Greater
August 21, 2008
The regular meeting of the Greater Dover
Historical Society was called to order by Vice President Kay Stitley at 7:04 p.m. at the
Other guests present were Robert &
Maryllyn Reisinger and Jim Avery.
Vice President Stitley presented the June
2008 minutes and asked for any additions or corrections to the minutes. A motion to accept the minutes as presented was
made by Cindy Snyder and seconded by Norma Botterbusch.
All voted in favor and motion passed.
Mel Miller gave a brief update on
arrangements for the WMHS trip to Muddy Run Forks on October 19. They will be carpooling and meeting at 1p.m. at the
old Neiman’s Mill on Route 74 (it is currently a tattoo shop). Mel also has some pamphlets on the WMHS speaker,
Don Billet, for their November meeting.
TREASURER’S REPORT
The treasurer’s report for June 2008 was
presented by Vice President Stitley (Joyce Law was out of town):
Balance as of June 1, 2008
$9,741.37
Deposits for June
356.39
Expenses for June
468.55
Balance as of June 30, 2008
$9,629.21
There was a motion by Lucia Hrinyak to
approve the June treasurer’s report as presented and seconded by Harry Shermeyer. All voted in favor and motion passed.
Balance as of July 1, 2008
$9,629.21
Deposits for July
66.40
Expenses for July
242.08
Balance as of July 31, 2008
$9,453.53
Vice President Stitley presented treasurer’s
report for July 2008. There was a motion by
Cindy Snyder to approve the July treasurer’s report as presented and seconded by Harry
Shermeyer. All voted in favor and motion
passed.
Archivist Report -- Dr. Drawbaugh was
absent. Assistant Archivist Gayle Heagy
reported she received an old magazine/newspaper rack donated by Lois Shermeyer. Gayle stated the rack was not exactly historic but
Lois thought we could use it at the Dover Fair to display some items. Gayle reported that Jo Ott brought along several
items tonight and asked Jo to tell the members about these items. Jo stated she was involved with the demolition of
the Smittie’s Soft Pretzel shack. She
brought in 2 menu boards, a sign, a quilted wall-hanging and a lot of old photos which
were donated by Todd Smith. Jo also brought in
over 100 photos she took of the demolition. Gayle
will email Jo a donation form for her to get signed by Todd Smith.
Norma Botterbusch introduced Mr. and Mrs.
Robert Reisinger who brought several books on local cemeteries to donate to the society. Mr. Reisinger stated he and his wife are retired
and research genealogy at cemeteries. They
have a collection of approximately 2,000 photographs of tombstones. They published 2 books, one entitled Reisinger’s
Tombstones in York County and another entitled Bentzel’s Tombstones in York
County. Maryllyn Reisinger is a member of
the Bentzel family of
Webpage Report – Brett Pfleiger was
not present at the meeting. No report.
Historian Report – Cindy Snyder did
not have a report but did extend her thank you to members who provide her with the
newspaper clips.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Blood Root – no report.
Landscape Committee – Lucia Hrinyak
reported the committee met on July 21 (Hrinyaks, Worleys, June Kinsey) to do some clean-up
in the garden area. Lucia and Jo Ott visited
the lily farm a week prior to pick up the lilies donated by Betty Kinney and Jo also
donated 2 knock-out roses. Lucia reported that
she and Michael planted the lilies and they appear to be doing well. Lucia stated the committee will schedule time to do
some trimming.
Board of Directors’
report
Gayle Heagy reported the Board met on July 31
at her home. Gayle reported there is a program
available through the county entitled the Heritage Site Program. Gayle said that Jo Ott read about this program
online at PennLive.com. Gayle contacted the
York County Planning Commission staff to acquire an application to submit our blacksmith
shop for this program. Gayle stated she spoke
to the YCPC staffer today and has not completed the preliminary application yet because
she wanted to use the GDHS website as a reference; unfortunately there is too much missing
data on our website and Gayle said it makes us look like we are not up to snuff. Gayle reported she has approval from the Board of
Directors to submit the preliminary application. All
the members present agreed it was a good idea to file the application. Lucia Hrinyak asked how this program benefits the
GDHS. Gayle responded that the Heritage Site
Program is a statewide program which provides a list of historic sites for tourists. Gayle explained the Lancaster-York Heritage Region
(Wrightsville,
Gayle reported the Board discussed the
notepad design and made a final choice.
