RANCHO SANTA FE — The Rancho Santa Fe Historical Society has put a Collections Policy into place, establishing guidelines for documents, artifacts and photographs donated to the organization. Board members David and Peggy Brooks have spent the past year archiving artifacts and photos in the La Flecha house for the Historical Society and David put together the guideline policy. The policy states that documents, photographs, and artifacts should be “ … historic, unique, useful, and/or meaningful.”
David Brooks created the guidelines after studying and researching how other museums and historical societies have solved similar problems. “There’s only so much room in La Flecha house,” he said, believing that the merits of future pieces should be weighed to see if they meet the Historical Society’s criteria.
In the past year, both Brooks came across items that were questionable. “We found that golf head covers had been donated, and magazines that had nothing to do with Rancho Santa Fe,” Peggy Brooks said. “Some of the stuff was ridiculous.”
The couple has now archived the majority of items donated and recorded postings in a PastPerfect program. In recent months, the Rancho Santa Fe Historical Society has also undertaken the enormous task of digitizing all photographs. Gijs Hanselaar has volunteered time and energy to convert hundreds of thousands of photos.
The Collections Guidelines was adopted by Rancho Santa Fe Historical Society board members at their meeting Dec. 15. After the meeting, the group had a potluck dinner party at the La Flecha house. Spouses were invited and President John Vreeburg said, “It was fun. It gave the board members a chance to get to know each other a little better.”
The Rancho Santa Fe Historical Society board members were concerned because Administrator Sharon Fabry suffered a stroke on Dec. 10. She is currently at Scripps Hospital in Encinitas undergoing rehabilitation.
According to Fabry’s daughter, Kim, Sharon is making progress. “She has her good days and her bad days, but she’s making great progress.” For the past three years, Fabry has run the day-to-day operations of the Rancho Santa Fe Historical Society. “We wish Sharon a speedy recovery,” Vreeburg said, speaking on behalf of the group.
On Feb. 7, the Rancho Santa Fe Historical Society will host a special 25th Anniversary Celebration Event at the La Flecha house. A program at the event will honor those who helped establish the Historical Society in 1984.
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