Category Archives: HDGHistory Business

HDGHistory Business

Minutes for August 2021

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Historic Havre de Grace Foundation meeting started at 7:05 PM on August 24, 2021.

Roll Call: Present were Ron Browning, Darlene Perry, Kathleen Keen, Judy Plitt, Kathleen Lee, Roger Lee, Chuck Hinkel, Joe Kiester, Jean Johnson, and the latest member of the Foundation: Lilma Huntley.

Ron Browning showed some of the latest documents and photos that have been donated to the Foundation for the archives. There was a copy of the Stokes Map, photos of the building, of the now Amtrak railroad, bridge back in the early 1900’s, photos of a accident, on the bridge that proceeded the Amtrak bridge with some destruction of that bridge, that occurred well over 120 years ago, photos of the 1948 Havre de Grace High School and various other historic Havre de Grace items. All these donated items will be stored properly in acid free archival storage folders and boxes.

The treasurers report was read. The Foundation now has 50 paid members. The Historic Havre de Grace Foundation budget balance is now $5,119.46.

The members discussed how historic houses are now being torn down, or being rebuilt, in the federally recognized Historic District of Havre de Grace. The new homes, that are being built do not resemble the old historic original homes or blend into the historic district. These new homes are of a modern design. Jean told the members that Shane Grime is aware of this and is working on a plan.

Darlene informed the members present that archival materials have been ordered and all the materials and items being donated to the Foundation will be properly stored and registered. Judy Plitt, Kathleen Keen, Roger Lee and Kathleen Lee will be taught, by Darlene, in the proper methods of doing this. They had all volunteered to help in this area. All of this archived material will be stored at 226 N. Union, for the time being per Ron.

Ron, and the group present, discussed the Moore Family Homestead proposed plans for a future museum. Jean Johnson, head of the Havre de Grace Historic Commission is starting the process of creating a museum at the homestead. A “’MOU” will be discussed with the city with clarity of what uses the house and property can have. The need for security needs to also be discussed. Right now there is no security system or decent locks on the main building. Barry Burns, who gifted the property to the city of Havre de Grace, had a vision for the building to include a Havre de Grace water persons typical family home in the main house. It would be set up for the time period from the 1880’s to the 1920’s. There has been furniture donated already and there is more furniture that is promised from various donors. The views of the family home/museum could be viewed through the various windows, from outside, and no one would enter the house or the house could be open and the public could enter the house and see the various room depending on Covid-19 status. The smaller house, on Lafayette Street, is being used by the Victory Garden staff right now. The city will be testing for lead paint, hazardous materials, and asbestos in both houses shortly. The city has given $20,000, in the city budget, for work to be done this fiscal year. Ron proposed that the various awards that the Havre de Grace Commission have received, over the years, could be displayed in the vestibule. The Moore Family Homestead grounds and the front porch area were used, last weekend, for the Waterfront Festival.

Ron attended the Havre de Grace Museum Consortium meeting in August and will attend in September.

The Foundation’s website, HDG History.org, has been moved to another carrier, Blue Host, per Tabitha. She is working to make the membership page secure. The Foundation is not yet linked to Paypal but Tabitha is working on it. Per Ron “it is a work in progress”. The Facebook group of the Foundation, started a few weeks ago by Kathleen Lee now has 146 members. Many of the people, in this new group, had no idea that the Foundation existed and seem eager to join. (* Please see Webmaster Note below)

Here are some of the events in Havre de Grace that are coming up per Ron:
There is a silent auction, at the visitors center, for Ernest Burke memorabilia, now.
September 11 will be the annual Shrimp Fest benefitting the Maritime Museum.
September 25-26 will be the Fall Festival at Steppingstone Farm Museum.
October 2 will be the Garden Fall Fest at the Maritime museum.
October 16 will be the Octoberfest in Havre de Grace.
October 23-24 will be the Annual Art Show located at both Tydings Park and Concord Point Park.
November 20 will be the annual Oyster Fest.
The next meeting of the Foundation will be held on September 28, 2021 at 226 N. Union at 6:30 PM. Meeting adjourned at 8:21.
Respectfully submitted by Kathleen Lee, Secretary
—
*Webmaster’s Note:
There are a few items which need clarification within this paragraph.
HDGHistory.org has always been hosted with BlueHost, first as part of my testing/construction server, and is about to get its own server.
The sites on the testing server have been secure under the account’s SSL and will continue to enjoy SSL protection on its own server.
The membership mechanism has always been secure because it is on the PayPal servers. The Foundation has been linked to PayPal for about a year now.
All Facebook presence for the Foundation has been suspended at the request of the chair.

