Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center – Page 2

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Acquiring The Fort Scott Scottish Rite Scenery for the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center, part 7.

While Wendy Waszut-Barrett is traveling for research and art acquisitions (October 14-29, 2017) she is reposting the first fifteen installments from “Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar Acquiring: The Fort Scott Scottish Rite Scenery for the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center.” Here is her seventh post from February 21, 2017.

Part 7: Arriving in Fort Scott

On November 1, 2015, I drove into the parking lot of the Fort Scott Sleep Inn & Suites. This would be my home for the next three weeks. After unloading all of my supplies and setting up the suite as my out-of-town office, I contacted the local Scottish Rite representative. He welcomed me to town and offered to take me out for dinner at a local restaurant. He and his wife picked my up at 6:00 PM and we headed to a local bar and restaurant called Sharky’s. By the end of my stay in Fort Scott, I would have sampled everything offered on the Sharky’s menu.

“A plate full of fried miniature deliciousness” describing the Mini Tacos & Burritos on the Sharky’s menu in Fort Scott, Kansas. This would make me chuckle every time that I read it in the evening.

I learned that John’s wife was the current mayor of the town, and they both were intellectuals. The couple had heavily invested in Fort Scott over the years, not only at the Scottish Rite, but also in the downtown area where there were continued attempts at revitalization. They had recently purchased a local storefront on Main Street and had high hopes for an upward swing in business, also being part owners in the Sleep Inn & Suites.

I was invited to a variety of upcoming social events, but had to respectfully decline – noting that I would have my hands full with supervising the scenery removal.

They also wanted to share a recent situation that had occurred in the Scottish Rite Theatre concerning a local resident who had lived in the building for a while. I was being told this tale as I might notice some things that appeared odd since my last visit – like a couch that had been placed in the balcony area. There were two reasons for sharing this story, the first was to suggest that the scenery might have been handled during the lodger’s stay. The second reason to share the story was my safety and the safety of my crew. Although I was assured that they were in possession of all building keys, I was to keep an eye out for uninvited visitors. If anyone was to enter the space not associated with the Scottish Rite, I was to contact John right away. This caused me some uneasiness about our upcoming working environment and what we were walking into as there might be more going on, such as a hostile undercurrent resulting from the sale of the scenery.

I was representing a business with millions of dollars at our disposal taking one of the last things of value from this small town. During our August visit, the CEO had made clear that Minnesota Masonic Charities’ had deep pockets to fund this endeavor; they could write a check for any amount to both purchase and restore the collection.

Fort Scott was an economically depressed community with a median income of $18,000-$24,000 per year, and the pride of the community was at stake. This had once been a booming town of industry and there were reminders everywhere of their thriving past. It could become a difficult project if we were not fully welcomed by the local citizens. It was a small enough town to realize that everyone knew what was going on in the community and all of the new projects– especially our initial offer to purchase the entire scenery collection for $2,500.

The mayor asked if I would be amenable to a newspaper interview. We discussed how this entire endeavor must remain a positive and noble effort to preserve the material heritage of both Fort Scott and the Fraternity. Not a large business swooping in to gut the town.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Acquiring The Fort Scott Scottish Rite Scenery for the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center, part 6.

Part 6: Scenery Storage

Prior to my departure for Kansas, I had difficulty in locating an appropriate storage space for the incoming Fort Scott scenery acquisition. I needed a climate-controlled space for eighty drops, measuring 28’ long by 12’ wide. Furthermore, we needed to be able to back up a 30’ truck directly to the loading door. Transferring each 100-pound tube from the truck to the storage unit would be impossible if we had to navigate narrow corridors. The rolled backdrops and other scenic elements would be temporarily stored in this facility prior to their restoration and final installation in the new Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center for the grand opening on June 24, 2016.

All of my initial research suggested that finding a space to accommodate the Fort Scott scenery collection would be difficult at best. Not because these units were non-existent, but because of the logistics necessary to navigate the long rolls into any of the available storage bays that were climate-controlled. I also had come to the conclusion that we would need a minimum of two storage units – each holding a 6’-0” x 8’-0” custom-constructed system with 12” x 12” slots to accommodate each scenery tube. This design was similar to the one that I had used for the Winona Scottish Rite scenery project in 2014.

