Call the meeting of the Newbury Historical Commission to order. September 18th, 2025 at 7:09. All rise for the pledge of allegiance. Where is it? Keep moving.
I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. There you go.
I need golf shoes. Okay, everybody. Could not be here, so she is obviously missing. Okay, everybody turn to their minutes of August meeting. calls.
It might not be. Anybody see any errors or omissions? I don't. Rich. No. Okay. Entertain a motion to accept the minutes of August 14th as written. I move that we accept the minutes of the August 14th meeting as written.
Second. All second. All in favor? I. I. Done. Okay. Lawn. Treasures report. I'm just going to pass. this way.
[Applause] Uh, well, it's going to look very familiar because I didn't get any updates. I went I went to look for them this the this morning and there weren't any any any I hadn't received anything yet. So, this is still as of July 31st. We haven't done
anything, but just the idea that I haven't gotten I haven't seen any emails from the town accountant. Yeah. Either and and one time when I tried to get there, I got a reply back that they weren't at their desk. So, Gotcha. Yeah. Because I thought there were two of them, right? The accountant and the assistant.
Mhm. So, I never heard back. So, nothing's changed as far as I know. So, nothing should have changed. Um uh and I'll I'll uh I'll Yeah. So, it's basically the same as it was before. Okay. I'll just I'll just let it go with that.
And there's there's there's there's money waiting to be deposited in in the I think it's about $55 plus maybe another 10 and 10 ones. Sweet. All right. On the same subject, did you has anybody heard if there's going to be a fall town meeting? There is not going to be a fall town.
No fall town meeting. Really? Yes. I had a lovely chat with Tracy this month. Okay. So, we're just going to have to spearhead this. We haven't had one in like 5 years. So, yeah. Yeah. I swear. I swear we've had them, too.
Well, I remember going to them, but I think to find out on the town website. So, we need to remember that they start pulling the information for the meet the spring town meeting in like November. I know. So, to get on the warrant with the with
our request, which we'll have to do it soon. So you were going to you're going to do the research on what how it the process. I'll do that. Okay. Yeah. Ahead of time ahead of time. October. Yeah. Exactly.
Yeah. So So after you put your Halloween outfit away. Um. All right. Good. Thank you for the treasures report. Uh lower green. Oh yeah. I always forget. Oh yeah.
Yeah. Uh motion to accept the treasures report as given. I move that we accept the treasures report as given. Second, Jan. Oh, yes. I had a second. Jan on the second. All in favor? I I Next.
Maybe I should have had a drink. Lord Green Lord Historic District Study Committee. Uh Robin's been out of country and so we haven't met but uh he and I talked about two days ago and we hadn't heard anything yet from
from the state from historical. So we lost our person. Remember that's that was our thing. So I don't know who's got it now but we don't have it back yet. Yeah. So he's going to he said he's going to be doing some checking to to see now that he's back. Yeah. I I'd send some emails in there
because who knows what's going on. Yeah. Well, we can't we can't really hold our public meeting. We got to hold a public meeting plus we're going to hold one, you know, three three public meetings before that to answer questions and things and then we'll do the final official one uh wherever town hall or
someplace like that uh for for everybody. We invite everybody to it. I thought you told me you had gotten comments back, but you haven't reviewed them as a group. No, we haven't gotten anything back from Mass Historical. That was the first thing Robin asked me.
I said, I'm I'm not on the email to get that, so I wouldn't know. He asked her that because I told you that. You said last month you said the first draft was sent, a reply was received, but two members of vacation, and no
meeting's been held. No. Okay. I don't No, cuz Rob, that's the first thing. You sure I said that? Well, you're the only lawn. No, I don't. Yeah, except for the one out. You know, I haven't I haven't seen anything. So that that's what you said in the
meeting, but I maybe I I misunderstood your what you said. Yeah. No, we haven't heard told you that came out. We haven't heard a squeak from them yet. So, but that's why he said it because I saw him at the moon function. Oh, okay. Oh, I see. And then he then
you asked him if we'd gotten it back yet. Okay. So on that subject, interesting factoid, antique shop customer was in. We He's from a historic district in Arizona and the historic district members get a
reduced tax rate in Arizona. A big incentive, he says. They would never do that here. Yeah. Big incentive to I can see where it would be. Yeah. Yeah. So people are signing up left and right to expand the historic district.
Wow. That's interesting. And if we get it here, that's something to check into. I'd love to be able to say that when we're presenting. Well, right. That's Yeah, that would change a lot of minds. I bet. Yeah. A lot more hands would go up if they want to be in it. Right. And then more people would be
complaining because they aren't special. And then you give them the the simple rules of how to do it. A year and a half and you're in. Love it. No, we haven't heard a thing that I know of. Well, we couldn't have because what
did Robin say when he met him? I just He said he hasn't seen anything and he asked me if I knew anything and I said you told us at the meeting that you that somebody got stuff back but nobody could see it because you did people were out on vacations and hadn't
had a meeting yet. So, okay. Okay. I I don't I don't know where I I probably had too much. I must have inferred something from what you said, I guess. Maybe we should I should have caught that in the notes.
Were they in the notes that way? Oh, yeah. Okay. So, that's all I have. Website report. Um, everything's pretty much the same at the moment. I got some updates from John and I says, "I have good news. We're
getting very close to deployment of the new website. Once that's complete, I'll be able to ingest the content of the website you're paying for into our new town website. will be able to apply proper ADA coverage to the town's compliance tool suite at no extra cost or challenge. It'll also become um I'll
also become the go-to person for helping add gallery pages, historical pages, whatever the commission would like. This would ensure that you don't have to run into another challenge of supporting or passing the website management between members. Finally, anyone on the committee will be would like to access or update in like he'll be able to I'm
sure nobody would want to do this, but if you wanted to do it, if you wanted to do it, you'll be able to do it. So it'll be much more interfacial. We should. Yeah. So that was my first question. We still need to have dual access, right? Well, he's got access to a computer. He's out on sick leave.