HDGHistory Business

HDG History Notes for February 2021

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As of January 31, 2021, Joe K. reports that the treasury contains $4,652.73. The tax papers for the foundation have been filed with HR Block. The paperwork for the tax report to the State of Maryland has been filed, due in April. The federal tax papers are due in May. Members who made donations to the foundation in 2020, should have received tax information in the mail during January from myself and Joe K.

Membership stands at 43 members with the latest members being Deborah Goldman, Dr. John W. Hawkins, Leon Kalas, Jane Currier, and Colonel Allan R. Burke.

I have been in recent contact with Joe Hopkins who has donated Hopkins Family memorabilia to the foundation – letters, deeds, photos and furniture including a grandfather/ case clock dating circa 1780. He and his wife hope to visit Havre de Grace from their new residence in Ohio in May.

FYI, The dates for the Community-wide Yard Sale have been picked for 2021. They are Saturdays, April 17 and September 11 from 8am to roughly 4pm. Raindates are the Sunday after. I have been working with Lauri Orzewicz and Bonnie Castillo at the HDG Visitor Center with the yard sales for many years now. Since sites are scattered around the HDG community, a comprehensive list is provided by the visitor center on its website and on flyer form near to the dates of the sales. . Flyers are available at 226 North Union Avenue and the visitor center- 450 Pennington Avenue on the dates of the yard sales. Also spaces are available to folks who wish a downtown location at 226 North Union Avenue for $10 with proceeds going to the foundation treasury. Please contact me if interested.

ADDITIONAL NOTES FROM Bambi Johnson, Executive Director, Havre De Grace Alliance
In Addition, As you know, the HDG Alliance applied for the Governor’s Maryland Strong Economic Recovery Initiative (MD-SERI) grant. This grant program, which is administered by the Maryland DHCD, is for the state’s 33 designated Main Street Maryland communities and Baltimore City’s 8 designated Main Street neighborhoods to support the economic recovery of local Main Street businesses. We were originally awarded $150,000.00. But wait!! On Monday, in addition to the Relief Act legislation that was signed, SB496 was also signed. This allocated an additional $2 million to the total amount of funding. As a result, all of the awards were recalculated and the Alliance’s award was increased to $210,474.00!

Once all the paperwork is signed and the money is in our account, we will begin distributing it to the Main Street businesses and non-profits. Each of them only needs to fill out a very simple form to receive funds. The funds will be disbursed evenly among those who submit.

We are so proud of this effort and a big “thank you” goes out to Julie for writing the final grant and to the executive committee for convening to lend us their wisdom and guidance! Also to Joe Smith, Rebecca Jessop, Lauri Orzewicz and Johnny Boker for your ongoing work to help us establish the gift card program.

