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Document #35
Report of the Historical Committee
January 2001
Committee assignment
The Historical Committee was created at the January 2000 ARRL Board meeting:
71. On motion of Mr. Maxwell, seconded by Mr. Heyn, the Board VOTED unanimously to create the ARRL Historical Committee. Mr. Haynie announced that the committee would consist of Directors Frenaye, Chairman; Maxwell, Legislative and Public Affairs Manager Mansfield, and a yet-to-be-named member from outside the Board. The purpose of this committee is to develop a plan for storage of historical artifacts and archival material related to Amateur Radio, and to explore means for future public access and display of such material. A preliminary report shall be submitted to the Board at the July 2000 meeting, with the final report submitted for the Annual Meeting in January 2001.
Committee Work
The Committee met twice by conference call since the July Board meeting, on October 3rd and November 7th.
A major portion of the discussions have centered around building a plan for conducting a one-day (or one-weekend) inventory of existing historical artifacts in Newington. This plan, plus the results of the first inventory will give us a much clearer idea of how much work is required to complete the inventory, and enough information and documentation to begin to look for resources to complete the work. We have indications that there may be State or Federal grants available to help us out.
The scope of the first inventory was to be the 3rd floor penthouse where there are a lot of documents and artifacts stored in poor conditions. A work area has been identified on the 2nd floor, some volunteers are ready to go, and some inventory software has been acquired.
Our original plan was to do the inventory sometime in December or early January, but that was not possible for of several reasons, not the least being Steve Mansfield's illness. We hope to get this back on track in a few weeks.
The other topic of discussion has been about the options available to us for dealing with the historical documents and objects we already have accumulated over the years. The choices range from a limited, internal archive area, primarily for historical research by staff members or academic researchers, to a full telecommunications or Amateur Radio focused museum, or online Internet displays.
We have not finished the work on this yet because, at the very least, it depends on what we actually have in our collection, and an inventory is necessary to give us (and potential donors and grantors) a clearer picture of the value and scope of the artifacts.
At the same time we're looking at what options we might have, some very interesting developments are taking place in the Hartford area as plans for a downtown Hartford redevelopment are starting to turn into real projects.
We have had some limited communication with the Capital City Economic Development Authority, the State organization that is working with private developers on the Adriaen's Landing and related projects. A key part of the plan is a big "Attraction" that would be widely recognized as a place people would want to visit and would be the centerpiece of the development. This might be a museum, exhibit, sports stadium, etc.
The CCEDA contracted with LORD Associates (Toronto) in late July to analyze the potential of the downtown site and identify possible concepts for the Attraction. Their interim report was delivered in mid-December, with a final report due early this year. It is possible the major Attraction will be something where ARRL might contribute by supplying exhibits or develop some other ties. The interim report suggested the best-case attraction might generate around 600,000 visitors a year - and their general assessment of the possibilities was enthusiastic. They do appear to lean towards the concept of a science museum or exhibits related to science.
Director Maxwell has been following an effort to build a technology museum in the San Jose - San Francisco area. He recently obtained a copy of the technical assessment report generated by Museum Management Consultants (San Francisco). While the Committee just received copies of the report, it appears that the consultants were cautious about the reality of building such a museum.
On a related note, the local Vintage Radio and Communications Museum of East Hartford has to move to a new location for the third time in three years. They are marginally funded but have a fair number of volunteers involved.
Next Steps
Despite the original charge to complete our work by the January 2001 meeting, we need to continue with the work on the inventory during this year, and still must more fully develop some options to consider for how we might store, handle and display our Amateur Radio historical artifacts.
Tom Frenaye, K1KI, chairman
Jim Maxwell, W6CF
Steve Mansfield, N1MZA
Al Cohen, W1FXQ
