If a picture is worth a thousand words, then imagine how many stories the OA national archives tell. Unfortunately, they are far from complete. Did you know that there are more pictures from the 1938 Grand Lodge Meeting in the archives than from the 1990 75th anniversary NOAC?
“It is really sad that we can count on two hands the number of photographs ‘owned’ by the OA from both the 1965 50th anniversary and 1990 75th anniversary NOACs,” said Tracy Mesler, who serves on the national committee’s recognition, awards, history & preservation subcommittee.
Old photographs are extremely hard to come by - they didn’t have smart phones in 1960 - but making history preservation even more difficult is the fact that in 1980 a fire swept through the BSA’s national headquarters in Irving, Texas and destroyed a major part of the OA archives.
With the 100th anniversary just around the corner, Mesler says the subcommittee is trying to rebuild the historical archives and is asking lodge historians to dig through their lodge history books for pictures from the 1975 NOAC and before. “The photographs, programs, newsletters and other items help create the story of our past,” said Mesler. “Our legacy is what made us what we are today. We don’t want our history to go up in smoke.”
If you have any photos or media please send them to Tracy Mesler at @email.