Junius B. Booth Society, Inc. (JBBS)TUDOR HALL ALLIANCE Summary of Meeting at
Tudor Hall Prepared by Dinah Faber Contact Info for Center for the Arts: Center for the Arts phone at Tudor Hall: 410-838-2177 On Sunday, March 25, 2007, Sallee
Kunkel Filkins, Executive Director of the Center for the Arts (CFA), opened the
meeting with welcoming remarks. Sallee announced that on Sunday, April 1, 2007,
CFA is hosting an Easter egg hunt from 1:00-3:00 pm on the lawn at Tudor Hall (TH)
for the children and grandchildren of the residents of Sallee explained that at this point CFA is
still a very new and small organization with one full-time staff person
(Sallee) and one part-time staff member (Kathy Cochran, Director of
Operations). CFA has about 20 active volunteers including their board of
directors. Once Janis Barlow of Sallee said two areas CFA is seeking assistance with is providing tours of TH and educational information about the Booth family and TH to the public. In addition, CFA is seeking assistance with decisions about what time period to depict in the house via furnishings and decorations. Sallee said CFA is creating an interpretations/furnishings committee to do some research, make some recommendations, and contact antique dealers in the area who might be interested providing period furniture on loan to TH. Sallee plans to ask Betty Worthington, who once lived at Tudor Hall and who is passionate about antiques, to serve on the committee. In the course of the meeting, Sallee also mentioned that the county anticipates it will need to spend as much as $400,000 to rid the house of termites, replace wood damaged by termites, fix the roof (including new tin roofing), etc. PLEASE NOTE THAT A LIST AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EVERYONE WHO ATTENDED THE MEETING APPEARS AT THE END OF THIS REPORT. Elwin Penski handed out a 3 page
update on the Junius B. Booth Society (JBBS). El explained that changes in According to El, “GPR is a non-destructive method that uses radar pulses to image the subsurface. Applications of GPR include locating buried voids/cavities, disturbed earth, underground storage tanks, drainage patterns, sewers, foundations, ancient landfills, pipelines and cables. It can also be used to characterize bedrock, the internal structure of floors/walls, water damage in concrete, and the internal steelwork in concrete. At Tudor Hall, it might locate graves, large artifacts, old farm tools, drainage or irrigation pipes and determine the location and size of past buildings, kilns used for manufacturing fertilizer, ice and food storage cellars, outhouses, cisterns, cemeteries, and fences.” Dinah emphasized that old wells, cesspools, cisterns, underground fuel tanks, etc., can pose safety and environmental hazards. Andy Schmidt said that indeed an old cesspool had collapsed when Howard and Dorothy Fox were living at TH and created a dangerous situation. These considerations make it even more important that such potential hazards are located and taken care of. Dinah explained that the Historical
Society of Harford County (HSHC) is not in a position to provide financial or
volunteer support to TH since the society’s financial and volunteer resources
are already stretched thin. However, the society is willing to design an
informational display on the history of TH and the Booth family for the small
Booth Room the CFA is making available (small room on your right as you enter
TH) for that purpose. The members of the Meanwhile, the society has set up a temporary display in the Booth Room at TH using materials originally created by historical society volunteer Mary Henderson for display at the Bel Air public library. Materials related to the Booth family will be limited to the Booth Room as CFA will be using the other rooms of the house for offices (upstairs) and rotating exhibits and displays (downstairs). Dinah also spoke briefly about the Booth Research Center located at HSHC and explained that while TH is an historical site people can visit, the Booth Research Center, located at the society’s headquarters at 143 Main St. in Bel Air, will be a place where people can research TH and the Booth family. The Stephen M. Archer, Terry Alford, and James T. Wollon Collections are examples of some of the types of materials available at the society. Dinah also read aloud from a recent letter from Stephen M. Archer (author of Junius Brutus Booth: Theatrical Prometheus) and presented an autographed copy of Steve’s book to TH. In addition, Dinah passed around a
wonderful promotional flier created by the Preservation Association for Tudor
Hall in the early 1980s that Art Loux (John Wilkes Booth historian) recently
sent from his home in During the course of the meeting,
many ideas were discussed about the kind of events that could be held at TH
over the coming years. Sallee said that the local “Boothies” can hold small
meetings at TH whenever they like as long as they make an appointment ahead of
time. Sallee emphasized that during CFA’s time at TH the house and grounds will
NOT be available as a rental facility for meetings, weddings, receptions, etc.
