Denmark Historical Society Report to Town 4/16 through 3/17

The Historical Society held two events this past year.

 In May, the historic hand painted stage curtain was cleaned and restored by specialists from Curtains Without Borders, along with local volunteers. The work was done upstairs in Centennial Hall, then mounted on the wall downstairs. The curtain was a generous gift from the Monson family.

Following completion of the restoration, a brief talk was given by the director of Curtains Without Borders, Chris Hadsel. She explained the significance of our curtain, and put it in the larger context of the early 1900s proliferation of small local halls, primarily in rural northern New England.

In late July, local author Caroline Grimm gave a talk on her series of books, “Voices of Pondicherry”. Period appropriate treats and refreshments were provided by Beth’s Café, sponsored by Ace Insurance.

In other business, the Society developed and signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Centennial Hall. The agreement allows the Society to accept larger artifacts as gifts, which are then stored or displayed by Centennial Hall. Previously we were limited to small items which could be displayed in cases in the basement of the Library.

We also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Denmark Public Library. This will allow us to make books from our collection available for reference (within the Library only).

Our curator, Lee Ann Shand, has been busy, as always, responding to inquiries from the public. She maintains our website, www.denmarkhistoricalsociety.org. The site has an abundance of interesting material, including genealogical material and historic films, as well as an active blog.

Along with a group of volunteers, Lee Ann has been cataloguing our collection. And she has made arrangements for a professional service to scan our historic documents and images, so they can be accessed without further deterioration from handling.

Many thanks to our members, as well as our sponsors, who make all our activities possible.

Ace Insurance Agency                        Lakeside Dock Services            Pleasant Mountain Camping

Country Plumbing and Heating       R H LeGoff Excavation Co.        Red Shed Cottage

Dianne Lewis Designs                         MacDonald Motors                   smallboat shop

Granger Pond Camping Area            Maine Virtual Home Tours       Stacy’s Service Center             

Jennifer Bartlett Photography          Mega Industries, LLC                 Wyonegonic Camps

 Respectfully submitted,

DHS Board of Directors: Terry Rhoads; Lee Ann Shand; Dan Eaton; Daryl Kennison; Pat Largey; Astrea Fatica; Clare McKeagney; Mari Hook; JoAnne Harbourt