Minutes of The Windsor-Severance Historical Society
April 25, 2022
The Windsor-Severance Historical Society met in person on Monday, April 25th at 10:00 a.m. In attendance were Kristie Melendez, Dan Meyers, Marcela Johnson, Debbie Bates, Laura Browarny, Ruth Brunner, and Judy Firestien.
Call to Order – Kristie Melendez called the meeting to order at 10:04 a.m.
Monthly Reports/Approvals
March Minutes – The Minutes from the previous meeting on March 21, 2022 were reviewed and approved as presented. Kristie would reach out to reschedule the meeting with the Commerce City Historical Society that had been cancelled; maybe to reschedule for fall.
Treasurer’s Report – Kristie gave the Treasurer’s report as provided by Elaine stating the balance in checking was $10,081.51 and the balance in savings was $23,522.89. She would check the post office box as the Society was also expecting a check from the Town of Severance in the amount of $500. A bill for design work and cost of printing business cards and name tags was also expected.
Old Business
Business Cards and Magnetic Name Tags – Kristi handed out business cards and name tags.
Family Farm Tour Event Summer 2022 – Kristie, Laura, Dan, Ruth, and Judy had a special meeting to discuss the Family Farm Tour. Dates had been set for Saturday, September 17th from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and Sunday, October 9 from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. thinking fall might be better for observing harvest activities. It was also decided to keep this to an agricultural and historical type of farm tour. DyeCrest Dairy (used to be Barkey Dairy), is interested in participating in the future. The Tour will start at the Firestien Farm (just to group and load the vans), then go to the Halfway Homestead (Jacoby Farm), and then go to the Tigges Farm before ending back at the Firestien Farm. The Town will partner with WSHS on the event by providing the vans and drivers and will also help to promote the tour with information in the town activity guide, etc. We will still need to figure out cost and lunch options. Ticket price might be $10 for a child (13 and under) and $20 for an adult to cover donation for van use, gas and lunches. Kristi will get started on promotional information and Laura will need this by the end of May for the Town activity guide. Severance will also advertise for the Society through their website, newsletter, and summer concerts and other events. A rack card could be created to hand out with “join us” information on the front and “save the dates” for the Farm Tour and other events, such as Legends and Lessons, on the back as well as also listing Windsor Museum history events. Registration will be available via a link from the WSHS website to the Windsor Museum and will be first come, first serve. Judy would send some pictures of her farm to Kristie and will also arrange a meeting with Dan, Judy and Kathy Rickart of Tigges Farm to discuss the tour. The tour would also be a great opportunity for filming video and taking pictures. Poudre Learning Center might also be asked to participate/partner.
Membership Drive Mailing – Kristie circulated copies of the two letters to be sent out for the membership mailing. The group was fine with the letters and Kristie will get these mailed out the first part of May. Annual membership is from May to April.
Windsor Update – April 23 photo event and video indexing – Laura reported there was moderate interest in the photo scanning, however, the weather may have been a factor in attendance. They did
collect some good pictures and will continue to collect historic photos in the future; they can be scanned on site and returned to the owner.
The Windsor Museum is also hosting an Historic Preservation Month event in partnership with the Windsor Historic Preservation Commission and they are trying to get more historic buildings downtown designated as local landmarks. A plaque and certificate is presented to property owners with information shared with the community on historic designation and communication on what that means. Ed Stark will speak at the event about old buildings that have been lost.
There are four interns for the summer who will be working on transcribing the videos as well as some part time staff. There should be several videos that can be put on the TV for next year.
Laura has also submitted a grant application for construction on the Eaton House. The Society provided a letter of support. The Town has hired a contractor who will be restoring all the windows and doors on the buildings at Boardwalk Park. Marge’s donation will go towards that project. They are doing interpretive landscape design on the Halfway Homestead and they also hope to get the public art commission involved to include art work.
Severance Update – Dan has put in a letter of intent for the open position on the Severance Town Council. Dan talked with Bruce Florquist, (former Council Member), and he would be interested in giving an interview. Bruce has lived in Severance for about 16 years and could talk about the growth that has occurred while he has served on the Board. The Board approved Ruth interviewing Bruce.
New Business
2022 Legends and Lessons Event – The Legends and Lessons event will be held again this year on Sunday, November 6th, 2022 at the Arts &Heritage Center. This date could be included on promotional materials.
2022 Video Projects – Kristie mentioned the Windsor High School class of 1972 is having their 50th class reunion over Labor Day weekend and this could be a good time for capturing some video of participants. Kristie will make contact to see where there might be an opportunity for video.
This is also the 100th Anniversary of the Windsor Harvest Festival. It would be great to capture some of the history of the Festival with interviews on video. Maybe there could be some sort of mini-exhibit at the Museum or the Society could do something historical or the Society could sponsor another organization who might do a parade entry.
Tails of Tailholt 2 – Kristie had talked with Sandy Lee and Connie Hill and they thought they did not have the capability to do the second version, but would be happy to edit or guide someone, as would Louann Kadlub. Maybe a UNC or CSU class would be interested in something like this. Dan also mentioned there is a History Club at Severance High School. Dan would try to meet the High School Principal and check in to this. Maybe a student would be interested in being part of the Society.
Easel and picture WSHS promotion in a business – The picture has been located at Kristie’s restaurant for a while and people have picked up information. It might be a place to sell books also. Judy will be hosting the Germans from Russia group at her Farm on June 11th for a picnic lunch. She would contact Kristie to arrange for the easel and picture to be displayed that day and also find out what the program is that is planned for that day.
Next Meeting – The next meeting will be May 23rd, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. The meeting was adjourned at 11:10 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Judy Firestien, Secretary