Tuesday,
September 6, 2005.
The president
called the meeting to order with nine members present.
The secretary’s
report was read and approved.
The treasurer’s
report was given. The treasurer had
purchased billfold calendars to give to members along with their new membership
cards. A motion was made and seconded
to reimburse the cost of the calendars.
The motion carried.
A member gave a
report on the workday that was held on August 9 (changed from August 8) at the
old Huffman Mill Bridge. The painting
was done on the inside.
He also informed
the Society that Perry County had formed a group called “The Friends of Huffman
Mill Bridge”. They have developed a
list of projects that they would like to accomplish at the old bridge.
1. Make a parking area north of the bridge
on the Perry County side.
2. Move existing barriers closer to the
bridge to keep out four-wheelers.
3. Repair or replace missing sideboards.
4. Repair or replace missing end boards.
5. Repaint bridge original color (What was
it?).
6. Fix the roof.
7. Paint the wood to keep the graffiti off
the beams.
8. Check on structural damage.
9. Restore sign with statistics about the
bridge.
10. Put signs in both counties directing
tourists to the access road.
11. Install surveillance cameras.
The member is
going to check to see about sand blasting the graffiti off the inside of the
bridge. Another member told him to have
a company look at the bridge, see if it would be feasible to sand blast the
graffiti, and what it would cost. Each
county (Spencer and Perry) gets an allotment each year for the maintenance of
the bridge.
Dr. James Cooper
sent an e-mail to a member about having black and white pictures taken of Boner
Bridge. He knows the type of pictures
that need to be taken to send in with other information that he has already compiled
to see about getting the bridge placed on the Historic Registry. A motion was made and seconded to contact a
photographer to have the pictures made.
The motion carried.
The president
told about a meeting he had attended with a man from the Indiana DNR about
getting downtown Rockport listed on the Historic Registry. Only only a few people attended the meeting
and nothing was decided. A member
stated that for a project of that type, Lincolnland Economic Development should have
been involved.
A member reported
that she had received an e-mail from Senator Richard Lugar’s office commending
the work of a Society member on the Veteran’s History Project. The purpose of the project is to preserve
veteran’s stories for future generations.
It was brought
up that a member had been receiving donations from alumni of Rockport High
School to rebuild a column at the entrance to the campus. The Society had a plaque put on the lone
column in dedication ceremony in April 2005.
The rebuilt column in now completed and a plaque has been place on it
with a very appropriate poem written by a graduate of the class of 1916. A picture of the completed column was passed
around.
It was brought
up that the school superintendent had called about the possibility of having a
scout work on the Old Rockport Cemetery as a scout project. The scout had not contacted the president
about this project.
It was mentioned
that an e-mail had been received from the president of the Southwestern Indiana
Historical Society about whom to contact to take a tour of the Lincoln Pioneer
Village. It was later found out that
the sender was the son of a former television math teacher that
two members had in high school in the late fifties.
It was decided
to begin planning for the 2006 Historian of the Year Banquet. Several guest speakers had already been
discussed and it was decided to check with one to see what dates he would be
available in April or May of 2006.
Further
discussion was held on the selection for living and commemorative historians. A motion was made and seconded on the living
historian. The motion carried. It was decided to wait until the next
meeting to vote on the commerative historian.
Discussion
returned to the work on the Old Rockport Cemetery and the work that still needs
to be done. A member had found an
article written in 1927 about the poor condition of the cemetery. [You can find the article by going to the
Historical Society page and clicking on Activities link. Scroll down until you come to Olde Rockport
Cemetery and click on that link.] It
was decided to wait and set a work date after a frost.
The president
mentioned that a donation of Daviess County Historical Quarterly books was
given to the Genealogy Room.
One of the books
that we tabled purchasing from the last meeting was discussed again after
receiving more information. A motion
was made and seconded to purchase the Indiana GAR book. The motion carried.
A motion was
made and seconded to adjourn the meeting.
The motion carried.
The meeting
adjourned at 8:40 PM.
The next meeting
will be Tuesday, October 4, 2005 at 7:00 PM.