Historical Commission Meeting Minutes
TYRINGHAM HISTORICAL COMMISSION MEETING
Monday, February 6, 2023 via ZOOM
In Attendance: Ann Gallo, Carol Hardy-Fanta, John Hanson, Larry Bravo, Catherine Mardula, Deborah Coy
Call to Order: 5:04 pm
The minutes of the last meeting were read and one typographical error will be corrected. Minutes were accepted as read (with the aforementioned correction) by John Hanson and seconded by Ann Gallo.
COMMITTEE UPDATES:
Schoolhouse
The Schoolhouse Committee met on February 1st and a discussion was had about how to engage with townspeople who were associated with the schoolhouse. The possibility of a reunion was floated.
A proposal to the Town about how the Historical Commission can advise and help the Town in determining next steps for the Schoolhouse will be worked on in the coming days and be presented to the Commission at the next meeting.
Repatriation
The Repatriation of Native American artifacts committee will meet after February 15th to draft the letters to the tribes which should be sent out once approved at the next meeting.
Mission Statement
The approved mission statement has to be sent to the Town Clerk to be posted on the website. Deborah will take care of this.
Historic Sites
Larry Bravo gave an update on the plan to catalogue the town landmarks. He is working on a list which can be reviewed by the members of the Historical Commission. The basis for this list can be found on the website mhc-macris.net which lists 166 possible sites. John Hanson suggested that the Commission pull together the most comprehensive list possible and we can narrow it down if needed by choosing the particular type of ‘site’ we should include.
John Hanson suggested that the Commission publish a booklet of such sites.
Ann Gallo suggested a QR code guided tour of the more interesting sites, and also suggested that the members of the commission speak to long-time residents of the town who might be aware of some of the more obscure sites and their history.
Carol Hardy-Fanta suggested a review of the old maps that are in the archives.
Deborah suggested that the older houses in the town should be added to the list, as they are historic sites in themselves, such as the Isaac Heath House (currently Bliss Farm).
Ann Gallo mentioned that it would be interesting to find out how the Native Americans used the land in Tyringham – was it just for hunting and fishing in the summer or was there an actual Mohican settlement here?
Larry Bravo mentioned that in his preliminary research he found that different sections of the town had names and that it would be interesting to identify and define those areas.
Membership
The maximum number of members for the Commission is 7 and we currently have 8. Larry Bravo offered to become an alternate and this was agreed. It was mentioned that the State might be changing the guidelines and it was agreed that we would hold off sending a revised membership list to the town.
Other Business
Catherine mentioned that she has received a geneology request and Ann said she would respond upon her return.
The next meeting of the Historical Commission was set for March 7, 2023 at 5:00 pm.
Ann Gallo made a motion to close the meeting at 5:44 pm. John Hanson seconded.