Ralls County Historical Society

Thursday, January 12, 2023

6:00 p.m.

Ralls County Courthouse

New London, MO

Minutes

• Membership Update:  Currently RHCS has 21 business members, 46 family members, and 39 individual members.  A list of members can be found on RCHS’s website at https://www.rallscohistoricalsociety.com/membership-2022. 

• Treasurer’s Report:  The updated checking account balance was shared and monthly bills were reviewed.

• 501(c)(3) Update:  RCHS’s 501(c)(3) exemption from federal income tax was reinstated, effective December 5, 2022.  Paperwork and a $275 filing fee were sent in December 2022 to complete this process.  RCHS is classified as a public charity.  If you need additional information on the 501(c)(3) status, please contact Delores Woodhurst at dvwoodhurst@gmail.com

• Website: RCHS’s web address is rallscohistoricalsociety.com.  Please visit the site frequently to keep up with updates to RCHS. 

• Project updates were given for several active projects.

  • Center Depot:  Sharon Lake reported there is some money available for the renovation and restoration of the Center Depot.  RCHS met with Center City Council on September 14, 2022, to share ideas and coordinate work for the project. 

  • Old Perry Bank:  Carolyn Trower and John Hawkins have volunteered their time and talents to provide needed updates to this bank, which is on the grounds of the William Trower City Park in Perry. A new tin roof will be installed soon.  Carolyn was able to locate a teller’s station to put in the bank.  

  • Ralls County Recollections Pod Cast:  Delores Woodhurst, Ron Leake, and Carolyn Trower met with Collin Trower on August 19, 2022, for an overview of the hardware and software requirements to create a podcast. Equipment has been purchased, and the first recording was made in September 2022.  That recording, though, isn’t good enough quality to publish.  Very soon, the group will meet again and record the first series of the podcast.  These podcasts will be shared through the webpage and Facebook, podcast sites, and possibly a YouTube channel.

  • Madisonville Cemetery:  A volunteer did some cleanup work at this cemetery in the late summer 2022.  More work is needed, and RCHS is seeking volunteers to work on this, and other, projects.

  • Ralls County Jail:  This project has remained on the back burner of the RCHS.  Sharon Lake will work with the county to see if RCHS officers can do a walkthrough of the facility to determine the scope of renovation and restoration work that is needed on this historic location.

  • Ralls County Elementary (RCE) Service Learning Project:  Diana Duckworth, elementary school counselor, and Delores Woodhurst are working together to coordinate a project between 5th-grade students and individuals over the age of 65 in the Ralls County Community.  Students will interview residents, possibly videotape them, also, and reports will be written and videos shared.  They are also trying to coordinate a date/time in the Spring when younger RCE students can visit the museum.

• Fundraiser & Membership Drive:  A tentative date was set for the 2nd annual Lasagna Supper and Membership Drive.  Once the date and location have been confirmed, this information will be shared to RCHS’s Facebook page and website.  Membership fees will remain the same:  $100 for businesses, $50 for families, and $40 for individuals.  2022 memberships will expire after the Spring meeting, which will be held on April 13, 2023, at 6:00 p.m. at Ralls County Courthouse.  Sharon Lake is working to see if a tour of the courthouse can be held to kick off the meeting.  There are several members of RCHS that are lifetime members based on dues paid during a previous system.  If you want to check your lifetime membership status, please contact Delores Woodhurst at dvwoodhurst@gmail.com.  Delores will visit with Dustin Wasson about getting door stickers for business members and other members that wish to display the door sticker on their homes.

• The approved By-Laws & Constitution for RCHS were reviewed, and the following changes were made to update the documents.  Some changes were required to re-establish 501(c)(3) status.

  • Changed the date from annual dues to be paid from the January meeting (1st quarter) to the April meeting (2nd quarter).

  • Meetings will be held quarterly.  Although not a party of the bylaws, these meetings will occur on Thursdays, with dates for quarterly meetings set at the 2nd quarter meeting.

  • The number of members present to create a quorum was discussed.  Members in attendance at quarterly meetings will be considered a quorum, especially until in-person participation in the meetings increase.

  • Currently, RCHS is not a member of the Missouri Historical Society.  Delores Woodhurst will check into this process and provide an update at the April 13, 2023, meeting.