Historical scenery shelving unit to temporarily store the historical scenery collection in the City of Winona’s Masonic Theatre. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, August 2014.

In September of 2015, I provided technical drawings to the CEO for the construction of two historical scenery storage units. He contracted Outhouse Exhibit Services, the same company that was hired to build all MMHC museum displays and who would eventually restore the Fort Scott scenery. Although the company had never handled any historic scenery before, the owner’s husband felt confident about building and installing the two storage racks based on my specifications. They would be placed prior to my arrival with the drops.

One of my greatest challenges as Curatorial Director for the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center was the lack of any supportive staff during the planning and construction of the complex. Since starting in my position as Curatorial Director on June 1, 2015, I was consistently working 50 hours or more each week. My job was only a part-time position, however, for 30 hours each week. My expertise in various areas meant that I was constantly called upon to weigh in on many of the projects pertaining to both the design and construction of the complex. There were too many tasks for one part-time person to complete, especially the time-consuming one of locating two scenery storage units. This job should have been able to be competed by anyone with time, something that I did not have while planning and preparing for my departure to Kansas. It was the only task pertaining to the scenery acquisition that I did not directly oversee. I would later regret having delegated it to anyone else. During late August of 2015, I handed off this one responsibility to the general director at the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center.

On October 8, the general director confirmed that he had finally located a climate-controlled storage unit in Bloomington, Minnesota. It was a secure space, measuring 10’ x 30’, with drive up access for a reasonable fee. I immediately reminded him that we would need at least two of these units as the entire collection could not fit into a single space, again mentioning that I was concerned with navigating the 25’ tubes into the storage rack. I specified the need to back a 30’ vehicle adjacent to the door of the storage unit and directly unload the drops into each storage system.

BellaTEX requested information pertaining to the space where they would be delivering the scenery collection in late October. After arriving in Fort Scott, I engaged in a daily ritual of asking the general director for pictures of the storage unit to pass along to the BellaTEX team. The general director’s standard response was “Don’t worry about it.” I did worry, as I could not provide any specific information or images as requested by the owner of BellaTEX. Out of growing concern at being able to provide the necessary information to the transportation crew, I ended up reaching out to the Outhouse Exhibit carpenter who would have to measure the storage units prior to effectively proceeding with the construction and installation of the storage racks.

On November 12, the Outhouse Exhibit Services’ carpenter sent the following email:

“Hello all, The length of the drops while rolled up is 25 feet. It will be difficult to turn them into the space as things are configured at that location because you would need to turn them in a 22 foot wide space…”

This news was a harbinger of doom, as we now had no space to store the scenery collection once it reached Minnesota. The project was nearing completion. We had removed the majority of the scenes and were starting to roll the drops for transportation. The scenery would arrive in Minnesota on Monday, November 24. It was a terrible situation for all involved and there was no solution in sight.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Acquiring The Fort Scott Scottish Rite Scenery for the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center, part 5.

Part 5: Delays

Time was running out to secure a rigging crew and order the necessary supplies to transport the Fort Scott scenery collection to Minnesota. The search for a licensed and insured company to participate in this endeavor started two months earlier in August, when I initially estimated all of expenses associated with the project. Unfortunately, my preferred ETCP rigger and owner of 20/20 Theatrical, Paul Sannerud, was not available for the project. The next best option was Ty Prewitt, founder and owner of BellaTEX in Jackson, Tennessee (http://bellatex.com/).

Ty Prewitt, founder and owner of BellaTEX.

BellaTEX website at http://bellatex.com/

Wendy Waszut-Barrett with Ty Prewitt and Amanda Zimmerman of BellaTEX at USITT, March 2017.

Regardless of how well I knew and respected Prewitt, my worries stemmed from working with an unfamiliar crew. These men might not understand historical scenery and the careful handling of each drop as it was removed from a line.

