Waushara County Historical Society Newsletter Jan. 2011

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Historical Society (wausharamuseum@yahoo.com)
Mon, 24 Jan 2011 08:47:25 -0800 (PST)

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Message-ID: <684417.37286.qm@web113212.mail.gq1.yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 08:47:25 -0800 (PST)
From: Historical Society <wausharamuseum@yahoo.com>
Subject: Waushara County Historical Society Newsletter Jan. 2011

Page 1 Waushara County Historical and Genealogy Society Newsletter ~ JANUARY, 2011 Your Board Members: Marvin Wagner, President …nevadamarv@yahoo.com Phyllis Grebe, Vice-President…920-787-7913 Beth Wilcox, Secretary…920-787-3682 Bruce Runnels, Newsletter editor, Curator & Treasurer… Bruce Runnels, Newsletter editor, Curator & Treasurer… runnels1@ear thlink.net Robert Blake…rvblake@centurylink.net Mike Bednarek, Genealogist; Joyce Klinger, Florence Andersen, Gina Wenzel,
Dee Zillhart…Genealogy President…drechek@yahoo.com

Museum Hours: Monday, Wednesday & Friday 8-11 a.m. - Open for research Wednesday 1-4 p.m. - Open for Tours, History & Genealogy Resear ch. Saturday 1-4 p.m. Museum open by appointment only.
Call 920-787-7584 during open hours.

Page 2: WAUSHARA COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC.

SUMMARY OF CREDITS AND EXPENSES FOR 2010     �
�            Cash or   PayPal:
            �
�
            �
�
         Check: CREDITS: Donations, Tours & Special Events
            �
�     $639.58 Genealogy memberships
            �
�
   $150.00 Historical Society memberships       �
�
        $630.00 CD Interest for 2009:
M&I Bank Interest on CD paid on Jan. 21, 2010:   �
�       $32.86
CD transferred to checking account: $7067.29 PayPal income from obituary research      �
�
            �
� $30.00 Wagner Semi Parking Fees for Sandcrest Property    �
�      $200.00 Taxable Sales, including garage sales
            �
� $215.30 Non-taxable food sales        �
�
            �
� $103.66 Copies & Research Fees        �
�
            �
� $120.25 Reimbursement from City on WW2 rental
            �
�   $50.00        �
� SUB TOTALS:          �
�
            �
�          $2141.65 �
� $30.00 TOTAL CREDITS:
            �
�
            �
�     $2171.65

EXPENSES: Repairs & maintenance including insulation & hardware   �
� $525.67 Food and cookie tins for resale & special events    �
�     $165.55 Equipment, cleaning & office supplies
            �
� $2193.02 Website, ancestry.com, & advertising      �
�
   $389.05 Sandcrest property expenses:
Guernsey Dale School: balance due on moving
         $1000.00
Lawn Mowing         �
�
            �
�            $50.0 0 Rentals: WW2 memorial, P.O. Box & Safety deposit box   �
� $167.00 Phone & Internet         �
�
            �
�      $1094.42 Postage
            �
�
            �
� $126.16 Miscellaneous Fees:
Memberships: State Historical Society & W.A.C.C.   �
�     $190.00
Legal fees & copies of legal documents
             $1 139.31
Seller's permit
            �
�
         $20.00 Insurance: General Casualty Company      �
�
    $499.00 TOTAL EXPENSES:
            �
�
       $7559.18

TOTAL LOSS FOR 2010:
            �
�
$-5387.53

Certified to be true and correct, based on information, receipts & statements available as of January 1, 2011.

/s/______________________________________________
Bruce B. Runnels, Treasurer
January 1, 2011

Page 3: WAUSHARA COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC. 221 S. SAINT MARIE ST., P.O. BOX 616 WAUTOMA, WI 54982-0616

Financial Statement and Recapitulation.
           Checking Period: January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2010
    Account Outstanding checks not included on bank statements.    #2537 4503: Balance in M&I Checking Account #25374503 Jan. 1, 2010: $3,949.41
Credits deposited during 2010, including CD transfer  �
� $9,103.30
Sub Total         �
�
            �
�          $13,052.71
Minus Debits:
            �
�
       $-7,356.49 Ending balance in M&I Checking Account Dec. 31, 2010   �
� $5,696.22

CD ACCOUNTS: M&I CD#0048002163 value at renewal July 25, 2009:
    $7,034.43
Interest payment at maturity Jan. 21, 2010:
           $32.86
Value at maturity January 21, 2010:     �
�
$7,067.29
CD transferred to checking account Jan. 21, 2010:
$-7,067.29
Balance January 21, 2010 upon transfer
            �
�   $0.00

