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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOctober 12, 1971 N\JSivM Mvv-ccS 0 PICKERING TOWNSHIP MUSEUM BOARD 9/71 A meeting of the Pickering Town- .. ship Museum Board was held on TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12th, 1971, at EIGHT p.m. at the Municipal Build- ing PRESENT: Mr. H. Cook, Chairman 0 •Mr. W. Clark Mr. R. Freeman Mr. R. Miller Mr. M. Parkin Mr. W. Earle Mrs. D. Earle 1. MINUTES - Moved by Mr. Freeman, seconded by Mr. Earle that the minutes of the September meeting be approved. CARRIED. 2. SECRETARIES ATTENDANCE - Board members had been notified that Mr. Marshall would be unable to attend any future Tuesday meetings as he is attending post-graduate courses on these evenings. The Chairman advised that he had contacted Mr. Marshall who would be free on Thursday evenings. Moved by Mrs. Earle, seconded by Mr. Freeman, that the Board change its meeting dates to the second Thursday of each month, since the Secretaries attendance is invaluable to the Board. This change to be effective as of • November 11th, 1971. CARRIED. 3. CURATOR 'S RESIGNATION - Mrs. Ruth Hay, by letter, tendered her resignation as Curator for reasons of health, and also because she felt some Board members were not satisfied with her performance. Mr. Freeman wished to know why the Curator felt she was not satisfactory. Mrs. Earle stated she had had a fair amount of communication with Mrs. Hay and could give the following reasons for the Curator's statement. a) Mrs. Hay knew some Board members had expressed the view that she was not a proper Curator. She has always been aware of her amateur status, yet feels the Board, in general, has been content to utilize her services since 1965, leaving a great deal of responsibility to her. -2- 9/71 b) Mrs. Hay felt her opinion was never sought by the Board, yet she was mostly closer to Museum affairs and more aware of immediate problems, as well as the reaction of visitors, than were most Board members who meet only once a month. c) Mrs. Hay is aware that her health has not been good, but she was always able to rely on family help if she was incapacitated, and the Board was willing to accept this since little other help was available. However, she can no longer obtain family stand-ins, so feels the Board must seek someone else to fill the post. In reply to these statements the following comments were made - - Mr. Miller wanted to know why Mrs. Hay should need to consult Mrs. Earle so often. Mrs. Earle replied that Mrs. Hay never contacted her until she had first consulted Mr. Marshall, and then mainly to see that at least one Board member knew of certain items in case the Secretary should not be at a meeting. It was also probably a case of discussing the practical problems of the Museum, such as window cleaning; display re-arrangement (for which Mrs. Earle is responsible) ; and related matters that may be better understood by the only female member of the Board. In Mrs. Earle ' s opinion, however, the lack of communica- tion was the outstanding problem. Most Board members cannot be contacted during the day and, even though an Administrator was appointed this year to attend to problems, contact was still difficult. When the Curator is on duty she had no telephone available, unless she leaves her post. Then, even if a telephone was installed (a matter which has been raised repeatedly by the Curator and which is still unresolved) the Curator cannot reach the Administrator, who has no telephone at his place of business. It is virtually impossible then, for anyong minding the Museum to solve difficult situations. The Chairman stated that the discussions made it obvious that the Board, whilst having made the Museum something to be proud of, had lagged behind in keeping up with the growth. He felt the duties of personnel must be better defined, and that possibly the Board should consider holding meetings more than once a month. Mr. Cook hoped that the Administrator would retain his position, which he had filled most ably. Mr. Parkin said, regarding Mrs. Hay 's resignation, that the Museum would be losing someone who was very close to it in more ways than one, but that the Curator 's health problems obviously prevented her from continuing. Moved by Mr. Clark, seconded by Mr. Parkin, that Mrs. Hay 's resignation be accepted with deep regret. CARRIED. aJ L1_, -3- 9/71 The Chairman then asked the Board to consider honouring Mrs. Hay. Moved by Mr. Parkin, seconded by Mr. Miller that a special citation be prepared for presentation to Mrs. Hay in rappreciation of her services, CARRIED. Moved by Mr. Freeman, seconded by Mr. Earle that Mrs. Hay be appointed an Honorary Member of the Board and her presence welcomed whenever she could attend. CARRIED. 