It was not until October 2 that the CEO accepted Prewitt’s initial estimation for the removal and transportation of this collection, starting November 1. This was not a signed contract and meant that there would be another delay. The final contract was not submitted until October 15, 2015, and not signed until October 26 – a mere six days before my departure. Since September, there had been continued negotiations concerning insurance and liability, specifically addressing concerns of “who” would insure the drops during removal, transportation, and their unloading into storage bays? We were losing time and the project was in jeopardy.

My largest concern continued to remain the weather in Kansas. In Fort Scott, we would be working in an unheated building for three weeks without water. Due to the size of the theatre and height of the fly loft, it would be extremely difficult to heat the space. I knew that it would be a cool working environment, but desperately hoped that it would not become too frigid.

On October 26, I received confirmation that the contract was finally signed. I immediately emailed both BellaTEX and our Fort Scott representative to nail down all of the logistics surrounding my arrival and the commencement of the project. I booked rooms and ordered all of the supplies with my own credit card, as I was never provided a company one. This should have been a red flag for me as all of the other employees had company credit cards, offices in the main complex, and a desktop computer. I had none of these. I was offered a workspace in the basement and used my own laptop. In terms of expenses, I was to submit receipts for reimbursement at the end of the project. Regardless of the circumstances, I put my nose to the grindstone and hoped to meet all of the impending deadlines.

To put this scenery acquisition in perspective necessitates looking at my contributions during 2015 as both a Historical Consultant and the MMHC Curatorial Director. My plate was full with numerous MMHC projects during the planning and initial construction of the complex. All of my duties as an independent historical consultant simply carried over into my new role as Curatorial Director. Many of the responsibilities outlined in my job description as Curatorial Director would not begin until after the center opened on June 24, 2016. This was still eight months away.

For fifteen months, I had already worked nonstop with architects, interior designers, theatre consultants, and others to provide insight and examples of historic ornamentation, color palettes, painted décor, or other decorative details standard for Masonic edifices constructed between 1910 and 1930. I had also directed the theatrical consulting firm of Schuler Shook to create a Scottish Rite stage for an anticipated historical collection. This meant replicating an historical counterweight rigging system that could accommodate dozens of drops on lines spaced 4” apart, on center. A custom system was designed for the drops while motorized lines were used for the electrics.

Besides directing these visual elements, I had also functioned as a Masonic scholar, designing the thematic layout and selecting artifacts for the six-gallery museum exhibit planned for the opening, working with other Masonic scholars from Washington, D.C. to finalize the majority of graphics and text panels prior to my departure. In addition to both artistic and scholarly endeavors, I worked with the Director of Communications for Minnesota Masonic Charities as she continued to develop the MMHC website and marketing of this new corporate identity. I had been pulled into this aspect as I would be the first “employee of interest,” a marketing strategy to constantly keep MMHC in the news both before and after the opening. Part of this role meant participating in local radio interviews to raise awareness of the MMHC mission.

The scenery collection was simply another acquisition for the center and not the main focus of my job. Earlier acquisitions had included the St. Paul Scottish Rite Library composed of approximately 10,000 items that would form the basis for the MMHC library. I loved historic scenery, but the Fort Scott Scottish Rite collection was just one more task to complete on a pile of directives that was overflowing.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Acquiring The Fort Scott Scottish Rite Scenery for the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center, Part 4.

Part 4: The Art of the Deal – A Final Offer

The Valley of Fort Scott rejected the CEO’s $2500 donation for the scenery, countering with a request of $25,000 for the entire collection. They believed that selling drops for approximately $300 each was a very reasonable price. Although, if we did not want to pay that sum, they were willing to take their chances and auction off the backdrops individually, thus splitting up the collection.

The CEO was furious with this counter-offer and rationalized that their demand for more money was greedy and un-Masonic. He was ready to walk away from the entire offer and go with anything else that morning when I arrived at his office. It took over an hour to explain why this was a sound investment and would ultimately preserve an important artifact of Scottish Rite history. Midway through our conversation, I decided to take another approach; the price was still a “bargain” as even the fabric would cost more than $300 for each drop. That logic seemed to work.
The CEO agreed to the sum of $25,000. However, he stated that the transaction would be a “purchase” and not any kind of “donation.” I was directed to email a response to the Valley of Fort Scott, making sure they knew that WE were the ones preserving fraternal history and not selling it for profit. Inside my head, I could only think, “One gain for preserving theatre history, one loss for the Fraternity as a whole.”

