December 2010 News & Updates

The Meeting House is pleased to welcome Mrs. Barbara Boenke of Kents Hill to membership on the Board. Barbara has served on the Advisory Board and is familiar with what is going on with the Meeting House restoration, so it is a pleasure to have her as a full voting member. Barbara worked in the Chicago school system and also taught children of military personnel in Germany for the Department of Defense. More recently she was the librarian and a tutor at the Daycroft School in Connecticut and also served as a librarian/curatorial assistant at the Longyear Museum in Massachusetts. Barbara and her husband, Warren, have resided at Camp Menatoma since 2004.
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The work on five of the Meeting House windows was completed in November. Thanks to a matching grant from The National Trust for Historic Preservation the casings were restored and repainted and UV-resistant Lexan placed over the openings to preserve the sashes. They will be taken out and restored later as funds become available. If anyone wishes to adopt a window there are only 12 left to go!
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In November the Meeting House Board appeared before the Readfield Select Board requesting that the Town sign a Letter of Intent to the Office of Economic Development so that the UMH could apply in January 2011 for a Community Development Block Grant to assist in the Meeting House’s restoration. The Meeting House thanks the Select Board for voting unanimously to support the application.
To meet Federal grant guidelines there must be a legally advertised Public Hearing on the proposal so that everyone may comment. The legal notice will appear in the Kennebec Journal at least ten days before the Select Board’s next meeting on December 20th. At that time the public is invited to attend, learn about the UMH’s aims and make any comment they wish. Anyone not able to make that meeting may come to the UMH Board meeting on Thursday, December 9th and obtain information on the project.
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After the very successful Dave Mallett concert in August, Board member Flo Drake has heard from a number of musical groups wishing to appear at the Meeting House next summer. After listening to a demo CD the Board voted to invite one of the groups to give a benefit concert for the Meeting House next July. Look for more details. Also, as a reminder we wish to advise that brides wishing to book the Meeting House for a wedding in 2011 should be in touch shortly, as well as those hoping to hold some sort of cultural, musical or religious service. The Board has formulated a new, clearer policy for the public’s use of the building and it will be happy to mail a copy to anyone who is interested.