March 12, 2020

Tabernacle Historical Society

Regular Meeting

March 12, 2020

The March meeting was held on the above date at the Community Center. The President called the meeting to order at 7:35 PM followed by the flag salute and a special moment of silence in honor of our former President, Dorothy Yates, who recently passed away. There were 12 members present: Harry Silvers, Ann Franzen, Rick Franzen, Meg Ellis, Eileen Chesla, Peggy Pitney, Neil Wilkinson,  Wendy Reilley, Patrick Reilley, Rickey Haines,  Barbara Toms and Mary Ann Silvers. The Treasurer’s report showed a beginning balance in the regular checking account of $16,930.16.  Income was $305.79  and there were expenditures of $2,128.00. The ending balance was $16,838.2015,107.95.  The Cemetery Savings Account has a balance of $6,633.74 after the addition of $0.82 in interest.

Old Business

The Pepper House Room Committee is planning to paint the right bedroom a light cream color with celadon green baseboards and trim.  They will leave the recently painted window trim white.  Carolyn Cuviello and Mary Ann Silvers will make a quilt for the bed out of a Civil War reproduction fabric.  Jim and Carolyn Cuviello ordered and donated a box spring for the bed.  It has been delivered and will be installed when the bedroom painting is finished.  The painting will be scheduled in the Spring when the weather warms up.

We can take responsibility for a Township Road cleanup and earn $200 each time.  Currently both Zimmerman Rd. and Bozarthtown Rd. are available.  The Franzens and the Cuviellos did Zimmerman Road and THS received $200 for this.  We will ask for volunteers for a future date and try to do both roads.

Updates continue on our website.  We are considering asking homeowners of pre-WWII buildings to allow us to photograph and post pictures of the exteriors of these places.

New Business

We will be re-organizing the materials from the Tree Lighting Event on April 11.  The items are stored in the right side building at the Cemetery.

Carol Reiner has secured a wood burning cook stove for us from Camp Inawendawin.  Her company will restore the stove at no cost and we will put it in the kitchen of the Knight-Pepper House.

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Michelle Tate is donating a pot belly stove from her home, and Rick Haines will be giving us one that had been used at the Haines Store.  Herb and Cheryl Armstrong are donating a wheelbarrow and a kitchen hutch that had come from Friendship Farm (now on Lee Farm property).  Eileen Chesla has donated a set of dishes and other household items for the Pepper House.

Attempts have been made to locate the stone which marked the boundaries of three townships before Tabernacle became incorporated.  The stone is on the old Spaeth Farm which is now part of Camp Inawendawin.  We have photos of the rock being displayed during two historical tours done by THS in the past, but no identifying landmarks can be seen in the photos.  Patrick and Wendy Reilley have volunteered to search for the location.

It was decided that we will again participate in the Passport To History Program run by the County, and that we will open the Knight-Pepper House instead of the Friendship School this year.  Volunteers will be needed for May 2, June 6, July 4, Aug. 1 and Sept. 5.

We have a new, interactive Facebook Page.  The old page has been retired.

Rick Franzen attended a grant-writing workshop on Feb. 5.  On Feb. 24, Paul Schopp of Stockton University toured our buildings to advise about grant eligibility.  His opinion was that our buildings have been modernized so much that they would not qualify.  He did think, however, that our old maps might be eligible for restoration funds.

A new protocol for conducting oral interviews is ready for approval and adoption.

Tours of our historic buildings have been conducted for Township Committee Members Kim Brown and Nancy McGinnis.  Tours for other Committeemen are pending.

The Society will be represented at the Smithville History Fun Day on May 17.  The Franzens will be there and other volunteers are encouraged as well.

Carranza Day is scheduled for July 11 at 1:00 PM.  Brenda Allen and her grandchildren have volunteered to present flowers on our behalf.

A date of April 4 was set for a cleanup of the Cemetery.  Volunteers are asked to bring gardening tools and trash bags.

There was much debate about the $500 scholarship we give to a graduating Seneca senior.  We will continue the offer for 2020, but will probably discontinue it after that.

On March 9 the Franzens and Silverses were given a tour of the old Tabernacle School #1 on Carranza Road.  We took many photos to commemorate the building which has been sold by the School District.  We also saw some artifacts that were found during the building’s renovation by the Lenape District and some display cabinets dating back decades.  It is hoped that these items will be offered to THS to

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preserve.  We are asking the Tabernacle District to sub-divide and donate the small piece of ground on which the Friendship School currently sits.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:35.  The next regular meeting will be on April 9 at the Community Center. Following tonight’s meeting refreshments were served and a hand-on-workshop was held in which we examined various documents pertaining to the Tabernacle Cemetery.

The next meeting of the Indian Mills Historical Society will be on March 19 and Atsion Day is scheduled for May 2.

Respectfully submitted by

Ann Franzen

Secretary