This exchange was just one more incident that added to my growing uneasiness concerning the overall endeavor and working for the CEO of Minnesota Masonic Charities. Every interaction seemed to be based on winning a battle and not the actual preservation of fraternal history. I started to believe that none of my colleagues really understood the significance of this acquisition or any others that would be on display in the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center.

The next morning, on September 3, 2015, at 9:40 I composed a response and emailed our acceptance:
“Dear John,
It would be a disservice to both Freemasonry and Bro. Thomas G. Moses to auction off individual backdrops. To honor both the Fraternity and Bro. Moses’ contributions we agree to pay the requested sum of $25,000, thus preserving our combined cultural heritage. In addition to purchasing your collection, we will invest the necessary $250,000 to remove the scenery from your theatre, transport it to Minnesota, and restore the collection for many future generations to enjoy. We will need to schedule a lengthy time frame to remove the scenes, clean them, roll them onto tubes, and transport them to our storage facility. This process takes approximately three weeks with four people working full-time. This lengthy timeframe onsite is due to the fragility of the pieces and the safety of our workers.
Please draw up the necessary paperwork for the transfer of all 80 painted drops and all ancillary painted set pieces to the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center.
Sincerely,
Wendy Waszut-Barrett, Ph.D.
Curatorial Director, Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center”

The contract was for the sale of personal property between the “Joabert Lodge of Perfection of the Valley of Fort Scott, Orient of Kansas, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite” and “Minnesota Masonic Historical Society and Museum.” It was not finalized until October 16, 2017. This was the first in a series of contractual delays that fall. Time was running out to secure a rigging crew and order the necessary supplies before I left town on November 1. Something wasn’t right and I couldn’t exactly put my finger on it.

Fort Scott, Kansas, one of many western forts in a chain.

Informational placard outside of Fort Scott.

Throughout the fall, I continued to reflect on our Fort Scott road trip. Why drive me such a long distance if I could only spend a few hours in the Fort Scott Scottish Rite Theatre to evaluate the scenery for conditions and feasibility of transportation? I had been very up front that I needed an entire day to evaluate the collection, eight hours at a minimum.

Why had I not been sent alone to evaluate the scenery? It would have taken me the exact same amount of time – three days to travel, evaluate, and return – as I would not have ventured on to Guthrie? I was on salary for 30 hours a week, so there was no additional expense beyond my travel and lodging. It certainly would have been less expensive than sending four of us with four hotel rooms and all of our meals.

Plus, the additional “side trip” to Guthrie, Oklahoma for a nice steak dinner and a brief tour of the Masonic Temple was nice, but completely unnecessary. It also meant that we had to leave Fort Scott by noon to get to Guthrie on our second of three days. Bob Davis knew of our coming, but didn’t go out of his way to do anything other than a generic tour. It made no sense at all.

Later, I would come to realize that not demanding to take the necessary time to complete a proper evaluation would mean that our representative had failed to lower fourteen drops; ones that I had not caught in the three-hour rush. These were tied off scenes and our representative had made no mention of their absence during the evaluation. The collection was not comprised of the 80 drops that I photographed, but instead 94 instead.

Furthermore, many scenes did not contain the standard leg drop, cut drop and backdrop. In most cases, a painted cyclorama formed the final layer in a stage picture. This would become problematic in both rolling and transporting the collection due to the dirt that accumulated on the netting. I also knew that the inclusion of a painted cyclorama would have to be included in the scenery installation at the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Acquiring The Fort Scott Scottish Rite Scenery for the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center, Part 3.

Part 3: The Art of the Deal – An Initial Offer

By noon on our second day, I assured the CEO that the Fort Scott Scottish Rite scenery was in beautiful shape, historically significant, and that it should withstand any rigors of removal and transportation. Negotiations immediately began onsite before our departure between the Minnesota Masonic Charities CEO and the Valley of Fort Scott representative.

