May 2001  |
The Supreme Council requested the
Scottish Rite Monument and Plaque Committee in Charleston, South
Carolina, to install a granite monument to commemorate the original
location of Shepheard's Tavern (at the corner of Church and Broad
Streets, which is now the site of the Bank of America Building).
Formal dedication of the monument is slated for October 3, 2001.
The committee designed the monument, and E. J. McCarthy &
Sons Monument Co. manufactured it, placing it on a granite base.
Installed on November 30, 2000, the three-ton commemorative stone's
top is slanted forward with the image of Shepheard's Tavern sandblasted
into the granite, and a 33rd Degree double-headed eagle emblem
is on the front of the monument. Just below the emblem is the
following wording: "On this site stood Shepheard's Tavern,
the birthplace of The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry,
the Mother Supreme Council of the World, May 31, 1801."
Looking from the front of the monument, the left side has the following wording: "Founders of the Supreme Council: Abraham Alexander, Sovereign Grand Inspector General; Emanuel De La Motta, Sovereign Grand Inspector General; Dr. Isaac Auld, Sovereign Grand Inspector General; Israel De Lieben, Sovereign Grand Inspector General; Moses C. Levy, Grand Treasurer General; Dr. James Moultrie, Grand Secretary General."
On the right side is the following wording: "Founders of the Supreme Council: Colonel John Mitchell, Sovereign Grand Commander; Frederick Dalcho, Lt. Grand Commander; Alexander F. A. DeGrasse, Sovereign Grand Inspector General; Jean Baptiste Delahogue, Sovereign Grand Inspector General; Thomas B. Bowen, Grand Master of Ceremonies."
On the rear it reads: "Dedicated October 3, 2001; C. Fred Kleinknecht, Sovereign Grand Commander." During the installation, the monument was suspended above the base as workmen placed ice between the stone and its foundation. This allowed the heavy stone to be moved slightly until it was exactly in its proper position. Also, the slings holding it could then be removed before the ice melted. Although landscaping still has to be completed around the monument, it has already created a lot of local interest as passersby stop to read the inscriptions. Be sure to see this historical marker when you come to Charleston.
Submitted by Ill. Herbert S.
Goldberg, 33°
Chairman, Charleston Monument and Plaque Committee
Photo: Ill. McDonald "Don" L. Burbidge, 33°
Last October, the members of the Northern California DeMolay Association held their annual Grand Master's Membership Class. This initiation ceremony is held every year to honor the newly elected Grand Master of Masons in California. The class was held at the Oakland Scottish Rite Temple. During the day, both Degrees of DeMolay were presented as well as the Flower Talk. M.W. David C. Decker, 32°, K.C.C.H., Grand Master of Masons in California, had the opportunity to meet each of the 61 new DeMolays who were initiated in his honor as he presented them with a certificate attesting to the fact that they were a part of the 2000 Grand Master's Class. To close out the afternoon, the new officers for the Northern California DeMolay Association were elected to serve for the 2001 year. Northern California DeMolay (photo below) thanks "Dad" Decker and his Grand Lodge Officers for attending and for the constant support they provide the DeMolays in Northern California and throughout the world.
Those Orients who wish to participate in the 2001 Bicentennial
Awards for Excellence in Publication (total of $26,000 in prizes)
are reminded that the date for submission of entries in print
and/or Internet format is August 1, 2001. For details, please
see the Grand Commander's January 2001 message "2001 Bicentennial
Awards for Excellence in Publication."
The year 2000 was truly a good year for the Scottish Rite Bodies of California relative to their Childhood Language Disorders Clinics and Centers. For instance, the International Order of Job's Daughters of California supported the program as their annual philanthropic project. The Bethel Daughters of California, headed by Mrs. Ann Yeager, Grand Guardian, and Mr. Richard Dixon, Associate Grand Guardian, the state of California, donated and/or had donated in their name slightly over $19,500.
This sum was distributed to the 13 Scottish Rite Language Learning Disorder Clinics or Centers throughout California. In addition, Job's Daughters donated books, coloring books, crayons, toys, puzzles, etc., in an amount of slightly over $10,500. Also, the Clinics in Sacramento, Pasadena, and San Bernardino were recipients of five large folding cafeteria-style tables with chairs/stools attached. They were valued at approximately $6,400. Needless to say, the Daughters were highly enthusiastic about this project, which was very capably administered by Mr. Dixon. As he said, "Not a bad showing from such a small group of youngsters. They truly are youngsters helping youngsters and 'The Fairest in the Land.'"
