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Mission

Our mission is to Collect, Preserve, and Share the unique history of the people and land of the Glen Haven area, and promote our sense of community. 

We provide monthly programs, exhibits, photographs, research archives, museum, and educational programs for the benefit of its members, residents, other Northern Coloradoans, and visitors. 

For the purposes of the GHHS, the Glen Haven area is comprised of the watershed of the North Fork of the Big Thompson River.  It is a haven nestled in the glen along Larimer County Road 43, with Drake on the east and the crest of the switchbacks on the west.

Vision

The vision of the Glen Haven Historical Society (GHHS) is for the people of the community to be drawn together through the history and sense-of-place of this haven in the glen.  Its ambience, personality, heritage, and physical characteristics are unique and must be retained and shared.

GHHS will be sponsoring social events and developing and sharing its historical records to achieve this vision.  Its membership will be increasing, and most of the local residents participating in its social events and programs.  A museum with an emphasis on multimedia interactive exhibits will be created, be easily accessible, and be widely visited. It will include a gift shop which features local artisan’s works.

The society’s archives will be safely catalogued, stored electronically on CDROM and physically in files.  They will serve as an important research resource for scholars, students, researchers, and other qualified individuals.  New material will be continually added as current and prior residents of the area contribute their photos and stories to the archives.

Finally, GHHS will be collaborating with other organizations to provide regular, quality historical education programs to students and make those programs available to other interested groups.

Board of Directors

  •   Becky Childs - treasurer
  •   Frank and MaryLou Failla
  •   Tony Fink - ice-president
  •   Sonya McTeague
  •   Gordon Nuttall - president
  •   Sheila  Sellers
  •   Duke Sumonia - historian\
  •   Jewell Sumonia - social
  •   Ruth Thomas

History of the Glen Haven Historical Society:

The GHHS was formed in March of 2004 to organize the Glen Haven 101 year anniversary.  Three books on the history of the area written by local authors were republished.  GH 101 was held over the weekend of July 23 and presented a 2 hour historical program on Friday evening, another on Saturday evening, and an ice cream social with historical attire on Sunday.  These events had high participation and many books were sold, thus fueling the desire for continuing and expanding the Society.

The first meeting of the Board was on the front porch of the Glen Haven Community Building on August 25.  The core elected officials were voted in and committee heads identified.

The second program was on September 21 at the Community Building.  Duke Sumonia presented the history of the Knapp family and Pastor Shureman’s Presbyterian resort.

The second Board meeting was at the Inn of Glen Haven on October 19.  Discussion was held on an opportunity to acquire a donated building for the museum in conjunction with a chapel.  There was discussion and review of the Mission Statement and Vision document.

The third board meeting was on June 15, 2008 at the Community Building.  Duke handed off the presidency to Gordon Nuttall, with Tony Fink as vice president.  The mission was revised and activities for the upcoming year were planned.

Goals

Goal 1:  Establish GHHS

GHHS must first establish its institutional image and community presence.  We must strengthen our public relations, work with partners, and explore the needs of our community and how the Glen Haven Historical Society can potentially meet them.

A) Generate Visibility

Communicate who we are: our mission, purpose, and future plans.

  1. Publish a newsletter a few weeks prior to each scheduled program (normally every 2 months). The newsletter will be mailed to GHHS members, Glen Haven post office, residents, its email list, and  the Estes Park and Loveland museums.

  2. Sponsor Glen Haven social activities such as a Christmas party, crafts fair, pancake breakfast, and a summer festival.

  3. Attend public conferences/meetings and communicate the GHHS mission, vision, goals and programs. This will also allow us to discover the needs of the region and how we can best participate in meeting them

  4. Publish a newcomer’s packet to be placed with Real Estate agents and in Landowner Associations.

B)   Collaborate with Other Related Societies

Establish formal cooperative agreements with other local Historical Societies and museums to develop historical educational programs, loans of historical materials, sharing of major equipment, and joint PR programs.

  1. Establish ongoing contact with Estes Park and Loveland Historical Societies

  2. Place books, mini-displays, newsletters, and flyers in other museums in the area

  3. Determine and implement specific ways to strengthen institutional, corporate, and governmental partnerships.

  4. Develop and implement joint public relations programs where and when possible.

  5. Share major equipment purchases such as a digital projector.

C)  Establish Fundamentals of the Society

Establish the structural fundamentals of GHHS.

  1. Develop by-laws

  2. Create Board roles, responsibilities, and the nomination and selection process.

  3. Develop Board orientation and training program.

Goal 2:  Preserve and Protect

A)  Archive Historical Records

Hallelluia.  There is now a way to preserve our heritage and be reassured it will be passed on !!

Archive the photos, stories, and newspaper articles electronically and physically.  Make them widely accessible and user friendly.

