The Townsend Historical Society is pleased to publish information regarding the 2022 Annual Meeting in advance of the event on Sunday, November 6, 2022. Please check our home page for the Zoom link the day of if you cannot join us in person.

October 26, 2022

Dear Members,

Autumn is in full swing. That means it’s time for the Townsend Historical Society’s Annual Meeting on Sunday, November 6, 2022. This is your invitation to join us (in person) at the United Methodist Church located at 265 Main Street at 2PM. We will conduct our business meeting first, followed by the program Lydia Maria Child: The Frugal Housewife. We hope to broadcast the meeting via Zoom for our distant members and will publish the link on our website on the day of. All meeting materials have been made available on our website. What follows is a brief summary of the agenda.

Our meeting will commence with a reading of the 2021 meeting minutes. We will have them read by the Secretary at the meeting and broadcast them for remote viewers. If there are any corrections, please do not hesitate to email us ahead of time. We are always happy to take corrections.

An annual report of activities will follow. This will be a summary by the President, a financial statement by the Treasurer, and the greatest hits of Site Administrator moments. We will also have our usual input from any of the standing committees, followed by new business from the floor.

The Membership is being asked this year to take up a single revision to the bylaws to encourage volunteerism. Article V, Terms currently limits all officer positions to no more than 2 consecutive terms. There is a potential to keep existing volunteers in their current roles if the members strike “and shall serve no more than two (2) consecutive terms” from this section. This will allow existing individuals to apply their skills in roles they originally volunteered to serve in. It may also allow for a spirited runoff election. It has been said, “The right to vote is the essence of a democratic society. Exercise it.” We should encourage options.

With that, I renew my call for volunteers. The pandemic put a damper on the progress that was being made to rebuild the regular people coming and going, accomplishing a wide array of work. This past year was especially difficult, with the constant recycling of the same faces. As we return to work and leisurely activities, think about tossing us a few hours every month. That can make a difference. We can always use a hand to document collections, weeding, repair buildings, conduct research, and more. You might also consider serving on the Board of Directors. We have had two vacancies for some time as we are looking for more experience with fundraising, finance, and collections. If you have these skills, consider running as part of the slate of candidates. It is better to have more people running for a seat than fewer.

We will conclude with an election of a slate of officers. It is not apparent if an election will be necessary as no slate has been published from any nominations received. The nomination committee will read off their nominations, we will accept nominations from the floor, and have an election if more than one candidate exists. Once the slate is elected, we will dissolve the meeting and welcome our speaker.

This year, historian Jane Sciacca will deliver her talk on Lydia Maria Child. Sciacca styles Mrs. Child as her idol. Best known as the author of the holiday classic Over the River and Through the Woods, Mrs. Child was a prominent author, abolitionist, teacher, novelist, and women’s rights advocate. Out of these contributions came The Frugal Housewife, one of the first guides to running a household in an economical manner. It is not hard to imagine this advice making its way from the book into practice by every New England family. Come learn more about how this book and Mrs. Child helped change the lives of the residents in Townsend, the Commonwealth, and beyond.

Don’t forget, the last day to order a poinsettia in support of the Society is at our annual meeting, so get those orders in! Click the link to order online, or you can use the forms on the day of. You’ll be able to pick them up at our open house on Sunday, December 4 from 10AM – 4PM or anytime the Reed House is open. We look forward to seeing you very soon.

Thanks,

Ryan D. Hayward

President, Townsend Historical Society