April 2010

The President’s Message from Glynn Marsh

Daylight savings time has started. Let’s forget the snowy weather that caused us to cancel our February meeting and enjoy the warmer and longer daylight hours. Now even those of you who don’t like to drive at night can attend our monthly meetings. All our special programs for this quarter are on Saturday afternoons, so no excuse!

Several hard-working members have been busy in March; taking down the Randolph High School Class photos from the main floor exhibit area and putting them in map storage cabinets on the lower level. Local surveyor and society member Luis Riancho and his employees delivered the stackable map cabinets to the lower level of the Center in December 2009. Each photo will be housed in its own separate drawer, which can be pulled out to view the photo whenever needed. A few class photos will be kept on permanent display in the main room on a rotating basis.

The RTHS History Center will open for the 2010 season on April 3rd with fresh displays ready for the visitors. Open visitation hours are from 1-4 p.m. every Saturday afternoon through the end of November. At least two hosts are needed to greet visitors when they come to the Center on Saturdays. The job is enjoyable, and involves welcoming guests, having them sign the register, passing out newsletters and brochures, and explaining the layout of the exhibits. We have “Cheat Sheets” with answers to frequently asked questions. Hosting is a good way to contribute to the educational mission of our organization, while immersing yourself in local history. Please call me to sign up for a specific Saturday, or come to our April meeting. Remember the old saying, “Many hands make light work.”

Two very special history programs are on the horizon in April and May.  From 2-4 p.m. on Saturday, April 17, local historian Leon Bey, will use both photos and music to highlight “Dayton’s Rich Gypsy Heritage.” Bey’s program (described elsewhere in the newsletter) is sure to be entertaining.

 From 2-4 p.m. on May 22, we will hold a Preview and Dedication of the Edwin C. Sinks photography exhibit “Takes Everything in Sight.” The title is taken from Edwin Sinks’ original business card, which he used in the early 1900s as a well-known but unofficial photographer of Englewood and the surrounding area. Sinks was active from about 1906 until his premature death in 1917. Several dozen Sinks photos housed in the Society’s archives, including previously unseen examples, will be featured in the exhibit. Please check your own family photos box for Sinks examples and let me know if you find any. We would like to copy them and possibly add them to the displays. Descendants of Ed Sinks also are contributing items for the exhibit, including his camera tripod. We hope to have a display of antique cameras as well, so if any of you have any antique photography items such as Kodak Autographic cameras or early wooden box cameras that you are willing to loan for the exhibit, please call me.