ST. MONANS AND ABERCROMBIE COMMUNITY COUNCIL

Minute of the annual general meeting held in the Church Hall, Station Road on Monday 18^th November 2024 at 7.15 pm

Present:		Marjory Ashworth (Chair), Morven Syme (Vice Chair), Eileen Montador (Secretary), Niamh Syme (Social Media), Mervyn Blank, Cllr Alycia Hayes, Cllr Fiona Corps, Cllr Sean Dillon, Diane Martin (Minute Secretary)
Apologies:		David Robertson (Treasurer)
Members of the public:  8
	Welcome and apologies. Marjory Ashworth welcomed everyone to this first AGM since December 2022. Apologies were received and recorded.
	Declarations of interest There were no declarations of interest.
	Last minutes and matters arising Marjory Ashworth reviewed and summarised the minutes from 2022.
4.	Chairperson’s Report for 2024 – Marjory Ashworth Thanks were extended to the committee for all their support this year.The CC held a local Beach Clean, which was supported by St Monans Primary School and Fife Council, and also a very successful Burns Supper. The CC funded the hanging baskets which will hopefully be removed in the coming week.Thanks were extended to the community for their help in distributing the letters requesting support for the funding of the work of the floral group.
5.	Treasurer’s Report – short text update from the treasurer read out by Marjory Ashworth No formal financial report made available at the meeting.Email received regarding possible dispensation for the water rates for the heritage.Floral account – flower bill has been paid.Heritage account – finished for the year.Cash flow account – ring fenced funds transferred to the Cash Flow account for the Memorial Garden.  No up-to-date statement received.
6.	St Monans Heritage Collection Report for 2024 – Mary Henderson See attached report
7.	Election of Office Bearers Chairperson – Marjory Ashworth – proposed by Morven Syme and seconded by Niamh Syme Vice Chair – Morven Syme – proposed by Marjory Ashworth and seconded by Eileen Montador Treasurer – TBC Secretary – Eileen Montador – proposed by Marjory Ashworth and seconded by Morven Syme
7.	Close of AGM Marjory Ashworth closed the AGM and moved to the ordinary general meeting.     ST MONANS HERITAGE COLLECTION Report for Community Council October/November 2024   Work done during the winter months[1] Before opening to the public in the spring, a significant amount of structural work was done in the premises at 5 West Shore, dealing with long-standing problems of dampness.  The entire right-hand wall in the front room was removed, loose material was removed, damp-proofing membrane inserted and the wall replaced.  This has dealt with one source of dampness, but moisture still comes down from the roof and chimney breast[2].    Members of the Community Council helped set up the exhibition space once the work was completed, and David Robertson provided a dehumidifier which has run continuously throughout the season and needs emptied every day or two.    The lock on the front door was replaced, and keys were given to current volunteers.   Opening to the public The centre opened a little later than usual, around the end of April.  Opening times were determined by the availability of volunteers.  We were able to open most weeks on a Wednesday morning, all day on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and for a slightly shorter period of time on Sunday.  We continued until the end of the October school holidays, closing on Sunday 20th October.   As the season progressed, we were able to notify the public of opening times through a printed notice in the window and a post on our Facebook page.    Visitor numbers have been strong, with 2,540 people coming to see the collection.  Even on days when fewer people have come through the doors, there have been fascinating conversations between visitors and volunteers,  Some people drop in briefly out of curiosity; others come with knowledge to share, and many are engaged in a quest to find out more about their family history.  It is particularly satisfying to volunteers when we are able to help in some way, either through local knowledge or increasing familiarity with the resources available in our collection.   Fundraising Until this year, a clause in the lease agreement has prevented us from selling merchandise.  This was changed partway through the session, and we have had considerable success selling a variety of items:  William Easton and other prints donated by Peter Marr; sea-themed artworks from Billy Morris; information leaflets and bookmarks about the change of name from ‘St Monance‘ to ‘St Monans.  It is hoped in the future to have more such items available.  The total raised from sales and donations this year has been £2,672.57.   A major project was undertaken by Jerzy Morkis, whose book, We Live by the Sea:  a selection of photographs from the St Monans Collection of William Easton (1860-1929), was published privately in September 2024.  It has generally been very well received but, as reported to the October meeting of St Monans & Abercrombie Community Council, this has not converted into sales within the town. It is expected a number of books will be donated to the Heritage Collection to help with its future fund-raising efforts.   Author Christopher Rush has also agreed to donate a number of signed copies of his early works to boost the Heritage Collection’s fundraising in 2025.”   Two successful fundraising events were held in July:  a psychic evening in the Masonic Hall, and a book-signing with author Val McDermid, who generously donated copies of some of her books to sell.  Plans to create a Heritage Gin from an old recipe found in the archive and launch it at an event in the Town Hall have not so far come to fruition.  A sample batch was made for us by a distillery in Arbroath, but licensing regulations made it too complicated to proceed any further.   It has been something of an issue for volunteers not knowing how much money has been raised, what it is for and who is responsible for deciding how it is spent.  It would be disheartening to think that it was simply going towards water and utility bills which have previously been met by the council on our behalf.  