When we have a gem in our area that has been a magnet to hundreds of thousands of visitors over the years, the last thing we need is to have squabbling over its operations.

It appears that differences among Jim Thorpe Borough Council, members of the Jim Thorpe Lions Club, which has been handling the operations of the tourist attraction for years, and members of the mansion’s staff, who resigned en masse earlier this month, have significantly impacted the mansion’s operations.

Let me say repeat this point as plainly as I can: When you have this one-of-a-kind attraction in your community, the last thing you need is for dissension among the key players.

Unless I am delusional, I would assume that the goal of both council, the Lions Club and these now former employees who have poured their everything into its operation is to do whatever is necessary to keep this treasure in good operation so that it will continue to attract visitors to an invigorated Jim Thorpe, now listed as one of the top tourist attraction communities in Pennsylvania.

The mansion was built in 1861 by industrialist, businessman and politician, Asa Packer, founder of Lehigh University and the Lehigh Valley Railroad and one of the area’s wealthiest and most famous philanthropists. Its original cost was said to be $14,000, which in today’s dollars amounts to nearly $500,000. I have seen some estimates that the mansion is valued at about $2 million unfurnished.

I have toured the mansion three times during my adult life, and each time I have come away from the experience enriched by what I saw and heard.

Packer died at the age of 74 in 1879. Packer’s daughter, Mary Packer Cummings, lived in the home until her death in 1912 and willed the mansion and its contents to Mauch Chunk borough, which in 1954, along with its sister borough East Mauch Chunk became Jim Thorpe, named in honor of the famed Olympic athlete.

According to the mansion’s history, it remained closed until 1956 when the Bear Mountain Lions (today the Jim Thorpe Lions Club) took over its operation and began public tours on Memorial Day 1956. Asa Packer Mansion was recognized for its national significance by the National Park Service in 1985.

Architecturally, the mansion is one of the last significant and best preserved examples of Italianate architecture in the United States. It is an eye-opening example of how the wealthy lived during the mid-19th century. The mansion’s features are many, one more opulent and interesting than the other.

My tours were enhanced by the tour guides, who were exceptionally knowledgeable about the mansion’s history. Their ability to relate in a fascinating way some of the interesting anecdotes involving the Packer family gave the experience so much more depth and clarity.

To think for even a moment that this jewel could be compromised by bickering among community stalwarts is unthinkable. That’s why it is imperative for the council, Lions leadership and former staff members and tour guides to come to an agreement to sustain and enhance this treasure. I can’t imagine that there is not a vital role to be played by all and that differences that might seem to appear to be insurmountable now can’t be ironed out in the name of compromise and community concern.

Certainly the resignations of Curator Ava Bretzik and many of the long-time guides, who said they felt disrespected and who apparently are not pleased that mansion oversight will continue to be provided by the Lions, was a shock that has resulted in the closing of the mansion to tours, at least on a temporary basis.

The question seems to revolve around the issue of whether the Lions Club should continue to supervise and operate the mansion. On the other hand, some members of borough council believe it is time for a change and for a new nonprofit organization to be formed to take over the operation of the mansion to put it on a more secure footing. For the time being, however, council agreed to let the mansion’s operation remain in the hands of the Lions Club until a review of the matter is completed later this year.

There is no question that many of our service groups - not just the Lions, but Rotary and others - are seeing dwindling membership with much of the clubs’ operations and sustainability falling to older members. The Lions, however, feel that their membership has been infused with new blood and a renewed desire to move the needle forward on the mansion’s operations.

Two grants announced several weeks ago from state legislative representatives will help in the roof replacement and other badly needed repairs, but the mansion needs an additional $500,000 or so in other capital improvements.

One thing that has ruffled the Lions’ members is an accusation that council members are “going around the chain of command.” Here then is the crux of the issue: Both council and the Lions need to communicate openly and fully for the betterment of the mansion’s operation and its continued benefits to the community. The last thing we need is to see this degenerate into a territorial dispute. Also, it seems to me that the now former employees should have a say in how this all shakes out.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.