  • The office of Historian was discussed, and at current time, the description for this position is being fulfilled by Ron Leake, so he will continue as the President and Historican.

  • The executive committee will consist of the five officers and a group of 10 directors.  

  • Committees listed in the bylaws include a Nomination Committee, Auditing Committee, and Program Committee.  These committees will be established at the April 13, 2023, meeting.

  • An election to Article VI, Section 3 was made to eliminate the term limit rule for the current president, Ron Leake.  Ron has been a vital member of RCHS for many years, and as long as he wants to be president, he will be the RCHS president.

  • The constitution may be amended with a simple majority vote. Officers will discuss the option of proxy mail-in voting by active members and make a decision on this at the April 13, 2023 meeting.

• Museum & Library Updates

  • RCHS would still like to hold some type of grand opening for the museum.  A discussion was held, but no ideas were finalized.  One possible idea is having visitors to the museum during a specific time period put their name into a drawing for a grand opening prize, with a date set for the drawing.  Possibly cookies and drinks will be served at the museum on the day the grand prize winner is selected.

  • Volunteered are needed for work to be completed at both locations.  If you want to volunteer, please contact Ron Leake (rwleake@aol.com or 573-248-6147).

  • Volunteers are also needed to staff both locations, especially the museum, during hours of operation.  The museum will try to have set hours of 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays between Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends.  Other than that the museum and like will be open to the public by chance or opportunity.  

  • Exterior signage was donated for the museum, but a volunteer is needed to hang it.  Exterior signage is needed for the library.

  • The exterior of both the library and the museum needs to be painted.  Ron Leake will work with the owners of both facilities to discuss options.  RCHS may work in coordination with the local prisons to see if their work program might be able to provide the painting services. 

  • Get video doorbell has been purchased for the museum, but it needs to be installed and connected to Wi-Fi.  A volunteer is needed to complete this task.

  • Volunteers are needed to keep the displays organized at the museum and provide general housekeeping tasks.  Information cards need to be printed and placed at the various displays so people will know what they are looking at and how it plays into Ralls County’s history.

  • A long-term goal of the Historical Society is developing a presence in ALL communities within the county and ensuring the sustainability of RCHS.  Several ways to advertise RCHS’s efforts, projects, and needs were brainstormed.  RCHS would like to see more youth involved in the group. The website receives little traffic but is a good way to preserve records.  RCHS’s Facebook has a good traffic and click rate.  RCHS would like to establish a Twitter and Instagram account.  Volunteers are needed to establish and maintain these accounts.  If a high school student would like to work with RCHS to do this, this would be a great community service project to list on scholarship applications.   Anyone interested in this, or any volunteer position, should contact Delores Woodhurst (dvwoodhurst@gmail.com) or Ron Leake (rwleake@aol.com).

• To close out the meeting, those in attendance reviewed a list of previously discussed ideas.  While the manpower does not exist at this time to carry out these projects, it will continue to be RCHS’s goal to accomplish these and other projects.  

  • Book Club

  • Working with the high school’s drama club to have some reenactments of historical people and events from Ralls County.

  • Hiring/bringing in outside guests to provide reenactments and impersonations.

  • Creating a county-wide cemetery walk similar to the event that occurs at the Florida, MO cemetery.

  • Host a gathering of other historical societies and visit their facilities

  • Work with local, regional, and national historians that are knowledgeable about Ralls County

  • Organize an “Adopt the Museum” program, much like an Adopt a Highway Program.  When it is an individual or organization's month to adopt the museum, their name will be displayed prominently at the museum.  During their month, they would visit the library and do some cleaning and organizing, work on current needs, and possibly staff the museum during the scheduled hours of operation.

Next Meeting:  April 13, 2023, at 6:00 p.m. at the Ralls County Courthouse. RCHS is hoping to have someone available to provide a tour of the courthouse at the beginning of our meeting.  It should be noted that the courthouse is handicapped accessible.  We are very fortunate to have such a beautiful, well-maintained county courthouse.  Please mark your calendar now and plan to attend this meeting.  We need the entire community’s support to sustain the work of the Ralls County Historical Society.