HDGHistory Business

Notes about the September 22, 2020 meeting

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Hello Historic Havre de Grace Foundation:  Though the weather has  turned crisp; we are going to delay meeting in person again and cancel the September 22 meeting. Partly, because of an uptick in the number of covid-19 cases in Harford County & HDG but also because my agenda is short; there is really little cause to meet for meeting sake. I have received input from various members and give you the following report for September.
New memberships : Jean Johnson/  Mary Poughkeepsie/  Andrew Cordle/  Ed Krause/  Bruce Bryan/  Charles Hinkel/  Hank & Karen Griffith/  Fay Bosland/  Serle A. Wise/  Abe Addonizio/  Frank Russo  — now 37 members    Joe & Ron have completed membership lists. Tabitha updates a membership list on our website HDGHistory.org periodically.
New budget (reported by Joe Kiester } as of August 17,2020: $190 memberships/  $80 donations/  total at APGFCU : $ 3066.60
     recent expenditures : Go Daddy’s website – HDGHistory.org – $28.16/  Office Centre copies – $6.36   – paid for by donation
Grant application (from Jean Johnson} : work on the application for the grant for a survey of the Havre de Grace Historic District was completed and submitted on time by Jean Johnson, Carolyn Zinner and Dianne Klair from City Hall. The Maryland Historic Trust will announce winners of the grants in November.
Moore Family Homestead (report from Ron Browning} : I have contacted Laurie Dawson and Joe Conaway of the Dept. of Public Works for HDG for a time frame for the repairs to the front porch and painting of the interior of the house at 710 Market Street. This must be done before any more furniture,exhibits, etc are moved into the premises. The HDG Alliance group has moved into its quarters upstairs on the second floor but awaits painting of the facility too. The exterior landscaping is being well maintained by DPW. The Victory Garden (both vegetable and floral gardens} have been maintained throughout the summer by the HDG Green Team club. Harvests go to the local food pantries.
Trip to Fredericksburg, Virginia  (report from Ron Browning & Joe Kiester}: The Joseph Hopkins family contacted Ron about memorabilia and furniture from the Hopkins family of Havre de Grace. Joe is the son and grandson of generations of Hopkins that once lived in HDG. The family donated a “grandfather” case clock, gooseneck rocker, chair, portraits, framed certificates, journals, and photographs belonging to the Hopkins clan. The Hopkins family, not only lived at 229 & 226 North Union Avenue (Ron’s house} but also Dr.J.Lee Hopkins was a surgeon and major staff member of Harford Memorial Hospital here in HDG. Any members who are interested in sorting through the materials are welcome to contact Ron to begin categorizing and documenting materials. Ron collected the materials from the family in Virginia while they are downsizing. Materials are stored at Ron’s.
Website: Tabitha continues to do an outstanding job on our website HDGHistory.org.  Officers have been updated and a membership list is updated periodically.  We are still working upon a “kickstarter” presence. We are still working on listing associated businesses and offers to members.
Historic walking tour: (from Ron Browning & Kathy Keen}: A historic walking tour was given to Cliff & Joan Hull of Laurel, MD. on Saturday, Sept. 19. Perhaps the foundation can work with the Havre de Grace Historic Preservation Commission, who offers the tours, as the actual operator of the tours; much in the way the city-operated ice rink or Oyster Fest is held. Those organizations and non-profits who “do the work” receive the financial benefits. Further study will need to be done.
Message to the membership (from Ron Browning}: Please continue to encourage membership in the foundation to friends, family, and associates. I will gladly mail out applications to you for this purpose. Please also encourage businesses to investigate how they can be listed on our website and “advertised” for membership and perhaps offering incentives (discounts} to our members. Already Spencer-Silver Mansion Bed and Breakfast, and Bahoukas Antiques are working with the foundation on this matter.
Next meeting: Tuesday, October 27, 2020
HDGHistory Business

Minutes of the July 28, 2020 Meeting

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HISTORIC HAVRE DE GRACE FOUNDATION-July 28, 2020 Meeting

Attending: Ron Browning, Darlene Perry, Kathy Keen, Kathleen Lee, Roger Lee, Jean Johnson, Judy Plitt, Carolyn Zinner, Joyce Rodgers, and Joe Kiester.

Budget $2806.60 as of June 30, 2020. Joe K. is our new treasurer.
Taxes have been filed for 2019. Membership cards have been mailed out to all members. Tabitha created the membership cards and the website.

The Foundation needs to attract business memberships. Carol Nemeth (Spencer-Silver Mansion) and George Wagner will offer business discounts. We now have 25 members.

Tabitha has been putting blogs from and about various historic sites on our website. Please give merchants a brochure. Ron is working on a credit card account so we can accept credit applications from memberships and donations. Tabitha is working on a crowdfunding account for the Foundation for projects we may want to do.
The John O’Neil statue is put on hold for now. We need to do more research on him. We may have a plaque honoring him.

Grant: Jean Johnson, Dianne Klair, and Carolyn Zinner have been working on a grant to have a new survey done of all homes built before 1970 in the Historic District of Havre de Grace. An Intent Letter was sent out last week. We are asking for $40,000. This would pay for a Historic Architectural Historian to conduct the survey with the help of volunteers. The volunteers would be paid $25.00 an hour.

There were no new announcements.
Meeting was adjourned at 7:41 PM
Respectfully submitted by Kathleen Lee, secretary

HDGHistory Business

Minutes of the July 23, 2019 Meeting

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Meeting of the Historic Havre de Grace Foundation, July 23, 2019 was held at 226 North Union Avenue.

Attendees present : Ron Browning, Richard Stubing, Roger Lee, Kathleen Lee, George Wagner, Julie Runkhe, Carol Nemeth, Jim Nemeth

Actions : Attorney Woody Stark’s letter and the annual report for 2019 were mailed to the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation.

We have yet to file the IRS form 990N

Suggestions for logo design for the foundation.

Laurie Dawson will work upon a membership application form. Decisions must be made about membership fees.

Jim Nemeth and Ron Browning will work upon setting up a checking account for the foundation at APGFCU credit union.

Tabitha Boehmer and Jay Loane will be working upon a foundation website/ blog of information/ and membership list.

A thank-you note should be sent to attorney Woody Stark for his efforts in getting the paperwork completed and filed for the foundation.

