From the President's desk . . . June 2003

Dear Members,     It seems almost impossible that this will be my last letter to you since my two year term as president is coming to an end. It has been my pleasure to serve as president and I wish the best to Kris Rose as she takes over the position in July.     A number of things have happened over the last month: The city council voted to begin restoration of the Weaver House, Grove Avenue. The Substance Abuse Council will be using the building for its offices. This clears the way for the city to use the building as specified in the Weaver family will. This is a very historic building and has been in bad condition for years. This is a great step forward toward restoration of the center of the city. The heating and air conditioning systems in the John Hunt House Museum are being looked into for improvements. The city is still considering doing something with the Ide Farm House, North Broadway: possibly moving it to the Hunts Mills area. There has been some movement regarding the restoration of the Pomham Lighthouse in Riverside. Negotiations continue with Exxon-Mobil. Members of the historical society worked at the RI Treasures Exhibit, RI Convention Center, on Sunday, May 18. Thanks to the hard work of Ginny Berwick and Edna Anness, some East Providence artifacts were on display and we did pretty well selling baking powder cans, posters, etc. The society's web site is up and running. Check it out at ephist.org. Thanks to Rick Farnsworth, a DVD and video of Riverside are available. They contain 177 colored slides of the area put together by Peter Holmes and me. The slides are numbered and a script is included. The organ at the Crescent Park Carousel provides the background music. They are available at Farnsworth Video or Farnsworth Cafe, 302 Willett Avenue, Riverside, for $16. All the profit goes to the historical society. Progress is continuing on the fish ladders in the Ten Mile River. The Corp of Engineers continues to contact the society so as to ensure that we are aware of all or any changes in the ladder design at Hunts Mills. Three classes from the Myron Francis Elementary School visited the John Hunt House Museum recently. They were greatly pleased with their visit and contributed $50 to the museum.     My thanks to all the members of the board for their help over the last two years. I think we accomplished a lot for the good of the historical society.     I hope that all of you will be able to join us for the Annual Meeting/Picnic on Monday, June 23. Let's hope the weather will be with us.                 Dave Kelleher