Price County Historical Society Annual Meeting
Thursday, November 2, 2023 at 7:00 p.m.
Virtual Meeting Zoom
President Foytek called the 2023 Annual Meeting to
order at 7:06 p.m.
Board Members Present: Etola Foytek, Peter Dahlie,
Lorraine (Laurie) Pilch, Tom Kaiser, Traci Dunbar,
John Berg, Bonnie Salm and Len Schmidt
Board Members Not Present: Sally McFadyen, Eric
Tollefson and Steven Eitrem
Also Present: Karen Baumgartner, Grace Kielsmeier, Jo
Gibeaut, Barb Schneider and Carol Koenig.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
A Moment of Silence was observed in honor of those
members departed since our last Annual Meeting: Life
Members: Marcella Braski, Dr. James Dahlie, Michael
Berg and Michael Meier. Individual Members: Richard
Ludwig and Tom Stanke.
Introduction of Board of Directors: Foytek –
Introduced the Board and thanked them for their many
volunteer hours to the Society.
Foytek thanked
Therese and Maureen Trojak for scheduling hosts for
Sundays at the Old Town Hall (OTH). Foytek thanked
Carol Forward for her role in the upkeep of the
Greenfield School (GFS) and for scheduling hosts for
the school. Foytek thanked the Retired Teachers
Association who have committed to hosting at the GFS
along with caretaking and hosting at the Woodland
(Ohrstrom) School located at the Price County
Fairgrounds.
Motion made to approve the Agenda. Dahlie/Kaiser
Carried.
Secretary’s Report:
Annual Meeting minutes of November 2, 2022
(included in newsletter and on website). Pilch
reported that the minutes on the website are correct,
however the minutes in the newsletter were printed
without the membership section and should be corrected
to include the following:
Membership:
Pilch – Currently we are at 265 members. We started
the year with 246 members. Four members decided not to
renew, four members are deceased and 27 new members
joined the Society. This was a net gain of 19 members.
Motion made to approve minutes as corrected.
Baumgartner/Gibeaut Carried.
Treasurers Report: Current Financial Report as of the
end of the third quarter, September 30, 2023 (included
in newsletter). Income total: $121,739.72; Expense
Total: $361,248.90. Cash on hand (checking and
savings): $76,898.06. Fundraising for the Louis A.
Koenig Research Center continued through 2023. The
final Invoice of $16,534.00 for the center has been
paid. Koenig has communicated to the board that she is
planning a donation for 2024 for technical and
archival needs; along with other projects specifically
targeted for the research center. Motion made to
accept the Treasurer’s report (subject to audit).
Berg/Gibeaut Carried.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Buildings and Grounds:
Kaiser –
General Projects Completed: Inspection of all
buildings and grounds. Cintas did yearly testing of
all fire extinguishers and exit lights in all
buildings. All buildings passed inspection. Plunkett's
Pest Control maintained quarterly services for rodent
control and yearly spraying of all buildings. Ted
Fleming has drained the water this fall and added
antifreeze as needed.
Old Town
Hall: Mold mitigation in upstairs and stairways
need to be examined. Looking to the future; several
windows may need to be replaced in compliance with
National and State Historic Register guidelines.
Old Office
Building: Foundation inspection, replacement of
back door and landscaping needs.
Greenfield School: Brick
Plaza south of the school was completed. Painting of
building will need to be completed in 2024.
Louis A. Koenig
Research Center: The dedication of the building
was held on September 16, 2023. The donor board will
be installed in 2024. Plans to update computers,
scanners, copiers, archival storage supplies; along
with other projects are being formulated for 2024.
Newsletter:
Berg – The newsletter was reformatted in 2023
in order to create better organization and flow of
information throughout the newsletter. So far the
feedback has been positive. The Louis A. Koenig
Research Center was the focus of articles in the
spring and fall 2023 newsletters. Discussion ensued
regarding using the newsletter as an outreach vehicle
to better inform individuals of all ages of the
history of Price County and the mission of the
Society. Motion made to send future newsletters to
Prentice, Phillips and Park Falls High School
libraries. Berg/Kaiser Carried.
