April 2018 Newsletter
Welcome to the latest edition or our monthly Newsletter. Our Curatorial staff, under the leadership of Nancy Crawford, is very busy unloading all of the boxes that were stored during our painting project. We were very fortunate that last year the staff tagged everything so well, making it considerably easier to find what goes where. Our basement level of the museum has been totally rearranged to open up more space in the middle. This will make it easier for visitors to view both our annual and our permanent exhibits. Then paint job looks wonderful!
Handicap Ramp Installed: Thanks to a generous donation from a Board member Rich Talipsky, the Moore Construction Company of Little Compton (the low bidder) has installed a cement handicap ramp in the rear of the Museum’s first floor at the Portsmouth Historical Society. We are most grateful to Rich and the construction company for enabling us to make the first floor museum handicap-accessible. Thanks also to Gary Gump and Dave Duggan, (Board members) for getting this job carried out. Now, on to the elevator project to make the entire 1865 building handicap-accessible.
Society events: This spring the Society has planned a number of events to celebrate the rich historyof our town:
On 22 March we held our 2nd annual Portsmouth History Trivia Contest for students in the High School and Middle School at the Gulfstream Restaurant. It featured teams from both schools and this year one of the high school teams emerged as the winner. “The Founders” team was composed of the following members: Madison Lambert, Ruthie Wood, Wyatt Corey and Nathan Minese. Winners received a copy of the Portsmouth Compact and it was a great success.
-Now it will be the adults’ turn. On Wednesday 11 April we will host a Portsmouth History Trivia Contest for adults. It will take place at the Valley Inn from 630-830 PM. So get your adult teams together (maximum of 6 per team) and come to the historic Valley Inn on West Main Road. There will be an entry fee of $25 per team ($20 for Historical Society members). Prizes will be awarded.Come and enjoy the fun.
-The Portsmouth History Book Club will have its opening meeting on Monday 23 April at 630 PM at the Library. The first book to be discussed is Eve LaPlante’s“AmericanJezebel”, the story of Anne Hutchinson and her trials. Please join us and remember to register by calling the library.
-On Wednesday 25 April your President will be giving an illustrated lecture at the Common Fence Point Community Center at 7 PM. The topic will be“Portsmouth in 1918: A Pictorial View”. Registration is NOT required, so please come.
-May will also be very busy with our annual Members’ Open House (20 May), the production of a play at the Portsmouth Common Fence Point Community Center by the Portsmouth Community Players (25 May). Entitled “Murderat the Coal Mines”, it is based on a true event that happened at the Portsmouth Coal Mines at Arnold’s Point in the 1870s. On 27 May we will open our Museum for visitors for the summer. And on 18 June we will have our Society’s AnnualMeeting.Stay tuned for details!
Donations: We have had several historical document donations to our Society recently. The donors include Sue Kelchner, Billie and Barbara Dietz, Peter Manning and we also received a series of books on RI history from RI Historian Laureate Patrick Conley. We are always looking for donations, especially those that relate to RI or Portsmouth history. Check your attic. We will pick up.
Two Portsmouth High School Senior projects are worth noting. Jackson Rynda wrote a paper on the Battle of Rhode Islandand Nathan Minese is working on restoring the signboards on the Battle of Rhode Island that have fallen into illegibility. Nathan, I might add, also worked with the Portsmouth Department of Public Works to stand up and re-set a commemorative marble marker celebrating Fort Butts role in the Battle of RI. A great “Thank you” goes out to Nathan as well as to BrianWoodhead and the Public Works Department for this historic restoration.
We are always looking for volunteers for the Society. Soon we will be looking for Docents to join us on a Sunday afternoon to welcome visitors to our museum. Experience is not required; we will train you.
Also, Our annual year ends at the end of May and it will soon be time to renew your membership. Check our website: portsmouthhistorical.org for the necessary forms. Renewals are accepted any time and any new ones received will be for our 2018-19 year.
Thanks for the support of all of the community members. We are working hard to increase the awareness of all of you to the wonderful history of Portsmouth.
Thanks again,
Jim Garman
President