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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1989-11-16 Celebration Trust Committee MinutesMinutes of the Sixth Meeting of Reading's 350th Anniversary Celebration Steering Committee November 16, 1989, Thursday Board Room Reading Public Library Committee Members Attending: Edward Palmer, Everett Blodgett, Shirley Buzderewicz, Alan Foulds (arrived late), Susan Horn, Paul Sweeney, Susan Theophanis, and Susan Wheltle. (Susan Flannery was absent due to illness.) Also Attending: Arnold Berger, Ray Couture (legal counsel) I. CALL TO ORDER Ed Palmer called the meeting to order at 7:55 PM. II. REPORTS A. Minutes of the Previous Meeting The Minutes of the October 19, 1989 meeting were accepted as presented. B. 350th, Inc. Status Report. The Post Card project is still in the works and Ed Palmer displayed the "yesterday" views along with "today" pictures he has recently taken. From the group we selected 10 views to be used for the card set. C. Publicity Since the last meeting the following articles have been published Nov. 7, 1989 DAILY TIMES CHRONICLE Article:11350th Anniversary Committee setting plans for 1994" Nov. 10, 1989 DAILY TIMES CHRONICLE Letter to the Editor from Susan Flannery: "350th Progress". Nov. 14, 1989 DAILY TIMES CHRONICLE Article: "Town Searching for Anniversary Logo" (included a reprint of the entry blank) Ed Palmer was concerned with the wording of Susan Flannery's letter in the November 10th DAILY TIMES CHRONICLE. The corporation was formed for the purpose of fund raising NOT to plan the 350th celebration. We have to be careful to be very clear about what relates to the Corporation and what relates to the Steering Committee 2 - Steering Committee November 16, 1989 III. OLD BUSINESS A. Logo Contest The press releases have gone out and entry blanks have been distributed. The entry form was printed in the DAILY TIMES CHRONICLE or entry forms will be available through P.O. Box. 1994, the Reading Public Library or at the Town Hall. Susan Wheltle wanted guidance on selecting a panel of judges. Three out-of-town judges would be best. The judges will make an aesthetic judgement and select three entries. These will then be screened for historical accuracy. We are hoping Miriam Barclay would be willing to do this. If there is something glaringly wrong, historically, negotiations can begin with the artists to correct these errors. Then the judges will make the final decision. Susan Wheltle will select the judges. The Reading Public Library will have a display of all logos entered at the time the winner is announced. B. Stationary for the.Steering Committee Ed now has stationary with all our names on it for the Steering Committee using the Town Hall address. IV. COMMUNICATIONS A. Y's Mens Association [Clarification: Y's Men is a national organization that supports activities of the YMCA--like Friends of the Library.] John Pacino called Ed about the Fair and Fireworks held in July. Ed could not get a grip on just what John was asking us to do but he turned it around and got John to agree to the Y's Men taking care of the fireworks in 1994. Some doubt as to the firmness of this commitment, or even the organization's ability to continue the Fair and Fireworks, was raised. If it continues as an annual event, we might be interested in a booth in 1993 to get people to sign up to help and/or sell hats or tee shirts. B. Ecumenical Clergy Association Ed talked with Rev. Alan Bond, president of the Association. They talked about ringing of church bells, pulpit exchanges with churches in other Readings, etc. At the most recent meeting of the Ecumenical Clergy Association, Rev. Gabarino, Church of.the Good Shepherd, was been appointed liaison to our Committee from their Association. 3 _ Steering Committee November 16, 1989 C. Calendars from Braintree, Yarmouth and Rockport_ Braintree used the previous September as a starting date at the beginning of the school year. They used historical scenes around Braintree and a listing of all events planned for their celebration. Ed thought we might work with the Boy Scouts on the production of their calendar at the.time of the celebration. Yarmouth and Rockport use prints of artists of the respective towns. Arthur Knapp and Natalie Nordstrand are interested in working on a calendar. D. Reading High School Reunion Classes, 1994 1. 40th Reading High Reunion: Dick Stolz 2. 50th Reading High Reunion: Ruth Converse (also Herb Perry) E. Addison Wesley John Bell, Assistant Editor, talks with people interested in putting together histories.. Everett Blodgett should contact him at some point. F. Roger Reed, Inc. Priscilla (Loring) Griffin, says the company will have their 55th Anniversary in 1994. Her grandfather wrote the book for the 250th (Loring and Trombly). G. Rowley, Mass. Photograph Kendra Cooper sent an article about the photo taken of the entire town. The photo is 3 feet long. V. NEW BUSINESS A. Celebrations Report Ed handed out a list taken from all the surveys returned from other towns and cities having had celebrations. It listed the 20 highest interest events. They were: READING SURVEY (20 HIGHEST INTEREST) 1. Parade 11. Quilt 2. Fireworks 12. New Years Eve. 3. Historic Tours 13. Play or Pageant 4. Ringing Church Bells 14. Symphony Concert 5. History Book (update) 15. Art Show 6. History Book (1644-1994) 16. Photo Contest 7. Anniversary Ball 17. Road Race 8. Homecoming 18. Boston Pops Nite 9. Crafts 19. Flag 10. Music 20 Sports events 4 - Steering Committee November 16, 1989 Also high interest 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. were: Winter Carnival Soft Ball Tournament Cross Country Ski Race Spelling Bee Bar-B-Que Picnic Church Suppers The committee then discussed each event in the Top 20 one by one: YES 1. Parade - Maybe the Lions Club will do this. 2_ Fireworks - Optional, but perhaps the Y's Men will, pick this up. The Committee was luke warm on fireworks. YES 3. Historic Tours - a. Historic Open Houses: At previous meetings we