Mid-Atlantic Chapter Robert McLaughlin, Vice PresidentThe spring meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of SPOOM was held at Union Mills, MD on March 27 and 28, 2009. Friday March 27 was an all day seminar on working with mill stones led by Ivan Lufriu of Union Mills assisted by Mason Maddox of Colvin Run Mill. Pastries and coffee were available from 8 to 9 and a wonderful lunch of soup and sandwiches was included. Topics from lifting the stones, to setting them to begin grinding were covered. Others carpooled to several local historical sites including several mills. That evening some of the group gathered at a local restaurant for dinner and conversation. Saturday registration began at 8 am with pastries, fruit and beverages. The business meeting began at 9 am. The new and returning Chapter officers and Board members were introduced. We continued the discussion of our “One for One Membership Drive, Chapter help to mill owners, and our plans for the August 2009 Chapter meeting in Bucks County, PA. The business meeting closed at 10:30 am and was followed by a roundtable discussion led by Judy Grove on the proposed approach to developing the 2011 bi-centennial celebration of Mid-Atlantic milling. After lunch of Brunswick stew and other delicacies, Chris Gillis gave a talk on wind power. Chris’s book “Windpower” was reviewed in the Fall 2008 issue of Old Mill News.
The next meeting will be held at Stover-Myers Mill (PA-009-024) in Bucks County, PA on Aug. 15. Plans are in the early stages but include: a business meeting, lunch, a talk by Earl Brown on the worldwide flour trade and a tour of the Mercer Museum which has a large collection of pre-industrial American tools.
Other news from the Mid Atlantic Region. Restoration continues on the Breneman-Turner Mill, Rockingham County, VA. Get more information at their website: http://www.vbmhc.org/turner/turner.shtml. The Pierce Mill, Washington, DC (MD-999-001) continues with restoration of the wooden milling machinery. Fund raising continues for the water pumping system required to run the mill. The design is complete and the installation is ready to proceed as soon as funding is in place. They hope to be fully operational in 2011. Get the latest news at their website: http://www.peircemill-friends.org/. Get further chapter information and the latest news on our webpage at: http://www.unionmills.org/spoommidatlantic/index.html. ************************************************************August 8 , 2008 MeetingBy Robert Lundegard, Vice PresidentThis report is oriented to other SPOOM Chapters. Through these reports, we hope to encourage cross Chapter coordination.The Mid-Atlantic Chapter held their semiannual meeting in the York County, Pennsylvania area on August 8 th and 9 th, 2008. Members gathered on Friday morning for registration and breakfast at the Wallace-Cross Mill in rural York County. Later, members were treated to a talk on the history of the mill, in addition to a tour and interpretation of the mill’s operation. That afternoon, attendees moved to the nearby Ma & Pa Heritage Village at Muddy Creek Forks, where they enjoyed a box lunch and a tour of the village mill, grain elevator and A. M. Grove Store/Post Office/Railroad Station. After a presentation on the history of the village and its connection to the Maryland and Pennsylvania (Ma & Pa) Railroad, all were treated to a ride on the Ma & Pa tracks. Friday evening, members were guests of the York County Department of Parks and Recreation for dinner at the Richard M. Nixon County Park, after which they enjoyed a tour of its nature center. The meeting was hosted by Judy Grove with substantial help from the Friends of the Wallace-Cross Mill, and the York County Department of Parks. Judy and her friends were excellent hosts and the participants had a rewarding and congenial experience. The meeting was great fun. SPOOM-MA expressed its appreciation to Judy Grove for doing an outstanding job. The photos below were taken by Steve Spring, millfoto@aol.com, and capture some of the enjoyable highlights of the meeting. Saturday morning, participants went to the Agricultural and Industrial Museum of York County, for a talk on Creating Lasting Philanthropic Partnerships for Mill Preservation. After a box lunch, The SPOOM-MA business meeting was begun by Chapter President Chuck Ives. The meeting covered an agenda which included:
The new Chapter letterhead, logo, and brochure, preparerd by Steve Spring and Nick Yannarell, were approved by the Board with a few modifications. These will be on display at the SPOOM-MA table at our September national meeting in Grantsville, MD. The Chapter will have a SPOOM-MA information table at the next SPOOM national meeting. Marge Lundegard reported on the arrangements and asked for contributions of mill brochures and appropriate signs and photos. The table will be set up on Thuresday September 25. The Nominating committee distributed the proposed slate of officers for the 2009-2011 term. There were no additions from the floor. The slate was approved unanimously. The new officers are: Robert Lundegard, President, Robert McLaughlin, Vice President, Judith Grove, Secretary, Jane Sewell, Treasurer There was discussion of the proposed approach for attracting new SPOOM members. There is an urgent need to attract new members and reverse the losses of recent years. Membership is now about 1200 members down from a high of over 2000. The proposed approach was approved for presentation to the SPOOM Board at the September 2008 national meeting. The goal behind the approach is for each current member to recruit one new member. At our March 2008 meeting, Chuck Ives appointed a committee, to be chaired by Judy Groves, to develop an approach and proposal for a Mid-Atlantic bicentennial celebration of milling in the Mid-Atlantic region. Committee members include: Mason Maddox, Bob Anderson, Chuck Ives, Ivan & Marlene Lufriu, Richard Abbott, and Bob Lundegard. Judy passed out a proposed approach for organizing this celebration. The proposal was discussed with enthusiasm. Judy was asked to prepare a time line for guiding Chapter activities over the next three years leading up to the celebration. These activities will be discussed at our next meeting. The next Chapter meeting will be held on March 28, 2009 at the Union Mills in Carroll County, MD.