The art of the deal during August 2015 to purchase the Fort Scott Scottish Rite scenery collection for the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center.

The CEO offered the local Scottish Rite Representative $2,500 for the entire collection. He jokingly noted that this amount was more than twice that the Valley of New Orleans received for their collection that previous June. I saw the look of profound disappointment on our host’s face and couldn’t help but feel sorry for both him and the Valley. Our Fort Scott representative promised to take the offer to the Valley and said that they would respond soon.

I wanted to remind all parties that regardless of the price, the money for the scenery should be a donation and not a direct purchase. A purchase would establish a “market value” for the collection and negatively affect other historical scenery collections nationwide. My greatest fear at the time, as is now, would be that all future damage occurring to historical scenery collections and their subsequent insurance claims would take into account the “market value.” Of significant import is the fact that the same insurance company covers ALL Scottish Rite theaters. Until June 2015, insurance claims were primarily based on their “replacement value” and not market value.

The majority of my replacement appraisals for entire Scottish Rite collections are between 1 million and 1.5 million dollars. Prior to the New Orleans scenery collection purchase for $1000, there had been no available information concerning the “sale” of Masonic scenery to reference. This is like the Scottish Rite shooting itself in the foot with a semiautomatic when the scenery sells for little or nothing.

Looking up at the Scottish Rite scenery collection in Fort Scott, Kansas. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, 2015.

Some of the counterweight lines for the Scottish Rite scenery collection at Fort Scott, Kansas, before the drops were moved to Minnesota. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, 2015.

Over the years, I had battled with this same insurance company on behalf of many other Valleys when collections were damaged from leaking roofs and burst pipes. Two past examples were Danville, Virginia and Yankton, South Dakota when each of their scenery collections suffered from water damage. In each instance the insurance company had initially offered very little to even repair the damage.

Detail of damage on Scottish Rite Camp Scene roll drop in Danville, Virginia. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, 2010.

A further practical consideration concerns ensuing damage. This means that the water damage to scenery affects neighboring drops, ones that are not water damaged, thus causing ensuing damage to the remainder of a collection. The dusting pigment, as a result from water damage, coats the remainder of the drops after becoming airborne. This is also hazardous to the performer’s lungs or anyone else below on the stage.

Dusting pigment on a drop that has been lowered to the ground. Pigment flakes off when the binder for the color is not longer active. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, 2010.

My past work has always been driven by a desire to preserve a heritage that goes beyond any one individual or community. I have always tried to educate unsuspecting stewards of these large –scale art collections. My belief is that if the owners of historical scenery collections understand the cultural significance of their material heritage, they will take care of the artifacts. They only need the information to make an informed decision, but not everyone wants to hear what you have to say.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Acquiring The Fort Scott Scottish Rite Scenery for the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center, part 2.

For additional installments, visit www.drypigment.net

Part 2: Road Trip to Fort Scott

In mid-August of 2015, I climbed into the CEO’s vehicle and left for a road trip to Fort Scott, Kansas and Guthrie, Oklahoma. My two other travel companions were the general director for the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center and a local Scottish Rite Mason. At the time, I was the Curatorial Director for the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center. It was planned as a three-day trip and we arrived at Fort Scott on the evening of the first day. After dinner, we strolled around the down town area near the abandoned Scottish Rite complex. Businesses had closed and many of the buildings were boarded up. The most interesting aspect of the town’s layout was the National Park that capped the end of Main Street – the old “fort” of Fort Scott. Flowers in hanging baskets above the town’s brick sidewalks, however, suggested that some residents were trying to keep their downtown area alive.

Photograph of hanging baskets with floor along Main Street in Fort Scott, Kansas. Photograph taken during Wendy Waszut-Barrett’s evaluation of the Scottish Rite scenery collection during August of 2015.

The Scottish Rite had been vacant for over a year, but the windows on the west side of the building were open. I would later learn that this half of the complex was once a bank. I started to wonder how the open windows and a humid environment had affected the 1924 scenery collection. Had painted scenery been compromised if birds or bats were in the theater, let alone insects or other animals. I knew that most of the Scottish Rite’s artifacts had been auctioned off well over a year ago and sitting in many private homes across the country.