In the August 2000 Scottish Rite Journal, Grand Commander Kleinknecht announced the formation of a Russian Masonic Center Restoration Fund. He noted the dire need for funds by the Grand Lodge of Russia and the Supreme Council of Russia and suggested that interested Supreme Councils and the Brethren in general contribute to this laudable undertaking. He concluded noting that all contributors will be identified in future issues of the Journal, and a list of six Supreme Councils and 12 individual Brethren was published in the December 2000 issue.
As of March 12, 2001, we are pleased to add the names of the following contributors to this list: Ill. Christian Weger, 33°, Sovereign Grand Commander, Supreme Council for the Czech Republic; Bro. John E. Gilcreese, 32°, K.C.C.H.; and Bro. John R. Manspeaker, 32°.
Election 2000 brought an opportunity
for a new Lodge to get on its feet. Mount Moriah Lodge No. 400
is a UD Lodge Chartered May 30, 2000, and set to work on June
16, 2000, by M.W. Louis A. King, 32°, Grand Master, Grand
Lodge of Florida. The election gave the Lodge an opportunity to
begin the task of building.
The Adopt-A-Precinct Program initiated by Mr. Bill Cowles, Supervisor of Elections in Orange County, Florida, reaches out to organizations and asks them to adopt precincts by furnishing volunteers to make up the precinct election boards. The Brethren of Mount Moriah Lodge contacted him and offered to join the program. They were assigned a precinct for the Primary, Runoff, and General Elections. With eight of the members and two supportive Brothers (Honorary Members R.W. Virgil D. Albright, 33°, PDDGM, and Bro. James A. Avera, 32°), they fulfilled the civic duty of manning a precinct as well as furnishing a Clerk at Large to the Supervisor of Elections Office. In return, the Lodge received a check for services rendered. Pictured on the facing page, Mr. Cowles presents the check to R.W. Albright and Brethren from Mount Moriah Lodge.
 At a November 2000
Grand Visit, Job's Daughters Bethel No. 5 in Sheridan, Wyoming,
presented donations of $3,100 each to the Scottish Rite Clinic
for Childhood Language Disorders in Cheyenne and H.I.K.E. (Hearing
Impaired Kids Endowment). Pictured in the first two rows (l.
to r.) are: Jodie Blakeman, Senior Princess; Ben Smith, Associate
Grand Guardian; Joan Means, Grand Guardian; Stephanie Michelena,
Honored Queen; Ill. Jack E. Nixson, 33°, S.G.I.G. in Wyoming;
M.W. Bryce E. Lundell, 32°, K.C.C.H., Grand Master of Masons
of Wyoming; and Darby Forister, Junior Princess. In the background
are members, "the fairest in the land," of Bethel No.5. |
Twenty years after the formation of the Grand Lodge of Alaska, the 146 members of Mt. Juneau Gastineaux Lodge in Juneau, Alaska, formally transferred their membership from the Grand Lodge of Washington to their State Grand Lodge. In impressive ceremonies on January 16, 2001, the elected officers of the Grand Lodge of Alaska signed an Endorsement to the Charter, making official the earlier vote of the Lodge to make the transfer. The effective date will be January 1, 2001, and the new Lodge will be numbered 21. The transfer was observed by M.W. Bro. Richard A. Mecartea, 32°, K.C. C.H. Elect, Washington's Grand Master, along with five Past Grand Masters from Washington and Alaska, the Alaska and Washington S.G. I.G.'s and Jan B. Carnahan, 32°, K.C.C.H., Potentate of Al Aska Shrine. Two Alaska State Senators were in the audience of 50 Masons.
 |
M.W. Richard A. Mecartea, 32° K.C.C.H. Elect, Grand Master of Washington, reading the endorsement to the Charter as he presents it to the W.M. of the Lodge. M.W. Don G. Chaffin, III, 32°, K.C.C.H., Grand Master of Alaska, listens along with W. Bro. Bill Lawrence, 32°, Worshipful Master of Mt. Juneau Gastineaux Lodge No. 21. Photo: W. George Steck, 33° |
The Grand Lodge of Washington chartered Gastineaux Lodge No. 124 on June 10, 1903, to operate on Douglas Island near Juneau, Alaska. Mt. Juneau Lodge No. 147 was chartered on June 14, 1905, to operate in the Capital City. The two Lodges merged on December 11, 1995, to become Mt. Juneau Gastineaux Lodge No. 124 on the rolls of the Grand Lodge of Washington. For several years after the formation of the Grand Lodge of Alaska, these southeast Lodges maintained their original ties with Washington, even though a Past Master of Gastineaux Lodge, M.W. Bro. James A. Williams, was elected to be the Charter Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Alaska.