(unlike the Liriodendron, Rockfield, and Swan Harbor sites which are available
to the public for rental). Planning and
zoning regulations governing TH state that no more than 80 people can be inside
TH and/or on the grounds at one time and that no buses are allowed on Possible future events at TH sponsored or co-sponsored by CFA were briefly discussed including play writing workshops, murder mysteries, and teas. Dinah passed around photocopies of materials related to conferences sponsored by PATH in 1988, 1990, 1992, and 1995. Sallee had requested this information for ideas for similar future events. It should be noted that during the meeting Dinah reported that on Thursday, March 22, Tom Jennings, who is directing a two-hour documentary for the History Channel with the working title On the Trail of John Wilkes Booth, visited Tudor Hall with a camera man and a sound man and did some filming of the exterior of the house. The documentary is based on Mike Kauffman’s American Brutus: John Wilkes Booth and the Lincoln Conspiracies and is set to air on December 23rd. When Dinah spoke by phone with Kathi
Ash of the Maryland Film Office about Tom’s visit to TH, Kathi indicated that
all such future filming at TH should be arranged via the film commission.
According to Kathi, there are procedures in place that all professional film makers
should follow when filming in It was also mentioned that Jack
Gerbes, Director of the Maryland Film Office, lives in Lee Pucklis reminded everyone that
Gary Sloan, who was instrumental in bringing Holbrook, Carter, Keach, and
Redgrave to TH, is currently appearing Haunted Prince: The Ghosts of Edwin
Booth in DC on Mondays, March 26, April 2, 9 and 16
at 7 pm. Performances
will take place in the National Portrait Gallery’s Nan Tucker McEvoy Auditorium
at the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture. Admission is
free. Reservations are encouraged. Call (202)
275-0570. During the course of the meeting, everyone was asked to introduce themselves and briefly describe their past relationship with TH. They were also asked to share how they would like to be involved in future activities at TH. Dinah asked that everyone be very open and honest about what they realistically can and cannot offer TH in order to avoid disappointment, frustration, and “burn out.” Dinah also suggested that the group plan for the next year and re-evaluate priorities and goals at this time next year. Dinah began
the discussion by saying that she feels a strong need to make her research and
writing (especially her hope to complete a book on the women of the Booth
family) her top priority. In addition, she plans to continue her work at the Fortunately, Kris Thomson, Ann Phillips, and Andy Schmidt said they would be delighted to provide tours for the general public and to coordinate a docent program for TH. Kris, Ann, and Andy all have a long-standing, deep, and abiding relationship with TH, and all said their interaction with visitors at TH was one of the things they enjoyed most in the past. It should be noted that many times during the meeting, Howard and Dorothy Fox and the generous hospitality they offered to everyone who came to TH were fondly remembered. Kris, Ann, and Andy said they look forward to working together to make a visit to TH both entertaining as well as educational. Kris is so excited about leading tours she’s even be willing to take time off from work on occasion to act as a tour guide and would also be available on some weeknights and weekends as well. When Sallee mentioned that a local garden club is scheduled to visit TH on March 29, Kris said she’d be happy to give them a tour. Sallee said the tours will be limited to the first floor of the house because the low height of the banister along the stairs is considered unsafe for visitors and because of privacy and security issues related to the rooms upstairs being used as office space for CFA. Jim Wollon said he is willing to share his childhood memories and knowledge of the house, outbuildings, and grounds when his great-grandmother Ella Mahoney lived there as well as his experience and expertise as a restoration and preservation architect. It was agreed during the meeting that it is important to document what Jim remembers about Ella Mahoney’s time in the house as well what he can tell us about the various architectural and structural features of the house. In addition, Jim has memories he is willing to share of the wooden addition that was built onto the back of TH in his great-grandmother’s day, various outbuildings which no longer stand (including an icehouse), and changes that have occurred to the grounds. Eric
