Page 22 - The Digital Carpenter, Vol. 1 Issue 2

MCGUIRE DESCENDANT DONATES HIS TOOLS AND BELONGINGS TO CARPENTERS MUSEUM
On January 9th, Kathleen Rossell, great-granddaughter of Peter J. McGuire, the founder and rst general secretary of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners of America (UBCJA), visited the Carpenters Tool & History Museum in Philadelphia.
Prior to the visit, Rossell donated to the Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters several of McGuire’s original tools, documents and photographs, including:
• Two wooden jack planes
• MoldingPlane
• Two Bevel squares
• Butt square
• Hand saw (Manufactured by Wm McNiece-Phila,PA)
• 27-Inch Stanley Level (Circa 1860’s)
• McGuire’s original tool trunk
• A gold cane given to him by the American Federation
of Labor in 1887
• Numerous unpublished photos of McGuire and his
family
• His U.S. passport
• His personal journal that detailed the start of the
UBCJA
• AbookgiventoMcGuireinthe1890sbytheEuropean
Labor Council
• McGuire’s Union badges and pins, including a
membership pin, that he wore in the early days of the Brotherhood
“Peter J. McGuire is recognized as the founder of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America and is one of the most remarkable gures in the history of the American labor movement,” said Michael Tapken, Tri-State Assistant to the Regional Manager and curator of the Museum. “We are extremely thankful for Kathleen’s generous donation of these items and are excited to showcase them.”
All of the historic documentation was submitted to the University of Maryland for scanning into the University’s extensive archives of carpenter history. The documents will be returned to NRCC after scanning is completed.
The Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters is dedicated to preserving our history and honoring the memory of our brother Peter J. McGuire. We are ecstatic to have the opportunity to display some of McGuire’s personal belongings at the Museum.
We encourage you to visit the Museum, located at 1811 Spring Garden Street in Philadelphia, later in 2018 to see items from throughout carpenters' history, including these priceless McGuire artifacts.
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