If it is to be used for preservation and enhancement of the Collection then conversations need to be had about how this can best be achieved.   Volunteers At the start of the season there were eight volunteers covering the weekly rota:  Billy Morris; Peter Marr; Jerzy Morkis; Chapman Mathers; Eleanor Mathers; Rena Ovenstone; Mary Henderson and Linda McPhail.  We were joined in July by Hailey La Voy and in October by Dave Malcolm.  Linda McPhail has had to step back due to work commitments.   We have also had valuable support from a number of other people:  Margaret Sutherland who provided information, advice and storage boxes; Robert Pyle, who supplied and set up the new computer; Niamh Syme who has been our contact person on the Community Council; and David Robertson, CC treasurer, who deals with the accounts.   Two new volunteers – Russell Galt and Annette Pyle – will join the team when we re-open in the spring, and one or two other people are thinking about it.  Val Spencer hopes to return when she retires in a couple of years’ time.   Within this team we have a rich variety of interests and expertise:  some have local knowledge, going back many generations; others have experience writing and research; others again have practical and IT skills.  If communication could be improved, our effectiveness would be even stronger.   Organisation of the Archive The Heritage Collection was opened 25 years ago, and its curator for the first twenty years was Ian Reekie, who retired as Head Teacher of the Primary School in 1995.  The entire collection bears the stamp of his passion and organisational skills.   However, he also had a tendency to keep anything and everything that might be of interest, resulting in cupboards and boxes quite literally overflowing with materials that were disorganised, inaccessible and which presented a significant fire hazard as well as the risk of valuable documents and artefacts being damaged by dampness.   A major task this season has been making a start on sorting out this material, in particular the contents of the back cupboard.  A lot of material – for example plastic bags full of old newspapers – has been thrown out or sent for recycling because it was not relevant to St Monans.  The contents of other boxes have had to be examined one at a time to see what is relevant and what is not.   There is still a long way to go, but there are now around 45 large, and 20 smaller archive storage boxes which are properly labelled according to their contents, and items on display have been arranged according to subject matter.  Roughly speaking, items relating to fishing, and the William Easton photography collection are in the front room, while the back room has sections on topics such as shops and businesses, St Monans in wartime, schools, church, boatbuilding, railway, Salt Pans and Newark Castle.   There have been wonderful treasures to find in amongst vast quantities of clutter and rubbish.  These treasures include: Primary school logbooks from 1872 to 1969 (missing one volume which is in Glenrothes Archive)Primary school admissions registers from 1901 (including register of evacuees from 1939)Boatbuilding tools used in Miller’s yardA necklace made from ‘crowpies’; fossils found locally and thought to be luckyA cannon-ball found in the Bowling Green garden which may date back to the Battle of St MonansTwo lead musket-balls found at Newark FarmNumerous ledgers and account-books from the Auld Kirk, Miller’s boatbuilders and other shops and businesses throughout the townPersonal letters and records relating to two young men who died in the First World WarPlans for fortifications to prevent enemy tanks landing and coming through the town in 1939.Memoirs of various local people, including oral history recordings made in 2000. ….. and much, much more!   A good start has been made, but a great deal of work remains to be done.   Communication, Technology and Online Presence We were, and still are hampered by not having a system of communication that suits all the volunteers.  For some, Facebook Messenger works well, but others do not use Facebook or have no access to the internet at all.  Simply organising the rota has been a challenge, never mind discussing matters of planning and future direction together.  Everyone tends to do their own thing, and many miss out on knowing what is happening.   All the old IT equipment has been removed and new computer installed.  Unfortunately this has not yet been used as it is not clear exactly what it is for and, significantly, because there is no internet connection in the Centre.    All payments and donations currently have to be made in cash, which many visitors do not carry with them.  It also means that money is lying about in collecting tins until it can be banked.  A WiFi connection would enable payments to be made by card or phone[3].   Jerzy Morkis set up our Facebook page, which has enabled people all over the world to see some of the contents of the Heritage Collection, to engage in discussion with others and to submit information of their own.    It is limited, however, in that not everyone uses, or wants to use Facebook.  Pictures and information quickly drop to the bottom of the pile, and it is not easy to find them again.  Having a proper website would be a great advantage and Hailey LaVoy and Robert Pyle have been working together on this[4].   Jerzy has done a lot of work digitising photographs from the Collection both to preserve them, should anything happen to the originals, and, potentially, to make them more widely available.  So far they are in his personal storage because there is nowhere else, other than the Facebook page, for them to be shared.  A dedicated website would make this material more widely accessible.   We have a lot of other materials in outdated formats:  cassette tapes, slides, CDs,  video cassettes and DVDs.  It will be a huge task, but an important one, for this material to be sorted, catalogued and digitised for the future.   St Monans Primary School A valuable contact has been established with one of the teachers and classes at the primary school.  