Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
In 1921 Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Made a side trip to Little Rock to settle on the Scottish Rite Temple. I hope to be able to close the contract very soon. I enjoyed the trip as I saw some very interesting old buildings.” He later returned to Little Rock that summer, writing, “I spent a week and closed the contract for $9,548.00.” This was a verbal closure and all preliminary; the final contract would not be signed until 1923.
Scottish Rite scenery projects were massive and sometimes took years to land, and months to actually paint. Masonic stock scenery collections were often more than twice the size of that delivered to a commercial theater, ranging from 80 to 120 drops with dozens of set pieces. Masons did not always understand what they were purchasing or receiving, so the numbers went up and down as specific settings were added or removed during contract negotiations. I am beginning to realize that there were few Scottish Rite Masons who understood the complexity of what was delivered or how to effectively use it. During the early twentieth century, the company selling the product often sent a representative to help stage and run the scenery during the first Scottish Rite reunion. Masonic stagehands were instructed in the appropriate handling of drops and the set up for stage effects.
By the time Scottish Rite Valleys purchased a second set of scenery, often from the same firm, there was no longer training offered with the installation. In some ways this is understandable; members were familiar with using painted settings for degree work. However, as time passed much information became lost in translation. It is like playing a game of telephone with a bunch of older white men, some hard of hearing; important information gets dropped and what made sense in the beginning becomes something entirely different. Even the origins of the scenery become a little murky or completely lost.
To be continued…
