The North Carolina Mason

Page 6 The North Carolina Mason May/June 2020 our masonic charities at Work By Tina Gilreath Masonic Home for Children ey say history repeats itself. And they are right. In 1918, the Masonic Home for Children – then known as Oxford Orphan Asylum – was actually hit by three epidemics. In January, pneumonia claimed three lives. July brought an outbreak of whooping cough, but thankfully there were no fatalities. Finally, in October, the Spanish flu arrived with a vengeance! ere were 250 cases of the flu and the Home lost four children to the illness. Our Home emerged from these tragedies and continued to be a safe haven for those children in its care as well as a solution for families across North Carolina who needed a loving, caring place for their chil- dren while they rebuilt their lives. So here we are in 2020 and the coronavirus has swept the globe. Times have changed, and so has the model of care at MHCO. e Home still stands and the children in our care are safe and healthy. As of presstime, there were no cases of COVID-19 on campus. at hasn't happened by accident. Campus has been closed since mid-March. Social distancing, quarantine, and hand sanitizing are the new normal. Only staff and authorized deliveries have been allowed to enter. All activities had to be cancelled and favorite annual events such as Great Landscape Day, Wilkerson College, Ambassador Orientation, and even the Baccalaureate Service were removed from the calendar. Some of our children were on home visits during the onset of the pandemic and have since returned. When they come back to campus, they have been isolated for 14 days in a designated cottage. eir health has been closely monitored MHCO has a history of staying safe Not quite the same as the Homecoming Parade, but the children organized one of their own so they could visit from a distance with staff members whom they hadn't seen for awhile. and they are reintegrated once they are cleared. e children have been busy! ey have been continuing with academic time daily. Each cottage sets aside time for residents to complete a combination of online work through Granville County Schools and paper/pencil work. Our educa- tion coordinator delivers packets of work to our residents once per week. Completed work is scanned and emailed to the classroom teachers. Tutors are available virtu- ally for all residents. e children really miss the employees who don't live on campus, so they got together and organized a parade. ey drove by those employees' houses that they haven't been able to see lately. Decorations on the vans and the horns honking brought joy to the kids and to everyone they visited. MHCO has been working to help others in the community. e School of Graphic Arts has used its 3D printer to make mask extenders, straps that span the back of the head and connect with ear loops. It spares pain for those who are wearing masks around the clock. e extenders were donated to the frontline workers in Granville County. And the community has been helping MHCO. e local food bank sent excess fresh fruit and vegetables. e Granville County Senior Citi- zens and NC Face Mask Warriors provided enough masks for our staff and children. With the shortage of disposable facemasks, this was truly an invaluable contribution. And despite these tough times, MHCO's friends and supporters have continued to help. One supporter mentioned that he found himself with extra money since he'd been quarantined and not driving as much. He thoughtfully sent his extra gas money to help the kids. It has been heartwarming to see our children and staff and our community all working together as we maneuver through these uncer- tain and troubling times. We truly are all in this together. Finally, we want everyone to know that the Masonic Home for Chil- dren is here and we have been busy! We miss our friends and are looking forward to our campus reopening and resuming normal activities. We are here for families who might need help caring for their children while they work to get back on their feet. We are grateful and humbled by the love and support we have received from so many. Our Home made it through 1918, despite all the sickness and loss. And MHCO will make it through 2020, despite COVID-19, with that same resil- iency and strength. History truly does repeat itself. Be well! READ THE MASON ANYTIME ONLINE AT WWW.GRANDLODGE-NC.ORG/NEWS-CALENDAR-OF-EVENTS

• Cover