The fourth membership meeting of the Railway Mail Service Library Foundation (RMSLF) was convened at 4:05 PM on Saturday, October 17th, 2020. Attendees were on-line via a FreeConferenceCall call-in telephone number. Frank Scheer – Secretary presided and there were four attendees: Ronald Albers, Jim Setser, Lewis Leigh, Jr., and Frank R. Scheer. Proxy forms from ten RMSLF members were received:
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Rodney A. Juell
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Jon E. Habegger
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George Porter
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Louis E. Surles
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Andrew Mitchell
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Mark D. Brainard
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Jonathan L. Johnson, Jr.
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Patrick J. Boland
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James R. Stultz
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Robert P. Majors, Jr.
All indicated that Ronald Albers can vote on their behalf in favor of director nominations as well as any other business that is presented at the October 17th, 2020, membership meeting. This constituted a quorum for the annual membership meeting.
A membership report was presented. Between the 2016 incorporation and September 30th, 2020, 143 member certificates have been issued.
RAILWAY MAIL SERVICE LIBRARY FOUNDATION
Strategic Plan – 2021-2025
Mission: Paul Alfred Nagle's bequest to the RMSLF included this stipulation: “… to assemble, preserve and to present in whatever form, the historical record of the Railway Mail Service and successor entities.”
Vision: Comprehensive primary and secondary information sources as well as artifacts related to en route mail distribution worldwide, via all transportation modes.
Guiding Principles: Cogent, accessible information with supporting curatorial interpretation that aids postal, railway, and other interested historians in their research endeavors.
Annual Milestones:
2021 – Completion of Paul A. Nagle Archival Center for preservation of historic mail vehicles and protection of the Railway Mail Service Library collection.
2022 – Railway Mail Service Library collection organization, sorting and cataloging.
2023 – Digitization of oral history, film, and hard-copy media.
2024 – Information system platform for sharing collection resources on line.
2025 – Collection transition to RMSLF for long-term curating, management, and preservation.
2020 Year in Review and Planning Ahead:
Additional clarifications of the Nagle Archival Center site plan were required by the Boyce Planning Commission, the Clarke County Sanitary Authority, and the Virginia Department of Highways. As of October 15th, Greenway Engineering is continuing work to satisfy site plan comments. Final approval is hoped for during November 2020.
The principal projects for the year ahead are:
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Construction of the Nagle Archival Center at the rear of 127 East Main Street;
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Relocation of the Railway Mail Service Library collection from the depot to a new building;
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Repairs to the engine, drive train, and brakes of the 1967 Highway Post Office (HPO);
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Relocation of the HPO from Cloverdale, Virginia, and the 1931 Ford Mail Truck from Racine, Wisconsin, to the new vehicle preservation area; and,
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Applying for matching-funds grants or other donations of labor and materiel for the Paul Nagle Archives interior completion.
There will be an appeal for one or more volunteers to assist with relocating items from the Boyce railway depot to the Archival Center which will commence after structure completion and continue during 2021. Other volunteer projects that can be undertaken are:
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Restoration and preservation work for the two historic mail vehicles;
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Monthly grounds-keeping of the set-back areas around the Archival Center;
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Sorting and cataloging the Railway Mail Service Library collection;
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Answering research requests for Railway Post Office history; and,
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Website maintenance and learning the digital file structure of the collection.
A Ground-Breaking for the Paul Nagle Archives is tentatively planned for Saturday, April 24th, 2021, at 1 PM which coincides with the BRDF Morse Day. Current and newly-joined members can attend the cook-out after the first shovel-turning ceremony and view a Morse telegraph demonstration in the agent’s office, exhibiting railroad communications during the early 1900s. A one-day commemorative pictorial postmark will be requested. If approved, this postmark can be imprinted upon post cards purchased for fund-raising as well as your own mailable first-class items. There is also a table of Boyce town artwork offered by a Berryville artist.
A treasury report was the next topic. RMSLF funds are held in a Bank of Clarke County checking account that was set up for the Foundation during 2016. The savings account balance as of September 30th, 2020, was $149,031.39. The checking account balance on that date was $14,166.71 from which Greenway Engineering and Travelers Insurance invoices were paid during early October. These amounts are predominately from the Paul A. Nagle bequest. The funds received as membership dues and donations as well as the 127 East Main Street house rental have been used to pay expenses for preparation and submission of a site plan for the Nagle Archives to the Town of Boyce and County of Clarke Planning Commissions.
Utility expenses as well as the real estate taxes are covered by the annual lease for the resident of the former telephone exchange building which faces East Main Street. The Paul Alfred Nagle bequest will cover most of the construction expenses. Grants and donations will be sought to close the gap between available funds and the project completion cost. My own donation or loans to the foundation for a closed-in structure will close any funding short-fall. More importantly, your active interest in preserving the Library collection will assure its continuing as a cornerstone of postal and railroad history research.
Ronald Albers, chair of the nominating committee, presented a list of nominations for RMSLF Directors to three-year terms that are expiring for Fran Barker and Quinton Barker plus one vacant two-year director's term. The nominees were:
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Jim Setser -Three-year term
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Lewis Leigh, Jr. – Three-year term
Additional nominations from attendees were requested but none were presented by the attending members. Ron Albers voted the ten proxies in favor of the Directors slate. A vote of members attending the meeting approved the nominations by acclamation. The two-year director position remains unfilled.
The newly-elected Directors will hold their annual meeting during January 2021. At the meeting, Directors will vote on who will fill the President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer positions. One person may fill two offices, such as Vice President and Secretary. The current Board of Directors and Officers will complete their incumbencies on April 30th and be replaced by the 2021 officers on May 1st. The 2021 officers will hold their offices until April 30, 2022.
There was no “old business” remaining from the 2019 Annual Membership Meeting. Attendees did not identify any topics as “new business.” Adjournment was moved by Ronald Albers and seconded by Lewis Leigh, Jr. A unanimous vote followed and the meeting ended at 4:14 PM.
Respectfully submitted
Frank R. Scheer
Secretary
