On Saturday, July 16 at about 3:00 PM, fire resulting
from a lightning strike to the Northeast corner of our Welcome Center caused
damage to the building and some of the historical materials stored on the
second floor. We will try to keep you informed as we deal with
restoring the building and our collection.
Fast action by the local fire companies saved the building and most of
our collection. Once the fire was out, firefighters and others rescued
the society's collection. Further help by many volunteers on Sunday helped
to stablize hundreds of historic photographs and documents. Without
this assistance, the damage to the collection would have been far greater.
We have every confidence that loss to the collection will be kept to a
minimum and that we will be able to proceed with our summer season of programs
and activities.
Barbara Mattson prepared the following report:
As fate would have it, John C. Miller, a fireman and
district photographer for the Cronomer Valley Fire District in Orange Co.,
NY
was on his way up to North Lake Saturday with several friends when he came
upon the fire scene. He took 40 pictures of the firemen working to
save the building and is a news correspondent for the 1st Responder
News in New York where the photos and story were published:
As some of you know, the recovery effort of the archival materials stored
in the building began immediately on Saturday. On Sunday, over 30
volunteers showed up to sort out materials, dry them out and package the
books in boxes for freezing. This will preserve them until they can
be assessed for damage. The Mountain Top Historical Society is very
grateful for the help of the volunteer firefighters, the Grand Union and
the assistance we have received from many individuals and other organizations
during this difficult time. Volunteers will be needed over the next few months
to organize the historical materials in the collection and refile them. If
anyone can help with this, please let me or Bob Gildersleeve know. Thanks.
