SCHWAMB MILL PRESERVATION TRUST INC.

Dermot Whittaker, President  

Dermot Whittaker is a museum professional with interests in American history, management of collections and archives, and creation of exhibits and public programs. He also designs databases to give museums, historical societies, and other institutions better access to the information in their collections. At the Old Schwamb Mill, he created the museum’s first membership/visitor database, with an updateable mailing list, email list, and donation/volunteer history, which he manages. With a Research in Inventory Grant from Mass Humanities and assessed, housed, cataloged, and wrote finding aid for Clinton W. Schwamb Company business records, 1869-1920. He also created a research database of Schwamb Mill workers, 1864-1969, using the Mill’s processed business records and external sources.

Janet O’Riordan, Vice President  

Janet O’Riordan is a lifelong Arlington resident who for many years has volunteered in the community and public schools. She has been dedicated to nurturing and growing the frame-making endeavor at the Mill, working closely with artisan wood turner David Graf. In addition to her work at the Mill, Janet volunteers for Arlington Food Link and is active in the Arlington Heights Community Association and the Arlington Garden Club. For 24 years she taught German and French in the Arlington Public Schools and coordinated bi-annual academic exchange programs between Arlington High School and the Dietrich-Bonhoeffer Gymnasium near Hamburg. From 2003 to 2014 she taught German to engineers at General Electric Aviation in Lynn and is currently a private German tutor and instructor for children and adults.

Richard Duffy has been continuously involved with the Old Schwamb Mill in various capacities for close to three decades: as a volunteer, on the board of trustees at the turn of the last century, and most recently with long service as an active member of the OSM board of advisors.  He returned to a role in OSM management as treasurer in 2022.  Mr. Duffy has served in leadership roles on the Arlington Historical Commission, the Arlington Historical Society, and the Arlington Libraries Foundation.  He is the author of four books on Arlington history, countless newspaper articles on historical topics, has lectured in the U.S. and Europe on a wide array of historical subjects, including commerce, architecture, agriculture, and biography; and he has developed and led several historical walking tours. He has a special research interest in water-powered mills generally, especially tide mills.  In addition, Mr. Duffy has made several guest appearances on the PBS television series “This Old House.”  He earned undergraduate degrees at the American University of Paris and Tufts University, holds an MBA from Boston College, and is a diplomate of the University of Paris-Sorbonne (Paris IV).

Ann LeRoyer, Clerk  

As a resident of Arlington since 1989, Ann is involved in many community activities, including Town Meeting member for Precinct 17 (OSM’s precinct), Master Plan Advisory Committee and Implementation Committee, and Open Space Committee (chair). She is a current board member of the Arlington Land Trust and a former board member of the Arlington Center for the Arts. Ann’s professional career as an editor and publications director included positions at the Society for the Preservation for New England Antiquities (now Historic New England), Harvard University Graduate School of Design, Unitarian Universalist Service Committee and Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, where she served from 1995 to 2012. She earned bachelor and master’s degrees in sociology from Hood College in Maryland and Northwestern University in Illinois. Ann was born in Boston and raised in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Ellen Cohen, Director

Ellen brings a “can do” attitude, great sense of humor and a willingness to participate in a number of areas at the Mill. We are extremely fortunate that Ellen Cohen of Arlington, retired from a career in pediatric nursing, in addition to being a Board member, serves the Mill as an OSM tour guide, gardens with board member Grace Dingee, and assists with our public programs. She has a special interest in children’s programming and has created the Mill’s Children’s Room and child-centric activities, as well as helping students appreciate the Mill as part of Arlington’s history.

Wayne A. Schwamb, Director

Born and raised in Arlington, Massachusetts, Wayne, the son of Elmer Schwamb, is the fifth and last generation Schwamb to have worked at the Old Schwamb Mill.  He has been active in the Old Schwamb Mill from early childhood and continues today as a member of the Board of Directors.  Wayne attended Boston University before enlisting in the United States Air Force in 1968.  After his service, he found a career with a biochemical company, which spanned 38 years.  Currently enjoying retirement, Wayne and his wife reside in St. Louis, Missouri.  

Reed Snyder, Director

Reed is a graduate of Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical & Computer Engineering. A volunteer and Board member for the Old Schwamb Mill for more than 10 years, Reed has been instrumental in expanding the Mill’s audio-visual capabilities for our lectures and programs. He, along with volunteer Tom Calderwood, produced the DVD “Mill Work,” which tells the story of the Schwamb brothers and follows the action as woodturner David W. Graf shapes an oval frame today using 19^th century lathes and chisels. “Mill Work” received the Best Documentary award from Arlington Community Media, Inc. His professional experience includes work as a product engineer as an electronics engineer for Analog Devices, which manufactures analog, mixed-signal and digital signal processing integrated circuits used in electronic equipment.

Doreen Stevens, Director

Raised on a wheat farm in north central Montana, Doreen Stevens attended the University of Oregon for her undergraduate years, and the University of California, San Diego, for graduate School.  Ms. Stevens earned an R.N. after attending local nursing school, taught consumer-based childbirth classes, and attended births to support and advocate  for new parents. Continuing her interest in the nonprofit sector, she worked at the Arlington Center for the Arts before becoming the Museum Director at the Arlington Historical Society. Fascinated by local history, in 2013 Doreen and co-authors, Aimee Taberner and Sarah Burks wrote an account of artists, writers, and the creative community of Arlington Heights at the turn of the last century titled Arlington’s Cultural Heights: 1900-1925. She and her husband, Al Stevens, came to Boston in 1976. Their two children were both born and raised in Arlington.

Robert B. Tanner, Director

Born in Indiana, Bob Tanner came to MIT in Cambridge in 1961 and moved to Arlington with his wife Michele in 1995.  He retired from a career in machine tool manufacturing, internet deployment, networked military simulators, compressed air energy storage and facilities construction management.  He managed construction of a new stairway in the Mill and exterior preservation of two Mill outbuildings, using CPA and private donations.  He also made the Holyoke turbine, steam engine room and boiler room accessible to visitors.