NEWSLETTER: FEBRUARY 2006
Previous issues of the newsletter are on our website at http://my.core.com/~riponhistsoc.
New Officers
At its annual meeting in November your Society elected the following officers to serve for next year:
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President |
Todd Berens |
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Vice President |
Michele Benson |
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Secretary |
Shirley Williams |
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Treasurer |
Bill Woolley |
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Christmas Open House Features Favorite Toys
In keeping with our tradition of making our Christmas Open House a family event with the theme of The Night Before Christmas, the special attraction this year was a display of favorite childhood toys belonging to members of the Society and townspeople. Children of all ages were fascinated by the dolls, toy carts, and trains that entertained children generations ago. The Open House was, again, a great success. Nearly 100 people participated, including eleven second grade students who had visited the Society a few weeks earlier as part of their school project and were so excited about what they saw that they brought their families. Dino Zei, Ed Biedron, and “Maurie” Morgan provided lively holiday music while members contributed an array of cookies and punch.
John Porter Describes Historic Restoration of Odd Fellows Hall
At the October program, John Porter, who manages the business side of the Tracy Porter organization, described the recently completed remodeling and restoration of Ripon’s old Odd Fellows Hall. John noted that the rapid expansion of the Tracy Porter Company had led to a need for a new headquarters and that Ripon was seen as the most attractive setting for that. Although the Porters considered building a new headquarters, the idea of restoring an historic building in Ripon appealed to John’s love of old buildings and also proved to be economically viable. He pointed out that the old Odd Fellows Hall had originally been a department store before it was remodeled by the Odd Fellows. Since the demise of that organization in the 1960s the building has been vacant. In the restoration, the Porters worked closely with the Wisconsin Historical Society to carry out a remodeling project that has preserved not only the outer facade of the building but also most of the historically significant internal features.
Society Presents Program on Doing Genealogy in Ripon
Clarence Bemis returned to the Society for another program at our November meeting, recounting the experiences he and his wife, Diane, had with their long-term Bemis family history project. Genealogy requires the cooperation of many, especially officials in charge of records. In most cases, Clarence and Diane found officials and others to be friendly and helpful. In a few cases they were not. Clarence also provided a number of tips on getting started. Afterwards, George Miller reviewed the sources available at the Society for doing research on Ripon families and Jean Woolley explained how the Society’s project for indexing obituaries worked and how it was progressing.
Membership
Please help us welcome these new members:
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Lyn Corder |
Opal Griffiths |
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Alice Uecker |
Richard Zimmans (Family) |
Century Farm or Home Awards
Property that has been in continuous family ownership for 100 years may receive a Century Farm or Home designation and recognition at a special breakfast at the state fair. The 2006 application deadline is March 1. Please contact Todd Berens at 748-6279 for information and application materials.
Yearbooks Needed
Both the Ripon Historical Society and the Ripon Public Library maintain collections of Ripon High School yearbooks. The Society had a few duplicates and we were able to provide the library with six that they were missing. Unfortunately, we still have some major gaps in our collection. Can you help us find copies for these years? We are missing 1904-1915, 1957, 1959, 1967, 1968, 1973, 1974, 1978-1986, 1988-1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, and 2002.
Programs Scheduled for this Spring
For over a year George Miller, who is in charge of the Society’s archives and its library, has been working with volunteer Diane Christianson, to create a catalogue of the Society’s library. This cataloguing has turned up some surprising finds. George will describe his and Diane’s work as well as the historical value of the interesting books they have found. The meeting will be at the Society headquarters, 508 Watson, on Thursday, March 16th, at 7:00 p.m. At our second program for the spring Frank Farvour will present a video program on Native American petroglyphs found in Maine. This video program, which took ten years to produce, was a highlight presentation at the national conference on rock art that was hosted in Ripon last summer. This program will be held at the Society headquarters, 508 Watson, on Thursday, April 20th at 7:00 p.m. In May, our focus returns to Ripon, with a presentation by Alan Jorgenson regarding his twenty-five years as Director of the Ripon Public Library. During this period of time the Library underwent some dramatic changes especially as it took advantage of our entrance into the Information Age and the development of regional library systems. This program will be held at the Society headquarters, 508 Watson, on Thursday, May 18th at 7:00 p.m.
Second Graders Visit Society
Barlow Park’s second graders began their study of local history with a visit to the Ripon Historical Society on November 14. Each of the five classes was at the Society for one hour and followed the same focused learning plan we used in the previous two years. The plan was developed in cooperation with the second grade teachers, who work with the children on museum readiness before the visit and continue with follow-up assessment activities afterward. The whole group meets in the Historical Society meeting room for a kickoff session. Then they break into small groups to visit three different stations within the museum: the dining room and kitchen; the children’s exhibit room and living room; and the upstairs bedrooms and bathroom. Throughout the visit, comparison of life from around 1900 to 1940 and the children's current lives is the central focus. When all groups have visited all three stations, the large group gathers in the meeting room for a wrap-up session. The event works smoothly because the teachers prepare the children well and we have many volunteers at the Society. This year thanks go to volunteers Shirley Williams, Barbara Scott, Joyce Rudolph, Ann Marie Godfrey, Michele Benson, Frank Farvour, Dave Gray, Paula Paulson, Alan Jorgenson, Spud Hannaford, Lynn Shaw, George Miller, Bonnie Brooks, Emily and Peter Sensenbrenner, and Bill and Jean Woolley.
