to aid our expanded collection of Atlases and need for more shelf space. Decision deferred until we have a better understanding of the costs.

 

Administration:

#9) Database Management – updates and mailings to our Membership.

Cost: $196 Convert our Membership File (one time cost)

          $112 Per Newsletter Mailing (2 per year)

          $175 for Annual Membership Renewals

          $100 for Second Notice Membership Renewals

 This project was moved, seconded and approved.

 

#10) Website Upgrade: To add our iPhoto Database of over 4,000 Images at a cost of $1,000 to $2,000. This project was moved, seconded and approved.

 

Special Projects:

#11) Re-installation of the Autocar Marker on Lancaster Ave. in Ardmore. Site location to be determined. Cost ~$350. Project was moved, seconded and approved.

 

#12) Green Tree Fire Marker. To re-manufacture & install on the Academy Building.  The re-manufacture of the marker was “Tabled,” so the wooden backed marker will be installed in “as is” condition.

 

#13) Landscaping along the terrace in front of the sun porch. Volunteers from the Neighborhood Club of Bala Cynwyd’s Beautification Committee will donate their time to do these plantings. The Society will donate $500 to help cover the cost of the plantings. This item was moved, seconded and approved.

 

#14) Merion Friends Meetinghouse Historic Marker related to the Philadelphia & Columbia Railway. The Society has been asked by the Friends to assist them in the purchase of this Marker. The Society will donate $500 to help cover the cost of this marker. This item was moved, seconded and approved.

 

#15) Cynwyd Trail Beautification. The Society has been approached by the township to assist in planting trees and shrubs around the Cynwyd Train Station. Work will be done by the Cynwyd Trail Workers Association.  The Society will donate $500 to help cover the cost of the plantings. This item was moved, seconded and approved.

 

Education: A list of 19 Lectures and Events, from January 1^st thru July 4, 2008 was distributed with comments by Ted Goldsborough.

 

Library & Website: During these past 2 months, Ann Bagley, Al Vitiello, and Jerry have been assisting the Boy Scouts Bala One Troop (the first Scout Troop in the U.S.A.) to archive their collection of files and memorabilia. This Troop will be celebrating their Centennial Anniversary later this year.

 

Our website statistics “2008 Year to Date” (January thru May) was 121,450 visitors.

 

Membership: Report submitted by Denise Francis. The Society has 302 Members: 71 Complementary, 27 Life Members and 203 Active Members. The Complementary group includes government representatives, other Historical Societies, our interns and people on the Cynwyd Station project and School District. The Life Members are decreasing because many have passed away, the most notable being Hamill Horne and Bob Swartz. Since January 1, 2008 we have 9 new Active members.  There are 17 Members who have not paid dues since 2004 and 2005 and will be deleted if they do not respond to the 2^nd notice to be sent out at the end of the month.

 

Program: Our Fall 2008 Program Series is currently under discussion. Joanne Murray is open to suggestions for new programs that will engage in multi-generational encounters.

 

Public Relations and Publications: Jerry reported that the Society has been involved in a wide variety of local projects; such as:

 

·      Assisted the Township with the publication of their 2007 Annual Report, their Community Map, the design of an outdoor wall mural on Babis Pharmacy on Montgomery Avenue, and the design of two 8 foot by 8 foot wall panels for the main hallway in the Township Administration Building.

 

·      Assisted the Religious Society of Friends at Merion Meeting with the installation and graphic design of their new Underground Railroad Outdoor Display.

 

·      Received township-wide publicity for our support of the three (3) Cynwyd Trail Clean-up Days.

 

·      Contributor to the recently published book “Historic Photographs of the Main Line.”  

 

·      Distribution of our new “Lower Merion Historical Society” baseball cap and our recently published 24” x 36” John Levering Map of 1851.

 

·      Received from the Library of Congress our official “Copyright” certificate for our booklet “Celebrating William Penn’s Vision and the First Welsh Settlement in Lower Merion and Narberth 1682-2007.”

 

Old Business: It was suggested that a Committee be formed to handle the memorial for S. Hamill Horne. A Committee was formed, chaired by Ross L. Mitchell with Leon Levine, Bobbie McElroy and Joanne Murray, to explore the preservation of the Morris Llewellyn Cemetery Site and report to the Board at a later date.

 

New Business: There was a Board discussion of Marty Piltch’s request for the assistance of the Historical Society on Barnes Foundation property (see above). We could participate in the project, but should not take the lead. Proper timing is critical and it could be difficult if we got involved in the feud between the Barnes Foundation and Friends of the Barnes Committee. It was moved, seconded and approved to “Table” any action and revisit and evaluate the problem from time to time, as to whether the Historical Society can perform a useful role in attempting to put the Barnes Foundation on the Township’s Historical Resource Inventory.

 

Ross Mitchell moved to raise the limit of Presidential Authority to spend sums up to $500, without Board approval. The motion was seconded and approved.

 

Our Next Executive Board Meeting will be Thursday, September 18, 2008 at 7:30 P. M.

 

The Meeting was adjourned at 9:47 P. M.

 

Respectfully Submitted,

Barbara McElroy, Recording Secretary