Dear Friends and Fellow Members:
Seasons Greetings!
Please join us on December 6, from 1 – 4, as once again Santa & Mrs. Claus will be bringing joy to happy, and some, terrified children. If this newsletter should reach you in time to allow for some baking, we can always use cookies, and extra hands.
The following Saturday, December 12, is our membership potluck Christmas party. We will have our usual Yankee Swap (if you would like to participate bring a wrapped gift, of approximately $10 value). Completely breaking with tradition, I would like to move up the party to 4:00 in the afternoon, to allow for daylight travel to, and not so late, home. Please leave a message at the museum (401) 231-7363, and let us know what you would like to bring for a dish.
I must admit I dearly love watching tree work done, seeing huge pieces of wood being removed from a tree until it is reduced to a stump. I missed all that on November 25, as three trees were taken down before I got to the museum! We had two standing dead trees near the road, and a box elder near the outdoor restroom that was growing through all the power wires leading to the house. Thanks to Above and Beyond Tree Service for their professionalism, and for leaving us some branches for fire wood. For those of you who enjoy bugs, we have an amazing infestation of box elder beetles every year in the restroom, as they are attracted to the female box elder. It would be a nice side effect of the tree removal if we should no longer have the beetles!
Other improvements to the house include – wait for it – the ceiling in the kitchen. We can now open and close the door to the second floor without scraping the ceiling. We worried about what we should find, but it was basically a buildup of plaster, and the original 1830 accordion lath was as strong and beautiful as the day it was nailed in place. After 15 or so years of ceiling scraping, it may take some time to get used to it! Additional work was done on the drainage system – downspout transitions, and I think we will have less water in the cellar. The clapboards on the end wall of the kitchen ell were replaced with new western red cedar, so it looks very fine. Wayne Moreau of All Trades Construction did this work, and we are very grateful to him for his care, and exceptional work.
I would like to greet a new member to the Historical Society, Ms. Cheryl Wenzel, who joined us for the Colonial Dinner, visiting Rhode Island from Texas. Thank you to member Anne Allen, who donated some vintage recipe books. We received $70 in donations for the books at the dinner, and still have quite a few left for another event. Thanks also to Teresa Ignasher for her work as our Membership Chairperson, with apologies to Teresa and the membership, as I have been the bottleneck in her ability to get membership cards out in a timely fashion!
Regarding past events, our Colonial Dinner was well received, with thanks to all of the volunteers who helped in so many ways. We will not have a Colonial dinner next year, but will perhaps host one or two “Savory Soup” nights, using cooking pots over the hearth. These events will require less setup and staffing.
We are hoping to make up the loss of Colonial Dinner revenue with a few more rentals, however we require the assistance of a few volunteers so that someone can be on site during the day of the event. We are restricting the total number of guests, and will have the events end by 8:00 pm, so it is not as taxing for the person on site.
Unfortunately, our Antique Show was cancelled due to an impending storm system that was in the weather forecast. A decision had to be made a few days in advance, as various vendors were planning to sell baked, and other food items, and as the day approached many of the vendors cancelled. Best efforts were made to notify people of the cancellation by way of every method available to us, but I know we disappointed some people, which we regret.
Wishing you all a happy, healthy holiday season, and for those of you nearby, hope to see you for the membership Christmas party on December 12, at 4:00 pm.
Sincerely,
Maggie Botelho
Program Director