PETTY CASH: Balance December 31, 2009
            �
�
$105.52 Credits
            �
�
            �
�   $963.99 Sub Total
            �
�
            $1,069.5 1 Debits, including purchases & transfers to checking
   $-987.40 Petty cash on hand as of December 31, 2010:
            $82.11

PAYPAL ACCOUNT: Beginning balance:         �
�
            �
�        $0.00 On-line payments from obituary research fees
           $30.00 PayPal balance as of December 31, 2010:
            �
� $30.00

SUMMARY: Balance in checking account December 31, 2010:    �
�      $5,696.22 Petty cash as of December 31, 2010:      �
�
      $82.11 PayPal balance as of December 31, 2010:
            �
� $30.00 TOTAL BALANCE AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2010:
             $5
,808.33

Certified to be true and correct,

/s/____________________________________
Bruce B Runnels, Treasurer
January 4, 2011

Federal I.D. No. 39-1332460 ES#021801

Page 4: Waushara County Historical Society Board Meeting Wed., Nov. 24, 2010
   We held a lunch meeting at Lakeshore Restaurant in Wautoma. Th ose in attendance were Marvin and Carol Wagner, Bruce Runnels, Joyce Klinge r, Florence Anderson, Phyllis Grebe, Robert Blake, Mike Bednarek, Gina Wenz el and Beth Wilcox. Meeting opened at 12:45 p.m. by President Marv Wagner.
   1. The first order of business was explained that President Ma rv has two trucks now; and asked for permission to rent space for his secon d truck for the same price as the first truck at $20.00 per month, making a
total of $40.00 a month at a time. He will pay $40.00 for Dec. 2010. Motio n accepted, moved and carried.
   2. Bruce said open house at the museum will be Dec. 11 from 10
a.m. till 3 p.m. All members attending should be dressed in period clothin g, and bring holiday treats for guests arriving to visit. Gina has decorate d for Christmas holidays.
   3. Cookie walk will be this Sat. Nov. 27, 2010 at the museum. Bring cookies for filling tins. Parade to start in Wautoma on Main St. at 4
:00 p.m.
   4. Marv found a place in Florida, on his business travels, tha t he can buy mannequins for $50.00 each, male or female. We need one male a t present. We also need wigs.
   5. Beth’s daughter-in-law will try to find some wigs a t a reasonable price at her place of work in Waldorf, MD.
   6. Open house: It was felt that sale items are a distraction t o guests visiting for holiday season open house. Sale items: yes or no? Phy llis Grebe was very much against it and moved to not allow selling anything
in the museum, but perhaps in the back jail room. Motion carried.
   7. We are allowed two ads in the Waushara Area Chamber of Comm erce (WACC) e-mails a month. Bruce will take care of a press release with a
headline free or Carol will take care of it for a third one in the Resorte r.
   8. President Marv was very upset about a bill from the lawyer,
that Bruce had paid for, per lawyer’s letter to Bruce requesting p ayment. Marv asked Mike and Robert if anything was discussed when they went
to the arbitration meeting. They said no. Marv said Bruce, as treasurer, i s not responsible for paying any bills without board approval. The $5,000 p aid for mediation was to have included this last meeting. We received no ac counting for judge for mediation.
   9. There was discussion made for formulation of land plat to b e submitted to the city. (The legal description is in possession of Lori Mc Cloud at present time.) City Attorney Bickford sent a letter to President M arv to remove the school from the Sandcrest property, as it still is sittin g on blocks, without a foundation. Phyllis Grebe moved that we should send a donation for rent of Peterson Movers’ use of equipment to hold th e building up; and remove it when a foundation is placed under the school t his spring, as we have already paid them $6,000 for the moving of the schoo l. Seconded by Mike Bednarek. Carried. Motion by Robert Blake to adjourn th e meeting, seconded by Phyllis Grebe. Motion carried.
Beth Wilcox , Secretary.