But exactly. It gives it more um um ability to that. And then when I was picking up the camera or dropping off the camera, I forget one of the one of the times I asked him about um transferring all the stuff that we have like the tapes. And he's got I guess one system there
that maybe can do the VHS. I don't know about the audio tapes. We probably have to send those out. Yeah. But he definitely has something in house that we can at least transfer what we have onto digital, which I think would be awesome. One, because it would be a money-saving situation. We wouldn't have to worry about it. But, um,
if they're digital, you could upload them. Well, that's my point. Upload links to them or whatever. Whatever. Just just having them digital, I think, is just a smart idea. So, that was one thing I said, "All right, well, I'll figure out like how many there are and kind of figure out what what the process of how long to do it." Um, but
that was very I was very excited about that because, you know, set I get a little nervous just like sending a box out to the world and then like never getting them back. So, it's like we'll see about that, but that'll that'll be our definitely irreplaceable fall thing. It's starting to show that
the commercials now for those things to get ready for the holidays. Oh, yeah. And I can't think of the name of the place. There's one that's really big. I forget. It's like the time. Yeah. So, but yeah, we that kind of will work into the we were at the library deal.
Yes, exactly. If we want to if we want to jump onto that. I mean, the um I don't know when they're going to move that drawer. Should we stop start talking about that? Because that's kind of later down in our little list here. But, um we went to the library and kind of went through the drawers. Yeah. And
so we have like one big filing cabinet full of stuff which eventually is supposed to get moved into our room which I asked the librarians or the guys that were sitting at the counter to lock since it's wide open and nobody's paying attention to it. But they didn't. So at least they locked the cabinets which I
think you can just kind of pull open. No, you they can't be just pulled open. The tall ones. No, the the tall ones. Well, yeah. I don't think that those are the most secure cabinets. are very pretty, but that's just me. I think they could just be pulled open with a little effort.
Well, we know there what was there already stuff been stolen out of there. So, yeah. Um I guess we got to talk to the cuz they had a sign out sheet and the person who signed it up was it's never been it's never again. Yeah. Not shocked.
So So So what? No discussion about where where and when to move the cabin. They said they don't know when it's going to happen. I we kind of all agreed on the location. So like when you walk into that room, there's two desks right there and then there's a window and that
window has a really high like um wall underneath it. They can tuck it right under there versus the other windows in the room are really low and you'd be blocking it. So basically we took the two cabinets and consolidated them into one so they could take one and get rid of it or use it somewhere else. Did we resolve the key situation?
Yep. Yep. Yes. Did you get new keys? I haven't got the new key yet. The key is still in my car. That's okay because I have I still have two sets and yeah, we're just Nancy I met Nancy the other day for coffee and she went I don't think I ever gave you those keys back. So if she finds them, we'll already then we'll
have a third set. So it's more is better than none, you know. So we'll be we're okay right at the moment. So one one hit the meeting. Oh, you found one. This is right. Well, we haven't had a meeting. No, we've had
a meeting said that this was good. That's what she's saying. Yeah. Okay. Everybody okay with the change to no reply? No reply. Hello. And we haven't held a meeting because missing. So it was just the no missing.
But there was there was one particular binder in that file cabinet that I thought was very impressive. There were handwritten um notes of discharge from the Continental Army in 1776. Those we should have protected. Uh, and they're just they're they're
just in like sleeve protectors in a in you know a ring binder. Um, I think that's better than they were before. Yeah, those should one be digitalized for sure. But then just I think better properly protected so they're not
but they they put the genealogy computer in there. Did you already say that? Yeah. Okay. So they can't they they haven't been locking the door because they have people going in and out of there to do it. They'd have to keep going in and out. Why does it have to be in there? Well, cuz I guess they didn't have any
other place. I mean, it's a giant giant space. You'd think that they would find a corner, but you could use that. Well, maybe if they get the cabinets out of there, they can work something out there, but she was going to talk to Alex about All right. We'll keep this on the safety information. Keep this on the agenda until we get
this squared away. Yeah. What was sign book? I think they were mats or something, right? It was an irreplaceable mask that walked out the door. Yeah. Yeah. So, it's And these book thieves are expensive.
Books are worth a lot of money now. We sell a lot of them in the store. Books are worth thousands of dollars and the book guys know where they are. Yeah. And they are good at it. So, we need to I don't like the fact that that room's
unlocked. I didn't either. I said, "What do you mean it's not locked anymore?" If people have to be in there, then move the computer out of there and move our cabinet in there and it needs to be locked. So, so we need to push that. I can follow up with She's very pleasant
and we met the new librarian. She was so happy we were there already and all of that, but um she was going to check with Alex Burke and um tell them what we that we did. We're not happy with the fact that the place wasn't locked up anymore because things
have been stolen out of there. So, and we know it. It's not an assumption. Yeah. Well, it's not back. Makes sense. Can't find it. If it was there, it's completely left the building somehow because it's not in that room anymore. I I vividly remembered like 10 years ago, stuff got stolen out of there. So
cuz Eva know who actually recognized that it was gone. She was looking for the same thing and it's gone. She's like it was in here a couple weeks ago. It was in here. Now it's not there. So that's more than once done. Not sure exactly. This was, you know, quite a while back. She had we had just gotten on the
commission. This is Barbara Rogers found a book missing out of there. So this is more than once it's happened. Yeah. So there you go. Okay. Okay, on to correspondence. Okay, so we have to go a little slower
because Jr. I have to write because I can't wait three weeks to get the meeting notes in case I didn't take very good ones because then I'm frantically scrambling to get this done and it's tiring,
one might say. And here's something. Oh, look at there at the bottom of the bottle. Okay. I sent an email to James about the fascia boards at schoolhouse, but I haven't heard back.
