Friends Of Odell House Rochambeau Headquarters Inc

2023 BEGAN WITH THE FRIENDS WORKING WITH TRAVEL STORIES TO CREATE THE AUDIO TOUR OF THE THREE MAIN SITES IN WESTCHESTER WHERE THE FRENCH FORCES STAYED IN 1781. AFTER SEVERAL MONTHS OF WORK WRITING SCRIPTS AND LISTING ILLUSTRATIONS, THE APP, COMPLETELY FUNDED BY A GRANT FROM THE SCARSDALE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, DEBUTED ON MAY 20TH. THAT DAY COINCIDING WITH OUR FIRST MAJOR EVENT OF THE YEAR, FOLLOW THE FRENCH.ALTHOUGH IT WAS HELD IN A DRIVING RAINSTORM, THE FRIENDS WERE ABLE TO WELCOME OVER 200 VISITORS AND ELECTED OFFICIALS. MANY ATTENDEES VISITED ALL THREE SITES OPEN TO THE PUBLIC THAT DAY BY USING THE APP. AT OHRH, WE DISPLAYED THE POP-UP MUSEUM, THE PLAN FOR THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE DESIGN, HELD CHILDREN'S ACTIVITIES AND HAD A PHOTO STATION WITH GENERAL ROCHAMBEAU AND JOHN ODELL IN ATTENDANCE. ON FEBRUARY 7TH, BOB THOMPSON, FORMER COLUMNIST FOR THE WASHINGTON POST, PUBLISHED THE BOOK, REVOLUTIONARY ROADS. ODELL HOUSE IS DELIGHTED TO BE THE OPENING SECTION OF CHAPTER 21. BOB VISITED OUR SITE IN 2021 AND INTERVIEWED SUSAN SEAL ABOUT THE PROJECT. THE BOOK COVERS ALL THE SITES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION THAT BOB VISITED OVER THE COURSE OF A TWO-YEAR JOURNEY. RECOGNITION OF THE IMPORTANCE OF THE EVENTS AT OHRH IN 1781 IN SUCH A READER FRIENDLY BOOK WILL HELP US GREATLY IN THE FUTURE.ON APRIL 12TH, SUSAN SEAL WAS THE SPEAKER AT FRAUNCES TAVERN FOR THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE MANHATTAN CHAPTER OF THE DAR. WHILE 30 PEOPLE CAME IN PERSON TO HEAR THE STORY OF THE SAVING OF ODELL HOUSE, ANOTHER 100 LISTENED VIA ZOOM.SEPTEMBER 29TH AND 30TH WERE THE DAYS FOR OUR SECOND COLONIAL DAY EVENT. EVERYONE ON THE BOARD WORKED LONG HOURS TO MAKE THIS AN EVEN BIGGER OCCASION THAN THE ONE IN 2021 AND WE SUCCEEDED. IT WAS HELD AT THE TOWN OWNED HARTSBROOK PARK AND INSIDE THE HISTORIC GEISMAN STABLES. AGAIN, THE RAIN MADE IT NECESSARY TO CHANGE PLANS, BUT ALMOST 300 PEOPLE ATTENDED. OVER A YEAR BEFORE, WE HAD BEGUN CONVERSATIONS WITH THE MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION TO BRING THEIR TRAVELING EXHIBIT OF GEORGE WASHINGTON'S PAVILION AS THE STAR ATTRACTION. WITH FUNDING FROM THE WESTCHESTER COUNTY BOARD OF LEGISLATORS AND THE FRIENDS, WE BROUGHT 6 HISTORIC INTERPRETERS FROM MAR WHO SET-UP THE TENT EXHIBIT AND TOLD ALL ATTENDEES THE STORIES OF ITS USE IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. ALONG WITH SEVEN REENACTORS AND TWO MILITIA GROUPS, COLONIAL DAY WAS A GREAT SUCCESS.AT OUR ANNUAL MEETING IN SEPTEMBER, WE WELCOMED TWO NEW BOARD MEMBERS, AMELIA BUCCARRELLI AND CHRISTINA HO. THE FRIENDS BOARD NOW HAS 18 VOTING MEMBERS AND THE TOWN REPRESENTATIVE, ELLEN HENDRICKX. WE ARE SO HAPPY TO TELL YOU THAT EVERY MEMBER WORKS HARD TO ACHIEVE OUR GOAL OF OPENING THE ODELL HOUSE ROCHAMBEAU HEADQUARTERS MUSEUM!PROGRESS RESTORING THE BUILDINGTHE PHYSICAL RESTORATION OF THE BUILDING PASSED A MILESTONE WITH THE COMPLETION OF A SOUND ROOF, MUCH OF IT BRAND NEW. