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Parrsborough Shore Historic Society
Manager's Report 2007
Manager's Report 2007
May
As usual, we started with a flurry of cleaning and setting up displays for the first few weeks. I was happy to have June Wagstaff and Joanne Morris back with me for another season. It is always nice to get back to work with good help that are familiar with the routine of opening up. After everything in the museum looked ship-shape we were ready to open the doors to the public on May 19th.
June
Our first event was a bake sale and silent auction, on the 9th. Lots of wonderful cooked treats were donated by volunteers as well as articles for the silent auction.
The 16th we held a Dinner Theatre night at the Legion. A great success with Kathleen Howe and Bernice Byers looking after the entertainment, and of course the entertainers were wonderful too. Thanks also to the Legion ladies Aux for a great meal.
On the 17th we worked with 5 local paramedics to have a IWK kids day. Also Yo-Yo the clown and her Joeys were there to entertain. Ice cream was served to all and a donation was given to the IWK.
Bridge parties started on the 21st with everyone eager to play cards. Thanks June for the help with the Bridge parties, and keeping the genealogy room organized.
Summer Solstice was a great night with special thanks to my readers, Gwen Henderson, Kim Lake, Jerry Cormier, Angel Nickerson and Cathy Nash. Also thanks to Terri and other volunteers. This is always a fun night.
We held an evening concert with the bluegrass group "Nothing Fancy", on the 24th. These are great performers and friends of mine. They enjoyed a lobster chowder lunch at my home in Advocate before performing. I guess that was their pay, because they refuse to take anything for their time and effort. Thanks group.
In mid June we had two summer students start to work at the museum. Russell Githinji and Ashley Tanner. This made 5 staff members to serve our visitors. Then by June 25 we added another 4 workers through the Skills Link Project. Fallon Berry, Carla McBurnie, Lucas Garrett and Lindsey Fulton were the first of this program to join us. This made our staff total of 9. This has to be a record year for staff working at the Ottawa House.
July
Canada Day celebrations and food auction was a wonderful day with good weather and great people. Just a perfect day.
A private wedding was held on the 7th with approx 50 guests. The Ottawa House is a nice place to get married.
Thank you to Jeff Orr, Ann Kernohan and Wanda Jewers for there Sunday Series talk, July 8th, on education in our schools.
A Wagstaff family party was held on the 14th, in honour of Jack Wagstaff.
Lots of fresh strawberries and biscuits were a hit at the Strawberry Tea on the 15th.
Sunday Series on the 22nd was hosted by a historic speaker, Joe O'Byrne. Thanks Joe.
For the first time we hosted a genealogy coffee house. Lunch was served and everyone enjoyed the informative get together.
Thanks to Norma we had a great turn out to our Musique Royal on the 31st.
July was a busy month and with the amount of tourists visiting being very low this year, we appreciated the great local support we received for all of our events. A lot of time and planning is put into these events to make summer more interesting to local and far away visitors. Again, thanks to the local and area supporters and visitors, for making this a great summer for the Ottawa House.
August
On the 5th we hosted one of the best pancake brunches we have had in years. Thanks to Jeanne we had a wonderful evening concert performed by the Dulciana Trio. This was an evening that evryone enjoyed.
Lady Tupper Tea was hosted on tehe 15th for the Blueberry Festival of 2007 on the 17th, 18th and 19th we served blueberry pie and ice cream to the public. We had a great turnout for all these days.
Kathleen hosted an Oldies Sing Along on the 18th, a lot of fun for this new event.
Unfortunately we did not have a great turnout for the bean and ham supper. But, the following day Russell and I reheated the food, put some signs up town and we had a very successful day, and sold out of food. Thanks to all the cooks that donated to this event. There were many compliments about the great food we served.
David Dewar from Wallace Museum finished out August with a talk on Loyalists on the 26th. Thanks David we always enjoy your informative visits.
September
Thanks to Kerwin we enjoyed a talk on transportation at our Sunday Series on the 2nd. Kerwin is not only a great guest speaker, but a very handy maintenance fellow to have around. Thanks Kerwin.
With thanks to Kathleen, Jeanne and Bob, a Wine and Cheese party was held two evenings on the 14th and 22nd.