Mrs Louise Michie had P5/6 last year, and some of the same pupils have continued with her into P6/7.  Mary Henderson has been in twice to speak to the class about local history and she is going in again at Hallowe’en to tell them about local witch trials[5].  The class visited the Heritage Collection on 27th May, and a ‘treasure hunt’ worksheet was prepared for them.  This is now available for any other children who come to visit.   Fife Cultural Trust (OnFife) Fife Cultural Trust (then possibly under a different name) was involved when the Heritage Collection was set up 25 years ago, and remains a potential source of advice and support.  Unfortunately it tends to be regarded with suspicion locally as it has ‘taken away’ certain items – notably three paintings, including one by Eugene Dekkert – for safe storage in its Collections Centre in Glenrothes, and there is a fear that the same will happen to other items, such as the Baillies’ Chairs.    Having visited the Collections Centre on a recent ‘Doors Open’ day, I (Mary) can see that valuable items are very much safer there,  with trained staff, security, temperature and humidity control,  than in our rooms where there is a lack of space to display them, danger of moisture damage and they are uninsured.  Anyone can make an appointment to view items in storage, and they could be requested back for a special occasion, but only if they could be displayed in suitable, safe conditions.  It is a delicate balance between having local items available for local people to see and ensuring that they are kept safe for the future.  At the moment the only local item of any significance in the OnFife archive is one volume of the school logbook, the rest of which are in our back cupboard.   A ‘Local History Day’ is to be held in Kirkcaldy on 13th November.  Mary Henderson is planning to attend, not in any official capacity, but with the Heritage Collection in mind, and will report back on any useful information gleaned.   Hopes and Concerns for the Future A lot has been achieved this year by a small number of volunteers, but a lot remains to be done, some of which has been mentioned already.   There is still a large amount of clearing and sorting to be done of items that have been lost in cupboards and boxes for many years.  We are getting close to having papers sorted into boxes with the correct labels on them, but each box needs to be sorted, catalogued and properly filed.    There are huge numbers of photographs which need to be sorted, labelled and, ideally, scanned.  Some are in old frames, some in albums, and some loose.  One very large box contains nothing but Sea Queen photographs and ephemera.  There are also many  maps and diagrams in rolls that have not yet been looked at.   There is also a large storage unit at Coal Farm, with around twenty boxes of Heritage Collection material.  At the moment no-one knows what these contain.  Pete Peddie has said that we can continue to use the storage space at the farm, but it needs to be examined, sorted and catalogued.   One major book and some smaller items have been published this year.  We have a huge amount of interesting material from the past, including stories of significant individuals who lived and worked in St Monans.  It is hoped to make more of these available by producing booklets, and possibly another book, to sell.   Oral history records from the past need to be transcribed and made more readily available.  Ideally, we should also be recording the memories of people now, before it is too late.   Having a website would be a great advantage.  We have the expertise needed in some of our new volunteers, but funding may be required.  It would be useful to know what is available in the Common Good fund and how it can be accessed.   There is a possibility of using a small room in the Library as an extra exhibition or study space.  We need to decide how best to use this.  It would provide a warm space for people to visit when the Heritage Collection is closed, and increase awareness of all that we have to offer.   Various other projects are possible if there is sufficient interest and support:  for example, providing a memorial to fishermen lost in the 1875 disaster; collaborating with RAWS (Remembering the Accused Witches of Scotland) to research and record what is known about witch trials in St Monans; setting up an interactive map of St Monans which visitors could access on their phones in return for a small fee.   An ongoing concern is what would happen if the premises at 5 West Shore were to be sold and the lease terminated[6].  It is worrying that the contents of the Collection are not insured, although the items themselves are irreplaceable.  We pay a substantial amount for water rates, despite using very little water.  On the other hand, due to confusion over meter numbers, no electricity bills have been received since 2017[7].   Good communication will be vital to explore these, and other issues, with all parties concerned in the future.   Mary Henderson (volunteer) 25th October 2024[8]

---

[1] Since the centre closed on 18^th October, the back cupboard has been completely emptied and work has begun on ventilating, painting and reshelving it so that it can be used more effectively for storage in future.

[2] Russell Galt, who lives at 4 West Shore, told us that he is waiting for repairs to be done on his roof.  This may have a beneficial effect on our building too.

[3] Russell Galt has kindly offered to provide his security code so that we can use his WiFi, if accessible, in the short-term

[4] They reported that it should be possible to set up a good quality website which would serve the dual purpose of cataloguing our archive and enabling merchandising and online donations for around £150 p.a.  A more detailed proposal will be prepared in time for the next Community Council meeting.

[5] This happened and was very successful.

[6] We are apparently now on a rolling lease which could be terminated at any time

[7] This is now in hand and two recent bills have been passed to the community council treasurer for payment.

[8] With notes from informal meeting of volunteers held in the Giddy Gannet on Saturday 26^th October.