It is generally agreed this action will be an enabling factor for the capital city Freemasons to enjoy the full fellowship Freemasonry provides. Their York and Scottish Rite and Shrine affiliations have long been with units sovereign within the state of Alaska. Now only two Lodges remain outside the fold of the Grand Lodge of Alaska. They are Ketchikan Lodge No. 159, which operates in a city where the Grand Lodge of Alaska has chartered Tongass Lodge No. 19, and Petersburg Lodge No. 262.
Submitted by Ill. William R. Miller, 33°, P.G.M. & S.G.I.G. in Washington
On March 9, 2001, the Valley of Alexandria, Virginia, carried out an unprecedented event. This year marks the 90th year since its Charter was granted by the Supreme Council. To celebrate this occasion, a proposal to hold a regular Valley meeting in the Supreme Council's Temple Room during this year's Bicentennial of the Supreme Council was approved by Ill. William G. Sizemore, 33°, Grand Cross, Grand Executive Director. To make it all-encompassing for Valley members, it was decided to schedule the visit for March, the only month during the year when all four Bodies meet on the same night. Chartered buses took 130 Brethren from the Alexandria, Virginia, Temple to the Supreme Council in the District of Columbia. Arrangements for buses to park and for the setup in the Temple Room were effectively handled in advance by Ill. George E. Enders, 33°, a senior guide at the Supreme Council.
As the meeting began, the heads of the four Bodies were seated in the ornate East of the Temple Room along with Ill. David Kruger, 33°, S.G.I.G. in Virginia and Grand Secretary General of the Supreme Council. The officers presiding over their respective Bodies were Venerable Master William B. Malone, 32°, K.C.C.H.; Wise Master William D. Mitchell, 32°; Commander F. J. Pepper, 32°; and Master of Kadosh John D. Jenkins, 32°, K.C.C.H.
Highlights of the meeting included a presentation by Bro. Seán O'Néill, 32°, on some current problems facing Freemasonry; a brief ceremony of "Celebration of Remembrance and Light" by Ill. Walter S. Downs, 33°, Grand Cross, Personal Representative and Secretary, Valley of Alexandria; and an outstanding review of 90 years in only seven minutes time by Ill. Steven M. Hicks, 33°. Also, Inspector David Kruger, 33°, made inspiring remarks about the many happenings in and progress of the Valley over the years, lauded its support of the Childhood Language Disorders Program, and cited several instances of direct support by the Valley of Supreme Council programs. He noted his great pleasure with this celebration and looked forward to the Bicentennial in October.
At the close of the meeting, Venerable Master Malone presented a memento of historical significance to Ill. Sizemore in appreciation for the opportunity to meet in the Temple Room. This item was a silver medallion bearing the crest of the House of Solomon and the Lion of Judah, a medallion that had belonged to Haile Selassie, former Emperor of Ethiopia and a direct descendant of King Solomon.
After the meeting ended and the Brethren headed back to Alexandria, all were in awe of having attended this special event in the grandeur and magnificence of the Temple Room. They were grateful that they had been present on this once-in-a-lifetime occasion and felt regret for those who had missed the opportunity.
Submitted by Ill. Walter S.
Downs, 33°, G.C.
Personal Representative & Secretary, Valley of Alexandria,
Virginia
 To honor courageous
law enforcement officers, Paso Robles Masonic Lodge No. 286,
Paso Robles, California, recently held its Third Annual Law Enforcement
Appreciation Night. The "Top Cop Award" was given to
a California Highway Patrol Officer from Templeton, a Paso Robles
City Police Officer, and a San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Deputy.
Each was nominated and selected by his peers and department head.
The three were treated to a Lodge dinner in their honor and awarded
plaques later that evening in the Lodge Room. Sheriff Pat Hedges
of San Luis Obispo County was the guest speaker. The Sheriff's
Department also provided a display of the equipment used in their
Search and Rescue Efforts, and the Paso Robles Police Explorer
Scouts provided the Color Guard. Front row (l. to r.): W.M.
