I Would Like To Thank The Academy

Yesterday was not a day to sleep in. It was an early day that, despite the long hours, seemed to fly by leaving me wondering where the day had gone. Having staggered out of bed around 5:30 in the morning, it was inevitable to have the feelings of “what the heck am I doing up at this hour.” But once I got on the road, I began to get excited for what I was going to learn that day about the craft.

After picking up one of my fellow brothers in Bryn Mawr, we slowly made our way westbound on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and through the twisting and turning roads of Lancaster County. Driving up to the impressive gates of the Masonic Village in Elizabethtown, we couldn’t help but be impressed by its grandeur and expanse. Fortunately, even though there were a few wrong and missed turns along the way, we made it to the meeting just as registration was opening up.

It didn’t take long before we ran into a few brothers we recognized and a couple that we knew by name which filled the first hour of the event with catching up and talking about our future plans both at the lodge, in freemasonry, and with Scottish Rite (both of us are still within our first year). However, what dominated the conversation was our excitement about the speakers that we were about to hear. For many of us, this was our first experience with the Academy of Masonic Knowledge and so we didn’t know what exactly to expect but, for me, having been to numerous other presentations and readings in and out of the masonic world I knew what we were in for and I was looking forward to it.

In a bit of a switch in the schedule, Brother Arturo DeHoyos, PM, was up first. While his original topic was going to be on Masonic Ritual, he decided to take advantage of the time of year and speak about the images of mortality in Freemasonry. Keep in mind that Brother Arturo is someone that, given his background and experience, you give him your undivided attention regardless of the subject matter. Brother Arturo DeHoyos, PM, is currently the Grand Archivist and Grand Historian of the Supreme Council, 33°, Scottish Rite of Freemasonry for the Southern Jurisdiction of the U.S.A., a member of the Executive Staff of the House of the Temple, and the Grand Archivist of the Grand College of Rites of the U.S.A. He is America's foremost authority on the history and rituals of the Scottish Rite, an author, editor, and translator of many books and articles on Freemasonry.

Needless to say, we were all left thinking about what we had seen and attempting to remember and process all the information that was given to us in a matter of 45 minutes. Shortly after his talk, we spent some time in a Q&A session that was, for lack of a better term, astounding. The amount of knowledge (and I am talking about pinpointing exact dates, people, events, resources, etc.) is something that I don’t think I have ever seen before and will never see again.

Appropriately, following the lively discussion with audience members (I was too much in awe of this man’s intellect to think of a question) we were given some time to digest by adjourning for lunch. Masonic meals at larger events have always been a great way to meet other Masons from all parts of the commonwealth. Doing so allows for greater fellowship both during that particular event as well as future events when you may run into them again.

 

With our stomachs full and much left to process in our minds we were on our way back upstairs to hear the second speaker of the day, Brother John Belton, PM, who spoke on The English Masonic Union of 1813. This was a topic of great interest to all in the room as we are a unique group of masons that differs greatly in ritual as compared to all other parts of the United States and much of the world the only exception being that of the Grand Lodge of Ireland. Given my Irish ancestry, I was intrigued by what I might find out in this presentation.

To give you some background, Brother John Belton, PM has been a regular writer on topics of current interest relating to the role of Freemasonry in society. In 1998 he became the founding Senior Warden of Internet Lodge No. 9659 UGLE. His research has focused on the decline of Freemasonic membership across the English speaking world and has been published in AQC and Heredom. His most recent book, The English Masonic Union of 1813, was published in 2012.

It is a fascinating discussion and one that I look forward to exploring further as I read his book which I purchased at the meeting. I am also curious as to the relationship between Irish and English ritual since the union in 1813 and whether there are slight differences in the rituals of Northern Ireland given their ties both to Ireland and Great Britain. While we discussed the lack of a noticeable difference stemming from a question I posed in the second Q&A session it is still something that I believe is worth exploring further.

Both of the presenters left me with a great sense of uniqueness in the masonic world. Having heard my heritage spoken about (both the Irish and German sides were explored in vastly different ways) and the singular nature of Pennsylvania rituals in the United States, I could help but feel uniquely privileged for being a part of something that holds such a substantial role in the history of the brotherhood. It is this feeling that I look forward to sharing with my fellow brothers at my lodge and something that I look forward to exploring further both in my own reading and research as well as at addition meeting of the academy.

Give Your State Capitol A Chance!

For our last overnight trip of the summer we decided to go to visit the capitol of our commonwealth (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania). I can’t remember the last time I was in the city and there were a couple of things that piqued our interest namely the state museum and the state archives. So with those two things on the agenda we made the two hour drive to the seat of Commonwealth politics.