Notes from meeting submitted by Ron Browning

HDGHistory Business

Minutes of the January 28, 2020 Meeting

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Meeting of January 28, 2020, of the Historic Havre de Grace Foundation was held at 226 North Union Avenue

Attendees present: Ron Browning, Kathy Keen, Darlene Perry, Roger Lee, Kathleen Lee, George Wagner, Kevin Purcell

Report from treasurer Jim Nemeth: $30 was earned from ticket sales to the Oyster Feast in November. Letters will be sent to members for tax purposes (Ron Browning, Darlene Perry, Joe Kiester}. Tax papers for 2019 will be filed with IRS and Maryland (Ron Browning, Joe Kiester, Jim Nemeth}, at H &R Block in Havre de Grace.

Membership cards were produced by Tabitha B. They will be printed at Office Centre and mailed to membership (Ron Browning / Joe Kiester}.

Encourage members to seek businesses that will offer discounts to members in exchange for listings to membership and inclusion on our website. (Already Bahoukas Antiques (George Wagner} and Spencer-Silver Mansion B&B (Carol Nemeth} are open to this idea.}

Receipt of letter from attorney Woody Stark, thanking us for honorary membership.

Donations have been made to the foundation for the future Moore Family Homestead site— a chair by Robert Greene, and a rocker by Peter and Carolyn Zinner.

Notes submitted by Ron Browning

NO meeting will be held Tuesday, February 25, 2020 as this is Mardi Gras in Havre de Grace and members will be participating in the parade that evening. Next meeting will be Tuesday, March 24, 2020 (NOTE: this meeting was suspended due to the Covid-19 ban on meetings}

HDGHistory Business

Minutes of the November 25, 2019 Meeting

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Meeting of November 25, 2019 of the Historic Havre de Grace Foundation was held at 226 North Union Avenue

Attendees present : Ron Browning, Darlene Perry, Kathleen Lee, Roger Lee, Jim Nemeth, Carol Nemeth

Report from treasurer Jim Nemeth about 990EZ form and status with Maryland – exemption from taxes forms

Darlene Perry will draft 3 letters for the foundation to issue : 1} a letter for tax purposes for members 2} a letter to acknowledge monetary donations to the foundation 3} a letter to acknowledge object donations to the foundation

Tabitha B will work upon designing a membership card. Carol Nemeth and Darlene will work upon a “letter of membership to the foundation”.

Membership brochures have been produced and were distributed. Stored at Ron Browning’s.

Website : HDGHistory.org has been created by Tabitha B and Jay Loane.

NO meeting will be held Tuesday, December 24, 2019 as it is Christmas Eve.

HDGHistory Business

Minutes of the October 22, 2019 Meeting

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Minutes October 22, 2019

The third meeting of the Foundation was called to order at 7:13 p.m.
Attendance: Ron Browning, Jim Nemeth, Carol Nemeth, Kathleen Lee, Roger Lee, Kathleen Keen, Kevin Purcell

1. Report from Ron Browning Acting President
Points discussed:
Foundation will be required by IRS to fill out 990-EZ form
Return Of Organization Exempt From Income Tax has to be submitted. Jim Nemeth has offered to fill out form and submit.
Ron has been informed by the City of Havre de Grace, that any monies donated from HPC to a Non Profit Organization must be voted upon by Mayor and City Council.

II. Old Business
A. Kathy Keen has contacted Woody Stark to get PDF of ByLaws . Upon receipt, Kathy will contact Foundation and distribute.
B. Membership cards and Letter of Appreciation will be created by Tabitha Boehmer, a volunteer for the Foundation
C. Discussion, once again, concerning the Foundation’s intent to seek out discounts and special offers from local business and museums, to be given to members who present their membership cards.
D. 500 membership applications were ordered, completed and picked up from Laurie Dawson, by Carol Nemeth. Carol will distribute some to City Hall, some to the Tourism Center and the rest will be stored at Ron Browning’s residence.
E. Carol Nemeth offered to write a letter of thanks to Woody Stark, for his help in providing our tax exempt status and the incorporation of the HdG Historic Foundation, as well as to make him an honorary member of the Foundation.

III. Treasurer’s Report by Acting Treasurer Jim Nemeth
Current Balance: $405.00
There have been no other expenditures. There are now 12 paid members so far: Jim Nemeth and Carol Nemeth are the newest members.

IV. Miscellaneous topics
A. We were reminded of The Great Oyster Feast being held on November 16, 2019. Purchasers of tickets can designate the HdG Historic Foundation for a donation of $15.00 of the total ticket price.
B. There was discussion of the location of the proposed John O’Neil statue. It was suggested that we put the statue near the cannon, by the Lighthouse. It was agreed that this would have to be discussed with Friends Of Concord Point Lighthouse first, before discussion at a City Hall meeting and possibly get the FOCPL’s input on the design of the statue itself.
C. It was decided that we would ask Tabitha Boehmer to work with the bank representative, to set up a website connection for credit card use. The estimated cost would be approximately $20.00 a month, a 3.3% fee, plus 10 cents per transaction. This would allow potential members to pay for their membership on our website.
D. We discussed the possibility of creating a Master List of our members, by combining paper and website applications.

