GLEBE HOUSE COMMITTEE Chairman's Report 1974-1975 "Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do...play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do." Mark Twain Thereby rests the success of this year's Glebe House Committee. 1974-1975 has been both a productive and fun year for the committee. We have operated the House with few problems, and with our many additional activities have brought the House to the attention both of the contributing organizations and the community. We started this fall with a series of six crafts workshops for local children, run by members of the committee, the League and the Historical Society. The workshops included: decoupage, candlemaking, needlepoint, bread baking, patchwork and egg decorating. This program was a success, it received great publicity, and both the children and the instructors had an interesting and enjoyable time. Also in early fall, we sent letters to all of the local schools advertising our "Slide Show" and the availability of tours at the House. All year, the Slides Chairman has been busy showing the slides throughout the Greater Poughkeepsie area. In October, Mrs. Nagel, our Guide/Caretaker, resigned after two years at the House. We were all sorry to see her go, but were most pleased with Mrs. Croshier who replaced her. Mrs. Croshier is an enthusiastic and dependable employee and we are ever so fortunate to have her with us. For the Annual Open House in December, we added a Christmas Tree Show. We ran two workshops for League children and mothers), at which most all of the decorations for the four trees were made. The trees were decorated in the tradition of foreign lands, and a printed sheet detailing Christmas in these countries was given to all visitors. The annual bake sale, put on by the League Provisionals, was also a success, cookies from the various foreign countries were available for sale. The committee decided that because of the overcrowding during the open hours, we would include a special "Candlelight Open House" for an extra hour on Sunday evening. We sent invitations to members of the three contributing organizations, and to our delight almost 100 people came. Following the Open House, we invited the children from the Poughkeepsie Day Nursery for a Christmas party at the House. The children were given a tour of the House and told about the trees, then we had refreshments and sang Christmas caroles. Before they left, we stripped the trees of their decorations and the children were given them to take home. Last winter we also sent out letters to various organizations advertising the availability of the House for rental. We were very pleased to have several rentals, and are working presently on a more formal rental agreement. Since the first of the year, we have been busy with our fund raising project..."A Feast of History", an historical cookbook planned for publication in the Spring of 1976. Our plan is to combine a collection of the old "receipts" with a history of Poughkeepsie.
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