Sunday series on the 9th consisted of a bluegrass band The Sunrise Trailers, thanks to Martha and Corey for a great afternoon of music. Our last tea of the season was held on the 16th. A Dessert Tea with lots of fine cooks bring their wares. The tea was a great success and all the desserts sold.
October
This year we hosted a pre-Halloween ghost story evening on Oct 13, with the help of Eden Bard, Frank, Eddie, Con, Doug and Kerwin were our spooky story tellers and a lunch of sandwiches and cakes were served after an eerie look through the museum. Thanks to the Ways and Means girls for the great lunch.
Closing
Although the number of tourists visiting the museum and our area was done greatly this season, we had a very good year. This is because of our continuing local support for the museum and all of our events. It certainly is the local residents that really are the main suports of the Ottawa House. Without the local support the museum would not survive as well as it does. If we experience a good tourist season, then that is a bonus.
We were later this year closing the museum. As we still had the youth from the Skills Link Project working until October 27th. We continued to paint some of the rooms and some outside painting as well. Several of the youth continued to accession and work on the school records. The artifacts are packed away every fall and furniture covered for the winter. The fridges and freezers are defrosted and the genealogical materials stored safely. Shutters are placed on the windows and doors and everything is secured for the coming winter. The shutting down of the building is standard procedure, but a very important one, that must be done in order to keep the weather away from the building and its contents. To look at the museum after is boxed up for the winter, it is hard to think
And speaking of maintenance, we have a top notch crew here at the museum. Without Eddie, Ken and Kerwin this museum would not be standing today. Also on the building upkeep has been Keith with his architectural knowledge, Frank, Colin, Doug and Con with their support in keeping the Ottawa House a part of our heritage for many years to come.
As I state every year in my closing report, I have worked with the best of Board members, volunteers and staff for many years, even though the members and staff sometimes change from one year to the next. WE have all had the same goals and passions for the Ottawa House Museum, ever since the Parrsborough Shore Historical Society has been involved. We all wish for this historic building to continue to tell the story of our heritage. To keep this great old house vibrant and inviting to our local visitors as well as those from far away.
The Ottawa House is one that is filled with happy people in the summer, people that are just grateful to visit and participate in our events. Local area people and tourists enjoy the relaxed atmosphere and the wonderful scenery at this site. Both staff and volunteers enjoy making the visitors time at the museum a pleasant and happy on.
To this I must thank the Parrsoborugh Shore Historical Society Board members, as their jobs are many.
Through out the report I have given my thanks to many members and staff, these people are true supporters of the Ottawa House as well as the following;
Doug is responsible for looking after all the financial matters, including, staff pays, bills, revenues etc. Also he works on summer student grants, programs and other grants.
Frank, as President and Colin as Vice President, must deal with all the meetings, complaints, and tough decisions.
Sarah takes and transcribes all the minutes of every meeting.
Joyce collects the mail everyday, takes it to the proper place and is also doing a great job with the memberships. She visits the museum almost daily, and loves to help out.
Kathleen has taken on the extra burden of the gift shop this season, with help from Linda Towns and Bev. She has also done a great job with our theatre nights, as well as Ways and Means Chairman.
Lois and Ray have been involved in the Ottawa House for many years. Ray has had many roles as member of Finance Committee and auditor. Lois has been my rock in the kitchen and has cooked and worked at every event held here for many years.
Margaret has been working at the door and cooling wonderful treats as long as I have been here, she makea great meeting adjournment also.
Marilyn Orr, Marilyn Skidmore, Bev, Bernice, Linda L., Norman Graham, Lois, Molly, Judy, Thelma, Suzanne, Sarah and Joan, have been ones I can count on if sandwiches or sweets are needed.
Linda L. is a wonderful resource and volunteer in our genealogical room, she spends many hours helping visitors with family information, we could not manage without her.
Conrad is compiling our newsletter this fall and has also been a historic mountain of information in the past years.
There are many other volunteers that I have leaned on through the summer. Too many to list but, every one of them is appreciated. Every cake, bottle of preserves, plate of sandwiches, etc , as been donated with the hope that this part of our history will live on and the Ottawa House will continue to entertain its guests.
Thanks to you all. Have a great fall and winter, and a wonderful 2008.
