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President's Letter
Dear Members,
Summer is in full swing. I hope you are enjoying the great weather we have had. Once again, the weather cooperated for the Annual Meeting/ Picnic and a good time was had by all. For the first time, a few city employees attended. We hope that more will attend in the future!
I would like to thank all those who helped me get it all together for the picnic: Dave Kelleher, Dan Moore, Jim Rose and Bob Tewksbury who did the cooking; Florence Adams who ran the shortcake table; Ray Anderson for getting the grill; Billie Arden who ran the 50/50 raffle; Peter Allen who collected the reservation money; Mona Breault who accepted society memberships.
On June 25, Dave Kelleher and I attended a ceremony at the Slater Mill in Pawtucket where the City of East Providence was one of 24 communities cited by the United States Advisory Council on Historic Preservation as a Preserve America Community. A representative of Laura Bush, Lynn Scarlett, Assistant Secretary of Policy and Budget for the U.S. Department of the Interior, presented the awards. The 24 communities cited are all part of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor.
I feel that we and the city owe a big thank you to Edna Anness, historical society Vice President. It was through her effort that the Heritage Corridor has recognized the Hunts Mills area as notable. THANK YOU, EDNA!!!
If you have been to Hunts Mills recently, you have seen the shell of the gazebo/tea house replica. Tom Galligan, construction teacher at East Providence High School, hopes to get some students together this summer to complete the project. If that isn't possible, they will finish it in the fall.
Progress is being made on the Weaver House, Grove Avenue, Contracts for the heating and windows have been made and the exterior work should be finished by the fall.
The city has received a $30,000 grant to begin work on the Williams-Brown Cottage, Hunts Mills Road. The long term plans are to renovate the house and make it available for affordable housing.
Ray Anderson, Program Chairman, is busy planning some great programs for the coming year. If you have any ideas, please call Ray, 438-2462.
I would like to thank all the Board Members for their hard work this past year. All that they do makes my job as president so much easier. It truly is a joint effort that makes the society run so well.
Have a great summer. We will see you in the fall.
Kris Rose, President
Preservation Committee
By David Kelleher, Chairman
I am in the process of applying for a grant from the state preservation office to help the society bring heating and air conditioning to the second floor of the John Hunt House Museum. I'm working with the city council to grant the society a lease for the 'Meter House': the small white building next to the museum which was originally the office for the Hunts Mills Amusement Park and then used by the East Providence Water Department. I'm also applying for money from the same grant to begin painting the exterior of the 'Meter House' and replacing the roof.
The East Providence Historic Properties Study and Designation Commission presented the annual preservation awards to the owners of three historic properties at the July city council meeting. As Chairman of the commission, I presented the awards to:
- John and Olga Paiva, 115-117 Roger Williams Avenue. The house is one of the duplex mill houses built by the Washburn Wire Company at the turn of the century.
- Anne Greene and William Skorvanek, 21 Sunnyside Avenue. The house is an octagon-sided house that was originally the band stand for the Boyden Heights Amusement Park, one of three amusement parks built in Riverside in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
- Mark Young, 19 Haworth Avenue, located in the center of the city off Pawtucket Avenue. There is some evidence that this beautiful house was once a library for the area.
The residents received a framed certificate from the city and a framed picture of the property.
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From the President's desk . . . 