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The Waitsfield Historical Society has an office upstairs and display room downstairs at the General Wait House on Main Street, Waitsfield.  The display room is maintained by Curator, Judy Dodds and contains exhibits of historical items including the sword of General Wait and a Revolutionary War drum.  Visitors can also view a DVD "As We Were" about life in the Mad River Valley from 1870-1915.  This DVD can also be purchased.  The room is available to the public whenever the Wait House is open.

We have received a number of new donations over the past year including three quilts and a collection of framed photographs of the Mad River Valley from 1890 - 1910.  The Bicentennial Quilt was on display at our Annual Dinner.  There will be an exhibit of these new acquisitions during the early part of 2010 at the Wait House.  Shirley Viens, Ilene Joslin, Ruth Pestle and Lois DeHeer work very hard accessioning articles donated to the WHS. These will eventually be recorded on a computer program.

After a few years of preparation, the Historical Society has finally begun work on the Carriage Barn at the Wait House.  Todd Lavit has replaced the wood floors and joists in the barn using some of the old flooring where possible.  Windows have been repaired or replaced.  There is still a great deal more to be done to make the barn a place for the WHS to hold events, meetings and classes. The barn will be a three-season building.  The WHS has entered into an agreement with the Town of Waitsfield, the owners of the building, which will allow the Society to restore the barn and make use of it for the next five years.  The agreement will then come up for renewal.  Without financial help from WHS members this project could not have been started.  The Society will need more financial help to finish the barn. Membership contributions and donations are always welcomed!

The Board regretfully accepted the resignation of Jean Sherman as Board President and member of the Board in 2009.  Jean has been a loyal and active board member of the Historical Society for many years.  We thank her for all she has done.  We welcome three new members to the Board, Lois De Heer, Ilene Joslin, and Sue Dillon.

Thanks to the efforts of Ruth Pestle, the Vermont Historical Society library now has a copy of "The History of Waitsfield 1882-1908" by Walter E. Jones and a copy of the DVD "As We Were" with photographs taken by early photographers between 1870-1915.  There is also a DVD of "The Heart of Rug Hooking" by Judy Dodds with interviews of local rug hookers.  Our curator was also contacted by Polly Bentley, the manager of the VHS store who ordered copies of "The History of Waitsfield" and copies of the DVD "As We Were" to be sold in the store.

The Annual Dinner in October was a big success with the ladies' quartet "In Cahoots" supplying lively music to go with the delicious dinner served by "Cooking from the Heart".

Cathy Hadden reports as of December 31st we have 77 members for 2010.  We are always looking for more members.

Respectfully submitted,

Sandra Reilly, President
Peter Laskowski, V. President
Sandra Reilly, Secretary
Lois DeHeer, Treasurer
Judy Dodds, Curator
Cathy Hadden, Membership
Shirley Viens, Archives
Ilene Joslin, Archives
Ruth Pestle, Archives
Sue Dillon, Archives
Jack Smith, Historian
Bob Burley, Consultant
Chuck Allen, Member at Large