Support the Pink House had their monthly meeting at PITA Hall on Plum Island last night, May 24, 2017. Steering Committee members were delighted to welcome a host of new attendees who had come from greater surrounding towns from Haverhill to Ipswich and Rowley and Seabrook along with those who attend from Newbury, W. Newbury and Newburyport,  etc...

The theme of this meeting was the history of the Pink House, which surprisingly is so rich, it is far from completed. 

Seen front in the blue shirt is writer Stewart Lytle, who has been a very supportive in faithfully attending meetings and reporting on the considerable progress we've been making. He writes cover articles above the fold on Support the Pink House for the Town Common paper and we really appreciate it!! 

The group turns from the screen at front, where they saw a slide show of the interior of the house and a video of what it's like to be in the cupola to listen to the input of Steering Committee members sitting at the side table: Building and Land Specialist David Dempsey, Founder and Research Director Alison Odle, Creative Director and Artist Leison  Eric Hoover, and Rochelle Joseph, Chair and Outreach. 

Then everyone returned their attention to the flat screen at front to listen to a very intriguing mix of found facts and questions raised by Volunteer and Researcher Extraordinaire Sandy Tilton and  Alison Odle  -- who also put together a really great Powerpoint presentation to support their findings.  Stay tuned as they continue their ace detective work to follow all they've unearthed to the end of the story.

A coffee table book will likely be made including their findings along with all the incredibly photos and paintings of the Pink House that our members and artists near and far have done on this amazing little icon. Check out the many photos posted on our Facebook pages: Save the Pink House Discussion Group and Support the Pink House.  

Plumfest got a beautiful day yesterday for it's island-wide community party. Bands set up on various porches around Plum Island and from noon to 6:00 pm, people ride bikes, drive, take a shuttle buses or walk to enjoy them. The biggest place people can park is the historic Plum Island Airport, where bus after bus lines up to take folks who come from surrounding towns. Support the Pink House felt this was an ideal place to be available to tell folks about the Pink House - which they were about to drive by! We collected signatures in support of keeping her in the community, sold a few tee shirts and bumper stickers - all in the service of raising awareness of her plight, and our successes at working to save her. 

Volunteer Pandora Hoover told us this cute sticker story: A very generous lady overpaid for a shirt and two stickers.A bus let off weary but happy people. A three-year-old, who clearly loved the color pink, departed from the crowd and circled around the table. I complimented this cherub's shocking pink sneaks and asked her mom if I could give her an official PH sticker? Mom apologized for being out of cash. "No problem! The lady before you gave extra!" The look on the little girl's face when mom gave it to her was priceless! She carried it with two hands! You've got a new, albeit young, Pink House fan! ​

A second Pink House presence was at the Beachcoma, a great bar and restaurant where we knew everyone on the island would stop at some point in the day. From there we could point out PITA Hall across the street where our monthly meetings are, and anyone who didn't head in to the Coma to see our brochures and stickers on their hostess table right inside the front door, would see the same offered at the Cottage and PI Provisions all within steps of where we were. We are SO appreciative of the island-wide support of our efforts to keep our iconic Pink House standing in the area. It's one of the things that makes the area so special...

Most of the bands play at the houses on Northern Blvd- so it was wonderful when volunteer Gail Whitley called to say she'd love to collect signatures but she was having a band on her own porch - in addition to a tent for Life if Good products. Then she offered that we put a signature clipboard and our brochures on the Table and said to bring a second clipboard so she could walk around and get signatures of those who stopped at her own house! THAT is going the extra mile and we so appreciate that kind of 

All in all it was a wonderful day - the sun was out and there is such a feel good, community vibe on the entire island. Support the Pink House collected nearly 400 signatures and passed out many brochures. 

 There they are! Smiling pals Diane DiGregorio Smith and Sandy Tilton, two volunteers we love, who have been there from the VERY START of Support The Pink House. They are often the first to raise their hands, or show up and boy do they take charge and do a great job!  

During a lovely sunset this evening, Diane and Sandy, joined by Rochelle Joseph, stood outside a book signing held at the Maratime Customs House (who are kind enough to carry our brochures on their card rack too) during Preservation Week, collecting signatures and passing out our newly updated brochures.  Since this event brings people who are interested in history, architecture, and its preservation, we felt that is a perfect group who would want to know about the work we are doing to save The Pink House. 

This week happens every spring, and the Newburyport Preservation Trust is active all year. This from their website:

Preservation Week is an annual community-wide event sponsored by the Newburyport Preservation Trust to celebrate the city's unique architectural legacy. The Newburyport Preservation Trust is a membership organization that brings together people who value the preservation of Newburyport's period architecture, neighborhood ambiance, heritage landscapes,  and authentic historic character. The all-volunteer organization educates, informs, and advocates through its programs, projects, publications, and presence, and is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit corporation.

Both gals came looking pretty in pink - and Sandy is wearing our limited edition Save the Pink House tee shirt (you can get yours by calling Designer and Steering Committee Member Eric Hoover at NBPTART.com at 978-726-7116 or emailing him at ericdouglashoover@gmail.com). Those three pink rectangles mimic the pink house windows which turn pink at every sunset and sunrise and there is a graphic of TPH on the back! Get yours now! 

If you would like to Volunteer for Support the Pink House, just fill out our 3 minute form here on the website under CONTACT.    Thank you!!!