Garage lease expired June 30, 2010 and property must be removed by Feb. 1, 2011
   We received a letter from Corporation Counsel Ruth Zouski info rming us that the Addendum to the Lease Agreement between Waushara County a nd Waushara County Historical Society beginning June 1, 2005 for the rental
of available garage space has terminated effective June 30, 2010.
   Waushara County is not interested in extending this addendum, as it requires the garage space for its own use. Therefore, we are to remov e all of the Historical Society property from the garage space by February 1, 2011. Once the property is removed, we are to immediately return any key s in our possession for the garage to Randy Gramse, Waushara County Buildin gs and Grounds Director.
    Some smaller items have been moved to the museum; and Mi ke Leikness will store the hearse for a while, but much help is needed to m ove the hearse and get our heavy items out of the garage before February 1.
During a walk through the garage, Randy told Bruce that only the salt cabi net, salt bags, garbage can, wheelbarrow, orange cones and roofing shingles
belong to the county. They have already placed three wooden crates along t he east wall of the garage for storing office supplies from the county that
will be placed in them for recycling. He said most items up in the rafters
may remain there. We still need to remove the hearse, lead type, paint, it ems for the fair, heavy metal tripods, generator, and some lumber.

Page 5: January 14, 2011 Annual Report to the Waushara County Board from Bruce Runnels, Curator & Treasurer Waushara County Historical Society 221 S Saint Marie, St., PO Box 616 Wautoma, W 54982-0616 Correction in italics: should be mediation, not litigation Financial Reports for 2008, 2009 & 2010 were faxed to Ruth Zouski, Corporat ion counsel on January 12, 2011.

Highlights for the year 2010:

The lawsuit between the Waushara County Historical Society vs. The City of Wautoma has been settled through mediation, with the result being the forma tion of the Wautoma Historical Board. A copy of the Wautoma Historical Boar d Organizational meeting of Oct. 29, 2010 is attached to this report. It gi ves the Board intent, Board Policies and the roll of Waushara Historical So ciety and the Wautoma Historical board - proposals, purchases and payment.

The Genealogy Department of the Historical Society has greatly expanded wit h multiple copies of obituaries being filed almost daily in the research ro om located in the basement of the museum. We have an index listing names in
alphabetical order by last name. A check mark next to the name indicates t hat we have a copy of that person's obituary and which cemetery or township
the grave is located. Visitors can then look up the obituary in that loose leaf notebook. We have over six shelves of obituary books, by township or c emetery and also miscellaneous obituary books filed alphabetically. In addi tion we have an index of court cases over 20 years old, which are supplied from the courthouse. These court cases are listed by last name along with t he case number. The court cases are filed in our archieves in the basement of the museum in the room which used to be the coal bin. The file drawers a re labeled by case number. The files are in order by case number,
not necessarily in chronological order by year since starting in the late 1950s cases often continued for many years before being settled. Occasional ly attorneys have requested copies of certain cases which the Historical So ciety has furnished. Visitors can look up the name and then we take them in to the archieves where they can review the case and we charge 50 cents per page for copies they request. People using this service are often intereste d in divorce settlements or property information as well as genealogy. Requ ests for obituaries come in primarily by e-mail and occasionally a phone ca ll during open hours. We then try to locate the obituary and notify them wh at we find. We charge $3.00 per page for photocopies of obituaries mailed o r scans which are then e-mailed to the person. We receive payments via PayP al or checks in the mail. This helps cover some of our cost for paper, tone r and postage as well as our phone and internet. We hope to get
funding from the Wautoma Historical Board to produce duplicate copies and books of obituaries to be placed in the Wautoma Public Library for referenc e purposes. Another project which has been pretty much completed is the not ebook containing school attendance records. Our current project is the typi ng up of poll lists and saving them to floppy disks, flash drives and the h ard drive on our computer. These will also be printed out and filed in loos eleaf notebooks. The originals are stored in our archives.

Special events at the museum include the Fourth of July open house which fe atured a brat fry, games, and 50s-60s record hops, rummage sales throughout
the year, county fair booth with a display of old photographs which were e nlarged, Harvestfest where we set up a table with crafts and Christmas deco rations at the high school, the Halloween open house where much of the muse um was decorated for Halloween including the newly insulated attic, Cookie walk, parade entry and Christmas open house. The museum is open for researc h Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings from 8 to 11 a.m. and open for tour s Wednesday afternoons from 1 to 4 p.m. It is open most Saturdays from Memo rial Day through Labor Day and occasionally in the fall when other events d o not conflict.

The Guernsey Dale Schoolhouse was moved to our Sandcrest property, but zoni ng disputes with the City of Wautoma and lack of funds are causing consider able problems and delays with our plans for restoring the school house and developing a historic park on the property. We have had to turn down two po ssible donations of buildings, including the Mt. Morris Town Hall, since we
no longer have sufficient funds left to move any more buildings.

