Tuesday, September 6, 2005.

The president called the meeting to order with nine members present.

The secretary’s report was read and approved.

The treasurer’s report was given. The treasurer had purchased billfold calendars to give to members along with their new membership cards. A motion was made and seconded to reimburse the cost of the calendars. The motion carried.

A member gave a report on the workday that was held on August 9 (changed from August 8) at the old Huffman Mill Bridge. The painting was done on the inside.

He also informed the Society that Perry County had formed a group called “The Friends of Huffman Mill Bridge”. They have developed a list of projects that they would like to accomplish at the old bridge.

1. Make a parking area north of the bridge on the Perry County side.

2. Move existing barriers closer to the bridge to keep out four-wheelers.

3. Repair or replace missing sideboards.

4. Repair or replace missing end boards.

5. Repaint bridge original color (What was it?).

6. Fix the roof.

7. Paint the wood to keep the graffiti off the beams.

8. Check on structural damage.

9. Restore sign with statistics about the bridge.

10. Put signs in both counties directing tourists to the access road.

11. Install surveillance cameras.

The member is going to check to see about sand blasting the graffiti off the inside of the bridge. Another member told him to have a company look at the bridge, see if it would be feasible to sand blast the graffiti, and what it would cost. Each county (Spencer and Perry) gets an allotment each year for the maintenance of the bridge.

Dr. James Cooper sent an e-mail to a member about having black and white pictures taken of Boner Bridge. He knows the type of pictures that need to be taken to send in with other information that he has already compiled to see about getting the bridge placed on the Historic Registry. A motion was made and seconded to contact a photographer to have the pictures made. The motion carried.

The president told about a meeting he had attended with a man from the Indiana DNR about getting downtown Rockport listed on the Historic Registry. Only only a few people attended the meeting and nothing was decided. A member stated that for a project of that type, Lincolnland Economic Development should have been involved.

A member reported that she had received an e-mail from Senator Richard Lugar’s office commending the work of a Society member on the Veteran’s History Project. The purpose of the project is to preserve veteran’s stories for future generations.

It was brought up that a member had been receiving donations from alumni of Rockport High School to rebuild a column at the entrance to the campus. The Society had a plaque put on the lone column in dedication ceremony in April 2005. The rebuilt column in now completed and a plaque has been place on it with a very appropriate poem written by a graduate of the class of 1916. A picture of the completed column was passed around.

It was brought up that the school superintendent had called about the possibility of having a scout work on the Old Rockport Cemetery as a scout project. The scout had not contacted the president about this project.

It was mentioned that an e-mail had been received from the president of the Southwestern Indiana Historical Society about whom to contact to take a tour of the Lincoln Pioneer Village. It was later found out that the sender was the son of a former television math teacher that two members had in high school in the late fifties.

It was decided to begin planning for the 2006 Historian of the Year Banquet. Several guest speakers had already been discussed and it was decided to check with one to see what dates he would be available in April or May of 2006.

Further discussion was held on the selection for living and commemorative historians. A motion was made and seconded on the living historian. The motion carried. It was decided to wait until the next meeting to vote on the commerative historian.

Discussion returned to the work on the Old Rockport Cemetery and the work that still needs to be done. A member had found an article written in 1927 about the poor condition of the cemetery. [You can find the article by going to the Historical Society page and clicking on Activities link. Scroll down until you come to Olde Rockport Cemetery and click on that link.] It was decided to wait and set a work date after a frost.

The president mentioned that a donation of Daviess County Historical Quarterly books was given to the Genealogy Room.

One of the books that we tabled purchasing from the last meeting was discussed again after receiving more information. A motion was made and seconded to purchase the Indiana GAR book. The motion carried.

A motion was made and seconded to adjourn the meeting. The motion carried.

The meeting adjourned at 8:40 PM.

The next meeting will be Tuesday, October 4, 2005 at 7:00 PM.