The Towner Tattler
The Boone County Historical Museum Newsletter
March 2015
314 S. State St. Belvidere, Il 61008
Phone: 815-544-8391 Fax: 815-547-1691
Website: bchmuseum.org
Email: [email protected]
Letter from the Society President
Dear Society Members and Friends,
As 2014 comes to a close and 2015 starts, I would like to thank the Society for their confidence in me by electing me your new president. I
will do my very best to live up to the legacy of all of our past presidents.
First, I would like to thank the outgoing board members; Don Banks,
John Wolf, Robert Lear, and Sherry Lindquist. I would now like to welcome our new board members; Mike Doyle, Richard Van Evera, Ann
Turner and Pam Zuromski.
Among the many changes this last year was the retirement of our Executive Director, Mary Hale. Mary was thanked for her years of service,
followed by a retirement gift and party. Thanks Mary for your many
years of service and your dedication to the museum.
At our first meeting in January, the board introduced our new Executive Director, Miss Anna Gill. Anna comes to us by way of Rockford’s
Midway Village. She grew up in Kirkland Illinois where she attended
Hiawatha High School. Subsequent to that she attended and graduated
from Northern Illinois University receiving a BS Degree in Anthropology with an emphasis in Museum Studies. She presently is continuing
her studies at The Campbell Center for Historic Preservation Studies in
Mount Carroll, IL. Anna is very personable and would like to meet and
discuss Society issues with all of our members. Please take the time to
stop by, introduce yourself and meet our new Executive Director. You
will not be disappointed.
Calendar year 2014 was a very good year for our Society. Through the
efforts of last year’s President, Don Banks, we received a State of Illi1
nois, Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity grant in the
amount of $50,000.00. We immediately turned this over to the Boone County Historical Museum District. These were very welcomed funds as the tax
receipts have lessened in the last few years. Boone County Museum tax receipts have dropped from a high of $210,000.00 to the current amount of
$170,000.00. The Society also received $5,000.00 from the Boone County
Foundation. These funds will allow us to continue the school lecture series
that was started a couple of years ago.
Attendance has continued to grow throughout the year. More than 900 visitors were welcomed at December’s Home Town Christmas. Hopefully as our
guest attendance increases our membership should also increase.
The board would like to thank all of the many volunteers that gave tours,
worked the ice cream social, lectured and all of the many things too countless
to list here. Our museum continues to grow in membership and in how the
community views our efforts.
In conclusion, 2015 opens on a very positive note. Hope to see you at one of
our functions.
Sincerely,
Dale Drake
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS
The Boone County Historical Museum welcomes the following new
members:
Robert Kantner
JoAnn Wienrank
Ric Brereton
Gloria Peck
Laurel Barklow
Melissa & Jerry Dulgar
Your support is greatly appreciated and valued.
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** Meet our Boards and Staff **
District Board
Teri Keegan-President
Patrick Murphy-Vice President
Lois Ramon-Secretary
Gail Bennett-Treasurer
Jim Zahrndt-Trustee
Society Board
Dale Drake-President
Grant Michaud-Vice President
Society Board Meetings are held the
third Tuesday every other month at 5:30
pm and are open to the public.
District Board Meetings are held on the
third Wednesday of the month at 4:00
pm and are open to the public.
Judy Winter-Secretary
Dick Stegemann-Treasurer
Luis Salinas
Ann Turner
Dave Harbolt
Jim Cox
Norma Schandelmeier
Richard Van Evera
Bob Edwards
Marilyn Clanin
Mike Doyle
Pam Zuromski
Naomi Schultz
*All meetings are in the Museum
Staff
Anna Gill-Executive Director
Lonna Bentley-Registrar
Dick Nelson–Maintenance
Our Mission Statement
“The mission of the Boone County Historical Museum is to
stimulate interest in Boone County history through education,
research and collection and preservation of artifacts and archival materials”
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June General Membership Meeting
and Volunteer Appreciation Day
Please join us on June 6th for the June General Membership Meeting and
Volunteer Appreciation at Rowe Park
7550 Garden Prairie Road
Gathering at 2:30pm * Dinner promptly at 4pm * All food will be provided.
In order to help us plan food appropriately, it would be helpful if you
could call the museum and let us know if you plan to attend.
If you have any question please call Anna at 815-544-8391.
We look forward to seeing you all there!
Directions: East Lincoln Ave to Lawrenceville Rd. Lawrenceville Rd east
to Garden Prairie Rd. Right on Garden Prairie Road, cross over bridge
and Rowe Park is on the right.
Or
From Belvidere on Logan Ave, pass Bel Mar Country Club to US20. Turn
left on US20 east to Garden Prairie: turn north at church in Garden Prairie:
pass Kishwaukee Grade School: Entrance to Rowe Park is on the left just
before the bridge.
