A cardigan sweater, a motorcycle vest, newsletters, newspaper clippings and photos — the pieces and miscellaneous parts of Father Fred's life and his foundation now reside at the Grand Traverse Heritage Center.
Donated earlier this month after deliberation by the board, the varied collection includes items used by the founder of the 17-year-old Father Fred Foundation. Corporate records remain with the foundation, which provides food, clothing, furniture, household items and emergency financial help to needy individuals and families in a five-county area.
Moving the Father Fred collection out of the second story of the foundation's Hastings Street home both safeguards the items and frees up some space in the crowded, bustling facility.
"It will give the community access to the collection,” said Martie Manty, executive director of the foundation since 2006, of the move. "It will be indexed and catalogued and eventually available for research while being kept in a climate controlled building.”
The modest collection reflects the humble man behind them, who served in the region for decades as a priest and a chaplain at the former Traverse City State Hospital. He stepped in to help when patients at the hospital were released as it closed down through the 1970s and 80s, worried that many people would fall through the cracks. Father Fred was also determined to help the working poor, individuals and families who needed a hand to get through tough or lean times.
"He was just a visionary, (he) knew that there would need to be a place to help the people de-institutionalized,” said Manty, noting that the foundation is funded entirely with private money, raised in part due to Father Fred's creativity with events such as annual garage sales and motorcycle rides.
Father Fred honored the inherent dignity of everyone he served or helped, harnessing his outgoing, expressive personality to benefit those around him. This basic commitment to each individual continues to drive the foundation today, noted Father Edwin Thome, who assumed duties as spiritual director of the foundation after Father Fred died in 2000
"He knew how to make everyone feel important,” he said of his seminary classmate.
Peg Siciliano, archivist for the Grand Traverse Heritage Center, began sifting through the components of the Father Fred collection about a year ago. She sorted photos, read newsletters and stored the trademark sweater — a much-loved item worn "all the time” by Father Fred that had been found hanging on the back of a door at the office — and other pieces in special storage paper and boxes.
Her work deepened her knowledge of the man and priest behind an institution that has grown to serve between 75-125 people each day it is open.
"In the time I've been here, 20 years, I know what an impact Father Fred had on the state hospital and what an impact he's had on the community,” noted Siciliano. "His spirit really does live on in the foundation.”
For more information on the Father Fred Foundation, call 947-2055 or see their web site at www.fatherfredfoundation.com. For more information about the Grand Traverse Heritage Center, call 995-0313 or see the web site www.gtheritagecenter.org.