Towanda Area Historical Society
Digital Project Photo Album
Planning the History Book - April 20, 2005
The initial driving force for the formation of the Towanda Area Historical Society (TAHS) was to publish an updated Towanda Area history book. Pictured discussing the 1976 history book are Jack Jenkins, then president of the TAHS, Robin Gould, member of the planning committee, Mary Williams, director of the Towanda District Library, and Gail Ann Briggs, current president of the TAHS.
Social to Publicize the Historical Society - January
22, 2006
About 25 people ‘dropped in’ at the Towanda Community Building
to look at a display of items, view videos of former Heritage Days,
enjoy some refreshments with friends, and sign up to be
included on the mailing list. Pictured with unidentified guests
are hosts Gail Ann Briggs and Robin Gould.
Copies of photographs for attendees to identify the people, locations,
and timeframes were displayed on tables. Fannie Livingston,
Rose Remschner, and Beverly Meginnes are pictured enjoying
refreshments as they discussed the photographs.
Mary Williams, Pat Pulokas, Ottilie Womack, and Gail Ann Briggs
meet in April, 2006 to plan and write the application for a
Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) digital imaging
grant from the Illinois State Library (ISL). Twenty copies of the
24 page application were delivered to the ISL on May 19, 2006
Mary Williams and Gail Ann Briggs display the $19,141
check received on December 11, 2006 for the LSTA
digital imaging grant from the Illinois State Library.
A close up of the check.
Members of the grant committee met to discuss next steps in
December, 2006. Pictured, left to right, Jack Jenkins, Gail Ann Briggs,
Mary Merritt, Ottilie Womack, Pat Pulokas, and Mary Williams.
Joan Brown, Marj Dickerson, and Gail Ann Briggs
look over some of the historical artifacts
Marj Dickerson, Dawn Schenk, Dale Messer, and Mark Schenk
discuss Route 66 history, while Mary Merritt documents
photographs brought to the open house for scanning.
Gail Ann Briggs gives a presentation about the LSTA grant project and asks
for the loan of artifacts
from the Senior Citizen's group at their monthly luncheon at the Towanda
community building.
The Illinois State University (ISU) Milner Library group met with the TAHS
team January 11, 2007, at the Towanda District Library (TDL) to discuss
the data requirements for the project and to plan the exchange of artifacts
and data. Pictured are Megan Kerns, Joan Brown, Rick Satchwell, (all
of Milner Library), and Mary Williams, director of the TDL.
On March 9, 2007, the TAHS and Milner groups met again, at Milner Library,
to view the images as they would be displayed on the Illinois State Library
website. Pictured are Mary Williams, Helen Mogill, and Gail Ann Briggs
(TAHS), and Rick Satchwell, student intern, Joan Brown, and Megan Kerns
(Milner). Not pictured: photographer Pat Pulokas (TAHS).
Gail Ann Briggs and Ryan Cole discuss images scanned in 2006.
Pat Pulokas, Patrick
Lawler, Rose Remschner, Eleanor ‘Jean’ Miller,
Lyle Merritt, Jerry Henderson, and Mary Lou Henderson
review progress of the project.
On January 22, 2007, Jeanette Otis (standing, left) describes the
process to interviewees seated at the table: Mason Crow,
Jerry and Mary Lou Henderson, Jean Miller, Rose Remschner,
Shirley Porter, and Esther and Marsha Reeves. Standing in the
back and looking on are Pat Pulokas and Gail Ann Briggs.
Jeanette Otis, on the right, records an interview with Ray Temple
at the Towanda District Library.
Eleanor Hensley, lifelong Towanda resident and the former
Towanda Township Library librarian, describes her
photographs while Pat Pulokas takes notes.
Judy Zimmermann, Tish Hamblen, Helen Mogill, and Ruth Parsons
work on material being prepared for the web, while Patty Kelley
(in the far right corner) enters data into the project database.
Nancy Miller concentrates as she enters a description of a
historical document onto the project database.