Page 6: WAUTOMA HISTORICAL BOARD MEETING MINUTES Wautoma Library Meeting Room JANUARY 17, 2011 Present: Phyllis Grebe, Sandi Kotinek, Jerry Cummings, and Danielle C astner. Unable to attend: Lori McCloud, Annilee Pietsch-Helbing
, and Paul Hendrickson. Others present: Bruce Runnels and Nicho le Overbeck. The meeting was called to order by Danielle Castner, Chair, at 10:10 a.m. Motion by Grebe, second by Cummings to approve the Organizational Meeting M inutes of 10-29-10; motion carried. Castner introduced Nichole Overbeck, Library Director. New Business: Library Tour: Overbeck provided a tour of the library, including the dedicated area, which is approximately 12' x 18'. Discussion on Next Steps: Discussion centered around the possib ility of creating a genealogical/family history research area that might in clude a new computer, printer, computer table, copier, desk, two comfortabl e swivel chairs, desk lamp, table lamp, and four more electrical outlets.
Officers and members of the Waushara Historical So ciety will hold a brainstorming session to get other ideas of needs for thi s area. A proposal will then be developed and be presented to the Wau toma Historical Board at a mid-March meeting. Date and time to be det ermined. Motion by Grebe, second by Cummings to adjourn the meeting; motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 11:20 a.m.

Sandi Kotinek, Secretary/Treasurer

Page 7: Letters to the Editor Hooray for you! Monday, November 22, 2010 2:39 PM From: "Paullette MacDougal" To: wausharamuseum@yahoo.com
Hello Everyone at the Historical and Genealogy Society,
I am happy to receive the newsletter, and thrilled to learn about al l your activities. Hallowe'en sounds like such fun. The Cookie Walk -- wish
I could come and sample! Texas us just too far. Thanks for keeping me in t ouch.
You have so much going on. And your connections with the city, and y our organizational structure will ensure the sustainability of the museum. My Dad, Phil Poullette would be happy and so proud.
Best to you, Phyllis "Paullette" Poullette MacDougal

November Newsletter Monday, November 22, 2010 10:50 AM From: "Gordon Thompson" To: wausharamuseum@yahoo.com Hi Beth (or whoever),
Thanks for another interesting newsletter. Your Halloween party look s like lots of fun! I would have enjoyed being there too.
Just one "correction" (which others have probably pointed out too) - the new Vice Chair is NOT "Phyllis Castner".
My best wishes to all for your blessed happy Thanksgiving. Gordon Note: The new Vice Chair is Phyllis Grebe.

Waushara Obituary Database Wednesday, January 19, 2011 3:01 PM From: "Nicole Overbeck" Overbeck@wautomalibrary.org After the meeting, I did ask about the Waushara Obituary Database. Th e response below was the answer I received. The main point being that nobody is currently adding to the database and there is much work that can be done. If anyone is interested at the Historical Society in adding to the database I think it would be a wonderful resource. If no volu nteers are available I might have a couple leads and I could ask on my end here at the library if anyone would be interested in entering the data.� � However, I'd need the hard copies from the Historical Society. Nicole Overbeck Wautoma Public Library

-----Original Message----- From: Keetra Baker Sent: Wednesday, January 19, 2011 10:04 AM To: Nicole Overbeck Cc: Linda Steffen Subject: RE: Waushara Obituary Database A woman named Kathleen Moser used to update it, but she stopped some time a go, and I'm afraid I really don't know why. I had heard through the g rapevine that her husband had passed away at some point after her last upda te, so I'm not sure if he had gotten sick, and she wanted to spend more tim e with him before he passed, or what. I'm only guessing, of course, a nd could be completely off base, but I think the timing could have matched up.

The database currently contains 4803 records: - About a third of the database (1800+ records) was entered with "Patterson Memorial Library" as the source. I'm not 100% certain anymore, but I believe Wild Rose had a card-based index that she was enteri ng from. Perhaps Linda Steffen at Wild Rose would remember (I'm going to copy her in). - A handful (20-30, all dated January of 2005) seem to have been entered fr om the "Oshkosh Northwestern". - A slightly larger handful (around 40, all dated August of 2005) have been entered with "Town of Springwater" as the source. Seems I might have gotten an email from Katie saying she found some records she wanted to enter, and she may have asked me to add that as a source. If you're interested, I can dig around through my emails and see what I can find. - A couple/few hundred more have no source. - The remaining records, a little over half (2600+ records) are entered fro m the Waushara Argus ranging from 1859 to 1906 and 2004 to 2006. Most years in those ranges are represented and have anywhere from a few entries to a hundred or more (although not all - 1866 for example has norecords). I didn't even realize until just now that there was such a large gap in yea rs covered. Nothing in there from 1907 to 2003 (except 2 stray record s - one from 1959 and one from 1981).

