Community Preservation Act grant activity
Glass Plate Negative Project211 glass plate negatives found in a local attic were given to the Orleans Historical Society in the autumn of 2005. The photographer Harry J. Sparrow resided in Orleans as a young man, took these images in the early spring of 1911. With funds from the Community Preservation Act the collection has been preserved through digital scanning and archiving, and the original plates safely stored. The digital images are available for viewing and research through several venues, including the 'collections' page of this website.
More than 75 oral histories recorded by Orleans citizens from 1980 to the present have been transferred to audio CD's for a more stable storage format, and the digital audio files can now be used for listening playback in multiple ways. The transcripts have been entered into word processing files and are available for reading and research.
Listen for future productions utilizing these sound bites.
The roof on the historic Meeting House Museum has been replaced over the winter. The roof was long overdue for replacement and suffered added damage in the famous December 9th storm of 2005. The work was done using historically acurate wooden shingles rather than the current asphalt shingles. This project enhances the overall condition and beauty of this charming building which dates from the 1830's.
A new tempered glass cover over the Bicentennial Quilt display was installed by Cape & Islands Glass.
Two 19th century samplers were cleaned, restored and framed with museum glass by Museum Textile Services of Andover.
A volume series The Acts and Resolves of the Massachusetts Bay Colony were cleaned and rebound with leather by Talin Bookbindery in Yarmouthport.