From the President's desk . . . March 2003

February was a busy month for the Society and I have a lot to report to you.     Our monthly membership meeting was of great interest. Les Howarth brought a number of historic flags to the second of our winter pot luck suppers. He explained the historic background of each flag and how they were used over the years. Small center pieces of flags from different countries were given to members at each table, and he presented a flag to Edna Anness on her resignation as curator of the museum.     During the meeting plaques of appreciation were presented to Edna Anness and Earl Berwick on the occasion of their resignations after many years of service, Edna as curator and Earl as chair of the building committee. The Sitting Room at the Hunt House has been named in Edna’s honor, and the Summer Kitchen named in Earl’s honor.     Nancy Moore and her crew of volunteers did an excellent job at our first Antique Appraisal Day. It was a great social success for all who participated. The society received a profit of $497.00 from the event. There has been some movement on the possibility of saving the Ide House on North Broadway. The owner of the property has offered $5000 toward the moving of the house. Discussions are now going forward with the city looking into the possibility of using the house for affordable housing. There are two possible sites for the house, moving it to one of the back lots on the site (meaning the city would have to buy the lot from the present owner) or moving it to the site of the Walker House (Preserve R.I. to get back to us if they are in favor of the move).     There was a meeting about the fish ladder at Hunt’s Mills Dam. The discussion centered around the including in the design of the fish ladder a pool for storing fish so that they could be transferred to other sites. They were wanting to put in some kind of hydraulic system to do the job. Thankfully, Ed Serowick and Ray Anderson were there to object and also Jean Boyle of the Planning Department was against it. There will only be a holding pool in the design and the fish will have to be taken out by nets.     Good news about the Pomham Light. There is a new manager at the Riverside Mobil Exxon site. He is a member of the Coast Guard and is in favor of saving lighthouses. We will meet with him on the 10th of April to begin discussions on what we can do to restore the lighthouse.     Edna Anness is continuing to organize the Society’s participation in the R.I. Treasures Exhibit to be held at the convention center in May. More details in our April newsletter.     Hope to see you at our next meeting.     Dave Kelleher