Opening of Time Capsules at Methuen, Lawrence Hospitals Show Historical Ties

(Additional photograph below.)

Forty-four years ago the Sisters of Bon Secours sent a message to their hospital co-workers of the future which was placed in a time capsule the Methuen hospital was assembling.

Last Thursday, the large copper drum was opened to reveal the note signed by eight sisters on Dec. 4, 1982, along with a raft of other memories. “Greetings,” it reads, adding parenthetically, “from Heaven for most of us.” It went on to wish blessing upon those continuing their mission at the then Bon Secours Hospital.

Officials, current and former employees, patients and members of the public gathered in the foyer of the hospital now known as Merrimack Health Methuen Hospital to celebrate 75 years of its tradition of compassionate care.

Lane A. Glenn, recently elected chair of the hospital’s board of trustees, pointed out the importance of the past and future staff in maintaining the hospital’s standard of care.

“We’re celebrating not just 75 years of service by this wonderful hospital, but all of you who are here today ensuring that we’ve got 75 years of success ahead of us, that this hospital continues to fulfill its mission of bon secours, of good health,” Glenn said.

Merrimack Health President and CEO Diana L. Richardson noted John F. Kennedy, then a 31-year-old member of Congress from Massachusetts, was among the dignitaries at the groundbreaking for the hospital Aug. 7, 1948.

She also read a letter from the chair of the board of trustees of Lawrence General Hospital addressed to the chair of the board of trustees of Bon Secours, which was in the time capsule. The letter notes the strong relationship between the two institutions foretelling the time when the two hospitals would become part of one health care system.

“Lawrence General Hospital is proud to have the Bon Secours Hospital as a neighbor and a partner and looks forward to continuing to work with your hospital in the future to better serve the health care needs of the communities of Greater Lawrence and Southern, New Hampshire,” Richardson read.

Richard Camire, who worked in the carpentry shop at the hospital for 45 years, came back earlier in the week to retrieve the time capsule he had installed in a fourth floor wall in 1982. Also returning was Veronica LaTorre, who found the note on blue paper she wrote for the time capsule while an employee in the patient transport department. In it, she remarked how the hospital was like “a second family.”

Another item in the memory box was a $250 check the hospital never cashed from its head electrician, Rudolph Parent, and his wife Patricia. He said he gave the donation to show “his undying” love for the hospital.

A group of French nuns traveled to the U.S. in the late 1940s to establish a Catholic hospital in Methuen naming it for their order which means “good health” in French. They raised $1 million from the community, equivalent to $13 million today. Over 10,000 people attending opening day ceremonies on a rainy September 10, 1950.

Officials from Merrimack Health also marked the 150^th anniversary of Lawrence General Hospital, now Merrimack Health Lawrence Hospital, the day before. A 1976 time capsule, unearthed during construction activities several years ago, revealed surgical care textbooks, a pacemaker and patient menus. A time capsule buried underground at Haverhill’s Hale Hospital in 1984 will be opened in 2034 when Merrimack Health Haverhill Hospital, as it is now known, celebrates the 50^th anniversary of the opening of the Lincoln Avenue building, according to a hospital official.