Susan Clarke
As usual, we started with a flurry of cleaning and setting up displays for the first few weeks. I was happy to have June Wagstaff and Joanne Morris back with me for another season. It is always nice to get back to work with good help that are familiar with the routine of opening up. After everything in the museum looked ship-shape we were ready to open the doors to the public on May 19th.
June
Our first event was a bake sale and silent auction, on the 9th. Lots of wonderful cooked treats were donated by volunteers as well as articles for the silent auction.
The 16th we held a Dinner Theatre night at the Legion. A great success with Kathleen Howe and Bernice Byers looking after the entertainment, and of course the entertainers were wonderful too. Thanks also to the Legion ladies Aux for a great meal.
On the 17th we worked with 5 local paramedics to have a IWK kids day. Also Yo-Yo the clown and her Joeys were there to entertain. Ice cream was served to all and a donation was given to the IWK.
Bridge parties started on the 21st with everyone eager to play cards. Thanks June for the help with the Bridge parties, and keeping the genealogy room organized.
Summer Solstice was a great night with special thanks to my readers, Gwen Henderson, Kim Lake, Jerry Cormier, Angel Nickerson and Cathy Nash. Also thanks to Terri and other volunteers. This is always a fun night.
We held an evening concert with the bluegrass group "Nothing Fancy", on the 24th. These are great performers and friends of mine. They enjoyed a lobster chowder lunch at my home in Advocate before performing. I guess that was their pay, because they refuse to take anything for their time and effort. Thanks group.
In mid June we had two summer students start to work at the museum. Russell Githinji and Ashley Tanner. This made 5 staff members to serve our visitors. Then by June 25 we added another 4 workers through the Skills Link Project. Fallon Berry, Carla McBurnie, Lucas Garrett and Lindsey Fulton were the first of this program to join us. This made our staff total of 9. This has to be a record year for staff working at the Ottawa House.
July
Canada Day celebrations and food auction was a wonderful day with good weather and great people. Just a perfect day.
A private wedding was held on the 7th with approx 50 guests. The Ottawa House is a nice place to get married.
Thank you to Jeff Orr, Ann Kernohan and Wanda Jewers for there Sunday Series talk, July 8th, on education in our schools.
A Wagstaff family party was held on the 14th, in honour of Jack Wagstaff.
Lots of fresh strawberries and biscuits were a hit at the Strawberry Tea on the 15th.
Sunday Series on the 22nd was hosted by a historic speaker, Joe O'Byrne. Thanks Joe.
For the first time we hosted a genealogy coffee house. Lunch was served and everyone enjoyed the informative get together.
Thanks to Norma we had a great turn out to our Musique Royal on the 31st.
July was a busy month and with the amount of tourists visiting being very low this year, we appreciated the great local support we received for all of our events. A lot of time and planning is put into these events to make summer more interesting to local and far away visitors. Again, thanks to the local and area supporters and visitors, for making this a great summer for the Ottawa House.
August
On the 5th we hosted one of the best pancake brunches we have had in years. Thanks to Jeanne we had a wonderful evening concert performed by the Dulciana Trio. This was an evening that evryone enjoyed.
Lady Tupper Tea was hosted on tehe 15th for the Blueberry Festival of 2007 on the 17th, 18th and 19th we served blueberry pie and ice cream to the public. We had a great turnout for all these days.
Kathleen hosted an Oldies Sing Along on the 18th, a lot of fun for this new event.
Unfortunately we did not have a great turnout for the bean and ham supper. But, the following day Russell and I reheated the food, put some signs up town and we had a very successful day, and sold out of food. Thanks to all the cooks that donated to this event. There were many compliments about the great food we served.
David Dewar from Wallace Museum finished out August with a talk on Loyalists on the 26th. Thanks David we always enjoy your informative visits.
September
Thanks to Kerwin we enjoyed a talk on transportation at our Sunday Series on the 2nd. Kerwin is not only a great guest speaker, but a very handy maintenance fellow to have around. Thanks Kerwin.
With thanks to Kathleen, Jeanne and Bob, a Wine and Cheese party was held two evenings on the 14th and 22nd.