Richardson is interested in providing assistance in any way he can when he’s at
home in Mary Cardwell described her work with the Booth materials in the archives of the Historical Society of Harford County and said she will continue to work hard to make the materials more accessible and user friendly to researchers. Lee Pucklis (theatre professional
currently living in Delaware and working in Philadelphia) said his elderly parents
live in Bel Air and that he expects he will be living in Harford County himself
one day. Lee has many years of varied experience in the theatrical world in NYC
and El Penski said he will work with CFA to make information about TH readily available online and will also work to coordinate the websites of CFA, the historical society, and the JBB Society. El will also gather more info on the possibility of a Ground Penetrating Radar survey at TH. Jill Redding, theatre and real estate professional, could not attend the meeting due to recent eye surgery. However, Jill sent her regards and wanted everyone to know she remains interested in being involved at TH. Jill is especially interested in reviving murder mystery performances at TH. Near the end of the meeting, Dinah
noted that after she sent photos of the trees at TH that At the end of the meeting it was agreed that various people will follow up on a variety of “assignments” and that in the next month or two another meeting of the entire group will be held to hear progress reports on those assignments. The assignments are outlined below. Be sure to look for your name and your assignment! El Penski will research the best way to bring Ground Penetrating Radar to TH; El will also work with CFA on website coordination. Kris Thomson and Ann Phillips will locate copies of the “scripts” formerly provided to docents at TH. Dinah Faber, El Penski, and Jim Wollon will review the scripts for accuracy. Kris Thomson, Ann Phillips, and Dinah Faber will revise and rewrite the scripts as necessary. Dinah Faber and Kris Thomson will work with Jim Wollon and Andy Schmidt to set up a date and time to go through TH room by room so Jim and Andy can point out architectural and structural details and recount their memories of Ella Mahoney and the Fox’s years at Tudor Hall. If anyone reading this has a digital camcorder and would be willing to “film” Jim and Andy, that would be GREAT!!! Anyone who would like to be present for Jim and Andy’s tour is welcome (as long as the group remains relatively small). Dinah Faber will examine photos of TH at the historical society for images of the trees scheduled to be cut down and will consult with Jim Wollon and others interested in “Saving the Trees.” ASAP Dinah will draft a letter to Parks and Rec. asking if they might consider a reprieve if we can come up with some practical recommendations and alternatives for “managing” the trees and reducing the threat to the house and/or visitors. Dinah Faber will also update Rhonda
Deeg (Building Restoration and Preservation Program at Someone (Sallee?
Any volunteers?) needs to contact
MD Film Office and Denise Carnaggio (Economic Development Office for Sallee will check with the county to find out what their policies are concerning charging a fee for guided tours at TH. We need to know if it’s all right to charge a fee, how much we can charge, and what entity will receive the fees. Those present at the March 25, 2007, meeting at Tudor Hall were: Sallee Kunkel Filkins—Executive Director, Center for the Arts Elwin Penski—Webmaster Historical Society of Harford County & founder Junius B. Booth Society Lee Pucklis—theatre
professional currently living in Kris Thomson— Andy Schmidt—local nursery man & friend of Tudor Hall for past thirty years Eric Richardson—professional
actor whose home is in Mary Cardwell—volunteer archivist specializing in Booth related materials in the Archives Department of the Historical Society of Harford County and member of the society’s Booth Research Center Committee Ann Phillips—former President Preservation Association for Tudor Hall and real estate professional James T. Wollon—preservation and restoration architect and great-grandson of Ella Mahoney who lived at Tudor Hall for 70 years Dinah Faber—historian
and writer associated with the
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