caption, page 8:

Weather Control
The Putnam Area Foundation donated the funds for the Gertrude C. Warner Boxcar Children's Museum to get a heating/cooling unit. Front, from left: Jeannie Benoit, Sandra Ames, Pat Hedenberg and foundation President Thomas Borner. Back: The Aspinock Historical Society's Bill Pearsall, Terri Pearsall, and president John Miller; and Dick Loomis of the foundation. (with Watch the dog!)  Linda Lemmon photo.


By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM — The “weather” inside the Gertrude C. Warner Boxcar Children Museum was very much like New England’s fabled weather chestnut: If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes.
The refurbished boxcar, soon to have its 20th birthday, was hobbled by one old tiny air conditioning unit that had a mind of its own.
Jeannie Benoit, of the Aspinock Historical Society, recalls the inside temperature being 92 and they set the AC unit at 80 to try to cool it town. A short time later the inside temp was 96.
Yes, temperature control has been an issue.
Putnam Area Foundation president Thomas Borner said he had dropped in at the boxcar museum last season and noticed that the AC unit made a lot of noise and didn’t do much for the temperature inside the boxcar.
He thought to himself that cooling — and heating — issues must be addressed. Heating too, because given New England weather, sometimes heating is needed during the boxcar’s May to October open season.
He suggested they inquire about a grant from the foundation.
The $6,700 grant covered the purchase and installation of the heating/cooling unit.
Borner said it would make visitors and the volunteer staff much more comfortable.
Pat Hedenberg, boxcar director, said visitors will be much more comfortable.
And visitors are coming from around the country and around the world.
The most recent world traveler came from South Africa. The Aspinock Historical Society’s Terri Pearsall said the historical society’s space inside the Municipal Complex is temperature controlled as that helps preserve documents/history.
And the same would be important for the boxcar museum.
Borner agreed saying the heating/cooling unit would be inexpensive to run at a temperature that would protect the museum’s documents and artifacts.
The museum is coming up on its 20th anniversary – it opened July 3, 2004, Hedenberg said.
The “COVID years” saw a complete renovation of the boxcar and the “comfortable weather” inside just added, is the cherry on top.

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