Photographs:
Dunbar – Foytek, Dunbar and Tollefson continue to work
on photographs and archives. The rest of 2023 and 2024
will be spent on putting up more shelving and
undertaking the huge effort of starting to sort
through all of the photographs and archives and then
begin to organize and store these within the center.
Fundraisers/Events:
Foytek – The pie social and strawberry shortcake
fundraisers were held and both were well attended. We
sold out of pies. We will need more pie bakers for
next year. A lot of planning went into the research
center dedication, which was a great success and
attended by over 100 people. Dr. Craig S. Koenig,
grandson of Louis A. Koenig, cut the ribbon to the new
research center. We extend our thanks to Carol Koenig
for her most generous donation and vision for the
building and also to the community members and
organizations who donated during our fundraising
campaign. The research center is a great addition to
our community and the memory and legacy of Louis A.
Koenig. As part of the dedication, the OTH and GFS
museums were also open for tours that day.
Displays:
Foytek/McFadyen /Dunbar– The display on the
stage was changed out to include artifacts of the
orchestra and big band era that you would typically
see at local establishments in Price County during
that era. A hanging scale was added to the general
store display and a collection of canning jars added
to the canning display in the historic kitchen. A
train set donated to us was set up in the top floor of
the museum and an additional wedding dress added to
our bride display.
Membership:
Pilch – Currently we are at 262 members. We started
the year with 265 members. Five members decided not to
renew, six members are deceased and eight new members
joined the Society, resulting in a net loss of three
members.
Books:
Pilch – Books are sold through our website, gift shop
at the OTH, Johnson’s Hardware Store, CSA Gallery and
Gifts, and the Park Falls and Phillips Chambers. Books
republished or published this year were as follows:
Thanks to the efforts and coordination with Board
President, Foytek and the Phillips City Council, the
copyright to the
Phillips Centennial book was transferred to the
Society. The book, with an additional index compiled
by Karen Baumgartner was then republished and offered
for sale to the general public.
The Society purchased and sold copies of
Destination
Spooner Sectional Basketball 1972-1990 by Carlo
Kumpula. Mr. Kumpula held a book signing in October at
the research center. Future plans are to republish
F.W. Sackett’s A Glimpse at the Early History of the
State of Wisconsin Relating to Price County and
look into copyright ownership for the
Town of Elk
History book by: James Hrad, Jr.
Website/Facebook:
Pilch – Updates were done as needed by Tollefson and
Bill Nemec of Minding Your Business. The website needs
to be updated with a photograph of the Louis A. Koenig
Research Center. The historical information also needs
to be reviewed for possible updating. The facebook
site continues to be managed by Steven Eitrem.
Meetings and Presentations:
Berg – provided an update of events and our
involvement in the Northern Wisconsin Heritage
Council, Arctic Run Railroad Show, Forest History
Association and the Upper Flambeau Watershed
Networking Group.
New Business: Election of Directors for three year
terms 01-01-2024-12-31-2026:
Foytek – Terms for Kaiser, McFadyen, Pilch,
Schmidt and Eitrem are expiring. All have agreed to
serve another three year term, with the exception of
Etirem who has declined another term. Therefore, it is
the recommendation of the Board that this slate
(Kaiser, McFadyen, Pilch and Schmidt) be elected.
Foytek called three times for nominations from the
floor. Motion made by Berg, second by Dahlie to close
nominations and to cast a unanimous ballot for the
slate of directors as presented by the Board. Motion
carried. In addition 28 proxy ballots were received
with the following results:
Kaiser=27 votes; McFadyen=27 votes; Pilch=27
votes; Schmidt=28 votes; other=0 votes.
Open Forum:
Karen Baumgartner reported on the activities of the
Price County Genealogical Society and the Spirit
Historical Society. Information was provided that Jump
River Valley Historical Society is open the second and
fourth Saturday in June, July and August. Foytek gave
an update on the Friends of Fred Smith.
Adjournment:
President Foytek adjourned the meeting at 9:24 p.m.
Minutes respectfully submitted by:
Lorraine (Laurie) Pilch, Secretary/Treasurer
Member, Board of Directors