CALL TO ORDER – President John Corbett called the meeting to order at 10:10 a.m. at 6314 West Park, St. Louis, MO. Eight members were in attendance; Bob Corbett, John Corbett, Tom Haller, Rose Kennedy, Bill Miller, Gerry Miller, Carol Nemeth, and Sally Sharamitaro.
Meeting Minutes - A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes of the last meeting. The meeting was held in March 2014. The motion passed and the minutes were approved.
Treasurer’s Report – Bob Corbett presented the most current treasurer’s report. The DHS has an ending bank balance as of September 30, 2014 of $9,684.38. A motion was made and seconded to approve the treasurer’s report. A vote was taken, the motion passed and the treasurer’s report was approved.
Memorial Day Paver Project – John reported on the Memorial Day pavers. He said that many pavers have been purchased as gifts. So, John created a new form that will function as a “gift card”. The members looked through their copy of the form and agreed that it could provide important information for the families about; the pavers, the Memorial Garden, and the exact wording that was chosen to appear on the veteran’s paver itself.
This year John had made several major changes, ones that not only lessened the workload for the DHS, but ones that most of the musicians were happy to see.
A couple of the changes that impacted the musicians were: 1) no competition, (no winners, no losers, and no trophies) and 2) each musician would keep any tips (dollars) they collected, and 3) the dedication at the end of the festival would not have to wait for the tally of the tip boxes.
He shared the fact that the family of this year’s festival honoree; the late Irene Javonovic, aka Rini Jarmon, was just delighted with the tribute and the plaque that they received.
John then gave his report on the festival expenses, which included also the list of donors. He went on to express his gratitude for the many local businesses who continue to support the DHS. Expenses were a bit higher this year, the total cost to the DHS was $109.44. The members all agreed it was money well spent.
<Bob said he has been thinking, as many other seniors his age are thinking and wondering, what will happen to their work when they are no longer here. He spoke specifically about his Bob Corbett’s Dogtown Website and his Dogtown Email list.
He mentioned that he gave “six months notice” to his Haiti email list this past March, that he was ‘retiring’ and needed them to think about how, or if, they wanted to continue it. Within the past several months his list has been completely turned over to a group of “listers” who are in the process of keeping the list going.
The DHS email list is much smaller, but he wanted the members to know that he is thinking about the future, and what happens to the list when he no longer runs it.
The DHS archives however, are separate from both his website and his email list and contain a major collection of photographs, framed items, binders, films, articles, DVDs, CDs, etc., etc. Such a major collection, he said, will eventually need to become part of a library, possibly the Missouri Historical Society Library.
In the meantime, Bob wanted to talk about the DHS creating a backup plan for the archives and where they would go if something would happen to him.
The members then discussed what options they thought might be workable. The Gratiot school building was mentioned. John will follow up to see if the family of Rose Gioia would consider renting a portion of her property on Tamm Avenue to the DHS for storage and possibly display of the archives. Bob himself will begin to put together an inventory of the archives that he wants to post to his website.
NEW BUSINESS –
Tom Haller wondered if someday the DHS might be able to purchase a statue of a “miner”. He feels that would be appropriate. Bob asked if Tom had any idea of what the statue of the ‘Boy and his Dog” cost. He stated that though the DHS does have a bit of extra funds at present, it would be just a small fraction of the cost of such a statue. That suggestion may be something we need to put on our DHS “wish list”.
Tom also mentioned that other organizations have brochures, and he wondered if it would be a good idea for the DHS to have a nice brochure. Tom will follow up.
GOOD OF THE ORDER –
Dogtown Name - There was discussion regarding the Seamus menu and how Tom Haller, Bob and John have at times given thought about submitting a ‘new’ history for the next time the restaurant/pub reprints their menu. It may be time for one of them to volunteer to set it down in writing.
Tom did mention that his brother was successful in submitting changes to the Wikipedia website. Currently there is mention of the name being referenced long before the 1904 World’s Fair; principally the 1889 newspaper article of the “lost boy”.
Dogtown Banners - John discussed the many folks who are reporting torn and damaged Dogtown banners. Some wonder if they can be repaired, others just want them taken down, because they make the neighborhood “look bad”. It turns out that the torn banners cannot be repaired, and that the folks on “the Hill” have turned to metal banners for that very reason. John reminded the members that the DHS does not own, nor did they provide the banners, but has underwritten the banner project, given the need for ‘insurance’.
The meeting adjourned at 11:15 a.m. The next meeting will be March 2015 at 10:00am. An email will be sent to all list members announcing the meeting, date and location.
Respectfully submitted,
Sally Ryan Sharamitaro
Secretary
Dogtown Historical Society
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