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A “Welcome” Season

By Tom Stockton, President

sightings of the first robins of spring we pause to look back on all the important work members of the Association have been doing during the long winter months.

The Museum Committee, Finance Committee, and the Bylaws Committee have worked tirelessly in their respective areas to make sure that the museum will be on a firm footing for the coming season. To complete the windows project with historically appropriate shutters and hardware, we have submitted a Community Preservation Grant, which we hope will go a long way to helping us with this project, as our ordinary fundraising barely covers our annual expenses.

Of course, we have made time for a little fun too. Thanks to our Fundraising Committee, a wonderful time was had at the Third Annual February Dinner Theater and on the Third Annual Boston Flower Show Bus Trip. And March 26 saw the Education Committee sponsor a report on the progress of the “Bonnets, Bodices & Brass Buttons” clothing inventory and assessment performed last Fall by UMass graduate students under the supervision of our Director and Curator. In partial support of expenses incurred by this project, our Director Laura Quinn has successfully applied for a $1,000 grant from the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities.

As spring rapidly approaches we begin to look forward to our traditional springtime activities at the Stone House.

I hope to see a really great turnout at our Annual Meeting on April 27 at Pine Valley at 12:30. This is always a fun time to get together and take stock of all we have been doing as an Association, and enjoy each others’ company and a potluck luncheon. Be sure to review the suggested Bylaw revisions in preparation for the business meeting.

Our annual Opening Day Plant Sale and Old Bag Sale, Saturday, May 10 will be a wonderful day and an opportunity to shop for your garden while supporting your Association. We still need plants, so please read how you can help later on in the newsletter.

Plans are also underway for our annual Members Only Cocktail Party, June 27^th, and our Living History Days: Windows, Wheels and Wilds event on July 12 - 13 will be a lot of fun, as well as a much-needed fundraiser. Events will include a Garden Tour, Art Show, 5K Cannonball run race, and a “historic wheels” show, which will include antique carriages, cars, and other vehicles. New this year will be a Historic House Tour on Sunday, featuring the ground floors of historic homes located in the Belchertown Historic District and around the Common.

Please mark your calendars and plan on attending these events!