A year ago, at the 2017 Angelica town organizational meeting I was appointed as the new town historian of Angelica, New York. On January 9^th, 2018, I delivered my first annual report as town historian. One of the enumerated responsibilities of a town historian in New York state is that the town historian present the town board with an annual report detailing a town historian’s activities for the past year and history related matters which occurred in the past year.

I arrived for the town board meeting before its start at 7:00pm. Due to it being the first town board meeting of the year, it started with the annual town organizational section. The organization section involved key official activities for the year, including adopting policies and appointing figures to various positions. This included my appointment as town historian 2018, and involved signing my section for registering town officials. I then proceeded to give paper copies of my report to the town board and other people present at the meeting.

Following the organization portion of the meeting, the town board proceeded to the regular session. This included dealing with various agenda items, presenting reports, and discussion of town issues. The town supervisor read my report into the record.

My report read as follows:

Angelica Town Historian Report

Jonathan Makeley

January 8^th 2018

This marks a year since I was appointed town historian. In this year, I have worked to help preserve and inform on the town's history.

In this past year, I received and aided several people who were seeking historical information.

I worked to create digital scans of all the material in the box of town historical materials I had received. They are currently stored in digital form, and I am looking into ways to make them available online.

I attended County Historical RoundTable meetings, and helped to organize the display for our town at Howe Library during the 2^nd annual Allegany County History Week, this September. This was done with the help of people such as David Haggstrom, Gail Richardson, and all those who pitched in or lent objects for the display; such as the civil war drum in the colonial room which was lent out by the library. From what I saw visiting the display and from I’ve heard from other local historians, the event went well.

In August, our town was visited by the Welland Canal Fallen Workers Memorial Task Force and members of the Patterson family, for a ceremony to present a plaque honoring John A. Patterson.

We had our annual Heritage Days Event. On the Sunday of that event, I helped in presenting the colonial room and provided information to visitors of it.

In September, the Civil War Reenactment returned to Angelica.

And in November, a new historical plaque for the town was placed by the park circle.

Overall, I think we made some progress on historical matters and did a fair number of things to help share information with people.

This year, I hope to be able to make the town historical material online, continue to collect and share more town historical information, and do what I can to work with members of the community to help get our history out there.

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The meeting also afforded me the ability to gain new information about history related matters in the town in the coming year. I had found out that there is a bridge that will be renovated, with plans to add a kiosk next to it, with information on the town’s history. Now that I’m aware of this, I will seek to do what I can to help with effort. I also found out that the cemetery records for the town’s Until The Day Dawn Cemetery are going to be digitized. Once that occurs, that will afford the possibility of more information, which may be available to people.

As I proceed forward in 2018, I seek to do things which will help preserve and inform on the town’s history, and hope to make my next annual report be just as, if not more, impressive then this one.