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, THE TOWN ANNOUNCED THAT IT HAD RECEIVED TWO MORE GRANTS, TOTALLY $1,000,000, FROM NEW YORK STATE. ONE CAME THROUGH THE SPONSORSHIP OF ANDREA STEWART-COUSINS AND THE OTHER FROM TOM ABINANTI. THESE FUNDS GUARANTEE THAT THE FINAL PHASES OF THE RESTORATION WORK AND A LARGE PORTION OF THE LANDSCAPE PLAN WILL BE FINISHED ON TIME. THE TOWN HAS SIGNED A CONTRACT FOR THE SECOND PHASE OF THE RESTORATION WITH ABBOTT AND PRICE WITH WORK TO START IN JANUARY OF 2024. THE ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS FOR THE FINAL PHASE, INTERIOR RESTORATION, ARE UNDERWAY TO ALLOW THIS WORK TO BEGIN IN THE SUMMER OF 2024.END OF YEAR ACTIVITY DECEMBER WAS THE BUSIEST MONTH YET FOR THE FRIENDS. ON DECEMBER 2 SUSAN SEAL WAS AWARDED THE BRONZE MEDAL FOR GOOD CITIZENSHIP BY THE NATIONAL SOCIETY OF THE SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. FOLLOWING THAT EVENT, WE LEARNED THAT THE FRIENDS HAD RECEIVED FUNDING FROM THE WESTCHESTER COUNTY BOARD OF LEGISLATORS AND SCARSDALE HISTORICAL SOCIETY TO PAY FOR THE COST OF HIRING A PLANNING CONSULTANT FOR OHRH. THE NEXT DAY WE SIGNED A CONTRACT WITH AMAZE DESIGNS OF MA AND BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR, SCOTT RABIET OF AD HAS ALREADY PRESENTED US WITH THREE ALTERNATIVE LAYOUTS. IN 2024, A PROPOSED FLOOR PLAN WILL BE MADE PUBLIC.THE FRIENDS FORMED AN ACADEMIC ADVISORY COMMITTEE CONSISTING OF FOUR PROMINENT SCHOLARS IN AREAS RELATED TO THE HISTORY OF OHRH. THEY ARE TRAVIS BOWMAN, IRIS DERODE, EMILY YANKOWITZ AND ROGER PANETTA. WE LOOK FORWARD TO RECEIVING THEIR INPUT AS WE FORM THE MUSEUM.SUSAN JAINCHILL FROM ASPECT 120 WAS THE HONORED PRESENTER AT THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDENS MEETING OF LANDSCAPE DESIGNERS AND ARCHITECTS. HER CULTURAL LANDSCAPE PLAN FOR OHRH WAS VERY WELL RECEIVED AND MAY BE SUBMITTED FOR AN AWARD. THE RESTORATION OF THE FRENCH DOORS IN THE 1855 SECTION OF THE HOUSE WAS COMPLETED BY PADRAIG BREHONY. WE SUBMITTED THE FINAL REPORT TO THE DAR AND EXPECT TO RECEIVE THE FINAL PAYMENT OF THEIR GRANT, $2020, IN EARLY JANUARY.ALSO IN DECEMBER, THE BICENTENNIAL QUILT CAME HOME. THE QUILT IS A BEAUTIFUL HANDMADE REPRESENTATION OF THE STORY OF OHRH. SADLY IT WAS MISPLACED WHILE UNDER THE OWNERSHIP OF THE NEW YORK CHAPTER OF SAR AND SOLD. THE FRIENDS FOUND IT THIS PAST SUMMER, PAID THE CURRENT OWNER HIS PURCHASE PRICE AND HAD IT MAILED HOME TO US. IT IS NOW SAFELY STORED, AND WE ARE EXPLORING GRANTS TO PAY FOR ITS CLEANING AND MOUNTING TO DISPLAY IN THE MUSEUM. ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN MASS COMMUNICATION IN 2023 BY FRIENDS OF OHRHTHROUGHOUT 2023, THE SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE OF OHRH GREW EXPONENTIALLY. OUR WEBSITE HAD OVER 6,000 VISITS THIS YEAR, OUR FACEBOOK PAGE HAS 723 FOLLOWERS, 5,430 VISITS AND A REACH OF 28,416, A 213% INCREASE FROM 2022. OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL HAS HAD 4,500 VIEWS OF WHICH 2,800 WERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO ABOUT 1781. THAT VIDEO WILL MOST LIKELY BE DISPLAYED IN THE MUSEUM AS AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STORY OF OH RH FOR ALL VISITORS.