*************************************************************************** March 8, 2008 Meeting By Robert Lundegard, Vice PresidentOur Chapter met on March 8, 2008 at the Morris County Visitors Center at the Cooper Mill in northwestern New Jersey. The meeting was hosted by Ivins Smith and his wife Joanne. The Smiths were marvelous hosts and the meeting was great fun. SPOOM-MA expressed its appreciation to the Smiths for doing an outstanding job. This report is oriented to other SPOOM Chapters. SPOOM-MA members are kept well informed about Chapter activity by Susan Langley’s excellent newsletter. By writing for other Chapters we hope to encourage cross chapter coordination and to learn from other Chapter programs. The business meeting of SPOOM-MA was held on March 8, at 9:00 am in the Morris County Visitors Center at the Cooper Mill site. The agenda, prepared by our president Chuck Ives, included: 1. Chapter participation in the SPOOM national meeting in September, 2. A Strategy for attracting new members. 3. Celebrating the Bi-centennial of Mid Atlantic Milling, and 4. Hosting the next Chapter meeting in August, 2008. A new Chapter letterhead, with a logo preparerd by Steve Spring, was passed out to open the discussion of the need for publicy materials. A SPOOM-MA brochure needs to be prepared using the logo, the bylaws, and the Chapter program goals. After discussion, it was decided to have a SPOOM-MA information table at the next SPOOM national meeting in Grantsville, MD at Stantons Mill. Marge Lundegard agreed to make the necessary arrangements. The Nominating committee distributed a proposed slate of officers for the 2009-2011 term. After discussion, the slate was approved and will be voted on at the August meeting. The new officers will take up their duties in January, 2009. There was substantial discussion of what SPOOM Chapters can do to attract new members by getting our message to outsiders. There is an urgent need to attract new members and reverse the losses of recent years. Membership is now about 1200 members down from a high of over 2000. It is recognized that our most important asset in attracting the public interest is the Old Mill News (OMN). Discussion followed on: making use of the extra issues of OMN to introduce our society to outsiders; establishing working links with related societies, like TIMS, the Tide Mills Conference, and the National Barn Alliance to attract new members; establishing out-reach programs at high schools, vo-tech schools, history groups and colleges as other communities; using all Chapter members in contacting possible new members in their communities. The discussion concluded by Chuck Ives appointing a Membership Committee and asking that a statements of duties and responsibilities be prepared as a basis for further discussion at the next meeting. The members present from the Colvin Run Mill (CRM) announced the plans to celebrate the CRM bicentennial in 2011. These plans include the CRM proposal to the SPOOM Board to host the 2011 SPOOM annual meeting. This meeting will focus on the history of milling in early America. Several Chapter members proposed Chapter participation in the celebration of early American mills in coordination with SPOOM and the Colvin Run Mill. Those present responded favorably to this suggestion and Chuck Ives appointed a committee, to be chaired by Judy Groves, to develop an approach and proposal for such a Mid-Atlantic celebration. Committee members include: Mason Maddox, Bob Anderson, Chuck Ives, Ivan & Marlene Lufriu, Richard Abbott, and Bob Lundegard. A proposal is to be prepared for discussion in August. The next Chapter meeting will be held on August 9, 2008 at the Wallace Cross Mill in York, Pennsylvania. The business meeting will be on Saturday and will be a part of a larger program of tours and visits to local museums and mills. There will be presentations on the restoration and interpretation of the Wallace Cross Mill. |
