Historic Commission

Tuesday, August 18, 2020 I. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 7:12 pm. Present: Nancy Flannery (Chair), Barbara Dutton (Vice Chair), Steph McGrath (Secretary), Diane Burant, Emelie Engling, Linda Moran, Bob Purdy Absent: Andrew Welker Public Comments: Ron Almiron II. Approval of Minutes Minutes of the January 21, 2019 meeting approved as amended on a motion by Bob, seconded by Emelie. Aye: Nancy, Barb, Emelie, Linda, Bob. Nay: Steph. Abstain: Diane III. Old Business A. Wheaton’s History Bike tour: This year's bike tour was postponed till 2021. The Bike Commission approved having a virtual tour, but Nancy declined to participate this year. B. Down at the Depot marker: No update, Steph will follow up on a status update. C. CA&E site marker: No update, Bob will follow up on a status update. D. History Tidbits: Nancy reported that for the City's Facebook page they want an image for each tidbit. She also contacted The Wheaton Patch to see if they would like our history tidbits and said they'd like press releases on Wheaton events and history. She said they don't want long articles, but had no specific word count, so she will follow up on that. Emelie asked if we had to make a commitment for a certain number of submissions, and Nancy said no. It was decided Linda should be the point person for gathering info and stories and submitting them to The Wheaton Patch. Steph suggested that snips from old maps and bird's eye views might sometimes be appropriate for use as images. When no images are available possibly a logo could be used, but discussion on that use and design was deferred till later. IV. New Business A. A Welcome to Diane! She shared that she works as an interior architect, has a background in retail design, a Master's in Historic Preservation and a Certificate in Museology. She wanted to pick up and use her history background. She might be able to help with the bike history tour. B. Election of Officers: No volunteers for office. Nancy, Barb, and Steph all consented to continue in their current offices. Bob nominated the slate of officers as Nancy for Chair, Barb for Vice Chair and Steph as Secretary, Linda seconded the nomination, and it passed unanimously. C. Miscellaneous: Sharon asked if we were comfortable with electronic documents vs paper. Most said they could go either way, but some still preferred paper, so we will have both. V. Commissioner Comments  Linda: Thought The Wheaton Patch arrangement sounded interesting. Emelie: Is interested in reprinting Wheaton and Its Homes, perhaps in its original form, without the info added by WHPC. People still want copies. Steph: Someone took the History of the Poor Farm Cemetery from Findagrave that she wrote and posted it on Nextdoor. Some 50 people commented on how interesting, etc. it was, and it led to other local history comments. Also, she and a neighbor approached the City about using old peony bushes they rescued from yards of houses being torn down in the neighborhood and planting them in the little "park" under the Prairie Path's Volunteer Bridge. The response from the City was they liked the idea. Nancy: Really good to meet again. VI. Adjournment Barb moved to adjourn, Bob seconded, the motion passed unanimously; the meeting concluded at 8:20 pm. 2