Bill Woolley conducts a second-grade kick-off discussion
Home Schoolers Discover Ripon Archeology with Frank Farvour
On October 14th, Kat Griffith brought six Ripon home school children to the Society to study the Society’s stone-age Native American artifacts. They were given a lively presentation by our resident archeologist, Frank Farvour as well as a chance to feel some of the projectile points and other artifacts. The students were so excited about their visit that they wrote a letter to the Ripon Commonwealth Press describing it.
Pedrick Papers Go Digital
Samuel Pedrick’s collection of documents was originally willed to the Ripon College Archives and was later transferred to the Ripon Historical Society. The Public Library owns a copy of the Genealogical Notebooks, which contain summaries of genealogical information by the main family name. The much-used copies at the Public Library are deteriorating, and for some time the staff there have been investigating ways to make digital copies. Until recently it appeared that the work would have to be outsourced, at a cost that was well beyond reach. A combination of new technology and donated funds has now allowed the Library to purchase a sheet-fed document scanner. Ben Sprague, a member of the Library staff, is managing the project and doing the scanning during moments he is available. Ben is working cooperatively with Historical Society archivists, George Miller and Nedra Martz. Eventually the documents will be available to Internet users to view, save, and print. Links have been established between the websites of the Ripon Public Library, Ripon Historical Society, and Ripon College Archives, to facilitate easy navigation. From the Ripon Historical Society home page at http://my.core.com/~riponhistsoc click on the Research button. Once there, you can see Ben’s progress by clicking on “You can view the project-in-progress here.”
We deeply regret to announce the passing of nine of our long-term members, Oleen Amsden, Helen Berndt, Florence Chaffin, Marguerite Craig, Betty Gatzke, Shirley Hayes, Leone Hoffman, Fern Huebl, and Eloise Weckworth-Nummerdor. Each of these members made significant contributions to the development and operation of our Society and we are grieved at their passing.
Annual Financial Report for 2005
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Endowment Fund and other income |
30,413.95 |
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Membership Dues |
505.00 |
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Pick and Save We Care Program |
768.18 |
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Cash Donations |
8,231.56 |
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Copy Machine Donations |
111.00 |
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Final donations to endowment fund |
11,236.00 |
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Sales |
53.70 |
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Total |
51,319.39 |
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Expenditures: |
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Telephone |
1,578.95 |
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Income: |
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Postage |
278.00 |
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Tax Preparation |
335.00 |
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Copy Machine Maintenance |
299.50 |
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Building Maintenance |
4,035.08 |
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Grounds Maintenance |
2,112.00 |
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Cleaning Services |
369.00 |
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Insurance |
1133.00 |
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Utilities |
4,860.94 |
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Archives/Collection Supplies |
843.17 |
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Computer Services & Expenses |
1,049.66 |
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Printing |
469.00 |
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Donations |
105.00 |
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Miscellaneous |
324.31 |
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Sound System |
1,872.50 |
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Computer purchase |
1516.00 |
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Lawson House Roof |
14,980.58 |
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Shelves, Pickard House |
144.51 |
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Locked Archives cabinet |
460.00 |
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Total |
36,766.20 |
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Transfer to Endowment: |
11,236.00 |
Memorial and Honorary Gifts
From time to time we receive gifts to mark the memory of departed members or friends of our Society or to honor members still living and active in the Society.
Gifts received this past year included:
· In memory of Helen Berndt
· In memory of Robert Biedron
· In memory of Dan Brooks
· In memory of Marguerite Craig
· In memory of Betty Gatzke
· In memory of Shirley Hayes
· In memory of Leone Hoffman
· In memory of William Martz
In addition, the Society received a gift to honor George Miller, who, we are happy to say, is still very much with us.
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A Friendly Reminder If you see a red dot on your mailing label it means that your 2006 dues ($15.00 family, $10.00 individual, $5 student) are payable now to Ripon Historical Society, PO Box 274, Ripon, WI 54971. |
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RIPON HISTORICAL SOCIETY OFFICERS |
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President |
Todd Berens |
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Vice President |
Michele Benson |
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Secretary |
Shirley Williams |
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Treasurer |
Bill Woolley |
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BOARD MEMBERS |
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Curator of Collections: Artifacts |
Mary Brandt |
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Curator of Collections: Library and Archives |
George Miller |
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Associate Archivist |
Nedra Martz |
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Buildings Maintenance Supervisor |
Ralph Quinney |
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Membership Secretary |
Barbara Scott |
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Staff Archeologist |
Frank Farvour |
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Publicity Coordinator |
Bev Christ |
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Program Chair |
Bonnie Brooks |
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Records Manager |
Joyce Rudolph |
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Website and Newsletter Editor |
Jean Woolley |