Barbara Hail Receives the Gretta Prince Memorial GCA Cachepot Award 2021

Adirondack Garden Club Honors Barbara Hail for Club Contributions 

KEENE—For many of the 17 years Barbara Hail has been a loyal and active member of the Adirondack Garden Club (AGC), she served as the history and archives committee chair. In a club that was founded in 1928, the sheer volume of documents and artifacts collected over those years, combined with the commitment to accurately preserve club records, made Hail’s job no small task. Under Hail’s leadership, however, the Adirondack Garden Club’s extensive collections, currently housed in the Hand House in Elizabethtown, are in impeccable order.

It’s a calling that came naturally to Hail, who retired in June 2002 from her position as Deputy Director and Curator and subsequently Curator Emerita of the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology at Brown University. She trained in history and anthropology at Brown, Cornell, and Columbia universities, with particular research interests including North American material culture, ethnology and ethnohistory. And if that is not enough, she also found time to study French and Latin, author two books, and raise seven children.

Now, though, Hail is stepping down from her position with the club and has passed the baton to Annie Smith, who will continue the club’s tradition of dedicated attention to its history.

At its annual meeting in September, the AGC honored Hail for her years of service, awarding her the Gretta Prince Memorial GCA Cachepot. This award was established in 1993 by Happy Marsh in honor of her mother, and is given annually to a member recognizing significant contributions to the Club.

“The AGC’s motto, labour not for themselves alone, has been defined by Barbara over the years, whose reports and care of the archives have informed our history. The members of the Adirondack Garden Club are honored to present this award to Barbara Hail with deep gratitude for all she has done through the years.”

Barbara Hail 1:

Barbara Hail was awarded the Gretta Prince Memorial GCA Cachepot for her years of service maintaining the Adirondack Garden Club’s extensive archives. She is retiring as the club’s history and archives committee chair. Photo by Barbara Plumadore.

Barbara Hail 2:

Barbara Hail was recently honored for her years of service to the Adirondack Garden Club as history and archives committee chair. Founded in 1928, the club has an extensive collection of historical artifacts and records. Photo by Laura Sells-Doyle.