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Orphan Train Heritage Society
Board of Directors Report
The first formal meeting of the Orphan Train Heritage Society Board of Directors was held October 8th in conjunction with the OTHSA Reunion.
Perhaps the most important action taken by the Board was its decision to have the OTHSA collection of information and artifacts moved to a more accessible and more secure location. The collection is currently housed in a private residence.
The Board has directed OTHSA Executive Director Mary Ellen Johnson to explore various options available to OTHSA and report back to the Board before a final decision is made concerning a permanent home for th OTHSA collection. The collection will remain in the Springdale area and be under the control of OTHSA.
The Board also challenged Johnson to recruit a volunteer to serve as her assistant. “Too much of the daily operation of OTHSA has fallen directly on Mary Ellen’s shoulders, and we thought it wise to have someone other than Mary knowledgeable about the OTHSA operation in case Mary Ellen would be unable to continue her duties,” Phil Sutton, board chairman, said.
Johnson reported to the Board that during the Society’s first 10 months of operation over 200 paid members were on the membership roll. She also indicated that OTHSA has spent $7,280.00 since its creation. A large portion of these funds came from direct donations by the Johnson family.
The Board approved a 1989 budget of $7,000.00 plus. Some $5,000.00 of the budget will go toward publishing and mailing the OTHSA quarterly newsletter.
Johnson told the Board that the Society urgently needed a computer system in order to track, index and cross-reference the growing amount of information being submitted to OTHSA.
Johnson announced that she and her husband, Leroy, had purchased a computer system for OTHSA with their own funds. A computer fund has now been established for donations to reimburse the Johnsons for the computer system.
A new membership fee schedule was approved by the Board. The new schedule is printed on
page 12 of this newsletter. Two new fee levels were added. A “Group or Institution” fee was established at $25.00. A special discount fee of $10.00 for “Orphan Train Riders” was created. The basic individual membership for one year was left unchanged at $20.00.
The Board voted to hold the 1989 OTHSA Reunion in Springdale, Arkansas.
The size of the OTHSA newsletter, Crossroads, will be increased from 8 pages to 12 pages. Johnson explained that by reducing the number of copies being printed, the Society could afford to increase the number of pages. The newsletter will remain a quarterly publication.
Board members, officers, and those attending the Reunion were asked to review OTHSA’s current Access Policies concerning material being submitted to the Society’s collection. “We want to make sure our access policies are clear and that they carry out the wishes of those who have submitted personal family information to OTHSA,” Sutton indicated.
New officers for 1988-89 were elected by the Board. See separate story on page 1 of this issue of the newsletter.
The Board set several goals for OTHSA during 1989:
•	Locate a permanent home for the OTHSA collection
•	Recruit an assistant for Mary Ellen Johnson
•	Apply for state and federal grants
•	Enlarge the OTHSA Advisory Board and use its talents
•	Create membership certificates and cards
•	Develop a computer support system.
^Atyssussdtti
Mary Jane Kemper story, continued from page 5
inflict any pain on him.
Where others might have been bitter at never having been given a letter rightfully due her, Mary chose to remember how much love she’d received in her lifetime, by two families. She keeps her bundles of letters tucked away as much a part of her past as the yellowing dress from her first train ride.
She’ll always wonder what that old sealed envelope contained. She’ll wonder if there was a confession, a legacy, a photograph, or why she was never contacted. Since the family was well off, she doesn’t really think it had anything to do with money. She simply believes her brother may have been so hurt at never having been told the truth about her, that he chose to put her out of his mind. In any event, even though her life has left this one loose end, she never wanted to pursue the truth at any one else’s expense.
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