By Meg Peters
Review Co-Editor
More than 950 historic snapshots of Orion were buried away in a cabinet at the Orion Township Public Library until the Orion Historic Society (OHS) decided to get back together.
As part of her first project in partnership with OHS, library liaison Kate Kloor dusted the photos off, scanned them, and slid them into archival binders at the library, forever protected and now available for the public to see.
She also uploaded them to the library’s digital database, which can be viewed at orionlibrary.org/ingramphotos, and will be presenting them at the first OHS meeting October 12 since the nonprofit organization took a break a little under two years ago.
Projects like these are what future OHS members can look forward to, and all are invited to join with fresh ideas.
Kloor’s presentation will begin at 7 p.m. at the Orion Township Public Library, and will include information about the new OHS website, Facebook site, and other historical resources offered at the library, following with an OHS membership reception and meeting.
Her presentation will cover the James Ingram Collection of Historic Photos now available at the library, along with the book James Ingram’s Time Tracs A History of Orion.
Kloor said the physical photos were left to the library after Ingram passed away in 2008. One of the pictures is a tintype of a baby. Tintypes were typically printed in the 1860s and 1870s, and were printed on metal, or in other words, rare to find.
Not only did Ingram compile a legacy of photos, he also submitted weekly articles to The Lake Orion Review under the heading Time Tracs covering the history of the Lake Orion community.
Enthusiasm like this is what the OHS is all about.
‘It’s a very unique way to give back to the community,? Kloor said.
‘There will be so many different avenues to get involved with, whether it’s going through your old pictures and bringing them up to the library, or physically getting out there and cleaning up a cemetery.?
Kloor said this is one possible project the OHS could take on’helping to restore the Lake Orion cemeteries.
Chairman Mike Sweeney said there will be plenty to do.
‘I’m looking forward to it,? he said. ‘Our intentions right now are getting back together and working on membership.?
Sweeney was an active volunteer for the OHS, and helped coordinate many of their past projects. Noteworthy was the historical relocation of both the Porritt Barn and Howarth School to Friendship Park; designating the Lake Orion Historic District in 2006 as a National Register of Historic Places; preserving the Camp Franklin sign in 2004; and researching and documenting 32 historic homes in the village.
Sweeney said the OHS decided it was time for a break one and a half years ago to give some of the overtaxed volunteers time off.
The reorganization of the OHS is in large part due to its partnerships with the Orion Township Library and Orion Township Community Programs.
‘Historic preservation and involving the community it its local history has been a partnership and commitment of the township for many years,? Community Programs Director Lisa Sokol said. ‘Partnering with the library, township and historical society allows us to combine goals and resources to preserve our local history.?
There will be ten meetings in the 2015-16 year in the months of October, November, January, February, March, April, May, June, August, and September. The April meeting is the annual membership meeting, and new board members will be selected.
The OHS is utilizing past members for its board until new members are selected in April.
The mission of the OHS is to recruit members for the active preservation of the Lake Orion community and its history, through preservation activities and education about the Orion legacy.
For more information, contact Sokol with Orion Township Community Programs at 248-391-0304 ext. 300.
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