Overall, after inspecting the data a bit more closely, I'd say we need help!! ;-)

I recently added a link on the Waushara County Obituary Index home page to the Wisconsin Newspapers Digital Research Site which has the Waushara Argus searchable full-text from March 16, 2005 to 60 days ago to help cover the more recent dates that haven't been entered. Since those are at least accessible in some way, maybe if you have someone interesting in contribut ing they could start by filling in the missing dates 1907 - 2003? I h ave password-protected data entry screens set up and if you have someone interested in doing data entry into the database, I'd be more than happy to set someone up to do that.

Of course, after looking more closely at what is currently entered, I'd say what's in there now should perhaps be checked and/or enhanced as well.� � I'm not sure what the plan of attack could be to do that, but maybe I c ould export and send them a year at a time and they could enter anything mi ssing and send me corrections to those entries already in the database?� � I've generally always taken care of corrections for the databases (pref erably in small batches) for all of the vital records databases... Ri pon, for example, sends me an email once or twice a year with 20-30 correct ions in it. I just did a batch for them yesterday. Oshkosh drops a no te on my desk whenever they find one. I collect them in a pile until I have 5-10 and then go in and do them all at once. I don't have edit ing scripts set up for someone to easily edit what is in a database...� � A function that has been on my to-do list but the quantity of correctio ns have never really warranted the time it would take to set up the editing screens. Not that I'm opposed if it would be used. But it is large enough project for me that it would have to get added to the project list / discussed by W TEC or whatever that process is.

Let me know how you'd like to proceed. Keetra Baker Phone: (920) 236-5182 AIM/MSN/Yahoo: KeetraBaker

Page 8: Business Directory is attached. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------- RENEWAL FORM. Check the number on your mailing label to determine your membership status. If you are not current, you may use this form to renew your membership in t he Waushara County Historical or Genealogy Society, and enclose your check with it. NAME:______________________________________________________________________ ________ MAILING ADDRESS:___________________________________________________________ _______ CITY:_______________________________ STATE______ ZIP:______________________ ___ PHONE______________________________ Email:_________________________________ _________

____Junior Membership (under 18) $5.00 _____Individ ual Membership $10.00 ____Family Membership $20.00 � � _____Genealogy Membership $10.00 ____ Business Membership $15.00 (enclose your business card for the Business Directory page) ____ Supporting Membership $50.00 _____Lifetime Membership $200.00 ____ Tax Deductible Donation to the School House Fund $_________

application/octet-stream attachment: Newsletter

WAUSHARA COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC. 221 S. SAINT MARIE ST., P.O. BOX 616 WAUTOMA, WI 54982-0616

Financial Statement and Recapitulation. Checking Period: January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2010 Account Outstanding checks not included on bank statements. #25374503: Balance in M&I Checking Account #25374503 Jan. 1, 2010: $3,949.41 Credits deposited during 2010, including CD transfer $9,103.30 Sub Total $13,052.71 Minus Debits: $-7,356.49 Ending balance in M&I Checking Account Dec. 31, 2010 $5,696.22

CD ACCOUNTS: M&I CD#0048002163 value at renewal July 25, 2009: $7,034.43 Interest payment at maturity Jan. 21, 2010: $32.86 Value at maturity January 21, 2010: $7,067.29 CD transferred to checking account Jan. 21, 2010: $-7,067.29 Balance January 21, 2010 upon transfer $0.00

PETTY CASH: Balance December 31, 2009 $105.52 Credits $963.99 Sub Total $1,069.51 Debits, including purchases & transfers to checking $-987.40 Petty cash on hand as of December 31, 2010: $82.11

PAYPAL ACCOUNT: Beginning balance: $0.00 On-line payments from obituary research fees $30.00 PayPal balance as of December 31, 2010: $30.00

SUMMARY: Balance in checking account December 31, 2010: $5,696.22 Petty cash as of December 31, 2010: $82.11 PayPal balance as of December 31, 2010: $30.00 TOTAL BALANCE AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2010: $5,808.33

Certified to be true and correct,

/s/____________________________________ Bruce B Runnels, Treasurer January 4, 2011

Federal I.D. No. 39-1332460 ES#021801