Second Member Meeting In New Home
The Hilda Hoffmann Memorial Archive held its second general membership meeting on Saturday, August 13th, 2pm at their new home, 301 Williams Ave. The existing board of Sara Sheldon, Chairman, Helen Clunie, Treasurer and Don Wicks, Secretary was increased by five new board members: Loraine Harper, Ernie Serpas, Wade Stewart, Reba Beebe and Judy Burge Smith. The new board will meet soon to discuss officerships, meeting dates and how best to approach the future of the organization.
The meeting was capped with a presentation by Jack Spiers on the “Legs Murder Trial of 1935,” which captivated the nation during the struggling depression years. Jack, curator of the McNeill Cemetery was introduced to the story since both the legs and the murderer (mother and daughter) are buried in McNeill Cemetary side by side. His talk was taken from the book, The Legs Murder Scandal, by Hunter Cole. He will be giving the same talk to the Pearl River County Historical Society in the near future.
Hilda’s collection is now housed at 301 Williams Ave. in Picayune and members are busy with renovations to make the building ready for public visitation. The collection needs to be organized and digitized, an office and workroom set up and rooms prepared for housing a museum with artifacts, pictures and documents featuring the heritage of Pearl River County. It is hoped that the archive section will be open to the public soon where family histories can be researched. We will be asking families to bring in pictures, documents and genealogies to add to our present collection. You will be able to donate these or have them scanned and returned to you. For the Museum section we will be asking for small items reflecting how it was in the good old days. These can either be donated or loaned to the museum for display. Each item will be identified with the donor/lender’s name and a description of the item.
As a non-profit, the only way we can succeed is with community support. We operate with volunteers and all monies from the $25 membership fee and donations go toward the museum and archive. Please consider joining with us to make this venture a success. We now have 86 members, but need over 200 to pay our utilities and taxes. You can send your $25 yearly dues, donation and contact information (including e-mail) to P.O Box 162, Picayune, MS 39466. You can also visit our website at: hildahoffmannarchive.org or contact us at hildaarchive@bellsouth.net.
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