Annual Report of the Archivist, 1986

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE ARCHIVIST -  1986

Your archivist has had to labor under adverse conditions this past year. First, the pastor held out the promise that the Archives would be moved back to the old Trustees' Room in the tower - with the proviso this time around that it would be heated, lighted, cleaned, painted, supplied with cupboards and (most important) freed of pigeons. That hasn't happened yet. What has happened is that the Archives workroom has had a pull-down ladder put into its ceiling. You can rest assured that this was not at my urging. In the process, about a ton of plaster dust has been deposited over my desk, everything on the desk, and on the table given by Virginia Cambreleng, as well as on the stacks of archive boxes. The large pictures that were moved out of the room were moved into the Archive display room, effectively blocking access to  files  and  cupboards  there.

Under these conditions I have prepared an address for one Forum session on our church's history; written a short history of the church for distribution at the meeting of Church Women United held here; tried to find pictures and items in answer to queries (the only thing I would ever have to do as Archivist, I was told, when I took the job); and gathered materials for research into the first 75 years of our church life for the May program of the Woman's Guild. Each such paper or address requires extensive searching of the Archives and weeks of deciphering hand-written records in the original journals. Doing so with the Archives filing cabinets blocked and the rooms dusty was not a happy experience.

To a simple-minded soul like me it seems logical to paint and prepare the Tower Room first, move the Archives there, and then put in the attic stairs -stairs with an empty room in which to work. Almost I am persuaded - as was another Archivist, Helen Peck Young, that this church does not care about its archives. But with my breathing problems I really cannot work as things are. If nothing can be done to make the job of Archivist tolerable by October 1 of this year, the nominating committee had better look for a sturdier person for the office.

Other jobs done: I investigated the Montclair library files on our church, reproduced things we don't have, bought plastic envelopes to enclose fragile items, had church calendars bound (with the help of Joan), bought a tape recorder for oral history records, and purchased a portrait of Park Diekerson for our records this year. I had an artist restore our 17th century oil painting of  the  "Descent  from the Cross."

Most of the items in the Archives we have because members of the church contributed  them.  This  year  contributions were made  to  the Archives by
Jane Carpenter Helen and David Crowell
Kit Gregory Joan Kalkman
Wilma Gregory    Barbara Quirk
Gabrielle Weed    John DeBoer
Mildred Putnam Park Diekerson
Barbara Vreeland Alice Paulsen

We  owe  them all  our  thanks.

Respectfully  submitted,

Clara Merritt DeBoer Archivist