Fortunately, our drive was uneventful and we made great time getting to the hotel. The Crowne Plaza was packed on Friday night and it took a little bit of weaving through the lobby to check in but once we got up there things went smoothly and we were on our way to the room. When we walking into the lobby we noticed immediately that it seemed a little dated but it was well maintained and clean so it really wasn’t an issue and when we got to the room we were downright amused. Opening the door we were immediately transported back to the mid 80’s which led me to give the establishment its new nickname, the “Back to the Future” hotel.

We didn’t stay in the room long before we were back out the door as I had arranged for a quick meeting a few blocks away. It only took us about 10 minutes to make our way to State Street and while Samantha was simply humoring me, I enjoyed the very quick tour of the State Republican Headquarters located a block away from the capitol building. After about 15-20 minutes we were out the door and on our way again. This time we headed to a more recent addition to our agenda that we came across the previous week when we picked up some brochures at one of the many rest stops we have visited over the last few months, The Midtown Scholar Bookstore, a new and used book store on North Third Street.

While my wife was unable to find any books that she wanted to pick up, I was able to find a few volumes that I know I will be using in the near future both as free reading and for genealogy research. I picked up a couple of Samuel Hazo poetry collections, my favorite poet, and a collection of Civil War naval correspondences both of which I am looking forward to reading. We did eventually find a book for my wife – it wasn’t Wizard of Oz but it was by Baum. A pretty good, and inexpensive, haul.

Books in hand and camera at the ready, we decided to walk across to the Susquehanna River and walk along the bank back to the hotel.

The streets and paths were beginning to quiet down…

…the bridges seemed almost void of cars…

… and the paddle boat set sail for a final lap along the coast (as you may recall we took a different paddle boat cruise on the Susquehanna River during our trip to Williamsport).

It was a perfect evening for walking…

…as the summer heat had faded to something that felt more like late September rather than early August…

 

…the breeze was swaying the trees along the river’s edge…

…and the sun highlighted both the water and the sky with yellow and orange hues.  

That was our evening entertainment as we made our way down the winding coastal path. As we turned back in toward the reenergized city center the quiet of the river dissolved into the distance. Soon we found ourselves back at the hotel and after a not so quick dinner we headed off to bed to rest up for the next day.

The following morning we got off to a nice easy start by going down to the lobby for breakfast before heading over to the misnamed State Museum of Pennsylvania located across the street from the capitol building. After checking out and leaving our luggage at the front desk, we made our way out the front door and over to Third Street. This is when we discovered that Harrisburg turns into a ghost town on the weekend which was a bit eerie but it made for a pleasant stroll and the freedom to stop and take pictures every once in a while without getting run into by other people.

When you enter the museum you are immediately greeted by a large statue of William Penn…

…with a mural wrapped around his shoulders on the second floor landing.

After paying the admission fee we climbed up to the third floor (of three exhibit floors) and started making our way down. The first series of showcases focused on the natural aspects of the land such as topography, geology, and the wildlife that was and is part of the commonwealth. For us, this is not of much interest so we made our way rather quickly from one end to the other and took the escalator down to the second level where we spent much more time going from one display to the next.

Beginning with the Indian tribes that lived in this land we walked through full sized models of dwellings and cases of artifacts collected and excavated from various parts of the state. One interesting example of bead work clearly demonstrates the modern day bastardization of what once had a completely different meaning and definition. What was once used by tribes to represent a wandering clan (Hopi)or as a symbol for a whirling log (a sacred image used in healing rituals by the Navajo) is now associated with one of the greatest forces of evil that this world has ever known.

Moving forward in time, the exhibits shifted into a more modern era as different modes of transportation were on full display ranging from the classic Conestoga wagon…

…to Andrew Carnegie’s opulent coach…

…with its plush interior and ornate details…

…to an electric powered ice truck.

And, of course, there was a rather large room set aside to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. I will limit the details as this was the central topic to my previous travel post and, because flash photography was prohibited, many of the pictures did not fare well in the poorly lit room. So I will simply leave you with another picture of a cannon which greeted us as we passed through the threshold and into the unique collection.

Having one more stop to make in the day we sped things up a bit and made our way down to the ground floor and into the art gallery (no pictures) and through the colonial street recreation which was a very dark night type scene.

This led us back to the entrance and after a quick walk through the gift shop we made our way next door. Overall, the museum is a decent overview but is in dire need of an overhaul both in content and concept as many research developments have been made and public interests have changed since 1972.  

The rest of our afternoon was spent at the State Archives with the purpose of both familiarizing ourselves with archive work and attempting to do some genealogical research. While we feel much more comfortable with the process and have a better understanding of the time it takes to sift through the panels, pages, and files of records we didn’t find much in the way of family documents. We will be making some local county trips in the near future to further our research.

With a few photocopies in hand it was time to head back to the hotel, pick up our bags and our car, and go home. It wasn’t the best trip we’ve been on and it certainly wasn’t the worst. And just like many other destinations we have been to over the year, it may not have been the most beautiful place to go but it had its moments.