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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-12-11 Historical Preservation Committee Minutes December 11, 2006 Call to Order Chair, Betty Fuller called the meeting to order at 10:12 a.m. Members Present Michele Burger, Iva Nail, Robert Nail, Betty Fuller, Helen Payton, Ralph Williamson, Helen Lightbody, Thomas Stover, Weldon Cannon, Boyce Byers, Bill Byers, Chris Jones, Troy Fuller. Staff Present Joe Hennig, City Manager Susan Crim, City Secretary Ray McDonald, Director of Parks & Community Services Suzanne Hendrickson, Recreation Manager Gail Jones, Administrative Secretary II Ofa Faiva-Siale, Projects Coordinator Jerry Poteet, Volunteer Coordinator Ana Ahovelo, Building Attendant Visitors Mayor Mary Lib Saleh Beth Gathings Jim Gathings Shirley Mercer Donna Mickan Norma Lively Doris Brown Patty Benoit Sue Stover Gabriella Saleh Approval of Minutes The following corrections were made to the minutes from November's meeting: a. Under Old Business, item number 25, it should say W.N.M Fuller instead of W.M.N. Fuller. b. Also under Old Business, item number 25, the 1955 DAR survey of Calloway Cemetery was not done by a Boy Scout group. A Boy Scout group did a separate survey of the cemetery around 1991 or 1992. EHPC Mtg. 121106 c. Chris Jones made a correction to item number 26 under New Business. It says that Mr. Jones donated H.E.B. Chamber maps from 1973, 1974, 1953 and 1956. The 1973 and 1974 maps are H.E.B. Chamber maps. The 1953 and 1956 maps are not. Troy Fuller made a motion for the minutes to be approved with the corrections. Iva Nail seconded the motion. Motion approved. Treasurer's Report Treasurer Robert Nail reported a balance of$8,464.88. Mr. Nail received a Christmas card from Mrs. McCoiniick wishing the Committee happy holidays. The card was passed around for the Committee's viewing. Mrs. McCoiiuick also included a $500 check for the Committee and Mr. Nail will deposit the check tomorrow, December 12. Old Business 1. Everyone present was asked to briefly introduce him or herself to the gathering: a. James Gathings is a Texas native; his family came to Texas around 1845. He is interested in genealogy and is a Texas A& M graduate with an engineering degree. b. Robert Nail has lived in Euless for sixty-five years and is a North Texas graduate. c. Weldon Cannon is a native of Euless; he graduated from Euless High School and attended college in Temple. Mr. Cannon introduced his wife, Patty Benoit. d. Bill Byers was born and raised in Euless. He graduated from Euless High School in the eleventh grade (there wasn't a twelfth grade at that time). e. Shirley Mercer has lived in Euless for forty-six years. She was born in Decatur; she married her high school sweetheart who unfortunately passed away two and a half years ago. f. Iva Nail was born and raised here in Euless. She also graduated from Euless High School. She graduated with a Home Economics degree from North Texas. g. Doris Brown has lived in Euless for thirty-four years, she is originally from Ohio and she retired from the school system. h. Troy Fuller was also born and raised in Euless. He attended Euless High School with Mr. Byers. He later went into the oil business for seventeen years; he traveled quite a bit with the oil business but eventually returned to the area. i. Beth Gathings was born in East, Texas. She's lived in Euless for forty-six years. She has three children and she has a great interest in Texas history. Her great-great-grandfather came to Texas around 1834 chasing crooks who took money from him. Mrs. Gathings is a member of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. j. Boyce Byers was born in Kilgore, Texas. She expressed her great love for the City and feels very protective towards its staff and employees. k. Sue Stover is from Ohio and Pennsylvania. She is very interested in what goes on in this town of Euless. 