So, I don't know. Usually, he's like Johnny on the spot when I ask him to do anything. So, what do they need to be painted? No, the fascias again. The birds. Oh, they're starting to build little No, no, they've knocked the It's been like that for a while. The holes in the holes. Gotcha.
Apparently, I'm the only one that walks around the school. I don't look up as much as I look around the bottom. And you're closer to the top than I am. So, we'll see. I I'd like I hope we can get it done before the winter sets in cuz they'll be looking for places to
stay. Do Do we know if anything uh fancy is going to go on? uh next year for the for the for the whatever. No, for 1776 plus where are we at? So 300th um I mean the country it's
well I'm sure there's going to be lots of things going on. I mean you know if we're doing anything new specifically I would somebody sent us an email as it might be might be a good excuse to get the school painted. Yeah because it's it's it's unhappy. It really needs to be taken down.
And then now there's a new thing you can they spray on that's kind of sticky so that when you put the latex on it stays doesn't it doesn't crack off and then roll up into a little ball peel off. Just wonder would that the town guys do that for us if we had paper?
I think there really ought to have a subcontractor to do it. I don't think they're set up to do a big pro especially if they got to grind it down. And I I don't know what the the town's policy is is with the with the whole lead paint if it makes a difference or there's anything else for anybody else
to chime in. But uh yeah, if this stuff peeling, it has to be ground all the way down, sealed correctly, and the whole place should use a fresh coat of paint. And the fact that it's all white makes it a lot easier. Yeah. Um but it's it needs to go out to bid
and needs to get on town. Who do you who do I talk to about that? I mean, uh, James. Okay. Yeah. The main town guy, the town. Yep. He's the facilities director and mention we also I still need to have those lilacs cut down.
Somebody said one said he was going to do it, but Oh, yeah. I was just going to wait till we closed for the year. Yeah, that's all right. So, we didn't have big stumps while people were gathering, especially for the Essex days. M cuz I'll take it I'll take I'll take it down to that far off the ground.
Yeah, that's fine. And it'll still come up. But if you know if you can't get to it, we can do it. So yeah, exactly. I'm just thinking before next spring it needs to go before winter sets in. Well, if they're going to paint, it's going to have to come down anyway. So Okay. As I believe we've been told
several times. Only twice. Okay. Okay. Because the inside's going to need to be painted, too. Okay, I'll check. Yeah, definitely. We get tall enough flat as I was thinking that last time I was in there. It needs coat of paint in the inside. Forget I'm not going to bring it up.
It's out of out of order. Well, wait. Make a note forget because I know I do. All right. Let's see. Um Oh, this is my note about Sorry if we have to get kicked out of the library for some
reason. Why did we get kicked out of the library? for meetings. Yeah. But why did we have to use it? I forget. We couldn't use it. We couldn't go last week. Whatever. But
town hall phone systems are now online thing, you know. But I think that might have had something to do with my problem. Right. So they changed them on 911. Everything was back up to speed on 911. But that Monday I think is what
messed me all up. So not everything transferred. Whatever what else didn't transmit? No, because that's when I post. So I post like the Monday even though we only have to post 48 hours in advance cuz I don't want to have to try to remember it another time. So but everything has changed. So now
everything has changed and um the phone systems are all different and then they say nothing's really changed but it has. Okay. So, just so you'll know if you had a number, you just make sure it's still working if you're going to call somebody. Good to know. You should email people
first. Yeah. Um, some uh Molly Lindberg sent us an email and said asked if we had heard anything about a construction documents being presented for one Little's Lane to us. And I said, "Well, we haven't seen
anything." And I checked with Chrissy at inspectional services and she said she hasn't seen anything either. So, um I don't know why she thinks that Oh, is that the big house with the big property or the old house with the big property? No, that's the house that was Henry
Becca's house that all that was left of the stairs and the house in the back that um I believe um like not Spana, but um Spence PS bought it so that they couldn't take it
down. Okay. It's it was when the when the um Ipsswitch glass people were building that house on High Road, right? They didn't want anybody to look in their backyard. So, they paid a million
dollars to buy Becca's old house and then they tore it down. Wish I had problems like that just having so much money. So, when you go down Little's Lane, the first thing you see on the left hand side was like four steps in the middle of like Yeah. It's like what? What? What? If you
would never been there before, you're like, "What the heck is that for?" But that was the step to go up into the No, it's to go up into the the yard to get into the house. So, gotcha. I haven't seen anything. So, I told Chrissy I I sent her this um and said, you know, let us know if you hear
anything. So, um the planning director said she saw a item on our agenda. So apparently she saw right she found it. Okay. And said I noticed an agenda item about the witch
stone and wondered if you need any of the documents related to the protection of that parcel during the planning board's field stoneway property which is not a real sentence. Let me know. I think there is a lot of planning
board digital files plans and deeds. if I can help with anything. I also was curious how the lower green project is going and if they're planning to bring a bylaw to the ATM in 2026,
but I know that isn't a direct historical commission project. So, she's going to reach out to you or others. Is that Christine? Kristen Kristen me. Yeah. So, okay, that's good. Well, it's she we have to submit to the to her to the plan
when we get it when everything's ready. Yep. So, I said we'd be, you know, glad to send she can, you know, and as far as the forward any information they have to us as far as the Father Stone's concerned, I mean, we have I I think we already have the all the documents. I don't know why we
would need any more, right? Yeah. Well, because they had a because we have we have a plot plan and we have all that stuff. Yeah. So they had to pull everything for the whole area when they went to let let them make that the whole neighborhood thing make the development historic data. I mean it's not like
we're doing anything other than just moving it back. I don't know why we're even we just want to make sure that where we're putting it is it's okay and there aren't any clearance issues or you know Yeah. I mean I would think if we own that 10 square ft and
move back way more than 10 square feet. Yeah. Whatever it is, it's it's like 16 by 22 or something. Is it really that big? Yeah. I haven't been out to it. Oh, I drive by it all the time, but I just more look at the stone. I'm not like paying attention to the square, you know? I'm like, when was the last time you were out there?
