At a recent meeting of the Palmerton Area Historical Society, Peter Kern, treasurer, introduced the new bylaws that he helped rewrite over the past year. He said at the society's Oct. 14 meeting, the ones being used were still under the name Lehigh Gap Preservation Society and Museum.

The name change to Palmerton Area Historical Society is the major change.Also new is the addition of the position of board emeritus. People in that position can offer advice, but not vote at board meetings. Most changes were minor. It continues to be an organization exclusively for charitable purposes.Kern read some of the highlights and then the by-laws were approved by a vote of the members in attendance.Kern gave a year-end report and said since Sept. 30, 2012, to Sept. 30, 2013, the additions and subtractions all balanced. It will be sent to auditor Francis Mullane.Expenses were over $36,000, with much of it for repairs on the Heritage Center and Little White Church. Another group of expenses were those such as taxes and heat that are general to owning a structure.The single largest expense was $15,000 for a consultant for the application for inclusion on the Pennsylvania Register of Historic Places. Of that amount, $10,000 was recovered through a state grant.The state register was approved and it has gone on to Washington for National recognition.Acquisitions were received from George Ashman, Bill Smelas, Jane Borbe, Kenneth Mack and David Altrichter.Altrichter donated a notebook of photographs and newspaper clippings about the Lehigh Gap.Mary Beth Beers gave a short report on the cakewalk held at the Kibler School, Towamensing Township. The school is owned by the historical society. She also told about an open house held at the one-room Greenzweig School which is owned by the Towamensing Township Historical Commission.Committee members acted as tour guides for visitors. People who had attended school there were surprised by how small it was. The original lighting fixtures and furnace are at the school.New display boards were designed by Vinita Hrinko and constructed by Dick Hrinko. Bill and Mary Ann Smelas contributed to the effort. The boards are credited for a successful run at the Community Festival by attracting more people.The display about the New Jersey Zinc Company is at the Heritage Center. It was prepared by Peter Kern, Bill and Mary Ann Smelas, Dick Hrinko and John Aulenbach."It's only a snapshot of the history of the Zinc Company but has many photos that have never been seen before," said Kern.• Upcoming events include Christmas in the Park from noon until 5 p.m., Dec. 7 with sponsored Christmas trees.• Ecumenical service at the Little White Church, 6-7:30 p.m. Dec. 8, with pastor and music from Faith Alive Church in Bowmanstown.• Christmas banquet at Berts, 5 p.m. Dec. 9, with entertainment by Donna Parsons.Beers gave a reminder that the "Holiday Memories" book is for sale at the Heritage Center and comes with an envelope for mailing.The program for the evening was a DVD of a "Victorian Funeral Customs" program presented by Dale Freudenberger at the Little White Church a year ago. The DVD was shown due to the poor attendance at the actual program because of bad weather.