SWAMPSCOTT — The Swampscott Historical Commission has a new chair and a new vice chair after current Vice Chair Nancy Schults recommended at a Thursday evening meeting that she and current Chair Justina Oliver swap positions while the town’s Board of Selectmen seek replacements.
Oliver said that the Board of Selectmen deferred the re-appointments, and that she was willing to recommend Schultz as the new chair. Alternate Kim Barry made a motion to make a chair change during the meeting but leave the other officers as they are until there is an understanding from the Board of Selectmen.
Oliver suggested to amend the motion to introduce a position of an interim chair instead of the chair change. Schultz suggested that she and Oliver should swap the positions until the appointments are made by the Board of Selectmen, and thus the commission will be able to make an election for all the positions, and that motion was what the commission finally agreed on.
Historic Interpretive Signage was one of the main topics of the agenda. Oliver said that the project was funded through the Essex National Heritage Commission, and that the town received a $2,000 grant for that and the Historical Commission paid for the rest of the project.
Oliver said that the signage project was aimed at providing a historical narrative about the location and the area. The signage went with a QR-code that could bring the visitor to a website “that has an even more in-depth narrative.”
She said that it was a big project, and that former Town Planner Molly O’Connell was very helpful in developing the website and webpages with QR codes.
“And that was a collaborative project for the commission to put those signs, and we are expanding,” Oliver said.
The commission discussed further meetings regarding the Fish House sign that is to be installed next week. Oliver said that another sign that will be installed soon is the Lilac Garden sign in memory of Louie Gallo who passed away last year, and who was passionate about the revival of the Lilac Garden. There are also plans to install the White Court sign.
“We are just beginning the design for that,” said Oliver.
The signs that were installed earlier were Elihu Thomson’s Home on the Town Hall lawn; Olmsted Historic District on Linscott Park pathway to the gazebo; and Andrews Memorial Chapel and Cemetery — on the walkway leading to the chapel.
“It’s a project that we are looking to expand and continue,” said Oliver.
Treasurer Ryan Judkins debriefed the commission regarding recent history days. He said that lots of people had an opportunity to see things that they had never seen before, like a blacksmith, and that there was also a library exhibit of the early town photos, and the beach painters exhibit.
“We did put on a successful event at the end of the day,” said Judkins.
Regarding Stanley School archiving, Oliver said that there was a lot of history in Swampscott that would be great for people to share and sharing the town history to the public was part of the commission’s goal.
Oliver explained that the town received a grant through the library, part of which went toward the archives, and this is an ongoing project.
“We have a volunteer that is helping the archives and sorting them,” said Oliver.
However, she said, the main goal is to make the archives available online for anyone doing research.
Concerning the Pitman Road project, which is a 200-year-old house, Oliver said that the owner agreed to gift the house in order to preserve it, and the plan was that the house will be renovated and turned into an affordable housing unit.
Oliver said that she was thinking of doing a family friendly fundraiser for the preservation of the house, and the fundraiser was likely to take place in the parking lot of Fisherman’s Beach this August.
The request will have to go through the Board of Selectmen, as the parking lot belongs to the town, said Oliver.
The museum exhibition on the 170th anniversary of the Town of Swampscott being incorporated as a separate town from Lynn in 1852 became another item on the agenda. The first part of the exhibition started last fall, said Oliver, and the second one has been on display for the last few weeks.
The next exhibit will be on hotel, accommodations, and the people associated with them, said Secretary Jonathan Leamon.
Oksana Kotkina can be reached at [email protected].