I drive by it on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday because that's my route to get to my son's football practice. Cuz I was out there the week before last and it's still nothing changed. Where is up by that field? No, it's like right here. No, it's like right on the curb of of a road. Coleman Road, right where that new
development is in Fieldstone Drive. You turn the I'm surprised it hasn't been swiped by a plow over the years to be honest. That's Well, it's been moved several times now. Well, that's okay. Yeah. I mean, we can cover that now. Um I I reached out to James. I haven't heard anything back from about it
about moving the stone or the other stone which is supposed to go into the wall in Central Street. Right. Right. Well, they didn't see planning of paving things. Yeah, they did the whole library parking lot. Yeah. Well, they did on most of Bayfield. Yeah, they did Main Street and part of Central Street.
My son were driving home one day when that first happened. He's like, "We look like a proper town now." Like, what? I see the dig safe marks in front of Triton already. Oh, really? Brand new pavement. They're going to No, they're going to dig it back up again. I hate when they do that. Just finished paving it. Now there's dig
safe marks on the middle of the road. The biggest waste of time, money. All right. You have any more correspondence, boss? Yes. Yes. I got I got an email from Michelle believe it is Denner and she's with the
River Valley Charter Organization and they're inquiring about visiting the Lower Green Schoolhouse. Is it possible to schedule a field trip? Thank you. So, is that going to be for the spring? Because field trips are usually Okay. So, any question you're going to
ask me, I have no answer. Right. Right. No, seriously. Cuz I sent them to her but I haven't heard back. Okay. I said we'd need to know when we'd need to know how many children. And we closed the schoolhouse at Columbus Day weekend. So, you know,
I haven't heard anything back. This most schools do field trips at the end of the year. Yeah. So, maybe that's So, it should be, you know, she's planning now for the spring. I didn't say absolutely not, which I would never do cuz if they want to have down there, let the kids if we had to open early because they
wanted to have it in like, you know. Yeah. We'll accommodate if we can, but you know, we're not going to open it up in April. It wouldn't be much fun going to it when everything's got snow on it over well over it, books, books are all put away. I mean, we can open it down
do our opening couple weeks early or something if we have to to let the kids in. That's fine. And make sure can get us situated with our very important. So, yeah, I guess it would be the the private or municipal school. I don't know.
I think it's private. I had a friend that had a kid go there and I I want to say it was private. It's river valley chatter.org. It's right at the end of graph and um what is that? Right there at the end. You pass all the industrial park. Mhm.
And then there's like those fields, the school fields and stuff right there. It's right on low. Thank you. It's right on the corner of Graphen Low. Like right there. Yeah. I drive by it every day. River Valley. Yeah. I didn't know that. Okay. I I like I've been through the a million times.
Didn't notice it either. Okay. I thought that was interesting. So, I I did I replied and let her know, you know, to give us more information, but I haven't heard that. So, maybe she was just trying to get tentative info
to start with street. Where am I going? We'll just find route one and backtrack down low street. Yeah, we never did road. So, I guess it's not right right there cuz it made your bright horizons. You're right. But it's right here. Who's always local historic start corner?
We we we gave it to the uh select board, but not don't be throwing more information at me in the middle of the subject there. You you're going to confuse me and you know I'll leave it. The name was on the thing. Anyway, go ahead. Sorry. The name is on the thing. Oh, this
thing. I already said that. Mhm. Okay. 110. Hey. Who's ever my email? Hey, I always have to look at the houses. Well, there was the funniest thing 8110. Hey, because I got the email.
I went in, Chrissy was there cuz I went in to check. Chrissy was gave me the info and one of the guys from the PL the uh contractor came in to give her a check for something. And I'm like, okay.
So, I think I'll just drive by. I'm already up here. And you would have thought I came with a gun. They were all having a nervous breakdown. People coming out of the barn. They were coming out of the house and like, you know, well, we're we have a we have a permit.
And I'm like, holy moly. Relax. I said, I was just coming from and I figured I would stop on the way by and see what's going on because the house is an 1800's house. And Right. And you can tell it's been remodeled.
Oh, yeah. I would I would buy it. You can tell that so much is Yeah. so much has been done to that house that the house doesn't really in my mind qualify as a historic property anymore. It I mean and even if it seems of it even if it did I think in the absence of
um a historical event or or association with a historical person, right? It it doesn't meet the uh 1830 threshold. Now the barn, I have no idea how old the barn is. You can't really see the barn well from the street. No. Well, you can't see it well at all right now cuz it's covered with Tyve. Ah,
is that the right word? Yeah. No. So, they're remodeling. They're they're recovering and repairing. It looks like it's been remodeled a bunch. It doesn't look old anymore. It looks like a new barn. It was just house. It needed a new outside
which also has like all this stuff everywhere. And then that looks like it's been completely just going to look cuz I was driving by on the way home for this thing. You would have thought I came with a rifle that was terrible. I don't think I I just I don't think we can contribute anything here in in terms
of this project. Um what's been done to the property has already been done, right? Are we back at 110 high? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, they've already got their permit, so they it's the force has already passed us. They're going to they're adding on to
the side of the barn. Yeah. an auxiliary space or something. Yeah. Okay. Except that's not what it is. So that's like right by where they're going to be digging out that that water. Um going to be a 7-Eleven. Yeah.