  1. Create list of archived materials compiled by Duke Sumonia

  2. Scan all these items to CDROM.

  3. Archive the “genealogy” of local properties, including the original homesteaders and those who later purchased it.

  4. Organize the scanned items so that they are retrievable by keywords and/or dates.

  5. These materials will be stored in a safe and accessible location, eventually in the musuem.

  6. These materials will be available to be shared or given out on loan to other museums.

  7. Research potential items that could be brought into the Glen Haven Historical Society museum on loan and items that can be electronically captured (scanned) and/or reprinted.

B) Guide Change

GHHS’s policy is to not encourage change or growth.  We like Glen Have as it is and want to preserve and protect that.  Our promotion activities will be designed to serve the local residents and visitors who would be here anyway, not to attract new people.  By no means do we intend for Glen Haven to become a major tourist destination like Estes Park.  The GHHS’s role is to participate in governmental processes that guide and regulate growth so that these follow a path favored by the residents.

  1. Host “town hall” forums for residents to voice their points-of-view.

  2. Represent a unified point-of-view at zoning hearings

  3. Represent a unified point-of-view with Larimer County roads department.

  4. Represent a unified point-of-view with water management hearings.

Goal 3:  Present and Promote

Present Glen Haven’s history and accumulated stories to Northern Colorado residents and visitors in a user friendly and easily accessible manner.

A) Establish a Museum

The Board seeks to acquire, rehabilitate, and furnish a building along the central section of the main street as a museum having displays, public tours, offices, and educational programs.  There is an immediate need to find a place to store archived material, office records, displays, and equipment.

  1. Create a Museum Creation Committee reporting quarterly to the Board

  2. Identify partnering organization that could share the building as multiple use.

  3. Identify three potential locations with pros and cons of each.

  4. Identify the needed improvements and provide guidance and steps in how to make them.

  5. Develop a funding plan combining one-time donations, volunteer work, and sponsorships.

  6. Acquire, rehabilitate and furnish this Glen Haven property

B) Provide Student Programs

Develop and implement a historic education program in collaboration with Northern Colorado school districts.  This collaborative work will also help strengthen the educational programs that can represent both the town of Glen Haven and the broad history of the Glen Haven region.

Once the program has been started, GHHS will evaluate its success and modify it as needed or as times change.

  1. Design and produce a DVD-based presentation that is about 15 minutes long that can be easily presented on short notice at schools, group meetings, and in homes.

  2. Design and implement a set of educational materials that can be offered through the museum.  The program will be designed by society’s archivist, exhibits director, and potentially the Estes Park Historical Society.  It will be designed to be transportable with a standard size pickup truck so that it can be taken into schools and other museums and exhibit halls.

  3. Establish the funding mechanism allocated for the educational programs. Such funding is typically made available through grants and participating corporations.  Work will be done to identify and involve such organizations.

  4. Develop a “speakers bureau” - a list of people who can speak on certain subjects.

  5. Provide support for students who are doing research projects.

  6. Establish a field trip committee with representatives from the region's schools that organize field trips with historical emphasis. This committee will meet quarterly.

  7. Consult with individual history teachers to develop region-specific curriculum.

  8. In order to obtain joint funding and exhibit displays, a formal agreement should be made to identify the rules of such a process to ensure the safety and security of materials.

C) Provide an In-depth Experience for Visitors

Glen Haven has a strong base of tourists and visitors who would be interested in learning more about the area. The tourist and bicycling season is the target time of year. 

  1. Build several glass-front cabinets containing photos and documents and an audio narration.  Their home location would be in the museum or the Glen Haven Community Building, but they will be built so that they can be transported to other museums using a standard pickup truck.

  2. Provide a bulletin board or kiosk at the Post Office for local residents to learn historical bits-and-pieces that are refreshed at least monthly.

 Goal 4:  Funding

Develop and implement a comprehensive fundraising program that includes educating board members and local business leaders about fundraising.

A) Business sponsors

  1. Obtain funding from business sponsors with multiple-year commitments.

  2. Prepare Vision document and presentation in Powerpoint format

  3. Develop the business sponsorship program that is tiered, each having varying levels of joint promotions

  4. Present sponsorship program to three local businesses

B) Individual sponsors

Obtain sponsorship by individuals in the region.

  1. Develop a charitable contribution program (including planned giving), materials and potential donor lists

  2. Advertise locally and then throughout the region.

C) Book sales

Sell books about the Glen Haven area at local events and outlets.

  1. Sell books at local events such as Landowners Association annual meeting, Fire Department fundraisers, and tourist events.

  2. Sell books at regional book stores

  3. Sell books at Estes Park and Loveland museums.

D) Government Grants

  1. Identify member of Board to develop program for grants from government grants.

  2. Develop packet that can be sent to targeted government agencies.