discussed the problems in having historic homes open to.the public and felt that that could z not be done. b. Antiquarian Society ideas: In 1976 they published a pamphlet on the "Bicentennial Heritage Trail" (a driving tour). This could be re-done. On a set day or days High School kids.trained to guide the tours would be available to accompany people in their cars. The brochure could be rewritten so a family could do it on their own, or audio cassette tapes could be created as a carry-your-own-tour-guide sort of thing on a rental basis. c. Horse and Buggy Tours: The idea of having hired horse and buggies available for tours on a specific day was brought up. This may be difficult to arrange. Where would we get LOTS of horse and buggies? d. Street Walks Historic guided walks of particular streets or neighborhoods now draw upwards of 100 people. Miriam Barclay also has a slide show street walk. e. Sketch Books or Coloring Book Guide Books f. Historical Commission might consider a tour on architectural highlights. YES 4. Ringing Church Bells Some did it on New Years Eve kicking off their year and others did it on Incorporation Day. We will want to do it. 5 Steering Committee November 16, 1989 YES 5. History Book (update) or History Book (1644-1994) Everett Blodgett wonders whether we will have money to do this type of project. John Bell at Addison Wesley may be able to give us some direction on this. Gathering histories of all the clubs and organizations would be helpful. YES G. Anniversary Ball - There are people in town VERY interested in this. YES 7. Homecoming Could tie in with High School reunions and bring people into town for the Parade (supplying their own vintage vehicle from their graduation year.) Technically there is a High School Homecoming Week in Reading at Thanksgiving. We might want to call it Home Town Week or Old Home Week. Family reunion might also be considered during this time. YES 8. Arts and Craft and Photo Groups These events would be organized by the specific groups and could be coordinated into one event. We would certainly want to support these groups any way we could. a. Society of Craftsmen - usually 1st of Nov. b. Reading Arts Association - Spring & Fall on Common c. Reading Photographic Association The possibility of making Pearl Street School into an Arts Center to be dedicated at the 350th was brought up. [The Town Meeting was voting to sell Pearl Street School even as we met.] YES 9. Music Tie in with local things in town (Reading Symphony orchestra, church groups, school musical presentations, vocal groups, Colonial Chorus). Boston Pops night sponsored by Library. YES 10. Quilt - already underway (Beth Anderson) NO 11. New Years Eve Discussion was of a Ball, or Fire Works, or renting a hall in Boston so Reading people could gather in conjunction with First Night. Most of these ideas were impractical. 12. Play or Pageant No discussion of this. [Editorial Note: Quannapowitt Players, Colonial Chorus of High School Spring Musical???.] - 6 - Steering Committee November 16, 1989 YES 13. Road Race/Sporting Events Maybe 3.5 mile road race. Rotary is having trouble getting the Road Race off the ground this year. YES 14. Road Rally Road Rally using historical clues would be fun for families and groups. 15. Flag Paul reports that the USS Constitution is strictly a holding area for the Rushmore Flag. He is continuing to try to get information on the Rushmore Flag. Until the Committee gets more information it's hard to understand the great enthusiasm of other celebration towns in this. , We will have meetings on each of these events easier to handle than one huge unwieldy meeting. February or March we will aim to hold these meetings. B. CALENDAR, 1994 Ma 21-May 29) May 21, 1994, Saturday Homecoming or Home Town Picnic or Barbecue Reading High School Reunions or Alumni Day Reading Symphony Orchestra Pops Concert (Reading composers) [Their usual date.) May 22, 1994, Sunday Parade May 27, 1994, Friday Anniversary Ball May 28, 1994, Saturday Fair or Expo with kids games, etc. (Reading button prizes) Sporting Events; Historic Tours; Road Rally Maybe with North Reading and/or Wakefield May 2.9, 1994 Charter Tea Historic Tours Ringing of Church Bells Special church services, memorial services Old sermons (maybe the hell, fire and brimstone type) [May 30, Monday will be the usual Memorial Day Parade. June 4 or 11 will be High School graduation.] - 7 - Steering Committee November 19, 1989 C. All Conceivable Events Ed handed out a complete list of all the events reported by the 25 communities who responded to our inquiries. Some of these ideas might be considered as well. (List is attached.) D. 350th Anniversary Memorial Ideas 1. Anniversary Memorial Monument (Founders?) 2. Plaques on Historic Houses: Presently, houses over 200 years old have plaques given to them. The ones on the National Historic Register can buy one. 3. Parker Tavern Enhancement: Parker Tavern will be 300 that year. Funds for maintenance of Parker, Tavern is well taken care of. A facility for groups waiting to see the house ...a barn or carriage house...might be an idea. Also, there is land that buffers the Park that could be cleared out extending the property. There is a 20 foot right of way that Parker Tavern.does not own that would probably cost $10,000 to purchase. 4. Small Band Shell in the Park 5. Covering the Pool - not a good idea because it is apiece of something existing, also not a permanent enough type of monument. VI. NEXT MEETING We will have no meeting in the month of December, unless someone wants to host a Christmas Party. The Corporation may call a special December meeting to assemble the Post Card project. Paul Sweeney will contact everyone if that is necessary. Next meeting: January 18, 1990, Thursday 7:30 PM Reading Public Library Ed Palmer will not be at the January meeting. will run the.meeting. VII. ADJOURNMENT Ed Palmer adjourned the meeting at 10:00 PM. R s CL- Susan A. Horn, Secretary Alan Foulds [Attached: Information on 350th of Barnstable, Mass.)