But that you know what I mean? Like that's right in front of where they're going to dig out all of that stuff where the old dam. Yeah. So it was actually kind of I mean I was like god I should have put my you know I had that my card in my pocket and I didn't but you would have thought I had
a rifle. It was it was in it way it was very amusing like I'm like I'm just driving by and checking things out cuz I just came from talking to the grizzy. I said in fact one of your guys was right next to me to check for the next thing that you're
going to do. So it was very kind of fun. I didn't know I had that much power. I love it. Send me somewhere. I I'll go check out some house. It was too funny. I I don't know. Okay. So, I Let's see. Did I get through all the bodies here? Charter school. Yep. One Little's Lane.
Yep. It the permit lane. Oh, that's that's the 110. He's the he he was he's on that's the guy that was paying the money. Okay. And I think that's all we have for Cool.
And then I have all the emails I sent. I the reply to the lady at the school. Um the reply to the lady about one little's lane in the questions I sent to to James. So and we've already covered the
schoolhouse I mean the library update. Right. So that's already covered the witches stone. Covered the witches stone. We covered the bird holes, but you're going to talk the doors. Oh, while I'm there, why don't I tell him about about the painting? Why don't I tell him about the bird holes? Yeah.
Or have we already? No. Well, I said reiterated if we a little reminder. I mean, I know they're busy, but he always gets back to getting in. I think it's it's either woodpecker holes or carpenter the bees. Okay. You know, I found carbon the bees in the
steps. Yeah, that I wouldn't doubt at all then. Woodpeckers are the worst because you can't Well, the thing is the carpenter bee makes a hole like that big and then the woodpecker trying to get the carpenter bee makes a hole about that big. Yeah. People came the other day to look at to
visit the schoolhouse and they I forget where they told me they were from, but they weren't from like right here. And they were talking about Chris. And I said, "Oh." I said, "Yeah, cuz I said in fact, we have a memorial right outside the door the doorway here." And they were like, "Oh my god." They were like,
"Oh, yeah. He was the, you know, we had greatest. He knew so many things." And it was, yeah, it was really funny because I'm glad we had that out there so we could show it. But yeah, they're like I don't know holes. Let me see. See the big the black.
Yeah. So like just Exactly. Not that's not so much a woodpecker hole. That's just like a you know random hole that needs to be epoxied at least. Now they keep doing this every year. So it's the same things over and over again. It'll end up being like bats and things that go in there. See? And then this squirrels.
This is the one at my house. This is over like the back right near the back door. I I was making burgers and one jumped from the tree onto my house and it started like squiring around and I was like, "What the hell is that?" And my dog went crazy and it has that big tree
that's right near the corner. The webbed thing. I was like, "Who is outside of the house?" I I walk around like this. Really? Do you? Yeah. Look at the sky, not the roof. Okay. All right. Silly silly you. All right.
So, let's see. This is the It's a door. That door really needs to be fixed. Agreed. This little vest tubule is the one that goes up to the attic stairs. So, I'm thinking, you know, it's fair, you know, an awful lot of light coming through there and there's going to be little
cracks in the raised panels are not easy to fix. You can get stuff. There's epoxy now that I've been using on my house that you could squirt in there and it would make that hard as a rock. It would never come out. Would you take a take a picture of the of the product and I'll get some?
Yeah. Well, it's probably like I have the um I have the special gun to do it cuz it's like a $400 package to start and then you buy $80 tubes to put in there. You can do JB Weld to do the same thing. Well, I've appreci
every day the sun comes up that wood moves. So, a hard epoxy in my opinion is not the best. There's no good fix. Everything's going to fall out within 5 years. I think um paintable silicone put a backup board cocket and
so it's a little more flexible and yeah it just goes every day the board every day it gets warm it gets dry it gets wet it gets cold that door is always moving and they're never going to be able to do anything more you try your epoxy and try silicone and we'll see what works best
I had some kind of I don't know it was gray I put that in there what I was trying to do I was careful with it cuz I didn't want it to show from the side. Yeah. So, I kind of built it up but but didn't didn't make it squirted out into the building.
That's that's probably five, six years ago and it's gone by now. Well, it means you got to weather strip the outside is going to need a little help. Which one you looking at? This is this is the cabinet. Yeah. No, but the So, this over here is the This is what I This is what I
Yeah. Well, I'm looking at this right here, too. That I didn't touch. You're going to need a sweep or something to Yeah, that's These are easy. I mean, those are sweep on the bottom and a gas the door gasket on the sides. Those are my pictures. It's a crack in the panel. You know what it is? You're sitting
there and there's nobody in there and the doors are closed and the sunlight was coming in. I'm like, "Oh my god, these doors. Didn't realize how bad they were." They have a flexible marine epoxy. I'm just saying. You might you might want to learn about this stuff, too.
So what you just said is the same thing that John is that the flexible one Google it they will they got multiple on the website. So Google shape at the same and then look at the whole website marine epoxy. We should probably and next year
probably look at doing something with the main entry door also. You really got to you got to take it off lay it on saw horses. You got to back it up. Scrape it big time and do it early in the morning late in the day. put it back on the hinges and hang it. Yeah. This is the entrance door.
And I'd rather have us do it instead of the DPW. Yep. Yeah. That's Those are bigger than last time I fixed them. Yeah. I mean, it's so they're they're the only I mean, unless we can somehow find 1877 doors.