The Board also discussed steps to revise our
by-laws if the need would arise. This matter
is still being researched.
A thank you letter will be sent to Bob
Stitley for building the inside security door for the storage shed at the blacksmith shop.
OLD BUSINESS
Dover Firemen’s Fair – Jeff Koch reported
arrangements will be made shortly to gather items for the display cases and metal rack. Jeff said he plans to change his work hours during
fair week so he can be there to open up each day. Vice
President Stitley brought up the issue of renting 2 tables from the fire company at a cost
of $10 instead of hauling our tables down from the blacksmith shop. A motion was made by Norma Botterbusch and seconded
by Zita Smith to rent 2 tables. All voted in
favor and motion passed. Set-up will be
scheduled for Thursday or Friday night.
GDHS picnic -- Norma
Botterbusch reported good food and a good time were enjoyed by everyone in attendance,
approximately 60 people. Bob Stitley donated
$50 for the hot dogs and rolls. Donations of
$120 were received, and Bill Coleman provided some musical entertainment. Joan Concilio from the Weekly Record attended and
added several photos of our picnic event to her YDR blog.
Sam’s Club issue – Vice President Stitley
reported on a few details from the discussion at last month’s meeting on a membership
for Sam’s Club. The fee is $35 instead of
$30 as previously reported. In order to save
any money, we would have to spend about $600 to save $36 to break even with the membership
fee. Ron Botterbusch stated he felt we
do not need to purchase a membership since we have enough members who belong to Sam’s
Club and they can use their own personal cards to get the discount. Several members also said they do not believe the
Society spends enough at Sam’s to warrant a membership.
Lucia Hrinyak reported that she had her own personal BJ’s Club membership
card switched to over to the East Berlin Historical Preservation Society for the duration
of her time. Lucia thought that one of the
GDHS members could do the same thing. Lucia
said all she does is tell the cashier at BJ’s which items she is purchasing, if any, are
for the EBHPS. Gayle Heagy suggested we look
into doing this at BJ’s. Jo Ott stated she
buys printer ink cartridges at Sam’s Club, 5-6 per box, and it is much cheaper that way
than buying individual cartridges. Gayle Heagy
suggested we should patronize our local businesses. We
can use our tax exempt certificate at any retailer, except Wal-Mart. Gayle Heagy made a motion to rescind the motion
approved at the June meeting for the purchase of a Sam’s Club membership. All members voted in favor and motion passed. There was a motion by Cindy Snyder to forego
getting a Sam’s Club membership and thereby use our tax exempt certificate or add the
Society onto a member’s personal card. All
members voted in favor and motion passed. Harry
Shermeyer questioned if the society by-laws legally permitted this. Gayle stated she felt we should wait until a
situation arises because she did not feel our by-laws addressed this matter. After brief discussion on the issue, Vice President
Stitley stated one of our members who currently hold a Sam’s Club membership will have
to ask if a membership transfer to the GDHS can be done.
Jo Ott stated she will check at Sam’s Club to find out if a member can
transfer their membership to the GDHS. Harry
Shermeyer stated his wife is a member at BJ’s Club so he will ask her to check into this
for the society at BJ’s Club.
Gayle Heagy reported on the barn the society
can use as possible storage for the timbers. Last
Sunday, Gayle and the Shermeyers visited the barn in Dover Township owned by Carol Jones. Gayle asked the membership if anyone had any
objections to the society storing the timbers in this barn.
Gayle stated that several people asked her if the society was sure we want
to store our timbers in the Jones’ barn because it has been known that Mrs. Jones’
children have a tendency to take items from the barn property that do not belong to them. Harry Shermeyer reported that this barn is
unsecure, dirty and a fire hazard. The
particular space where Mrs. Jones suggested the timbers be stored is a makeshift platform
with loose floor boards making it very dangerous to access while carrying the heavy
timbers. Harry asked how long the timbers are
and Gayle said they are about 20 feet long; there are 17 timbers. We currently have the timbers stored in the archive
storage shed and the weight of the timbers is causing the shed to sink and shift. The members agreed the Jones’ barn was not a good
location to store the timbers and it was decided to search for a new location. Gayle Heagy will notify Mrs. Jones that her offer
was appreciated.
