|
January 11, 2010 10:43:54
Posted By The Curator
|
Hello All!
We're looking for oodles of new volunteers for our 2010 season! We are always looking for help in one of the following areas
Gardening
Housekeeping
Tour Guides
Filing/Clerical
Museum Inventory
Receptionists/Greeters
Research
Museum Exhibit Prep
Event/Program Prep
Fall Leaf Raking
Tree Trimming
Painting
and much much more!!!!!
If you'd like to help out in any of the following areas, please shoot us an email at museum@baldiwnreynolds.org or fill out the volunteer box on our website!
http://www.baldwinreynolds.org/contact.htm
Just scroll down and select "volunteering" in the drop down box!
We'll be emailing you back very soon and getting everyone aquainted and involved as the winter and spring progress. Hope to hear from you!
-The Curator
|
Categories:
Events,
General,
Updates,
Welcome,
Presentation,
house,
fun,
inventory,
volunteering,
tree,
email,
painting
|
January 6, 2010 05:46:45
Posted By The Curator
|
As I was sweeping pine needles from my living room floor this weekend, I couldn’t help but notice how time is flying by and in only a few short months we will be back up and running at the museum for another year of tours and events. With the historical society’s events being released recently in this column as well as my column last week giving our “annual summary” of what we’re up to, I thought it a great way to start the year by going into detail a bit more on what’s coming up, what we’re working on, and how you can get involved!
Ceilings, Walls, and Paint galore
As I mentioned last week, we’ve secured the assistance of a local architect who will help guide our ice house project through the coming months. We plan to put a new roof on this structure as well as do some major restoration on the building’s interior including stabilizing the ceiling and replace a load bearing beam that shows signs of serious rot.
Similarly, we’re getting ready to do restoration projects on the retaining wall along Lord Street that has been bowing outward and has recently started to collapse in one or two places. This wall is well over a century old and its repair is integral to the historical accuracy of our three acre grounds as well as holding a rather large hillside from falling into the street.
Finally, we plan to do a bit of restoration inside the house itself, painting walls and restoring two plaster ceilings on the first floor. Both of these are in major need of repair as they are cracked and beginning to sag. We will keep you updated with our progress as these things occur.
Events, Lectures, and Exhibits for all!
We are working on putting together a season to remember at the museum for your enjoyment this year as well. With the Huidekoper family’s major impact on Crawford County from selling much of the land off to settlers in the first place with the Holland Land Company to influencing Unitarianism in Meadville, creating Hillside Home, and becoming the spectacle of style in the community, the Huidekopers have laid their influence in this area as thick as the sidewalks they once walked on. We will be hosting an exhibit of their lives and works for your enjoyment as well as possible events tying in with the Thurston Classic, the Crawford County Fair, enlightening workshops, interesting and exciting lectures, and more!
We will be hard at work this year and need your attendance, support, and physical help to succeed. We are always in need to tour guides, housekeeping help, event helpers, artifact catalogers, and more. Those of you who have expressed interest, we will be starting to put together short “backstage tours” very soon to get you acquainted with the museum and to those of you who are interesting in jumping in, you are always welcome! Feel free to contact us at museum@baldwinreynolds.org or follow us on Facebook or Twitter. Have a Happy New Year!
|
|
January 3, 2010 09:23:22
Posted By The Curator
|
With the Christmas holiday over and way too many leftovers still residing in my refrigerator, I've been thinking of what has occurred over the last year and what I'd like to get accomplished in 2010. A slice of pie or two later, I have prepared a summary of what we have done at the Baldwin-Reynolds House this year for our readers as they, much like myself, have a vested interest in Henry Baldwin's historic home.
A bit of gardening
If there's one thing that I am especially excited about at the museum as of late, it is all of the hard work we have done to improve our physical landscape at the house. Several gardens on the property have been spruced up and are becoming showpieces in the area. We have several faithful volunteers working hard on keeping our gardens blooming and have had a special donation this year of over 2500 plants, both annuals and perennials, from Bollinger's Greenhouse and Florist in Springboro. These gifts have improved our garden tremendously and we are thankful to have such friends with common interests in our shared history! The work in the garden will continue over the upcoming year and we welcome any help in these efforts.