Well, actually, the guy who did the windows looked at those doors. He said, "I can make you exact replicas of these doors." Oh. So, he didn't say anything about I'd rather try to fix I'd rather fix the original door. I'd rather have them look a little crappy and we fixed them and they're still the ones that were there.
I agree. Personally, just throwing it out there. No, if we had to and somebody smashed our door or something on the roof, you know, and a couple of people commented on how lovely our roof looked. Some somebody came in on Saturday
specifically to tell me what a great job we did on the roof and the windows. So glad you're paying attention to this. She said, "I had beat three people after you left." I had one. Yeah. Besides the woman who came just to tell us what a great job you did. It's very quite a number of people.
I got to sort out what the name of the shingle. I've got the samples on my attic. They sort out the name of the shingle company. Yeah. So when somebody asks, we know. Yeah. We should have that written down. James has it for sure. I was gonna say James should have it, right? He paid for it. Yeah. Someone actually the one person
that asked me about it said that was was looking for doing that. Yeah, that's what a lot of people. Did you warn them and it's not cheap? Yeah. Oh, it was 35, wasn't it? 68, I thought. No, I thought it was Well, I thought Well, I told them 50. So, I thought it was going in the same
We budgeted 100 and I think we spent 68. Well, we budget 100 because you weren't sure. Well, it's also job though. Yeah. So the the building materials are may are are are not that they're more than regular shingles, but it it was the municipal part of it that made it the
big jump up. Oh, I didn't realize that. I thought it was mostly Well, and and then and then they put a cover over, you know, the shingles were there and they put a new roof on and then put these on the new roof. Yeah. So the but if you're inside, the shingles are still there.
No, they went right over. Oh, they put it right on top. Not, you know, not the wooden shingles on the inside. Oh, okay. They ripped off the other stuff on top of that, I think. Okay. I wasn't there. Yeah. I don't know. You were the You're the closest one there, kiddo. I I thought I remembered them tearing
the shingles off cuz I remember Yeah, they did because I remember going up and down on these ropes. They had somebody on the bottom that was hoisting stuff up. And anyway, there was a whole there were like seven of them there doing that. Okay. Next. Wives, kids, everything. Big part.
Luckily, ICE wasn't around. Okay, so we have heritage one more weekend. I personally think they have a heck of a nerve to put that thing out there and not ask us if we're okay with opening at 10:00. Yeah. Yeah.
That just could be me. And not only that, but the signs that they give us say today. Yes. We got to take them down. You can't put them up. Well, I'm going to I put them up Saturday. I'm going to put a little I'm going to little put a little stick on thing for them for next year. For next year, please keep us at ours at this.
No, that just says 10 to 10 to 1 instead of today so they can stay out there cuz it's to me it's ridiculous. You have to keep I had a lot of people come though probably because I was there in the afternoon. Good. So, they took plenty of uh paper documents
and all the stuff. I had someone take and we got I got a lot of $5 bills in thrown in there when I was there. Good. Good. All right. So, we have the the the days that are left. You and I have Sunday again or Yeah, we have Sunday.
Yep. I have the afternoon on Saturday. Is anybody in the morning technically? Can I see when my grandson's football game is let Oh, you're going to let me know. Yeah. Yeah. So, we're looking for somebody for this Saturday morning. Saturday morning again. I'll I'll take that. So, want me to do
10 to one and then Yeah. Can you cuz I I've already scheduled the haircuts for my kids and I don't want to reschedu those. Okay. So, Rich is going to do the A.M. Yeah. On Saturday, you'll let me know. I'll let you know.
Okay. Because we did I did the early one. I don't mind. It doesn't matter to me. Yeah. Me neither. Okay. So, just throw on Sunday. You mean? Yeah. And then we still have the weekend after that, right? 27th and 28th. Yeah. But that hasn't that's just normal us.
That's not technically trails and sales anymore. No, two. It's only It was two weeks. So, okay. Well, I have it on my calendar that it is. That's why I'm just making sure. That'd be our luck. I have the book in my You have the car, I think. Okay. No, I'm still uh I can't do 10 to
one. I just got something thrown in here. See? Okay. Can you do Sunday? I can't do Saturday. Let me see what Sunday looks like. Uh I I'm available Sunday.
Okay. So, you work with lawn on Sunday and I'll work with Rebecca on Saturday. I can't do Saturday cuz I'm going to a bourbon tasting. Oh, I wish I was going to bourbon tasting. I'm going You could have it at the schoolhouse. We wouldn't have a problem. So, Lon, um, you want me you want me to take early?
I'll do I I got to find out when my grandson's game is. Oh, okay. He plays football. Oh, yeah. I can't do Sundays cuz the football I'll send the text right now. So, I'll do I'm available for Sunday. I'll do the morning and you can have the afternoon section on Saturday.
On Saturday and he's going to work with Rich and I'm going to work for the Sunday. And then as far as I know, that's all we've got. Right. That's what I just looked for the trails and sales thing. Yeah. Okay. And then we still have So just when you go in, look at the
calendar and see if there's if it's empty. How's that? Because Yes. Definitely runs until the 28th. I don't need to. 16 days of Okay. So if I just send it I'll find out maybe while we're here.
Yeah. cuz I don't know about um Eva at all because her husband just had surgery again. They replaced his entire replacement on his knee. Oh god. And of course she doesn't drive. So that makes it kind of a problem. Yeah.
So what the We can always pick her up if she needs a ride. I know. The pro I've done that a couple times. The problem is she's all the way up on the top of the world there. Skinny little road. Yeah. She came down to like where the low street swings and I picked
her up and dropped her off there. But I don't know why she she's giving me plants so many times. I'm not afraid of driving off road at her yard for a little bit. Yeah. So that you know, we just go with what we got. So we're we're good. We'll just double check when we go in this weekend and make sure Yep. the last few days are covered.
