Boundary County Historical Society
Annual Meeting Notes
On Tuesday, January 14, 2020 the Annual Meeting of the Historical Society was held at the Museum. Due to the weather, attendance was light. All Board of Trustees members, Curator Sue, and Rex Aitken were in attendance.
Business at this meeting included the appointment of Rex Aitken to fulfill the remaining two years of the seat vacant due to the death of Marj Pinkerton. Dave and Dottie Gray were elected to retain seats for three – year terms.
All reports were approved for the 2019 year.
The regular January Board meeting was held following the adjournment of this meeting. By acclimation, all officers were elected to retain their positions: Cal Russell, President; Dave Gray, Vice President; Beulah Patterson, Treasurer; Dottie Gray, Secretary; David Koon and Vic White, Trustees. Sue Kemmis will continue in her position as Curator of the Museum. The budget for 2020 was approved.
There will be no Board meeting in February due to lack of a quorum; the next meeting will be Tuesday, March 10, 2020.
The year end Society Activities report as presented at the Annual Membership Meeting
January 14, 2020 * * 2019 End of Year Report
Membership: Membership List 2019 – 214 members; Membership List 2020 –77 members Total Membership Dues collected in 2019: $5,100
Fundraising: 2019 Calendars; Fundraising Dinner; Gift Shop; Continued and increasing support from Boundary County Commissioners and Glenda Poston, Clerk
Facilities: Repairs were made to the roof; installed lighting in the South Wing and Portrait Hall; repairs made on floor in school exhibit
Special Projects, Programs, and Events ~ ~ ~
January: Partnered with Idaho State Historical Society and The Kootenai Tribe of Idaho for a banner project at the Capitol Building in Boise: theme “My Town Idaho” submitting an image of a painting by Joseph Tomelleri of The Kootenai White Sturgeon; Boundary Electric replaced the old lights in the South Wing, installing LEDs; a leaking roof caused a flood in the furnace room–much mopping ensued!
February: McCormick School Students visited the Museum
March: A guided Historic Walking Tour of Bonners Ferry with Fourth Graders and Classical
Conversations in honor of “Idaho Day,” March 4-6 (140 students involved)
April: The Education Committee took the “Mr. Bonner Story” to all 4th graders in local elementary schools (124 students involved)
May: “Spring into Summer” Program with town conversations, lunch, and a rained-out history walk by Howard Kent; 4th grade students visited the Museum in late May and early June for their annual tour (124 students involved); submitted a letter of support for 9B Trails project, identifying specific documents of historical value related to those sites
June: Replaced the sign on the front of main building; a 4-H group toured with Howard Kent & Dave Gray
July: BFHS Classes visited the Museum during reunions
August: Window scrolls placed on all front windows by Marty H.; partnered with U.S. Forest Service project at Boulder City; partnered with Union Pacific Rail Road on Snyder signal project
September: Moravia Cemetery Tour; purchased 8 round dinner tables; tablecloths donated by Dan & Jill Nystrom
October: Fundraising Dinner and auction; Gary Eller program: “Strong Women of Early Idaho”
November: Partnered with Kootenai Tribe and Human Rights Task Force for Native American Heritage Month: “Idaho’s Forgotten War” featured film and commentary by Chairman Gary Aitken
December: Repair of cement floor in school room (Marty H.); lights replaced in Portrait Hall; Rotary meeting with Faces of History program; Craft Fair table and watercolor drawings (Haynes collection)
Museum Collection: 2019- Boundary County Museum Collections
Donors: 113 Accessions inventoried (objects, photos, books, archival papers): 714
Past Perfect Program (objects, photos, books, archival papers): 34,759
Special Interest Donations:
Burl Table belonging to John Ruhberg (donated by Luke Estabrook)
Restorium Furniture (Donated by Boundary County)
Collection of Photos of Shiloh Ranger Station prior to dismantle (Donated by Travis Smith)
Collection of Photos from 1920 (Donated by Idaho Department of Transportation)
Chair from the Commercial Hotel (Donated by Roberta Zimmerman)
Mannequin displaying WWII Class C Uniform (Donated by Jan Conner)
Antique Grain Roller (Donated by Sally Houy)
BNSF Railroad Switch (Donated by Steve Fields)
Museum Statistics: 2019
Volunteers: 24 Volunteer Hours: 2,246 hours
Visitors to Museum: Total -1,962 (Students-368/BoCo-376/Id-293/OutState-825/OutCountry-100)
Admission Fees: $2,492 Donations in Donation Box: $1,071
First Saturdays – Free Day for Visitors – Sponsored by: Cal and Barbara Russell, Dave and Dottie Gray, Vic and Donna White, Glen and Beulah Patterson, and Howard and Donna Kent