Moving History

The Marist archive in Atlanta documents the rich history of the province through correspondence, photographs, school and parish records, sermons, biographical information, and many other forms of documentary evidence. But the archive was not always here; it actually began in three parts, in three different places, where there had been as many Society of Mary American provinces.

 

The archives of the merged provinces of Washington and San Francisco, which came together in 2000, were consolidated and moved to Atlanta. The unification of the Boston and Atlanta provinces in 2007 resulted in two separate collections: Atlanta and the former Boston province’s archive at Marist House in Framingham, Mass.

 

After the closure of Marist House in 2011, I traveled with Fr. Ted Keating, s.m., first provincial of the unified province, to review the Boston collection and identify what should be retained or deaccessioned. We were helped by Fr. Paul Frechette, s.m., and Fr. Ray Coolong, s.m., who ministered at Notre Dame for nine years.

 

I traveled again to Framingham in August and October 2013, and, with the help of Frechette, re-housed over 100 boxes of archival materials, reducing the number of boxes to be moved by at least 33 percent.

 

Meanwhile, in the Atlanta rectory, the priest’s exercise room, which had been offered for the expanded collection, was emptied, repainted, and by then the only remaining tasks were the installation of the shelving in Atlanta and selection of the moving company — each was completed by Christmas.

 

January is not really an ideal time to move from New England; it is a particularly inopportune time for moving paper-based items. The best environmental conditions for ensuring the longterm preservation of archives include a stable temperature of less than 70-degrees F and relative humidity of 30 to 50 percent. Marist House in Framingham had been vacant for a few years, making it difficult to monitor and control the environmental conditions. We all believed the most responsible action was to remove the archives from that environment before another harsh New England winter.

 

Fortunately, the moving van’s progress from Massachusetts to Georgia was unimpeded by any inclement weather, and the van arrived in Atlanta ahead of schedule. 

 

A few months later, Fr. Robert Graham, s.m., the last archivist in the Boston Province and one of the first Marists to serve at Notre Dame when it opened in 1954, reflected on the role of an archive for a Marist province: “The archive is an important way to remember the people who built and contributed to the Society,” he said. “You cannot keep records without remembering those who came to America with nothing and sacrificed to build up the Society of Mary. For me, the archives keep the memories and history of earlier Marists alive, and the most important part of the history is the people who made it.”

 

Since the closure of Marist House in 2011, the Boston archive was inaccessible for reference and research requests. Once the archival materials are transferred to alkaline folders and boxes—again, to help guarantee the long term preservation by avoiding acid transfer from traditional folders and boxes to the documents and photographs—and box and folder lists are entered into the database, the Society of Mary (Province of the USA) archives will be preserved and readily accessible for generations to come.

 

Follow Notre Dame at @NDPMA.

 

About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy

Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. The school's upper division enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower divisions enroll students in jr. kindergarten through grade eight. All three divisions are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDPMA is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school's home page at www.ndpma.org.