Yeah. Cuz then after that it's almost it's one more weekend basically. Yeah. I mean, I like doing it, but then by the time the year starts closing, it's kind of like And it's much better when there's hordes of humans. No, I know. It gets exhausting when you're sitting there the whole time.
I know. It's the day is deadly long. So, I bring my guitar. I know. I heard jamming out. Somebody said, "Oh, there was a guy here before that had a guitar." Oh, yeah. He lives across the street. We let him come in all the time. But this is also Salem time. There's
going to be a lot of tourists here. They're they're reporting now that this is going to be bigger than it's ever been before. Salem, it's always it's bigger every year. It gets bigger. Yeah. The whole It's already cancelled every year. There's already people there. Yeah.
Yeah. Ann was supposed to be gardening at the ropes mansion and she just canceled. She said, "I'm not dealing with that." No. It's It's so so crazy. All right. So, I think that's every inch of everything. All right. Are we
Okay. Do we adjourn and then do show and tell? Is that I do now? Y. Okay. We need a motion to adjurnn. I move that we adjourn. Second. All in favor? I. What is it? 7:55. Yep. So you can turn the Well, doesn't we want to cut? Yep. I'm going to leave that on record
for a little extra bit. Okay. So, I'm going to read uh The Night Before Christmas to everybody. So, this is from the Transportation Bulletin. Uh what is the print date on this? 1963
talking about the the um street trolley that started in Georgetown. It was called the Georgetown Raleigh Ipsswitch Street Railway. Um and the uh connection
um where does it start here? Okay. So continuing uh Georgetown terminus of the Haveril Georgetown Danvers line extended northerly through North Street to the Biffield Town line. Continuing along
Main Street Biffield, it was to pass the Biffield depot. So picture coming out of Georgetown towards the Biffield Post Office. It crosses the Newport Railroad which is the power line trail now. And
then it would take a right at the post office and continuing uh to pass the Biffield depot which is the intersection there crossing the Newport Railroad. So the tracks I literally crossed each other uh and then run easterly along
Central Street and Elm Street to Middle Street. So that gets us all the way. So, from what I've been told, it came down Central Street. And when it got to the Central Street, it was it was on the south side of the road. As it came down
Central Street, when it got to the Central Street Dam, it crossed the road and went closer to the Mill building. Mhm. And then paralleled Central Street.
And of course now we know the stone wall at the sports field has been moved back I think 10 or 15 ft from the road. It used to be right on the edge of the road. So that leads me to believe that maybe the trolley tracks went behind the stone wall but in that
Manfield basically. Yes, the edge of Manta. So it was it was on the edge of Manta Field. No kidding. It says it went to Central Street to Elm Street, but I don't know if it went down what then didn't exist
was School Street, but uh it says it went central to Mill and then uh yeah, Central to Mill, Central to Elm and then went uh down to Governor Dummer to uh Middle Road.
Now this um I'm kidding. So it comes to Governor Dummer Academy, then known simply as Dummer Academy in what was known then as South Biffield because they had the South Bfield post
office was on Elm Street at what's the 55 and up uh Codwell Farmwell Farm. Yeah. So the so the South Biffield post office that was there because of the academy
um is how Biffield got their own zip code. Ah because of governors. Yeah, that makes sense. So uh yeah. So it got down as far as governors. Now governor's intersection has changed. Um they changed it I think in the 50s or
60s. So it it probably went behind the schoolhouse. Did it go like straight through here? Cuz I can kind of see the old road goes straight from Elm. Oops, move my phone. So it's that that what? So the walking path now, but it goes behind the
schoolhouse um and then into the common and then it split. So it went half it connected. So this is always a bone of contention that Eva and I have been talking about. middle. It was called Middle Street
then. Um continued across Elm headed towards Rowley which is now what's that court where uh dormatory E and F are there or A and B. Um
so so it didn't go down Route One. Okay. It went over the hill and came down to Glenn Mill in Rowley. Isn't that where the mill is? Yes. What was it called? The jewel mill. Yeah, the jewel. That's Glenn Mill. The one that's still there.
Oh, I knew something. It's still there. Yeah. Still there. That's not far from the father stone. It's like all right there. So, so Glenn Mill was on the other side. Um and so it also went north um from the
Yeah. So for from the academy the IPS switch line was extended southerntherly along middle street which now we call middle road to the present new port turnpike. So what we call the new it crossed the new to port turnpike.
So new portikeen group one. Yes. Glenn Mills. So at Glenn Mills it crossed and headed into Raleigh down Central Street. um different routed granted instead of leaving Middle Street at so then it went
north from Governor's on Middle Road um and at Highfield the tracks were to continue northeasterly along Middle Street. This is connecting to Newbury Port. So at some point
um uh so it crosses the B&M railroad um on a private rideway with its trestles. If you take the train into Boston, you'll see two big stone pillars
as you're headed south out of Newport. That was the elevated uh the street railways way of crossing the B&M tracks um just south. Wow. We need pictures of that. That must have been a ramp, huh? Getting up there. Can you imagine? Yeah, they did. So rickety.
They did. So going through Georgetown, you can Was this electric? This was electric. Um the powerhouse was on Forest Street by Field, which is now the substation for National Grid. The walk down there. It's
It's all fenced off, but it's like right along the train line. What What What years did that run? Uh, it was built in it was started to be engineered in the late 1800s. It was building it in 1899. I wish we still had a car somewhere.
Well, there's still pieces of the railroad ties and a chunk of railroad track sitting at the dam behind the guard rail. Really? Yeah. And when was it torn out? Um, were still there? It did not last long because of the invention of the Model T. Oh, so it
lasted about 15 years. Oh, wow. Um, so yeah, uh, talked about, uh, New Report News, uh, 1899 Georgetown line, uh, so on and so on. 5 cent fair.
