WARRINGTON TOWNSHIP HISTORIC COMMISSION
and
WARRINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY
MINUTES OF EACH MEETING – January 14, 2013
The regular meeting of the Warrington Township Historic Commission and Warrington
Historical Society was held jointly on January 14, 2013 7:00 p.m., at the Township Building
located at 852 Easton Road, Warrington, PA 18976.
Attendance
Commission Members: Gwyn Walton – Chairperson, Stuart Cohen* - Vice Chairperson; Carol
Lee Vosteen*, member
Society Members: Mary Doyle Roth - Chairperson, Ken Samen - Vice Chair, Kathy Newcomb,
Scott Yates
Guests: Shirley Yannich, Supervisor
*Also Society members
7:00 PM Call to order
Warrington Township Historic Commission Minutes:
1. Approval of Minutes – December 10, 2012
a. Historic Commission Minutes were approved unanimously
2. Illg’s Barn – Gwyn shared letter sent to Illg’s with a follow-up request to
photo graph their barn and interview them for historic records
3. 10 Folly Road – updates reviewed during the Society meeting
4. Reviewed the Race Through History LINK article; Sean Stetler provided
some missing statistics about the runner’s times; article is ready to finalize
and submit for publication
5. Other Business
a. No new Historic Commission mail for review
b. Membership – Marycatherine Bigam resigned; 3 possible candidates
will be interviewed by the Supervisors on 1-22-13
c. Open Space Quarterly Meetings (public) – Gwyn to contact John
McGowan (Open Space chairperson) and Barbara Livrone for the next
meeting date so Commission/Society representative(s) can attend;
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
Kathy Newcomb mentioned the Illg barn at the last meeting she
attended (as an Open Space Board member)
Gwyn shared the “Piece of History” link and info for submitting local
historical properties for publication in the Intelligencer; suggested
choosing some photos from Warrington to be submitted by the
Commission and Society
Gwyn reviewed details about the William Penn Oak Intelligencer
article; there may be a follow-up article in the Spring; a California
Girl Scout leader saw the article, e-mailed Gwyn (she contacted the
Intell reporter to request contact info) and suggested that Katie
submit her Gold Award project to the Waymarking website, which
promotes Gold Award projects; Gwyn shared the Waymarking
information with Kaitey Hallowell
Commission elections planned for the March 2013 Meeting, when
there is a quorum
Gwyn, as a Commission member, nominated the Society for the
Intelligencer 2012 “Do Gooder” award; they were listed in the
Honorable Mention category with a portion of the submission content
Carol Lee suggested a review of the Commission Mission; creation of
2013 Goals for prioritization and compilation of 2012 results
The Barness Ball Field snack bar was suggested as a future plaque
recipient
Historic Commission meeting adjourned at 7:48 PM
Warrington Historical Society Notes, start time of 7:49 PM:
1. Approval of December 10, 2012 Society notes
a. Notes approved unanimously
2. Treasurer’s report
a. General Fund Balance: $7435.08
b. 10 Folly Road Building Fund: $5000.00
3. Warrington Race through History
a. Sponsors packets: meet on 1-22 at Wegman’s at 7:00 PM to assemble
– Mary to advise Donna Sempowski of this meeting; need 19 packets;
Mary to craft packet letter – all sponsors get a letter; Carol Lee took
care of her sponsors; need to add sponsors as members and include
them in the next newsletter distribution
1. 10 Folly Road Lease review
a. Discussion points: need to meet with Gary to determine his role, the
escrow account, whether to save the school house or move on;
confirm township’s position; explore legal counsel; Kathy Newcomb to
reach out to John McGowan; obtain schedules for Gary, the group and
Lorraine (legal volunteer) for a discussion; Mary shared Krista’s
comments; suggestion to compare the lease to a commercial lease, as
well as documents for other groups ( i.e. Mullen House and the
“Grotto” team); need to protect Society’s responsibilities and
exposure; Mary to contact Tim Tieperman to request an informal
meeting to determine the township’s position – she will request
attendance of Jerry Anderson and John Paul
2. Other Business
a) Mary was contacted by Karin Mallett of Reading’s Channel 29 about
the Lost Grotto; Mary called Century 21 and provided the reporter’s
contact info; Karin Mallett would like to meet at the Grotto on
January 15 to do a story; Scott has the combination and will meet the
reporter; the reporter is trying to locate a family member of the
person who led this restoration
b) Carol Lee proposed some changes to the Society website; She will
provide Kathy Newcomb with digital updates for the volunteer
“webmaster” to implement; Kathy Newcomb had been working on
website until about 5:30 PM, before this meeting
c) The Society’s yearly meeting will be held in March
d) Irma, the wife of Herbert Barness, passed away on January 11, 2013
e) Ken will contact the Walker family who inquired about their history
through the Society Facebook page; they are not related to the
Warrington Walkers
Society Meeting adjourned at approx. 9:20 PM
Recorded by Gwyn Walton
Next Meeting February 11, 2013