On a recent crisp fall afternoon, around three dozen people gathered on the lawn of the 19th century mansion that houses the United Order of Tents headquarters to fete the start of long-awaited restoration work on the magnificent but dilapidated building. The moment marked not just a new chapter for the building but a “homecoming” for the members of the secretive women’s aid society that has owned it since the 1940s.

Standing in front of a crowd that included many women dressed in the United Order of Tents signature purple, Eastern District #3 member Erica Buddington thanked “every Tents sister, neighbor, elected official, preservation partner, and friend who came to stand with us this afternoon.”

“Thank you for your patience, your prayers, presence, and your belief that this is home,

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