Sunday series on the 9th consisted of a bluegrass band The Sunrise Trailers, thanks to Martha and Corey for a great afternoon of music. Our last tea of the season was held on the 16th. A Dessert Tea with lots of fine cooks bring their wares. The tea was a great success and all the desserts sold.
October
This year we hosted a pre-Halloween ghost story evening on Oct 13, with the help of Eden Bard, Frank, Eddie, Con, Doug and Kerwin were our spooky story tellers and a lunch of sandwiches and cakes were served after an eerie look through the museum. Thanks to the Ways and Means girls for the great lunch.
Closing
Although the number of tourists visiting the museum and our area was done greatly this season, we had a very good year. This is because of our continuing local support for the museum and all of our events. It certainly is the local residents that really are the main suports of the Ottawa House. Without the local support the museum would not survive as well as it does. If we experience a good tourist season, then that is a bonus.
We were later this year closing the museum. As we still had the youth from the Skills Link Project working until October 27th. We continued to paint some of the rooms and some outside painting as well. Several of the youth continued to accession and work on the school records. The artifacts are packed away every fall and furniture covered for the winter. The fridges and freezers are defrosted and the genealogical materials stored safely. Shutters are placed on the windows and doors and everything is secured for the coming winter. The shutting down of the building is standard procedure, but a very important one, that must be done in order to keep the weather away from the building and its contents. To look at the museum after is boxed up for the winter, it is hard to think
And speaking of maintenance, we have a top notch crew here at the museum. Without Eddie, Ken and Kerwin this museum would not be standing today. Also on the building upkeep has been Keith with his architectural knowledge, Frank, Colin, Doug and Con with their support in keeping the Ottawa House a part of our heritage for many years to come.
As I state every year in my closing report, I have worked with the best of Board members, volunteers and staff for many years, even though the members and staff sometimes change from one year to the next. WE have all had the same goals and passions for the Ottawa House Museum, ever since the Parrsborough Shore Historical Society has been involved. We all wish for this historic building to continue to tell the story of our heritage. To keep this great old house vibrant and inviting to our local visitors as well as those from far away.
The Ottawa House is one that is filled with happy people in the summer, people that are just grateful to visit and participate in our events. Local area people and tourists enjoy the relaxed atmosphere and the wonderful scenery at this site. Both staff and volunteers enjoy making the visitors time at the museum a pleasant and happy on.
To this I must thank the Parrsoborugh Shore Historical Society Board members, as their jobs are many.
Through out the report I have given my thanks to many members and staff, these people are true supporters of the Ottawa House as well as the following;
Doug is responsible for looking after all the financial matters, including, staff pays, bills, revenues etc. Also he works on summer student grants, programs and other grants.
Frank, as President and Colin as Vice President, must deal with all the meetings, complaints, and tough decisions.
Sarah takes and transcribes all the minutes of every meeting.
Joyce collects the mail everyday, takes it to the proper place and is also doing a great job with the memberships. She visits the museum almost daily, and loves to help out.
Kathleen has taken on the extra burden of the gift shop this season, with help from Linda Towns and Bev. She has also done a great job with our theatre nights, as well as Ways and Means Chairman.
Lois and Ray have been involved in the Ottawa House for many years. Ray has had many roles as member of Finance Committee and auditor. Lois has been my rock in the kitchen and has cooked and worked at every event held here for many years.
Margaret has been working at the door and cooling wonderful treats as long as I have been here, she makea great meeting adjournment also.
Marilyn Orr, Marilyn Skidmore, Bev, Bernice, Linda L., Norman Graham, Lois, Molly, Judy, Thelma, Suzanne, Sarah and Joan, have been ones I can count on if sandwiches or sweets are needed.
Linda L. is a wonderful resource and volunteer in our genealogical room, she spends many hours helping visitors with family information, we could not manage without her.
Conrad is compiling our newsletter this fall and has also been a historic mountain of information in the past years.
There are many other volunteers that I have leaned on through the summer. Too many to list but, every one of them is appreciated. Every cake, bottle of preserves, plate of sandwiches, etc , as been donated with the hope that this part of our history will live on and the Ottawa House will continue to entertain its guests.
Thanks to you all. Have a great fall and winter, and a wonderful 2008.
Susan Clarke