MECHANIC FALLS – Tyrian Masonic Lodge 73 recently completed a community service project at the Mechanic Falls Town Library.

The project involved renovating the back room at the library, including insulating the walls and creating additional space to store books.

Much of the work was done by members of the lodge, including Matt Gray of Twin Construction, Peter Ford of Ford’s Painting and Drywall Services, Worshipful Master Tim Stevens, Past Masters Jack Merrill and Robert Smith and Lodge Junior Warden Wayne Cotterly.

The members worked a total of 80 hours, and the project took place over a five-day period. During that time, the library was closed. Materials and professional services were donated by the lodge members and by Parent Lumber.

The lodge became aware of the library’s need to renovate the back room several weeks ago, when the members heard about the vandalism and damage that took place during a recent break-in.

“We thought it was a good opportunity to show that our lodge and its members care about the community,” said Master Tim Stevens. “We originally wanted to help with clean-up after the vandalism,” he said, “but we found that the clean-up had already been taken care of through the efforts of so many others in the community so we asked what else we could do to help.”

“That’s when we found out about the back room,” he said, “We had learned that it was very cold in the winter and that the library wanted to expand the room for teenagers to use for reading. So we took on the project little did we know what we would find.”

It wasn’t long before the members found the reason for the cold temperatures. During the demolition phase, little insulation was found, and large gaps were found around the windows and doors.

The members insulated the walls and sealed many of the gaps. “This will make it much warmer in the winter. The renovation project will be well worth the effort, as it will help the library save money in energy costs,” Stevens said.

Tyrian Masonic Lodge 73 and its members have been serving Mechanic Falls and surrounding communities for more than 150 years. For more information about Freemasonry or the Masons, go to www.mainemason.org or visit the lodge’s Web site at http://www.bluelodges.com/blweb/site_main.aspx?lodgeid=24.