Douglas S. Davis; Deputy Dave Nottenkamper; Highway Patrol Officer
Richard Short; Officer Kevin Alan; and Dan Wasson, Inspector
of the 310th Masonic District. Back row (l. to r.): Sheriff Pat
Hedges, CHP Commander Mike Moses, and Paso Robles Police Chief,
Dennis Cassiday. |
For the third straight year in a row, the Paso Robles Masonic Lodge No. 286, Bethelem Chapter No. 95, O.E.S, Paso Robles Shrine Club, and San Luis Obispo County Scottish Rite Club participated in the Paso Robles, California, Pioneer Day Parade. For the last 70 years, the local community has had a parade to celebrate the traditions of the early pioneer settlers. The Paso Robles Lodge was established in 1887, making it older than the city of Paso Robles. The parade this year consisted of approximately 175 entrees, of which 25 were from various Masonic organizations depicting the Family of Freemasonry. Of special interest was the fact that Brother Kermit King, a Past Master of the Lodge and its oldest living member, rode the parade float to celebrate his recent 100th birthday. He is pictured above, center, behind the banner. Also, the Shrine clowns won a First Place award.
Submitted by W.M. Douglas S. Davis, 32°, K.C.C.H., Valley of San Jose, California
The California Scottish Rite members have provided 11 thermal imaging cameras at a cost of approximately $250,000 for the Fire Departments in Bakersfield, Long Beach, Oakland, Santa Barbara, Santa Rosa, and Stockton. Thermal imaging is possibly the most important advancement in fire-fighting technology in the last 50 years.
Looking through a thermal imaging camera provides a black-and-white television view through intense smoke and darkness. Very hot objects appear bright white, and cold objects appear black. These cameras are used by the fire service to size up the situation at hand, do investigation of the area, and search and rescue. The most dramatic use of this equipment is in search-and-rescue missions carried out in structures on fire. In conventional searches, firefighters must crawl on their hands and knees through dense smoke and heat in their attempt by feel to find trapped victims. This is a slow and dangerous process. With thermal imaging cameras, experienced firefighters can search an entire room or area in seconds greatly increasing the speed and accuracy of the operation. Time means lives saved! Other benefits of this equipment include reducing property damage and locating fire sources earlier.
Recently, this special equipment was used in a hi-rise fire to search for possible injured firefighters. While combating the fire, an emergency radio call went out, "We have a firefighter down." The Fire Department–Rapid Intervention Crew went into immediate action, using the thermal imaging equipment to scan the hallways as they searched for the firefighter in danger. This equipment enabled them to search the area rapidly in zero visibility to locate the firefighter who had run out of air from his self-contained breathing apparatus. The Rapid Intervention Crew and the rescued firefighter were then able to find their way out of the dense smoke and acrid heat to safety.
 |
Recently, the Scottish Rite Foundation of California was presented the "Pride of Partnership Award" by the City of Long Beach in recognition of the Foundation's donating 11 thermal imaging cameras to local firefighters. Pictured above (center), Ill. H. Douglas Lemons, 33°, S.G.I.G. in California, was pleased to accept the award for the Brethren of the Orient of California who have supported this project at the cost of approximately $250,000. |
The newspaper article of this rescue noted that the life-saving equipment was provided by the California Scottish Rite Foundation. The Foundation was presented the "Pride of Partnership Award" by the City of Long Beach. During the presentation, the Scottish Rite logo was displayed on screens at each end of the room. The Foundation received commendations from our local Congressman, California Senators and Representatives, and Los Angeles County. The Scottish Rite also received very favorable mention in all the local newspapers and television stations.
California Scottish Rite members care about our communities. It isn't about money. It's about Scottish Rite protecting the lives of our firefighters and helping them save lives!
Submitted by Ill. Lester W.
Miller, 33°, Secretary, California Scottish Rite Foundation
 A member since 1943
of San Francisco's Paul Revere Lodge No. 462 and a 50-year member
of the San Francisco Scottish Rite Bodies, Bro. Nathan "Nate"
Cohn, 32°, now 83 years young, was a founder two decades
ago of the American Board of Criminal Lawyers. Also, he is well-known
for representing such entertainment luminaries, among many others,
as Duke Ellington, Billie Holliday, Josephine Baker, Giselle
McKenzie, and Anna Maria Alberghetti. Even Robert Stroud, the
"Birdman of Alcatraz," and Melvin Belli, the famous
lawyer, have called on Brother Cohn for his expert assistance.