Meeting adjourned at 8:25 p.m.

2019 meetings (4th Tuesday of the month) November 26, no meeting in December. Location 226 N. Union Ave, HdG at 7 p.m.

Submitted by Carol Nemeth

HDGHistory Business

Objectives of the Foundation

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Objectives:

To fund projects of a historical nature in Havre de Grace such as statues, restorations, photographic archives, exhibits (example with our museums), and an architectural study of endangered buildings;

To offer loans for historical projects, restorations, and loans to Havre de Grace historic property owners;

To raise funds for foundation projects;

To increase the public’s awareness of historic properties in our city by offering scholarships, conferences and seminars of historical interest;

To support historic preservation efforts by museums, property owners and individuals in Havre de Grace and to hire/pay outside experts, speakers and lecturers;

To establish a permanent place for rehab materials, the storage and sale thereof;

To establish a newsletter and website for foundation members and the general public;

To offer memberships in the foundation to individuals interested in supporting historic preservation in Havre de Grace;

To elect a Board of Directors and Officers for the foundation.

HDGHistory Business

Minutes September 24, 2019

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Minutes September 24, 2019

The second meeting of the Foundation was called to order at 7pm.
Attendance: Ron B , Jim N , Carol N , Bob G , Kathleen L, Roger L , Kathy K , Darlene P , Jay L , Michael S

I. Report from Ron B, Acting President
A. Copy of Bylaws distributed. Will be sent as PDF file separately from these minutes. Points discussed:
Required annual meeting of Board and members will be held in March 2020, location TBD

Membership is composed of active and honorary members. Honorary members may be elected for services rendered to the Foundation. They have no voting rights. Ron suggested we elect Woody S , a local lawyer, for his generous donation of time and money in setting up the Foundation. Kathleen L made a motion to elect Woody S Carol N. seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

Memberships run from January 1 to December 31. Ron suggested our 2019 memberships expire 12/31/20 instead of 12/31/19. Motion made by Kathleen L , seconded by Darlene P . Motion carried.

Discussed giving members a letter of acceptance and a membership card. Carol N volunteered to do this. She will work with Laurie D to design a card. Jay L recommended approaching restaurants and businesses to offer a discount to patrons who show a Foundation membership card. All agreed this is a good idea.

Ron pointed out that our Bylaws state that the President of the City Council or his/her designee may be an ex-officio member (no voting rights) of the Board. Members thought this could be beneficial to the Foundation and will consider it at a later date.

II. Old Business

A. Foundation logo has been chosen and approved by members – oval shape, color maroon outlined in gold with fleur-de-lis.

B. Bank account has been opened at Aberdeen Proving Ground Federal Credit Union (APGFCU).

C. Membership brochure: members viewed and discussed various brochure samples provided by Carol Nemeth and Jim Nemeth. Laurie Dawson has volunteered to design the brochure. Carol N. will meet with her and send the final design via email for members’ approval prior to printing. Design can be changed in future printings.

D. Web site: Jay Loane is developing the Foundation web site. The address will be HDGHistory.org.
.
III. Treasurer’s Report by Acting Treasurer Jim Nemeth

Current balance is $335; $160 from memberships and $175 from cash donations . The costs for checks of $134 and logo design $250 was paid, respectively, by Jim Nemeth and Ron Browning from personal funds, which they consider a donation.

There have been no other expeditures. Jim N. has put together a membership roster. There are 10 paid members so far.
IV. Miscellaneous topics

A. Tabitha B , a volunteer for the Foundation, is investigating the use of KickStarter as a way for the Foundation to raise money to fund a John O’Neill statue

B. Darlene Perry mentioned a Facebook page for the Foundation. Jay volunteered to work on this.

C. Ron B. mentioned the annual Havre de Grace Oyster Feast coming up in November. This is an event sponsored by the City to raise money for local non-profits. The Foundation is now one of these non-profits and will receive $10 for each ticket sold if the purchaser designates the Historic Havre de Grace Foundation.

D. Moore Family Homestead: Foundation can accept furniture that the Burns’ family wants to donate. This furniture was once in the house. Lauri Orzewicz will initiate this with Missy, a Burns family member with whom she is acquainted. Darlene P. offered to write up a legal Donation form to accept the furniture. She, Ron B. and Carol N. will look at the items.

Meeting adjourned 8:45pm