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A note from the director...
Boone County Historical Museum
Towner Tattler
March 2015 Issue
Hello Members and Friends of BCHM,
My name is Anna Gill, and I am thrilled to introduce myself as the new Director of the Boone County Historical Museum! I am honored to be a part of
this institution which is such a treasured part of the
community. I would like to send out a big ‘Thank
You’ to everyone who has taken the time to stop by
the museum in the past 3 months. It has been wonderful to have met so many great people from the
Boone County area!
I would like to take a moment to tell you all a bit
about my background. I was born and raised on a
small organic vegetable farm located just outside of
Boone County. I attended Hiawatha School in Kirkland from kindergarten through my senior year of
high school, graduating in 2004. After high school, I earned an Associate’s Degree
from Kishwaukee College, then went on to NIU in 2007. At NIU, I studied Physical
Anthropology and Museum Studies, graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in 2010.
Since college, I have worked and volunteered at many local museums including: The
Northern Illinois University Anthropology Museum, Midwest Museum of Natural
History, Burpee Museum of Natural History, Rockford Art Museum, Laurent House,
and Midway Village Museum. While getting this hands-on experience, I also continued my education at Campbell Center of Historic Preservation Studies in Mount Carroll, Illinois. At Campbell Center, I will be completing a certification in Museum Collections Care later this year.
In closing, I would like thank each and every one of you for your continued dedication and commitment to the Boone County Historical Museum. We are so appreciative of our members, and would not be here without you!
Sincerely,
Anna E Gill
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~~~Society Board Meeting Changes ~~~
At the March General Membership Meeting, the proposed
changes to the Society Board Meeting was approved!
“The Board of Directors shall meet every other month; if their
regular meeting date must be cancelled, it shall be rescheduled
within the same calendar month.”
The Society Board now meets in the following months:
January, March, May, July, September, November.
The Meetings are still the third Tuesday of the month at
5:30pm
Lecture Series Returns for 2015
April 16th 6:30pm….Sandy Schweitzer presents “Beautiful to View,” an
informative lecture about quilts.
Sandy is an AQS Certified Quilt Appraiser, quilt historian, lecturer, teacher, author and quiltmaker. She offers lecturers from the traditional to
contemporary, covering over 150 years of quilt making. Her lecture includes historical perspectives and quilt trends.
Sandy makes both traditional and art quilts; she has had quilts juried into
international and national shows and is an award winner. Additionally,
she has done stage presentations at WI Quilt Expo on “Protect Your
Quilts” and she is the author of Protecting Your Quilts & More.
Come and hear Sandy’s lecture that will feature quilts that speak to the
history of Boone County including one that has ties to Belvidere’s Gossard
Corset Factory.
Cost: General Admission $5
Member/Student $4
Doors open at 5:30pm
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~Upcoming Events~~
April 4th: Closed for Easter
April 15 @ 4:00 pm: District Board Meeting. All Board Meetings at Museum and are open to the public
April 16th @ 6:30pm: Lecture Series “A Beautiful View” History of Quilts
May 19th @ 5:30pm: Society Board Meeting. All Board Meetings in Museum and are open to the public
May 20th @ 4:00 pm: District Board Meeting. All Board
Meetings at Museum and are open to the public
May 23rd: Closed all day. Have a safe and happy Memorial
Day
June 6th: General Membership Meeting and Volunteer Appreciation @ Rowe Pond
June 15th: History of Immigration Exhibit opens
June 17th @ 4:00 pm: District Board Meeting. All Board
Meetings at Museum and are open to the public
June 27 & 28th: Heritage Days Weekend
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Boone County Historical Museum
Teacher Trunk Program
“Teacher Trunks” are boxes that contain a variety of artifacts, documents, and
educational material; each trunk will focus on a particular era or event in
history. The items in the trunks will be used for hands-on learning in the
classroom.
Teacher Trunks will soon be available for teachers at any school or homeschool organization to rent from the museum.
Some of the themes that the different Teacher Trunks will focus on include:
WWI, WWII, The Great Depression, Fossils in Northern Illinois, Native
American Tribes in Northern Illinois, Life in a Turn of the Century Household, The Belvidere Tornado of 1967, and MANY MORE to come!
The Boone County Historical Museum is currently accepting donations of
any items that may be relevant to the aforementioned topics! We are also
in need of medium sized trunks, or old suitcases that would be used to
store and transport the artifacts.
Please contact Anna or Lonna with any donations to BCHM’s new Teacher
Trunk Program!! 815-544-8391 or [email protected]
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Boone County Historical Museum
314 S. State St.
Belvidere, IL 61008
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