Historical Commission approves 6,000-bag archival purchase, sets February open house

WAYLAND -- January 9, 2023, Wayland Historical Commission authorizes 6,000 archival bags and schedules a Feb. 1 staff open house. The commission voted 7-0 to spend roughly $200 of its $1,000 annual budget on 3,000 four-by-four and 3,000 six-by-six inventory bags after member Amanda Ciaccio said the artifact repackaging project was running short. Chair Bradford Carver set the open house in the new commission office and archaeology lab for 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 1, calling it "a trial run with the staff" before any broader public event. Member Katherine Gardner-Westcott reported the long-delayed preservation restriction on 105 Plain Road is finally complete, and Ciaccio displayed three bound four-volume cemetery condition assessments, work she said would have cost about $1,000, produced at no extra charge by the consultant. On the depot train order signal, member R. Richard Conard said shortening the rotted mast by "a foot or two" would not meaningfully alter its appearance; the commission declined to weigh in formally and will leave the call to the Historic District Commission in February.