The latter work gained Nate the title of "the Attorney's
Attorney." Congratulations, Bro. Cohn, on an illustrious
legal career, and thank you for all you have done throughout
your life for Freemasonry and the Scottish Rite! |
The death of Ill. Harold Edward
Stassen, 33°, G.C., on Sunday, March 4, 2001, at the age of
93, closed a chapter of distinguished statesmanship in American
history that spanned most of the 20th century. Ill. Stassen's
career had humble beginnings. He grew up on a vegetable farm in
West St. Paul, Minnesota, where he went to school in a one-room
schoolhouse, graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School,
and was elected to his first public office as County Attorney
of Dakota County at age 23. He held that post until 1938 when
he was elected Governor of Minnesota at age 31, then the youngest
Governor in U.S. history. He was re-elected in 1940 and 1942.
As Governor, he gained national reputation in 1940 by advocating
that the United States should become involved in the growing conflict
in Europe. Underscoring that conviction, he resigned in 1943 to
enlist in the Navy. Within months, he became aide to Adm. William
"Bull" Halsey, Commander of the U.S. South Pacific Force.
Ill. Bro. Stassen was decorated three times, awarded six major
battle stars, and put in charge of the Navy's prisoner of war
evacuation program in Japan at the end of World War II.
In 1945, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32°, sent him to San Francisco as part of the U.S. delegation to try to draft a Charter for the United Nations. Following the death of President Roosevelt, President Harry Truman, 33°, reappointed Ill. Stassen to the United Nations Charter Commission. He was the last surviving signatory of the original United Nations Charter. Later he served in President Eisenhower's Cabinet, on the National Security Council, and as Director of the Mutual Security Agency.
Raised a Master Mason on November 29, 1929, in Shekinah Lodge No. 171 in St. Paul, Ill. Stassen was installed as Master on January 14, 1939, just 11 days after being inaugurated as Governor. A member of the Valley of St. Paul while he was Governor, in recognition of his service to mankind and the nation, he was honored with the K.C.C.H. in 1945, 33° in 1987, and Grand Cross in 1997. As Ill. Stassen lay in state in the Capitol rotunda in St. Paul, state, civic, international, and fraternal leaders eulogized him as one who "truly gave of himself to make his state, nation, and world a better place." Time cannot erase the indelible mark Ill. Harold Edward Stassen, 33°, G.C., has left on the hearts and in the minds of all Scottish Rite Brethren.
International Freemasonry mourns
the passing on January 28, 2001, in Rome, Italy, of Ill. Elvio
Sciubba, 33°, G.C., who is survived by his beloved wife, Tila,
and two sons, Pietro and Enrico. A Economics graduate of the University
of Rome, Ill. Sciubba served in World War II as a Lieutenant in
the Italian Army Storm Troops in Yugoslavia and Libya and was
a P.O.W. in India where he first encountered Freemasonry. After
the war, his career led him to the post of Chief Controller, Italian
Treasury Department. As Grand Representative of our Supreme Council
near theirs, Ill. Sciubba was a strong friend of the Southern
Jurisdiction and a constant champion of worldwide Masonic unity
and progress. For over 30 years, Ill. Sciubba was a stabilizing
figure in the Grand Lodge of Italy, and, as Sovereign Grand Commander,
1989–91, he was a catalyst holding the Supreme Council of
Italy together during some very perilous times, such as the Italian
P-2 Lodge controversy in 1981. His thoughtful counsel and advice
enabled the Grand Masters of North America to deal with this situation
and accomplish an appropriate closure. In this case and in many
other matters over decades, his vast knowledge of worldwide Masonry
was freely offered and gratefully accepted by the North American
Conference of Grand Masters, particularly its committee on Recognition
of Foreign Lodges, and our Supreme Council, 33°.
Regarding the Scottish Rite, he single-handedly translated A Bridge to Light into the Italian language and for many years headed a distinguished Masonic publication, L'Incontro delle genti, which features articles, many of them about the Rite, translated simultaneously into Italian, English, German, and Spanish. Following the Cold War, Ill. Sciubba was instrumental in the re-establishment of the Scottish Rite in the emerging democracies of Eastern European, especially Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Hungary. Designated an Honorary Member of the Supreme Council in recognition of his many services to the Southern Jurisdiction, he was elected to the Scottish Rite's highest honor, the Grand Cross, in 1991.
Universal Freemasonry has lost a good friend and great advocate, but Ill. Elvio Sciubba's beneficial influence on global Freemasonry will live on for generations to come.