The Board of Trustees met on Wednesday evening, March 26, 2008, at the Waltz Building -- to which the public is invited. You may download the agenda as a word document HERE, and the agenda of future meetings will be posted on this page usually the weekend before meeting on the fourth Wednesday of most months.

As reported last month, the Blackman House Museum is now open Sunday afternoons from 1 to 4PM throughout the year. Trustee Marcia O'Hair helped a cub scout with his mission to visit a museum this past Sunday and it's a toss up as to who enjoyed the encounter more. Thank you Marcia. Another big Thanks goes out to VP Eric Vannice who finished up the CLEAN CRAWL project with a successful furnace inspection by the city. Most noteworthy for the visitors is the fact that he reconnected the broken duct to the new Membership Office and Gallery, which now has heat. I am hoping to put together a grand opening of this reorganized space in May -- please stay tuned.

And a Special Thanks to Middy Ruthruff for telling her story on March 16th about the initial inventory of the historic home when it was sold to the Society in 1969. Nearly a dozen volunteers went through the home, room by room, recording absolutely everything left behind. Middy and her sister were the youngest volunteers and so the only ones still alive, making this an important story to hear, and recorded on videotape. (Thank you Marta.) And if that wasn't enough, Middy returns the following week to organize the archive storage room and the back hallway of the Blackman House Museum! Stop by some Sunday between 1 and 4 and I will show you what I am talking about. Thank you Middy.

On Sunday, April 13th, Anne Eason will be telling the story of how she was recruited to fill an empty seat on the council by her neighbor and Mayor Payson Peterson in 1970. Mayor Peterson lived in the same house that our current Mayor does, next door to Anne, and he stopped by one evening to plead with Anne that he needed a women on the council to calm down the boys. Anne took the oath of office as the first woman in November 1970, when city hall was still on First Street. She was elected in 1971 and served two terms, which by that time two more woman had joined her and in 1973 the Ordinance to create an historic district in Snohomish was passed. Hope you can join us at 2:30 Sunday afternoon. Click HERE to learn more.

The Third Annual High Tea and Fashion Show on Saturday, April 26th from 2-4PM is selling out fast -- best you call Rachel at 360.563.9195 right away!

The highlight of our meeting was the reception held for Nicolette Bromberg, Visual Materials Curator with UW Libraries, Special Collections, who had just spent two hours meeting in the Archives with volunteers, Middy Ruthruff, Kathleen Lince, Marcia O'Hair and myself. We all learned a lot about the business of running an archives room, especially preparing for visitors from outside the community who may attempt to intimidate the small town volunteers -- "they need you more than you need them" was her advice. Nicolette's visit brought out members from neighboring historical societies, which was a real bonus.

Your Membership makes you a Co-owner of at least a half a million dollars in downtown Snohomish real estate and a priceless collection of historic photographs, memorabilia and objects -- all for the cultural and educational benefit of the community. We receive no public money -- all financial support comes from you and your neighbors -- please consider giving more than the modest membership dues. (I will be so grateful that I will come over to your house and eat dinner with you some evening!)

Next Meeting is Wednesday April 26th at 7PM in the Waltz Building, which will also be the subject of Marilynn Willard's presentation of all that goes into renting our Community Rental Hall -- at which she has been smart and tireless -- especially her development of offering the Waltz as an affordable place for a wedding celebrations. I will be presenting my proposal of establishing an educational program in the Blackman House of trained docents where volunteers will develop their own scripts for tours of the museum. The goal is two fold, first to bring in the community to help tell the story of our historic treasure, and secondly, to notch up the experience of visiting the Blackman House.

Please feel free to contact me with any of your questions via eMail -- that's why I'm paid the big bucks!

Cheers!

Warner Blake, President