The scenery was the last thing in the building that could remind visitors of Fort Scott’s booming past. Fort Scott had once competed in both size and industry with Kansas City, but that was over a century ago. I had an impending sense of dread when I contemplated the possible removal and transportation of the scenery, realizing that we may be the ones to remove the final “spark” from the downtown area. For me, removing scenery from line sets and putting it into storage was similar a soul leaving the body; only an empty shell remained. I encountered this feeling the previous year when Paul Sannerud and I had put the entire Winona, Minnesota, Masonic scenery collection into storage. At the time, I wondered if that collection would ever see the light of day again.

Photograph taken during August of 2014 when Wendy Waszut-Barrett and Paul Sannerud were hired by the City of Winona to place their Masonic scenery collection into temporary storage, The it was to await restoration while the leaking roof was repaired.

On the morning of the second day, we left the hotel to meet our Fort Scott Scottish Rite contact. He owned a local jewelry shop and was once the Personal Representative for the Scottish Rite Valley in Fort Scott. He opened the building and explained that there were no working toilets. Only the electricity had been left on. My stomach churned just a little bit as this meant that removing the drops would be a nightmare. I recalled the grimy coating on the Winona drops and how our brief lavatory breaks to wash up were essential during the scenery removal process. That wouldn’t be an option for this project.

Entrance to Fort Scott Scottish Rite theater. Photograph taken during scenery evaluation by Wendy Waszut-Barrett during August 2015.

I carried my camera up the winding staircase to the second floor theatre. Even as an abandoned building, it was still stunning and held a type of aged beauty that you seldom encounter in many contemporary buildings. Our host turned on the stage lights and lowered the first scene. It was absolutely stunning. Over the next few hours, I worked tirelessly to document as many important aspects of the collection and space. These images would be used for reference when evaluating the condition of the collection and feasibility of transporting it to Minnesota.

Photograph taken by Wendy Waszut-Barrett during evaluation of Fort Scott Scottish Rite scenery collection to determine its condition for purchase by the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center, August 2015.

Details from the Fort Scott Scottish Rite scenery collection when it was hanging on the Masonic stage in Fort Scott, Kansas. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett during scenery evaluation in August 2015.

I was shocked to find no apparent signs of water damage. Later, I would realize that the reason for the lack of damage was due to the placement of the smoke doors above the stage. They had been placed off to the side of the stage and not directly above the scenery. Most fire doors are placed above the central stage area and immediately above painted scenery. In case of a fire, the fire curtain drops and the doors open, thus preventing the fire from spreading to the auditorium. In Fort Scott, the fire doors were positioned over the stage left area so that any leaking water during a rain storm did not fall onto the stage area. How brilliant.

Excitement grew as I realized that Fort Scott was one of a handful of collections that remained untouched by water damage and was in almost pristine condition. Only a very heavy layer of contamination was detectable on the front and back of each drop. I estimated that this contamination would include soot from heating systems, bat guano, flash powder, Masonry dust, and many other unknown contaminants – all common for historical scenery. I started to suspect that this was probably one of the most important Scottish Rite collections in the United States, produced by a single artist, and in remarkable shape. The size would also make it adaptable to the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center too, just a little too large! My excitement continued as I completed the evaluation that morning.

For me, scenery evaluations are always time-consuming endeavors, typically taking one or two weeks to complete from start to finish. I photograph the front and back of each drop, noting details of damaged areas and any written information. I start every evaluation project with extensive research concerning that particular Scottish Rite and the origin of the Valley; maybe even delving into the arrival of Freemasonry in that State. My job is to “put Humpty Dumpty back together again;” giving the owners of any historical collection an understanding of what originally arrived on their doorstep, its current condition, and cultural significance.

It typically takes me between ten and thirty minutes to record the necessary information for each drop. Then I pair up the scenes to create appropriate settings for the degree productions, as many that the members are unfamiliar with much of the scenery hanging above their stage. In most cases scenery for some degree productions hasn’t been lowered for decades. After a typical two-day to three-day onsite evaluation, I spend another week examining the compiling a written evaluation and appraisal.

