MINUTES OF THE DOGTOWN HISTORICAL SOCIETY
July 17, 2010

CALL TO ORDER – President John Corbett called the meeting to order at 10:10 a.m. at the home of Tom and Lucy Corbett at 1411 Tamm, St. Louis, MO. Eleven members plus four guests were in attendance; Bob Corbett, John Corbett, Lucy Corbett, Tom Corbett, Tom Haller, Michelle Kennedy, Rose Kennedy, Carol Nemeth, Mitch Scherzinger, Sally Sharamitaro, Bill Waterhouse and our guests; Crystal Brown, Eva Kennedy, Jerome Wilson and Travis Wood.

Meeting Minutes - A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes of the May 8, 2010 meeting with one addition; Tom Haller was in attendance. A vote was taken, the motion passed and the minutes were approved.

Treasurer’s Report – Bob Corbett presented the most current treasurer’s report. The current balance as of 6/30/10 is $3,541.19, of which $2,262.63 is in the bench project fund. 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.

CURRENT BUSINESS

Archives/Donations- Bob reported that the open house held at his home at 1419 Tamm Ave., June 17th was a great success. The members and guests were able to view the binders full of various documents, the framed archives that were displayed in one room of the house, and the maps and other objects displayed in another room.

Bob then updated the members on the newest donations he has received. He thanked Bill Vorbeck for his donation of several Compact Disks (CDs), one with St. Patrick’s Day Parade Photos, two with copies of the Cheltenham Book, and two with various years of emails from the Dogtown Email List.

There is a need, Bob stated, for further organization of the archives. He would love to be able to save all of the emails that give historical information, and to save them in a way that they are searchable.

Street Musician’s Festival– John introduced three special guests who spoke about their interests and contributions to the Dogtown Street Musician’s Festival.

Crystal Brown’s specialty is piano and voice, a graduate of Webster University, Crystal teaches piano at her home. She has agreed to be one of the three judges for the Festival and to assist in selecting the other two judges, along with helping with other planning activities.

Travis Wood’s specialty is connecting local music and musicians, via his internet blog. Travis plans to create a flyer and to utilize his blog to notify and assist local street musicians with audio/video samples.

Jerome Wilson’s specialty is photography, and UTube videography. Jerome plans to make several music videos of the street musicians chosen to play at the Festival and post them on UTube to help publicize the Festival.

John announced that next Tuesday he has arranged a “sound check” for the street musicians who passed the application process and who will perform at the Festival on September 11th. This will help in planning the distance between musicians.

Plans are for the local businesses to sponsor the benches where each of the street musicians will be stationed and will perform for 2 hours, from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

John plans to have tents set up in various locations, and an Information booth manned by DHS members with event flyers and pamphlets. He wants the trophies to be called “Tammy’s” (for Tamm Avenue). He plans to have at least three trophies along with several other awards.

It is understood that there will be expenses and John, along with approaching businesses in and out of Dogtown, spoke with the Riverfront Times, who indicated that they would very much like to participate. John will follow up, and for the ad he plans to run in their paper.

A lively discussion followed about the festival, the plans and the performers with various questions asked of our three guests and Alderman Bill Waterhouse. Mr. Waterhouse, who grew up in Dogtown, has been most supportive of the DHS and has been working with John on various projects, ie, the neighborhood banners, etc., that he sees as positive for the neighborhood. He told the members that the required city permits have been submitted, and that a meeting is scheduled for the city’s official approval.

Bob made a motion that the DHS underwrite any remaining costs for the festival. The motion was seconded, a vote was taken and the motion passed unanimously.

Tom Haller asked about clean up, and John answered that a committee would be created to pick up and clean the festival areas. John knows that this will be the first year for the music festival, but he said he doesn’t expect problems.

Soldier’s Memorial Project –Bob began the discussion by reporting that he received more Dogtown veteran names and will post the corrected/updated list on his website. He added that most of these additions seemed to be veterans who served and survived, none who died in combat.

John and Bill Waterhouse discussed the city permits and the monument. Bill informed John that the city needs the name of the Park and a drawing of the designated park area for the final approval process.

Discussion followed on the park, the memorial area and the landscaping around the memorial. Bob recommended that we go first to the Dogtown neighborhood before we contact a professional landscaper. Several names were suggested. Bob will follow up.

John’s hope is that the stone will be in place by Veteran’s Day, November 11, 2010 for the ceremony dedicating the park and the memorial

The meeting adjourned at 11:40 a.m. The next business meeting will be Saturday, August 14, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. at 1411 Tamm Ave, St. Louis, MO 63139

Respectfully submitted,
Sally Sharamitaro
Secretary
Dogtown Historical Society