1. Ralph Williamson was born in Florida,he briefly moved to Buffalo, New York as a youngster. He returned to Florida and graduated from high school there. He joined the air force and was stationed in San Antonio, Texas. He was in the EHPC Mtg. 121106 Korean conflict and he served in England and Vietnam. He retired from the service in 1971; he then went to work for American Airlines and retired from there in 1989. He moved to Euless in 1974 and has been a member of the First Baptist Church of Euless ever since. Mr. Williamson has four children, four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. m. Thomas Stover moved to Euless in 1972. He was born in Pennsylvania. His father had a fifth grade education and went to work in the coal mines. n. Helen Lightbody was born in Pennsylvania and has lived in Euless for a long time. o. Ana Ahovelo was born and raised here in Euless and never wants to leave. She is currently attending nursing school. p. Ofa"Mary" was born in Tonga and came to the US in 1976 and moved to Euless in 1984. She graduated from Trinity High School; she's worked for the City for about five years. Although all her family lives in California she considers Euless her home. q. Suzanne Hendrickson is the Manager of Recreation and has been with the City for seven and a half years. She is from Oklahoma but attended high school in Carrollton, Texas. She received both her Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the University of North Texas. She worked for Carrollton for fourteen years before coming to Euless. r. Chris Jones is a native of Kilgore. He received his degree from Baylor University and is in the insurance business. He moved to Euless in 1975. s. Donna Mickan has lived in Euless for forty-two years. She's from Georgetown, Texas. She married her high school sweetheart; she worked at Trinity High School and retired in 2004. She also owned and operated a florist business. t. Michele Burger is from Buffalo, New York and she moved to Texas in 1952. Her father transferred here with Bell Helicopter and all her siblings and their families live in the area. She also married her high school sweetheart and started teaching dance for the City of Euless in 1969. u. Helen Payton was born in the city of West, Texas. She lived in the Dallas/Irving area for a while and moved to Euless in 1950. She has two children and four grandchildren. She met her husband Jimmy Payton at the Fuller Brothers store. v. Betty Fuller is seventy-three years old; she attended and received both her degrees from the University of Texas. She was a teacher with the Hurst Euless Bedford School District. Mrs. Fuller retired from the school system at the age of fifty-seven after thirty seven years as a teacher. w. Norma Lively lives on Pipeline Road near the City parks. She has a degree from Southern Methodist University. It was pointed out that Mrs. Lively is an accomplished painter and her water color of the Fuller House hangs above the fireplace inside the Fuller House. Others of Mrs. Lively's artworks are displayed at various City facilities. x. Mayor Mary Lib Saleh was born in Atlanta, Georgia and was raised in South Carolina. She graduated from Maryland University and has been a resident of Euless for forty-four years. She has five children and seven grandchildren. y. Jerry Poteet was born in Fort Worth and has been working for the City of Euless for fourteen years. He has a wife and a daughter. The Mayor pointed out that EHPC Mtg. 121106 Mr. Poteet's father is a retired military Chaplain and often assists the City in the honoring of our Veterans. z. Ray McDonald was born in Shreveport, Louisiana. He attended and graduated from Trinity High School. He received his degree from the University of North Texas. aa. Joe Hennig was born and raised here in Texas and has been with the City since 1992. He became City Manager in 1999 and has lived in the area since 1982. He went to school at Texas Tech. Mr. Hennig expressed his appreciation for everything the Historical Preservation Committee does for the City of Euless. bb. Susan Crim is originally from Oklahoma, she has been in Euless for sixteen and a half years. Ms. Crim moved to Euless from Houston and now considers Euless her home. cc. Gabriella Saleh was born at HEB Hospital and lives in Bedford, Texas. 2. Mrs. Fuller thanked the staff for the great job they did at Heritage Park Christmas. A brief discussion was held regarding the attendance at the event. Mr. Byers asked if more advertising could be done on City events as he felt other City's have more advertising of their events than Euless. Suzanne Hendrickson explained that Betsy Boyett has a list of about thirty or so media contacts that are sent press releases on all City events as well as advertisement on the cable channel. Additionally, Mayor Mary Lib Saleh mentioned that information is also advertised in Euless Today, water bill inserts and on leaner boards around the City prior to each event. 