Stripping and redecorating
Our other impressive achievement this year has come in our efforts to make the Baldwin-Reynolds House appear more like a home than ever before. We have had several volunteers stripping paint off of Henry Baldwin's original tiger maple woodwork to return it to it's historic appeal. We are adding furniture, long since forgot about in storage, to the exhibits and including fine touches to make it appear as if Henry Baldwin just set a book down in his study or Katherine Reynolds just set the table for dinner. We thank you all for your donations to help in this effort including your heirlooms, assistance, and good will. We will continue to make the tour as enjoyable to you all as possible.
Outlook into the new year
As we look forward to the new year, we have much important work ahead of us to complete. We are working with an architect to restore the historic ice house on the grounds of the museum. The stone retaining wall along Lord Street needs attention that we hope to provide in the coming months, and much is about to happen in the house itself. We hope to paint several hallways, rooms, and the pine plank floors on the second floor in the near future. In addition, several plaster ceilings have issues needing addressed over the winter months. We will persevere in these activities in our effort to ensure the protection of your historic home in Meadville, Pennsylvania. After all, we are merely the guardians of our history. The keys to this history, however, remain in your hands. Your volunteer assistance and any other help is always welcome and crucial to preserving our heritage- as I am just a servant in the house...you are the master. This is my yearly report to you...enjoy the holidays and look back as well as forward. To continue progressing, we must remember.
|
Categories:
Events,
General,
Updates,
Welcome,
house,
architecture,
fun,
greek revival,
attic,
inventory,
volunteering,
Twitter,
painting,
Reynolds
|
November 10, 2009 06:56:29
Posted By The Curator
|
Researching Charles Yates’ history to go along with his portrait has aroused my interest in some of the other portraits at the museum, especially the rather dignified man now hanging in my 3rd floor office. Pearson Church has fascinated much of Crawford County for generations. His legal decisions have had great impact in our history and if you spend just a minute outside the 2nd District School, you’ll see his name on a blue historical marker, outlining his achievement.
Pearson Church graduated from Allegheny College in 1856, studying law with his father, judge Gaylord Church. He was admitted to the bar in 1858 at the age of twenty. He was a husband and father of two as well as a mason and active on the Meadville School Board in the 1870s. It wasn’t until 1877, however, that his career really took off.
Church was elected President Judge of the Thirteenth Judicial District in 1877. In 1880, however, his legal abilities were put to the test when Elias Allen of Meadville put current school segregation laws to the test.
Elias Allen refused to send his son to the all black school in Meadville where the Crawford County School Board assigned him. The school was farther away from Allen’s home than the local white school and all students were educated in one room rather than by grade as in the white school. Allen sued the school board in Crawford County, claiming the 1854 state law, which stated that areas with 20 or more African American students could place them in a separate school, was unconstitutional, basing his claim on the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. Judge Church agreed, declaring the state school segregation law unconstitutional nearly three-quarters of a century before the famous Brown vs. Board of Education decision in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Church was known for other cases as well, including the Tidewater Pipeline Case in 1883 which helped to end the Standard Oil Monopoly (in this case for carrying oil). His judicial record is one to be admired even today and this historical marker and his home still stand in Meadville as his legacy…as well as the portrait on my office wall.
|
Categories:
General,
Updates,
Welcome,
Law,
house,
fun,
attic,
inventory,
volunteering,
blog,
email,
pearson,
gaylord,
church,
segregation,
schools,
painting
|
November 1, 2009 01:12:22
Posted By The Curator
|
Daniel and Anna Dick Shryock- Parents of Katherine Reynolds in the BR Solarium
Now there are several ways you can keep up with happenings at the Baldwin-Reynolds House Museum in Meadville, PA! Check us out, follow us, or just leave a note to say hi!
Newspaper:
Every Monday morning you can get your fill of the BR from our article on page 2 of The Meadville Tribune! It's a great companion to coffee.
Email:
Website:
Blog:
Our blog is constantly being updated on happenings at the house and has photos of our progress...check it out by the link on our website or going to: http://apps.baldwinreynolds.org/Blog/
Facebook:
Twitter:
Granted, these are no substitutes for dropping in to say hello in person, but until we open back up in the spring...it's a great way to keep in touch!
Talk to you soon!
-The Curator
|
Categories:
Events,
General,
Updates,
Welcome,
house,
fun,
inventory,
volunteering,
Twitter,
blog,
facebook,
email
|
|
|
