Minutes of The Windsor-Severance Historical Society
July 22, 2024
The Windsor-Severance Historical Society met in person on Monday, July 22, at 10:00 a.m. at the Windsor History Museum Train Depot. In attendance were Kristie Melendez, Dan Meyers, Gary Martin, Marcella Johnson, Laura Browarny, Sue Buxman, Penny Fahey, Ruth Brunner, and Judy Firestien.
Call to Order – Kristie Melendez called the meeting to order at 10:04 a.m.
Monthly Reports/Approvals
June Minutes – The Minutes from the previous meeting on June 24th, 2024 were reviewed and approved as presented.
Treasurer’s Report – Kristie reported from the June bank statement that the balance in checking was $7,046.93. The balance in savings was $14,722.76. The current balance for the CD was around $20,916.40. The term of the CD is 6 months and it renews in the fall.
Membership Drive Update – Kristie reported thank you notes would be going out next week. Kristie shared names of people who had renewed their membership or joined. $91 in books and calendars have been sold recently through the membership drive. The amount brought in for memberships so far is $2,028.72. Total to date is $2,119.72.
Old Business
Farm Tour/Home School Farm Day 2024 – Gary had been working on an application to ask for funds from the Severance Town Board for the Farm Tour. Kristie suggested expanding this to include the other annual event of Legends and Lessons as there were costs associated with doing this event. There was discussion about the possibility of having the event at the new Severance Library or the old Town Hall/Church in Severance. It would be nice to keep it at a historic building. Dan would check with Nick to see if it could be used on November 3rd or 10th. Tables and chairs might be needed. Sue added that Shirly Yauk had written a song for the Town of Windsor in 1990 for the centennial celebration. She was able to find this in the files. Laura mentioned Caitlin would stop by Sue’s to box up the files and then deal with the actual file cabinet separately. Penny offered to try to promote the WSHS through her real estate contacts and the Northern Colorado National Association of Home Builders beginning this fall. Another event might be organized that shares history or tells stories similar to the event some years ago where Colorado Life magazine did an article in coordination with a tour and history. The Northern Colorado chapter of Germans from Russia was involved with this event. It might be nice to have a joint meeting with this group some time since there is a shared mission.
Booklets might be printed again this year. Stickers would be fun to have also along with the cloth bags. Kristi Martin is working on the bags again this year. A seed packet or a bulb might be included in the bag; the seed packet has the WSHS logo. Katherine and her team might have items to include also. Katherine has organized the day as a “drop in” but the first 50 families might receive a pumpkin or special gift and the first 100 kids receive a bag, etc. More
rack cards might be printed also or a flyer advertising the Legends and Lessons event and upcoming Museum events such as Night at the Museum and the Poudre Pour.
Facebook Login – Judy has been working on getting into the WSHS Facebook page but was having trouble with passwords. Marcella suggested closing and restarting, etc. Judy would try again but the WSHS may need to recreate the page and post that it has been moved. Many things could be posted more often such as the Museum newsletter and historic tidbits. Laura suggested Judy come by with her laptop to try to troubleshoot.
Laura also suggested a paid internship might be available to help out a few hours a week with social media. Sam is really interested in the group and he might be able to do a couple of posts per week; maybe a small fee could be paid to Sam or Maya. A social media calendar might be created so that people know what to look for and expect. It would be nice to “cross promote” with PHA and other groups; maybe create a list of partners. Oral history videos might also be featured with a link.
Windsor News – Laura shared Museum staff are working with the owners of 411 Main Street and Brent Phinney at the Yancy Building to get the properties listed on the local historic register; staff will help with research and application. The owners of the building at 411 Main Street have just received a grant from the Public Art Commission and there will be a mural on the side of the building. Since Osterhout built the building and was a botanist, the mural will be inspired by Osterhout and his botanical interests. The pre-construction meeting for the Dickey Farmhouse is next week to establish rules for the work. They will also be starting on the Eaton House in the coming weeks. Ruth added HPC is looking at doing historic designation of an area; block or district. The 700 block of Elm is very historic and there used to be sheep pens there. Ruth will be doing an interview with Kathleen Claus and looking at the cold storage. Laura mentioned she chatted with David Martinez who has great knowledge and might be willing to do an oral history interview.
Severance News – Dan mentioned they are working on their streets and trying to push economic development. They also have a new Council Member and might be looking for another new member. They are working on the police station. Severance Days are coming up in August. They are working right now to add a 1% sales and use tax to replace the transportation fee.
Gary might add to his grant application that the WSHS is formulating a new communications plan with more of a regular social media presence, updating our brochure and marketing materials to be distributed through the Farm Tour and other places. Facebook would allow the WSHS to share more history.
Board Communications –Leona Bernhardt might be considered as an honoree for the Legends and Lessons event.
Next Meeting – The next meeting will be on August 26th at the Depot. The meeting was adjourned at 11:16 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Judy Firestien, Secretary