February 5, 2008
The Spencer County Historical Society met on Tuesday, February 5, 2008 at the Col. William Jones House in Gentryville, IN at 6:30 PM.
Two historical interpreters told the history of the Col. Jones House and took us on a tour of the building.
The business meeting was called to order by the President at 7:00 PM with six members and three guests present.
The minutes from the last meeting were read and approved.
A member stated that the postage stamp that he was trying to get printed to honor George Honig and Nancy Hanks Lincoln was rejected by the Postal Service. He also showed a pamphlet from Kentucky that had been in the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer. It told of events that Kentucky had planned for two years for the Lincoln Bicentennial.
A discussion told how far Kentucky and Illinois were ahead of Indiana in the preparation for the Lincoln Bicentennial. It was mentioned that Kentucky and Illinois had each received several million dollars for the celebration while Indiana had only received several hundred thousand dollars for their celebration. Everyone seems to forget that Lincoln spent his formative years, 1816-1830, in Indiana.
The treasurer’s report was given.
There were three books that the genealogy room wanted the Society to purchase. They were:
“Dubois County, Indiana Cemeteries & Inscription – Volume 7 – Hall & Marion Townships” for $25.00
“Dubois County, Indiana Marriages 1927-1955” for $29.90
“Dubois County, Indiana 1928 Plat Book” for $18.00
With shipping and handling, the books would be $80.40.
A member made a motion to purchase the three books. The motion carried.
The secretary mentioned that the membership form had been revised as Society members no longer did research. Research was being done by the library staff with the money being turned over to the library.
The treasurer took an inventory of books the Society has for sale.
A member made a motion that the Society commits $2,000.00 toward the purchase of the copier/printer if it is coin operated or $1,000.00 if it is not coin operated. The motion carried.
There was a discussion about the Society having copies made of the an article written by C. T. Baker, editor of the Grandview Monitor, copyrighted 1931, that told about the Lincolns coming into Indiana at Sandy Creek Landing. The president had discussed the matter with The Rockport Printers and had been given a certain price if the Society did the copying of the book themselves. It was decided that the president needed to check with The Rockport Printers again and see what the price would be if they did the printing and binding. It was also mentioned that there need to be a page or pages added at the beginning to tell about C. T. Baker.
The 2008 Historian of the Year Banquet was discussed. The date has been set for Saturday, April 12, 2008 at 6:30 PM at the Chrisney Community Center. Mr. William Bartelt has agreed to be the speaker at the banquet. A member mentioned that he was working on decorations for the tables in keeping with the patriotic theme.
After a discussion on the menu for the banquet, a member made a motion that Windell’s of Dale, Indiana caterer the meal. Raymond Dawson seconded the motion. The motion carried.
A motion was made that the price of the tickets be $15.00. The motion carried.
The president mentioned that the Lincoln Day Celebration was going to be Sunday, February 10, 2008 at 2:00 PM at the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial.
A member gave an update on the Lincoln flatboat.
§ They are working on power for the boat in Tennessee.
§ They will have two 280 hp engines compared to two 35 hp engines on the original flatboat trip in 1958.
§ They are working on projects to help finance the trip which is expected to cost about $90,000.00.
§ They have the potential for eight governors and maybe presidential candidates to make short rides on the flatboat.
§ Several towns that had not been included on the lists for stops, wished to be included in the celebration. They were Mt. Vernon, Indiana and Metropolis, Illinois.
§ They would have booths at every stop and hopefully people would be allowed to come aboard the flatboat.
§ They hoped to have Richard Murdock as a speaker at the Rockport site before the flatboat leaves for New Orleans. There is even a possibility of having Governor Mitch Daniels at Rockport.
A member also mentioned that he was interested in having a marker placed on the stone at the Lower Landing that would mention the original flatboat trip that the men took in 1958
A motion was made to adjourn the meeting. The motion carried. The meeting adjourned at 8:40 PM.
The next meeting will be March 4, 2008 at 6:30 PM in the Genealogy Room.