Help Us Preserve the History of the Masonic Care Community
The Masonic Care Community has a fascinating history that began in the late 1800’s and continues to present day. Our on-campus museum is a division of the Livingston Library in New York City and contains a wealth of photos and memorabilia from our past. As our campus grows and develops, the structures and grounds change, but thanks to still photography, the history of the Masonic Care Community as well as the Masonic Youth Camp, Camp Turk, are preserved in photographs and slides.
In recent weeks and months, we have found a variety of photos, dating back to the turn of the century, and we want to share our rich history with all who visit here. Sadly, some of the photos and slides are showing their age and are in need of renovation. Your Masonic Care Community has started a project in conjunction with our Livingston Library volunteers to preserve the images of the past and showcase them for all to share.
We were indeed fortunate to meet Brother Don Kunego of the Deperus Lodge #37 in Bergen New York who offered to digitize our first group of photos at no charge. Digitizing photos will allow us to preserve these images forever, and will also afford us the opportunity to share these memories with our Brothers from throughout the state.
The next step in the process is to print, matte and frame these photos for display in the hallway of the atrium in the Health Pavilion. Because we want to make sure our residents are able to enjoy the photos, and considering the very large space where the pictures will be displayed, we will be showcasing 27 16”by 20 photos, and two 2’by3’framed posters in our first phase of this History Project. We are proud that the Utica Lodge #487 is the first lodge to step forward to help fund this effort. When you visit on St. John’s Day, we hope you will make a special effort to see the display and consider getting involved. Your financial commitment to our history project will help us ensure these photos will be available for future generations. It would be a shame not to act to preserve the history of this campus which has been the diamond of New York State for more than 116 years and we hope you will join us in this effort.
Please contact Kathy Contino-Turner at (315) 798-4768 to get involved in this exciting project. The photos included with this article are from the late 1930’s and early 1940s. They were digitized from old slides and thanks to technology can now be shared with everyone.