NEW BUSINESS
York County Heritage Trails site – Gayle
Heagy reported this is the same issue she reported on under the Board of Directors’
report.
Birth certificates online – Vice President
Stitley reported that at the May Board of Directors’ meeting it was approved to send a
letter of support for this initiative based on approval of the full membership. The Board felt being able to access the name of the
person, date of birth and place of death online was acceptable. There should be no private information accessible
online, such as medical or personal history of the deceased.
A letter of support would state this. Vice
President Stitley said she thought there is a form regarding this issue that President
Shermeyer will complete and send back. Vice
President Stitley stated she thought President Shermeyer wanted the membership to know
that this will now be online in the State of Pennsylvania for birth and death
certificates.
Suggestions for speakers – Vice President
Stitley reported that at the July picnic President Shermeyer asked members to submit
suggestions for guest speakers for our GDHS meetings.
Jo Ott stated she was at the Heritage Trust on Friday and Saturday where she
spoke to June Lloyd on making a presentation on local frakturs. A suggestion was made for a presentation on
genealogy. Gayle Heagy said that President
Shermeyer wanted to make sure we thought about the pow-wow.
Mel Miller stated that Don Billet will do a presentation at the WMHS meeting
in November (3rd Monday) about Lancaster County.
Mr. Billet did a presentation on the covered bridges of Pennsylvania, and
Vice President Stitley said he does one on Amish weddings.
His fee is $100. Zee Kehr said
she saw a presentation on presidents’ wives. She
really enjoyed it and has a card at home with the contact information. Gayle Heagy stated John Bucher does a presentation
on the green renovation of historic homes. He
was in attendance at the Historic York award ceremony in May and talked about this issue. Jo Ott stated Mr. Bucher just published a book on
historic York homes’ architecture. Mel
Miller said Jim McClure just completed a book on one-room schoolhouses in York County. Gayle Heagy mentioned about an old schoolteacher
(Rudisill?) from Starview who is well-versed on York County history.
Nominating Committee – Vice President
Stitley asked for volunteers to serve on the nominating committee for our November
elections. Gayle Heagy, Lucia Hrinyak and Lori
Koch volunteered to serve on the committee.
Members who are interested in serving as an officer or as a
board member should call one of these ladies to submit their name for nomination. Job descriptions for each position will be
available at the September meeting.
Family Fun Fest craft festival – Vice
President Stitley stated that the past two years the GDHS manned the refreshment stand. This year’s event will be held on October 4 from
11am to 4pm. It was reported another vendor
will be handling the refreshment stand and President Shermeyer is seeking input on the
GDHS setting up a table inside to sell our items. Norma
Botterbusch stated she feels it was a waste of our time since it was an event for kids and
no one bought any items from our table or from the other vendors inside. The fee is $10 for an indoor space and $5 for an
outdoor space. There was no interest by the
GDHS membership in participating this year with a table at the festival. Vice President Stitley will let President Shermeyer
know we will not participate this year.
Gayle Heagy reported she sent a letter to Ron
Herschner, chairman of the York Heritage Trust, asking permission to borrow Bertha
Linebaugh’s parasol for the Dover Fair. She
has not received a response to date.
Vice President Stitley reported there are
quilt tickets available for the East Berlin Historical Society Colonial Days event on
September 13. Tickets are $1 each or 6 for $5.
Jo Ott reported that at the blacksmith shop
open hours there were 13 visitors, Ted showed a new twisted rod, $33 in donations were
collected and Dr. Drawbaugh visited along with his son, Dean. Vice President Stitley gave Mr. Avery details on
the blacksmith shop open hours and introduced Ted Ziegler as our in-house smithy.
There being no further questions or any
suggestions from the membership, there was a motion to adjourn by Cindy Snyder. Meeting was adjourned at 8:13 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Lori Koch
GDHS secretary