Gail Ann Briggs and Pat Pulokas review, organize, and check off
the week's data entry before sending the artifacts to
Milner Library for inclusion on the ISL website.
Taking part in the social time are Kay Liebenow, Patty Kelley, Tish Hamblen, Mary Williams,
Helen Mogill, Ruth Parsons, Judy Zimmermann, Nancy Miller and Pat Pulokas.
Not pictured are Beverly Meginnes and photographer Gail Ann Briggs
Can't have a brunch without food. Patty Kelley, Ruth Parsons,
Nancy Miller, Kay Liebenow, Helen Mogill, Pat Pulokas, and
Tish Hamblen (in denim jacket) enjoy the delicious buffet......
.......before taking a walk though the Indian Creek (subdivision)
Nature Area, and enjoying the Blue Bells which
carpet the forest floor in the spring.
The poster in the window, signs on the door, and picture boards on the
driveway in front of the Towanda Community Building invite guests to step
inside to see the artifacts, videos, and slideshow of website materials.
Pat Pulokas looks at artifacts with
Charles Threlfall, a former resident of Towanda.
Project Management Team takes a Break - June 5, 2007
The project management team of Gail Ann Briggs, project director; Helen
Mogill, technical advisor and webmaster,
Mary Williams, director of the Towanda District Library, and Pat Pulokas,
history sleuth enjoy a lunch break
after many weeks of long hours and much work.
Rose Remschner, donor of a large number of Towanda history photographs, newspaper articles,
and other artifacts, was Grand Marshal of the 2007 4th of July Parade. She is pictured riding in a
1927 Model ‘T’, owned and driven by Dale Sutter. Both Rose and Dale were interviewed for the project.
Project volunteers (V) and Interviewees (I) rode the
TAHS tram in the 4th of July parade
Front row: Beverly Meginnes (V), Nancy Miller
(V), Judy
Zimmermann (V), Esther Reeves (I), Ottilie Womack (I),
Natalie
Womack, Ray Temple (I),
Gail Ann Briggs (V).
Back row, facing the camera: Jack Jenkins (I),
Helen Mogill (V)
Pictured discussing the project before the parade begins are
Tim Kraft (I), Helen Mogill (V), Jack Jenkins (I), and Jerry Henderson (I)
Jack Jenkins (I), former TAHS president and Gail Ann Briggs (V),
current president reminisce about the positive impact the grant
has had on the Society.
Jack Jenkins (I) and Tim Kraft (I) chat in the foreground while Tish Hamblen
(V) and Pat Pulokas (V) distribute flags to the tram riders and prepare
to hand out bookmarks and flyers about the Society during the parade.
Open House at the TDL to Celebrate Completion of the Project - September 9, 2007
The
Towanda Area History Grant project group held an open house on September 9
at the Towanda District Library,
to celebrate the
work of
volunteers and contributors for the website work. Attendees were able to
view the website on the library computers.
Rob Holstine, Towanda District Library board member, and
Dorothy Jones, contributor to the project, are attentive as Pat
Pulokas (right) demonstrates some of the features of the website.
Seated around the table (L to R) at the open house are Jean Miller, Rose Remschner, Nancy Miller, Beverly Meginnes, Lyle Merritt and Mary Merritt. Jean, Rose, Lyle and Mary contributed items and Nancy and Beverly were data entry volunteers of material received from donors.
Project management team, from left: Pat Pulokas, history sleuth; Gail Ann Briggs, Project Director;
Helen Mogill, technical advisor and web master; and Mary Williams, Towanda District Library Director,
stand next to a display that highlights the website grant project.
Demonstration of TAHS Website at the Alliance
Library System Annual Meeting
Project technical advisor and web master Helen Mogill, Towanda District Library Director Mary Williams,
and website developer Sandy Albrow stand before a demonstration of the TAHS website, presented
at the annual meeting of the Alliance Library System. At this meeting, Mary Williams was named
'Librarian of the Year' by the Alliance Library System, a high tech training and continuing education
center covering 256 libraries across 31 counties in central Illinois.