Newfield nonprofits prepare for community meals, festivals and new traditions next year

With this year coming to a close, several nonprofits in Newfield are already planning community events for 2026, including bringing back the annual Old Home Days festival and cementing new events as town traditions.

Tompkins Weekly spoke with leaders of three prominent nonprofits about their work in Newfield, what events the public can look forward to next year and the value of community service in a small town.  

Newfield Masonic Lodge

Since its founding in the late 19th century, the Newfield Masonic Lodge has been a staple of the community through its volunteer and philanthropic efforts. 

Its members, known as Masons, have supported many beloved events and programs, including providing the location for the town’s annual Christmas tree lighting celebration. 

Along with supporting already-established town traditions, the Masons played a key role in Newfield’s inaugural Wreaths Across America celebration, which took place on Dec. 13. The nationwide event honors deceased veterans by placing wreaths on their tombstones, which can be sponsored through Wreaths Across America’s website. This month, 286 wreaths were placed on the graves of veterans buried at Woodlawn Cemetery on Main Street, and 77 wreaths were placed on veterans’ graves at Trumbulls Corners Cemetery on Millard Hill Road. 

The Masonic Lodge sponsored the majority of wreaths used in the inaugural event to ensure that there would be enough to honor all veterans buried at the two cemeteries, according to lodge treasurer Michael McLaughlin.

“It’s about improving the community,” McLaughlin said, noting that several lodge members also volunteered to place the wreaths. “Our thought is to continue supporting [Wreaths Across America], but moreover, we would like to really push the community to get more involved in this event.” 

Masonry, also known as freemasonry, is one of the world’s oldest fraternal organizations, with its roots dating back to medieval stonemason guilds. While members must believe in a higher power, their work is known for its emphasis on brotherhood and self-improvement through charity and community service. There are more than 400 Masonic Lodges in New York and about 13,000 nationwide, according to the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York, which the Newfield lodge operates under.             

“We’re supposed to take in good men and make them better, and I think I’m a better man because I’m a Mason. It’s a way of life,” said Steve Yaple, a trustee of the Newfield lodge who has been a member for 41 years. 

“You could believe that the higher being is a rock and that qualifies you,” McLaughlin added. “We center our lives around community service.”

The lodge provides financial donations to organizations in the community every year, including the Newfield Central School District. This year, the lodge’s “Brighter Future” scholarship awarded $450 to Newfield high school graduates who finished their first semester of postsecondary school with a grade point average of at least a 2.0. The scholarship has given about $76,000 to Newfield graduates since it started nearly a decade ago, according to McLaughlin.       

The Masons have also donated to the Alzheimer’s Association, and they provide a scholarship to the town’s fire department for training and equipment for new recruits. The lodge’s total expenses last year were just under $82,000, which went toward maintaining the Masonic Temple and community donations, according to Yaple. 

Along with financial assistance, the lodge allows community organizations to request to use its temple for events. This year, the space has been used by youth groups, including the Eagle Scouts and the Girl Scouts, as well as by the town board and planning board to conduct public meetings as renovations to the Newfield Town Hall wrap up. Yaple added that the lodge often opens up its backyard and pavilion for Newfield Public Library arts and crafts events, and at one point it hosted youth horseback riding lessons in its backyard, as well. 

“We’re very proud of our building,” Yaple said. “It’s one of the nicest [Masonic Lodge] buildings I’d say in the state, and we want people to use it. That’s how it stays fresh.”   

Yaple said that one of the lodge’s goals for next year is to continue supporting the town’s food pantry, located at the Newfield United Methodist Church, with food donations and volunteers. He said that the number of people making use of the food pantry has doubled in recent months and noted that many Newfield residents travel to Ithaca for their grocery shopping. 

McLaughlin said that he’d like more young people who are passionate about community service to join the lodge, noting that the majority of its members are over 60 years old. 

