Surratt Society Meeting and "Conference" 2022

[wpbinzel]

(04-15-2022 02:14 AM)Steve Wrote:  I signed up. It looks like a very interesting talk. Taylor's knowledge of Booth's family is second to none.

My Surratt Society membership was due to expire at the end of last year and I never received anything in the mail about renewing it. I'm assuming it expired. Are there any updates on what's happening with the Society?

The Surratt Society is alive and well, albeit very different than it was. During Laurie Verge's tenure as the Director of the Surratt House Museum, there was a very close relationship between the Museum (owned and operated by the Maryland-National Capital Parks and Planning Commission) and the Surratt Society, which provided the volunteer docents to conduct the tours of the Historic House. In return, the Commission undertook the cost of printing and mailing The Surratt Courier to Surratt Society members on a monthly basis, of which Laurie was the editor. After Laurie's death, the Commission, citing COVID, was no longer willing to print and mail the Courier, and the Museum was closed. Because the benefits of membership in the Surratt Society was the Courier and free admission to the Museum, the Executive Committee of the Surratt Society voted to suspend dues for annual year members.

Louise Oertly, the president of the Surratt Society, has very ably taken on the task of compiling and editing the Courier, which is now produced on a bimonthly basis and is available to all at the Surratt Society website, http://www.surrattmuseum.org . Donations are of course welcome, but we, the Executive Committee of the Surratt Society, have not yet re-imposed annual dues. The relationship between the Surratt Society and the new Director of the Surratt House Museum and the Commission remains to be determined, but the Executive Committee of the Surratt Society is committed to continuing an organization to honor Laurie Verge's legacy.