4. OTHER BUSINESS - i a) Discussion was held regarding ways of encouraging more L help for the Museum. Mr. Clark said he wished to retain authority over the Blacksmith Shop, but felt knowledge of the Museum should be better presented. The survival of skills is important and should be taught to youth. The Chairman suggested that the use of a tape-recorder might be useful in taking down information for use in teaching sessions. It was decided to hold further discussion at the L, next meeting and to investigate the possibility of bring- ing in a group of students to see the Museum and to encourage their interest. b) The Kiwanis have expressed renewed interest in build- ing a permanenet refreshment booth. Mr. Cook is to follow up on this matter and report further. Mr. Miller suggested such a structure could contain an upper storage space. c) Mr. Parkin mentioned that the Whitby Psychiatric Hospital has surplus equipment which may be of interest to the Museum. Moved by Mr. Parkin, seconded by Mr. Freeman that L Mr. Marshall contact the Hospital asking for information on such equipment. CARRIED. d) Mr. Parkin stated that he had been in contact with Rev. Fleetham, who is willing to organize another inter- denominational service in the Bible Christian Church. Moved by Mr. Miller, seconded by Mrs. Earle that Mr. Parkin arrange with Rev. Fleetham to hold such a service as soon as possible. CARRIED. L L I', J t. -4- 9/71 L 5. ADMINISTRATOR'S REPORT - Mr. Miller gave the following report: L a) The exterior of the Harness Shop, the Hoosier Wagon and the Tea Wagon are completed. b) A price on the plastering of the Harness Shop is required. Mr. Miller will obtain estimates. c) Mrs. Duncan is coming to advise on the restoration of I. the Hotel and Harness Shop. d) Mr. Miller has contacted Mrs. Annis to see whether she L would be willing to accept the post vacated by Mrs. Hay. Mrs. Annis is prepared to take the post, but will need help. Le) The Administrator expressed pleasure with the booklets on the Museum and those on herbs produced by Mr. Marshall and Mrs. MacKenzie. f) The guided tours of the Museum have proved to be very Lsuccessful. g) The cataloguing of items is well advanced. Lh) The log barn has been cleaned and is now open for the public. L, i) Some original articles from the Oddfellows Hall are available if needed. These include chairs. 1. j) A wooden windmill is available from Miss Gregg if the Museum requires it. Two other windmills are also I: available. k) The Administrator would like signs prepared to identify 1. the various buildings. Some discussion on this matter was held, but no definite decision was reached. The matter will be considered further. I, 1) Mrs. Marr, Bay Ridges, has offered to make curtains for the Cole House. The Administrator was advised to t. contact Mrs. Marr and accept her offer with gratitude. m) The Administrator queried whether the foot-run wood r working machinery owned by the Museum should be placed in the Blacksmith Shop. It was agreed that this was a good idea. Ln) The Board is advised that the Bible Christian Church is well appointed. The Oddfellows Hall needs further re- arrangement and better presentation of displays. o) If the Board requires the bed and stove lent to Fort I: York then notification must be relayed to the Toronto Historical Board some months in advance, to enable them to replace these items. • I. 1. \ 1 • Nr.0/ -5- 9/71 6. ACCOUNTS & BUDGET - There were no available accounts. Due to the amount of business needing discussion the Chairman felt that proper consideration of the budget prepared by Mr. Marshall was not possible at this meeting, All Board members were asked to study the budget and be prepared to discuss same at the next meeting. The main objective for 1972 should be the completion of the Hotel and Harness Shop. Mr. Miller is to seek some estimates of the possible costs. 7. HISTORY IN ACTION - Time did not allow for a thorough re-assessment of History In Action. This also is for definite discussion at the next meeting. { On motion the meeting adjourned. L L DATED Chairman L . Secretary _ _ L L L L L L L L L