A new donation to the Mattapoisett Library commemorates a friendship that kept two families connected for more than half a century.

In the 1950s, the Bracketts and the Jasons lived side by side on Church Street. “We could almost touch out of the windows, it was so close,” remembers Sylvia Stepien, nee Brackett.

The families were equally close. Jim and Jean Brackett and their five kids considered Don and Joan Jason to be “extended family.” In the summer, Stepien helped collate the “Presto Press,” which Don began in 1954. “That was my first job,” said Stepien, now of Charlton.

But in 1959, Jim’s company transferred him to Attleboro. Although it’s only an hour away now, the commute to Attleboro before I-495 meant long hours on the road for Stepien’s father.

“There was no option but to move,” said Stepien. “My mother was heartbroken.”

To soothe the blow, Don gave the couple a painting of Ned’s Point Lighthouse, which he had planned to sell for $300.

“I want you to have the painting, so Mattapoisett will always be with you,” Don told Jean.

The painting hung in the Brackett’s house for 52 years until Jim passed away last summer, and Stepien inherited it.

“It was the most valuable picture to all of us because we went there all of the time,” said Stepien, who summered in Mattapoisett with her family and later her own kids.

In February, Stepien, her sisters Jane Brackett and Susan Nolan, and nephew Garrett Nolan, donated a framed print of the oil painting to the Mattapoisett Library in honor of Don and Joan, who passed away in 2010 and 2011, respectively.

“They were at the library constantly,” said Stepien. “I always wanted to do something special in memory of Don and Joan, so I thought this a good start.”

The print is currently on display at the library. Stepien also gave the library a digital copy to use for note cards.