HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-04-02-MMC-min.docxMonuments and Memorials Committee
Minutes of Meeting
April 2, 2026 By Zoom Teleconference
Attendance: Nick Wong, Chair; Avram Baskin, Linda Dixon, George Gamota, Regina
Sutton
Guests: Bill Poole, Brandon Currington, Community Member (briefly)
Absent: Glen Bassett, Liz Huttner, Leslie Masson
Business
Chair Nick Wong opened the meeting at 4:23 after a member arrived to complete a
quorum. He welcomed everyone, and declared that a quorum was present.
Approval of Minutes of March 5, 2026
On motion duly made and seconded, the minutes of March 5, 2026 were approved
unanimously by roll call vote.
Writing Assignments
The Committee focused on reviewing progress on writing descriptions for various
monuments and cemeteries. Bill Poole has completed his assignments except for
Westview Cemetery. Regina submitted multiple entries. She shared details about her
work transcribing American Revolutionary War documents, explaining the specific
tagging requirements and challenges in optical character recognition.
Inviting Other Committees to Meet with Monuments Committee
The group felt it was appropriate to invite representatives from the Historic Commission,
Munroe Center for the Arts, and Lexington History Museums to upcoming meetings in
May or June. George Gamota suggested that we invite the new Executive Director of
Lexington History Museums, Trenton Carle. Another suggestion was Christina Burwell
of the Munroe Center for the Arts.
Photo Requirements
The committee reviewed the status of photograph requirements for monument entries,
with Nick explaining the process for checking and updating photos in the database.
Monument Photography Progress Review
The committee discussed progress on photographing monuments. Nick asked for help
reviewing existing photos: go into the database, and critique the associated photo. Is it
sufficient? To Regina's query on the maximum number of photos per monument the
database should support, the answer was two. The group agreed to identify which
monuments need new photos, particularly during the upcoming good weather, with a
goal to complete this task by May. Referring to the plaque of Prince Estabrook with
Charlie Price as model, Avram asked about using this technique. Paintings are certainly
more desirable, but only wealthy families could afford to have their portrait painted, and
copyright issues could also be involved.
Cemetery Research Project Discussion
The group discussed cemetery research work. Bill mentioned that he had worked on the
Old Burying Ground project despite not being assigned to it. The committee discussed
challenges with finding information about Westview Cemetery and Munroe Cemetery,
including the discovery that Hollywood star Sonny Tufts (Bowen Charlton Tuft) is buried
there.
Parade Co -Grand Marshals
Linda announced that committee member Leslie Masson and her husband Colin have
been named co -grand marshals for the Patriots' Day Parade, in recognition of their
generosity and community contributions. The Committee extended their congratulations
to Leslie for this honor.
The meeting was adjourned by roll call vote at 5:07 p.m.
Next meeting: May 7, 2026
Respectfully submitted,
Linda Dixon, Secretary