3. Chris Jones has a meeting with Reverend Austin at the Library later in the afternoon. Mr. Jones will be interviewing Reverend Austin for the oral history project on Mosier Valley. Suzanne Hendrickson will give Mr. Jones the City's recorder for the interview. 4. Thomas Stover and Shirley Mercer will help Chris Jones with the oral history of the Tongan Community. 5. Robert Nail and Bill Byers were asked to fill the flip chart in the Fuller House with information about the area. 6. Bill Byers and Weldon Cannon were asked to work on surveying the Calloway cemetery in the spring or whenever it gets warm. Suzanne Hendrickson was asked to give Mr. Byers an electronic copy of the Boy Scout survey that was found in the Fuller House closet. 7. Mr. Byers was asked about the George Brown interview previously discussed. Mr. Byers will talk with Mr. Brown's daughter regarding the interview. 8. Mrs. Fuller will do an interview with Evelyn Himes in the near future. 9. Mrs. Fuller received a call from Dorothy Rencurrel, a member of TCHC and a former chairman of the Cemetery Committee, about the possibility of interviewing someone for a fifteen minute piece about Euless history for the Time Warner Cable Arlington Public Service Channel. Mrs. Fuller asked if anyone would like to volunteer to do an interview. City Manager, Joe Hennig, suggested that the Mayor could do the interview. The Committee was very agreeable to Mr. Hennig's suggestion. It was discussed that Suzanne EHPC Mtg. 121106 Hendrickson will put together graphics and a script that would be used for the interview. Shooting of the piece will be on Wednesday, February 4, 2007 at 2 p.m. 10. Boyce Byers reported on the McCormick Scrapbook Project. She mentioned that more scrapbooks were found and that she feels the Scrapbooks will be a beautiful addition to the Committee's historical collection once they are done. Mrs. Byers expressed her appreciation of the Library staff and what great support they have been since the beginning of the project. 11. The Committee inquired about the Library expansion project and whether there will be rooms set aside for the preservation and archiving of local history. It was further pointed out by the Committee that their hope is for a separate section for historical studies and archiving and not an area for Genealogical purposes. Joe Hennig indicated that the City has hired an Architect to study five facilities including the Library. This study will provide Council with additional information for when they make the decision on expansion. Mr. Hennig said that a local history/archive room would be included in any recommended expansion plans. 12. Mrs. Fuller detailed the Wilshire Elementary tour scheduled for Tuesday, December 12, 2006. Iva and Robert Nail, Bill and Boyce Byers, Jim and Beth Gathings, Helen Payton, Ralph Williamson, Donna Mickan and Doris Brown volunteered to docent for the tour. Three City staff members will provide support during the tour. 13. Suzanne Hendrickson reported on the following: a. New Historical business cards were handed out to the Committee. b. New Historical letterhead was displayed for the Committee. c. Copies of the historical brochure were given to Committee members. d. Mary has given all new Committee members their name tags and shirts. e. New open house signs have been completed. 14. January's meeting will be at City Hall due to the foundation repair work being done at the Fuller House. It was further mentioned that interior patch work will be done on the walls and where ever else there's a need, as well as window work, etc. New Business 1. A condolence card from the Committee was given to Norma Lively for the loss of her brother. 2. Mr. Byers reported that Calloway Cemetery hasn't been mowed in two months. He indicated that the group who previously volunteered to maintain the cemetery will return next year. 3. On behalf of the Committee, the Chair, thanked Mr. and Mrs. Payton for the use of their home for this month's meeting and Christmas luncheon. EHPC Mtg. 121106 4. Mrs. Fuller also thanked the staff and members for their continued support and dedication to the preservation of the area's history. Adjournment Chair, Betty Fuller adjourned the meeting at 12 noon. Respectfully submitted by Ofa "Mary" Faiva-Siale Projects Coordinator Euless Parks & Community Services EHPC Mtg. 121106