“It’s not just writing a check and giving it to somebody,” McLaughlin said. “It’s sleeping on the ground with a Cub Scout, picking up trash on the road with the Boy Scouts or raking a senior citizen’s front yard.”  

Those interested in joining the Newfield Masonic Lodge can contact Steve Yaple via email at spyaple@gmail.com. 

Newfield Lions Club 

Since the 1970s, the Newfield Lions Club has given back to the community in many ways, including serving food at the annual Old Home Days festival.

The two-day summer event, which Newfield has celebrated since 1921, was canceled this year due to scheduling conflicts with the Newfield Central School District. The last time the event was canceled was in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.   

In lieu of Old Home Days, the Lions Club hosted a July chicken barbecue event at the Newfield Fire Hall, which about 300 people attended, according to Newfield Lions Club President Tom Clark. The event, promoted as a “Community Appreciation Day,” featured a car show, a barrel train ride for kids, a performance from Ithaca-based Ageless Jazz Band and fireworks. Children could also participate in a “touch-a-truck” activity, where they could get a close look at fire trucks, police vehicles and wreckers from Charlie’s Towing and Repair.  

“The only time kids get to see fire trucks are when they’re parked at the fire department or flying by their house,” Clark said. “I also wanted to remind kids that you see police not always just in your rearview mirror. They’re active community members themselves and trusted people.”  

Clark said that the Lions Club is already planning on participating in next year’s Old Home Days festival, which will include a parade, family-friendly activities and food vendors serving hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken spiedies, sweet corn and more. The annual celebration, which is one of the Lions Club’s biggest fundraisers, is planned by the Old Home Days committee, whose members oversee the event’s fireworks, music, vendors and activities.

“We’re absolutely on for next year,” Clark said of Old Home Days. “It’s difficult because it’s a lot of work and there’s really not a lot of people that work on it. We get almost 200 pounds of hamburger and 200 pounds of sausage for the event.” 

In October, the club hosted an event at Newfield’s Tioga State Bank that provided donuts, cider and free hayrides. The club donates its funds to organizations including Loaves and Fishes and the Food Bank of the Southern Tier, and leftover food from Old Home Days is often donated to the town’s food pantry, Clark said.   

The club, which merged with the women’s Newfield Lioness Club about five years ago, has also helped conduct eye screenings on elementary school students to detect eye diseases since the 1990s.

The Lions Club meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Monday of every month at the Newfield Fire Hall, located at 77 Main St.

Newfield Seniors

For more than a decade, the Newfield Seniors have provided the town’s aging population with a community hub to enjoy meals and human connection. 

The organization hosts a lunch at noon on the last Thursday of each month at the Newfield Fire Hall. Newfield Seniors President Robert Kellogg said that community members often bring their favorite meals to share, which have included vegetables, chili and ice cream, with about 40 people regularly attending. Representatives from the county and town, as well as local nonprofits, will also attend to share information about senior services and programs in the area.        

The group plans day and overnight trips for seniors. Earlier this year, the group took about 40 people on a bus to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where they ate at local restaurants and saw a play at the Sight & Sound Theatre. Other trips this year included visiting a coal mine in Pennsylvania, boarding a train to see foliage across upstate New York and taking a history tour on Cayuga Lake.       

“This is a good opportunity for the seniors who are available and want to go to places,” Kellogg said. 

The town provides the Newfield Seniors with about $3,000 annually, most of which goes toward trips, according to Kellogg.

He added that the group is already planning trips for next year, including one to Ocean City, Maryland that is tentatively planned for May 18-21, and a trip to New York City that is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 11-14.  

Another group, known as the “NICE” group, offers Newfield seniors lunch at the Newfield Methodist Church at noon every Friday, except for the last Friday of the month, with an optional donation accepted.          

“Newfield Seniors does have a $10 joining fee, but after that people can just walk in the door, sit down and have something to eat, and come back next time,” Kellogg said. “They can also make suggestions for things we should do in the future. It’s a fun time to get together, weather permitting, this time of year.”