The new and old owners of the Masonic Temple building on Carthage Street in downtown Sanford were together Thursday morning to give some Masonic items back to their rightful owners.

Cori McKee-Whipple, the owner of Owls Nest Properties which purchased the building in December and has announced plans for extensive renovations, and Joel Williams, the building’s previous owner, hosted a few members of Sanford’s Masonic Lodge as they explored the property which has been vacant for decades.

Items left inside the building included a few chairs, pillars from the group’s original meeting hall and more.

Bill Minard is a past lodge master and was part of the group on hand Thursday. He joined the lodge in the mid-1980s, about six months after the organization moved out of the building. Until a few weeks ago, he’d never been inside. He said the group doesn’t have any specific plans for the items and will probably offer them to current members on a first come, first served basis.

“It’s interesting. I don’t know how else to put it,” he said.  “It’s nostalgic.”

For McKee-Whipple, it was an important step in connecting the building to the organization which is responsible for its creation and moving into the future, which will include both commercial and residential uses. She said next week the process of getting an engineer inside and getting to work will begin.

“Wednesday can’t get here fast enough,” she said.