Would have been so cool to, you know, just have one of those as like a So, I'll show the picture later. This is the picture from the B&M line showing the elevators. that had to have a quite a ramp because those things don't go up steep for grades. That's awesome.
So, wow. And um rather than So, this is about Fatherland Farm. Rather than have trees cut down, the owners of Fartherland Farm part in which a budded Central Street donated a
strip of land to the railway, establishing the company to construct a short stretch of private rightway, eliminating the curve altogether. Biffield was chosen at the site for both the car house and the power station for
Georgetown Raleigh Ipsswitch Street Railway Company land to be purchased. So, the car barn was on the Biffield Georgetown line. There's lots of debate about where it was because some people say it was on Tony's property. Some people say it was
further down towards Does it have any description there? Okay. Uh, company land being purchased on the east side of Main Street at Peed's Corner, a short distance north of the Georgetown boundary.
Right. uh for the former building. I don't know. Okay. So, did you say it was Peabody's Corner? Yeah. So, the company company land being purchased on the east side of Main Street at Peabody's Corner, a short
distance north of Georgetown's boundary for the former building, the latter building. The first one, one burned down and then the second one burned down. The ladder was located off of Forest Street near the Newport Railroad tracks for
convenience in the delivery of coal. I feel like they would say something about the mills if it was near the mills. Yeah. And they don't. So that's why I don't think it was Tony's property. And then somebody else mentioned they thought I remember reading this a while back on a Facebook post that
possibly where the um the old green houses were that not you know that area might have been there. Um cuz that's all right right there. Um
but it other than that I've never been able to figure out where much of the story. This is the accidents. So twice twice in here. November 2nd. This is the building of the elevated railway. A serious accident occurred in Biffield yesterday afternoon
in which a sister of Mrs. Wesley Tarbox was the victim of a was the victim period. A gang a gang this is the track lane gang gang employee of this GRCni road was engaged in blasting a stump
when a large elm tree large elm tree with dynamite. When the charge was set off a piece of tree about 3 ft long 6 in thick crashed through the window of her house and Mrs. Tarbox was sitting with her baby the Tarbox and her sister. The
latter was struck in the face with sustained severe sea fracture of the nose and she was rendered unconscious by the blow. Ouch. The the tarbox on her child was slightly cut but the broke by the broken glass. Some of the furniture was broken. Mrs.
Tarbox condition was quite serious and but the intending physician says she will recover. Goodness. Tragedy stuck the railroad the Georgetown Raleigh Ipsswitch Street Railway. uh the following day when an Italian laborer, these were all brought
in to build the railroad whose name was not reported, found hanging by his neck from a tree in the woods near Governor Academy. I knew this could get everybody's attention. The newspaper reports the man had come to the United States a few months earlier and despondent over his
small pay he was re he was despondent over his small pay he was receiving from the railroad. um so on and so on. But that was the excitement um of building the Biffield Street Railway. My god,
that so I'm to understand and this um it also at one point stretched to Plum Island and it went to Newbury Port. So it it connected every connected the hotels out there. But this is the same one that went down High Road down to the pavilion, right?
Did one by my house there was one that was one right down high road right next so did it go it has to be the same one because it's kept te they just must have kept teeing it off
but it says it went up middle to Newbury port you need to like make a map of like the old towards the rotary circle there's quite a bit of information here uh to go through it um and yeah and uh Jack did a post about this. That's probably where my original
confusion about where the the house was. Yeah. Yeah. There was there was uh they get one of one of them ran into a snow drift or something like this and was stuck for months one winter uh down about half halfway up, you know, down near uh tender crop somewhere in
somewhere in that area. It was because when you came up Hey, not high on to high. Yeah. That's where that the other school was, right? a district school, too. Yeah. It was across across the street. So, it's on the east side. Yeah. A high high road.
I've got a picture of that one. But even in our happy little schoolhouse brochure, it says hardship of travel. They reopened it. Students came from the um
the lower green was temporally reopened. renovation. What was it? There was a thing in here that says something about the um taking the trolley in the winter. No, I think there was a school near a trolley line. I remember that. I think that was the
one over on Hay, but I've got a picture of that. Yeah. Uh that that school with some kids out in front of it. Oh, cool. Same design as ours. The thing we think history is fun. We're out of history yet.
Oh, and then I got I I got another postcard. Checking stuff out. I got a postcard, too. Just It's the garrison something or other garrison. I don't remember the building. The garrison in No, it just said the garrison building. Building.
Yeah. What's it say? Is that the Is that the one of the end of Little's Lane? Uh manufacturing. That's who printed it. Oh, yeah. No, I Yeah, I think that's Spencer Pierce Little Farm. That's Spencer Pierce Little Farm. That's what it looked like to me. Yeah,
cuz it's got the little thing here with It's got the little I've just never seen it in that shape. Cuz you used to not with all the the greenery on it is what it is. Yeah. Looks Yeah. Yeah. I think that's So, did own that then once or there were like eight families that own
that. I just did the tour this year for the first time actually. And if it wasn't for like two and a half tons of steel, that building would have fallen down many years ago. Really? It's called old garrison, but then it says built in.
Oh, is that is that 86? Yes. Yeah. Yeah. So that that's the Spencer Pierce little far the far house. His game is a 10. So afternoon for me. So afternoon for you. So um so I'll do uh 10 to one. Did that work?
All right. Did you that I gave that to Lon? Lawn, you're supposed to be scanning that. Oh, you gave that to me. That's from me. I thought this came in the package with my other stuff. All right. Are we good? Yeah, I think so.
All right. Okay. Set her set her down.