Minutes of The Windsor-Severance Historical Society
September 25, 2023
The Windsor-Severance Historical Society met in person on Monday, September 25, at 10:00 a.m. In attendance were Kristie Melendez, Laura Browarny, Dan Meyers, Gary Martin, Marcella Johnson and Judy Firestien.
Call to Order – Kristie Melendez called the meeting to order at 10:05 a.m. Monthly Reports/Approvals
August Minutes – The Minutes from the previous meeting on August 28, 2023 were reviewed and approved as presented.
Treasurer’s Report – Kristie reported from the August 17th bank statement that the balance in checking was $8,982.53 which included a deposit of $943.78. The balance in savings was $14,558.81. The CD has a balance of about $20,000 and is now earning around 5% interest. A second check for $250 had also been received from ENT Credit Union in addition to another membership renewal. The funds from ENT were part of a “micro-philanthropy” effort; they couldn’t give to the Town but could give to a 501(c)3. There would be an expenditure of $270 to Vista Works for website hosting. Also, Kristie’s daughter, Kailee has been managing the website and any technical issues. She spent a lot of time last year revamping the website and makes changes to the website. She will continue to do that work and has been doing this for $25 an hour, however she has not invoiced for time. She suggested a fee of $250 for the year. Kristie had an invoice for $500 for both 2022 and 2023. Judy moved and Marcella seconded the invoices to Vista Works and Kailee Melendez both be paid. Motion carried.
Membership Update and Status – Kristie did not have anything further to report on membership. New memberships and renewals had netted about $3,000 this year.
Old Business
Town and WSHS MOU final vote to approve – Kristie had circulated a copy of the MOU for Board review. The property to be exchanged would be addressed in a separate document. Gary moved and Kristie seconded the MOU between the Town and the WSHS be approved as presented. Motion carried. The MOU would be taken to the Town Board for approval. Then the Mayor and Kristie will sign. Kristie would plan to bring the old newspapers to the next meeting to be given to Laura to archive.
Windsor News – Laura reported an intern will be working on six new oral histories to be put on the TV to be shown during the Legends and Lessons event. The Museum is breaking ground on the landscape at the Jacoby Farm area which should be finished mostly by the end of the year. They will start preservation on the buildings next. There is an Eagle Scout restoring the outhouse at the farm and it will be moved to the history museum at Boardwalk Park. The Halloween Carnival is on October 28th from 1-4 p.m. and they anticipate 5,000 people will participate.
2024 WSHS Calendars – Kristie had provided a proof of the calendar and asked for review and for Board members to provide any additional information they had for the photos. There will be a history of the basketball team and the coach on the inside cover of the calendar. There will be cost for the design and printing of the calendar. Maybe a sponsor would be interested in having an ad on the back cover. Kristie will solidify dates, make corrections, have an editor check spelling and formatting and then add holidays and other historical dates. Caitlyn might be able to help with historical questions. It might be nice to have a few photos representing Severance or a timeline in the calendar. A suggested timeline would be to have the calendar ready for sale at the “Christmas in Windsor” event. There might be a table by concessions where it could be available for sale and someone from Kristie’s restaurant, who will be handling the food, may be able to manage sales. The calendar would be finalized over the next few weeks.
Farm Tour 2023 – October 8th, 1-5 pm – There are 15 people registered for the Tour which includes three volunteers who the Museum volunteer coordinator has bought tickets for. Laura will drive and will have a second driver available. There may need to be a different way for people to register. Laura mentioned all their registrations have been lower this fall and they don’t know why. Kristie has stickers for the tour and will have the booklets printed for about $75. There may be home school groups interested next year. The American Legacy Academy was asking about doing a field trip for third graders and tying it into their curriculum. Gary had brought many bags as made by Kristi. The tour is ready to go for this year.
Legends and Lessons- November 5, 2:00-5:00 p.m. – Kristie will get an official invitation sent out. She will send a postcard invitation to new members and can also do an email invite with the new addresses collected through the membership drive. Trays of food will be served again as was done last year.
Severance News – Dan reported there had been a ribbon cutting for the stop light at Hwy 392 and County Road 21. Two middle school kids had been pursuing getting a light installed. The kids were honored for their efforts. The Library is coming along nicely. There will be a new Windsor Middle School going up soon also. Gary added the Calvary Severance Church will be purchasing property at County Road 74 and County Road 25. Dan will be remaining on the Town Council for the next four years. The Mayor of Severance will also be continuing I his role.
Board Communications – Ruth Brunner had sent an email suggesting the WSHS might be invited to attend the October 11 meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission for a joint meeting, but no further information had been received. It would be good to connect at some point.
Kristie will be sending out the “Visit Windsor” ad for Board review.
Next Meeting – The next meeting will be October 23, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. The meeting was adjourned at 11:30 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Judy Firestien, Secretary