This is a major undertaking. The society is a group of volunteers, all very committed, but still volunteers with limited time and limited experience in fundraising. We realize we need some expertise to guide us.

We are calling this building the Chester Museum at the Mill and hope to create a place where we can store and exhibit the materials within our collection, hold lectures, and tell the rich history of Chester.

We are also looking for a person who can train and director our volunteers in this fundraising effort, particularly in identifying larger donors.

We have completed some major work already. We have installed a new elevator, new restrooms, new kitchen, and replaced the heating system. We have a new entrance and a second exit stairway from the second floor, but much remains to be done.

It is a fascinating story of a changing small New England town, and this museum will provide us with the opportunity to share it with residents and visitors.

(The course) is about race and American society, ... What I want to do is bring all these issues that this Hurricane Katrina debate has brought forward - I want to bring them out. I want to talk about affirmative action, crime and punishment, schools and the test score cap, urban politics and the history of the civil rights movement, and try to bring all these different elements together in a contemporary course.