Historical Commission

Sterling Heights Historical Commission May 15, 2014 40433 Utica Road Sterling Heights, MI 48313 Minutes of Meeting I. Call to Order Meeting was called to order at 6:07 p.m. II. Roll Call Present: John Connor, Frank DiMaria, Douglas J. Harvey, Meaghan Mott, Ruthann Schinzing, Scott Townsend Absent: none Staff Present: Tammy Turgeon III. Approval of Agenda Request to add items VI. F. Upton House Tours, VII.B. Haff Farm, VII.C. Names Project, and VII.D. Oral History at Library. Motion made by Schinzing to approve the agenda as amended, seconded by Townsend. Motion carried. IV. Minutes of February 6, 2014 Minutes of the February 6, 2014 meeting were approved on a motion by Townsend, supported by Mott. Motion carried. V. Communications/Reports/Correspondence Commission members continue to receive local historical groups’ newsletters forwarded to them via email. Turgeon received correspondence from the Macomb County Heritage Alliance regarding the SHHC hosting the 2015 MCHA annual meeting. Motion to host the 2015 MCHA annual meeting subject to determining date and facility requirements, was made by Mott supported by Harvey. Motion carried. VI. Unfinished Business A. Fall Magazine Article Mott’s article for the Spring/Summer magazine had to be put in two parts, so the second part will be in the Fall magazine. Townsend will do a sports article for the Winter magazine. B. Historical Display in Library Harvey did a great job on the Historical Display and it was moved to the first floor outside of the bookstore. It will be  kept up through the summer. If anyone is interested in doing the next display, please let Turgeon know. C. Clippings and Scrapbook Mott is helping with this. Harvey also works on this from home. If others are interested, please contact Debbie Vercellone at the library. Commission is interested in having the library post for volunteers at Wayne State’s Library and Information Science program. D. Historical Marker Program Suggested change to the form was to remove Historical Commission members’ names. Motion to approve the Historical Marker Application was made by Mott, supported by Connor. Motion carried. E. Macomb County Heritage Alliance – Patch Program Trifold brochure is being created to promote the program. F. Upton House Tours Connor, Mott and DiMaria hosted three school tours of second graders. Debbie Vercellone hosted 2 ESL student tours. Loa will continue to email everyone when she needs someone to run a tour. VII. New Business A. Sterlingfest Turgeon requested that Historical Commission members volunteer for at least one of the shifts during Sterlingfest. The house will be open on Friday and Saturday from 4 – 7 p.m. Turgeon will make sure the house is open 15 minutes before so that commissioners can get ready. B. Haff Farm It was brought to our attention that the Haff farm will be 175 years old. It was suggested that we do something special to commemorate this. It was suggested that we get photos related to this family and the farm on a board to display during Sterlingfest. C. Names Project Mott would like to have the commission continue work that a former commissioner started to define where different names of streets, parks, etc. came from. Turgeon will ask Engineering if this is something that can be added to GIS system. D. Oral History at Library Mott indicated that the library’s oral histories are currently on audiocassette and that we should consider putting them  in a digital format. Turgeon will purchase a device that can be used to do this. Some of the transcripts also need to be updated. VIII. Communications from Citizens Turgeon indicated that Mr. Norgrove donated some sterling silver items that need polishing. This will need to be done before Sterlingfest. IX. Adjourn A motion was made by Connor to adjourn, seconded by Schinzing. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 6:55 p.m. Next meeting: September 4, 2014