DALTON, Mass. — The Select Board approved the appointment of two new members of the historical commission during its meeting on Monday. 

 

Bonnie Eastwood and Nancy Kain have regularly attended commission meetings and have been crucial for a number of projects including the reissuing of "Down Memory Lane" and staffing a table during Dalton Day. They also volunteer at the Fitch Hoose House.

 

Thus far the commission has sold 30 copies of "Down Memory Lane," Eastwood said. She hopes to become more involved with the historic Fitch Hoose House. 

 

The house is a significant part of the town's history, so the commissioners want to encourage more visitors. They had a successful season last year, she said.

 

This year, the commission hopes to better prepare for Dalton Day now that it has moved back intoTown Hall and can allocate more time to planning, Eastwood said. 

 

"Anything that we can be involved in because we're just really excited about being accepted as members," Eastwood said. 

 

Although they have been regulars at the meeting, acting as Historical Commission associates, they did not have voting privileges due to the lack of vacancies on the commission. 

 

Eastwood has been working with the commission off and on since the 1990s but due to her work schedule was unable to be an official member. Now that she is retired she has enough time to allocate to Historical Commission work. 

 

"I am retired now and I've been back for over a year as an associate. I just love anything historical especially when it has to do with Dalton," she said. 

 

Kain is not a native of Dalton but moved here in the 1980s to raise her kids. 

 

During interactions with Eastwood and Historical Commission co-Chair Deborah Kovacs, she learned of the extensive collection the commission has, that was previously stored at First Congregational Church during the Town Hall renovations. 

 

While moving the items back to the Town Hall, Kain and commissioners have been organizing the collection and rediscovering some items. 

 

"I'm a retired librarian so that's kind of right up my area. I like to organize information and make it available to people so we've been working [on] just sorting out the files and the pictures and all of the stuff that's up there," she said.

 

"And we're very excited about ways that we might connect the community to the really interesting information that we have about the town."

 

The commission has an array of ideas on showcasing its collection once it is organized, including the possibility of having exhibits. 

 

"We've been finding a lot of things since we've been going over all the things that have been stored away all over the place that are fascinating," Kain said.

 

"And I think they would be interesting to people that are in Dalton or even in Berkshire County or Massachusetts and we would like to further that whatever we can do," Eastwood added.

 

They also encourage community members to share their ideas on how the commission can present its collection.