Regions 9 & 10 Meet in Chillicothe
Athens (9), Belmont, (10), Coshocton (10), Gallia (9), Guernsey (10), Hocking (9), Jackson (9), Lawrence (9), Meigs (9), Monroe (10), Morgan (10), Muskingum (10), Noble (10), Pike (9), Ross (9), Scioto (9), Vinton (9) and Washington (10) counties
The Ohio Local History Alliance Regions 9 & 10 meeting was held at the Ross County Heritage Center in Chillicothe on Saturday, March 29. Margaret Parker, Region 9 representative, welcomed those in attendance and thanked the Ross County Historical Society for hosting the event. Tom Kuhn of the Ross County Historical Society welcomed attendees and introduced Jack Everson, Mayor of the City of Chillicothe. Mayor Everson addressed the group and commented on the support of the city for preservation of its buildings and history.
Jamie Bliven of the Ross County Historical Society presented a workshop on collections storage, using before-and-after videos of Ross County Historical Society storage sites. He spoke of the basic issues encountered, the how’s and why’s of proper storage, ways to improve conditions and the evolution of Ross County’s storage practices, which culminated in a new building. During a tour of the new building, Mr. Bliven and Mr. Kuhn answered attendee questions.
An enjoyable lunch was provided, followed by sharing time of the eleven organizations in attendance. During the business meeting, Margaret Parker was elected for a two-year term ending in 2016. Jim Geyer, Region 10 representative, was elected for a two-year term ending in 2016. Due to no other representative being present for either region, Tom Kuhn led the nominations and elections for both regions. It was noted that the 2015 meeting is to be held in Region 10 at a location to be decided in Noble County.
The Ohio Local History Office report was given by Margaret Parker. Mark Sundlov, Department Manager of Ohio Historical Society’s (OHS) Local History Office, spoke about new connections for Ohio history. Amy Rohmiller, Local History Program Assistant, gave the OHS Local History Office Report.
Tom Kuhn led a workshop on long-range planning, soliciting suggestions from the group for future programs related to historical societies’ and museums’ long-range concerns. Attendees were each asked to suggest a concern they felt needed addressed. Attendees then selected top ideas, which were given to Local History Office representatives to be compiled and communicated to the Alliance board for future regional and annual meetings.
A tour of the Ross County Heritage Center concluded the meeting.
Margaret Parker is a Region 9 representative of the Ohio Local History Alliance and President of the Meigs County Historical Society in Pomeroy, Ohio.