For Fort Scott, I was only allotted the time between breakfast at the hotel and lunch to complete an onsite examination and documentation of over eighty drops. The downloading of images, pairing of drops, and everything else would happen in the car while on the road. Unlike other evaluations, this one also needed to verify if the scenery collection would work for the Minneapolis and St. Paul Scottish Rite Valleys once they moved into the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center facility as I was repeatedly told by the CEO. Furthermore, I needed to include a complete estimation for any anticipated expenses associated with the removal, transportation, storage, and restoration of the collection after an initial purchase. This would all be done during the remaining sixteen-hour drive and while working in my hotel room at night. I needed more time but could not get the CEO to change his mind about delaying our stay.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Acquiring the Fort Scott Scottish Rite Scenery for the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center, part 1.

While Wendy Waszut-Barrett is traveling for research and art acquisitions from October 14-29 she is reposting fifteen installments from “Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar Acquiring The Fort Scott Scottish Rite Scenery for the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center.” Here is my first post from February 15, 2017, as we leave at 3AM!

Part 1: Early Contacts with the Valley of Fort Scott

Main Street in Fort Scott, Kansas. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, August 2015.

My initial contact with the Fort Scott Scottish Rite began long before any involvement with the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center (MMHC). I received a call from the Sovereign Grand Inspector General (SGIG) of Kansas during the fall of 2011, asking about the market value of historic scenery. He was hoping that I could provide a complete evaluation of their scenery collection as they were preparing to sell the building and wanted an estimate on what the drops were worth. Due to a lack of funding, the evaluation and appraisal never took place.

Fort Scott Scottish Rite. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, August 2015.

By the fall of 2011, I had founded and was actively running a scenery restoration company, Bella Scena, LLC, and had restored over 500 historical backdrops nationwide. From a Masonic standpoint, I was an active Scottish Rite Research Society Member (SRRS), guest speaker at the 2003 SRRS meeting during the Biennial Supreme Council Session in Washington, D.C., and a published author in “Heredom,” “Scottish Rite Journal,” “Theatre Design and Technology” and other publications. Additionally, I had been awarded a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, with my doctoral thesis being “Scenic Shifts Upon the Scottish Rite Stage: Designing for Masonic Theatre, 1859-1929.” I was also a freelance scenic artist and set designer.

After 2011, Fort Scott popped up again on my radar during January of 2014 when I assessed water damage at the Yankton Scottish Rite in South Dakota. The Masons told me about an auction being planned to liquidate all of the Fort Scott Scottish Rite assets that coming summer. We spoke of my attending the auction with some of the men as the Yankton Scottish Rite was interested in purchasing the collection and retrofitting it for their space. Unfortunately, the date of the auction coincided with a family wedding on the east coast and Fort Scott once again faded from my radar.

During the spring of 2015, Rick Boychuk, author of “Nobody Looks Up, the History of Counterweight Rigging Systems, 1500-1925,” contacted me after examining the Fort Scott Scottish Rite theatre rigging system.

Rick Boychuk’s book. Here is a link for information about the author and options for purchasing his book: http://www.counterweightrigging.com/

We discussed the installation as a whole and its historic significance in both the evolution of counterweight rigging systems and the design of Masonic scenery. Boychuk mentioned that the Valley of Fort Scott was contemplating another auction – one to sell their remaining asset – the scenery collection.

At this same time, I had been directed by the CEO of Minnesota Masonic Charities to locate a Scottish Rite scenery collection for purchase and display at the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center. It was still in the planning and early construction stage. I was looking out of the state, as the Valleys in both St. Paul and Minneapolis would not have folded in time for the opening of MMHC– making those collections unavailable for the space. MMHC was being set up to accommodate both Valleys when they merged and each sold their buildings, as explained by the CEO of Minnesota Masonic Charities.

The Fort Scott collection was one of only two Scottish Rite scenery collections available at that time nationwide that could be restored in time for the opening of the building on January 24, 2016. The other Scottish Rite scenery collection was located in New Orleans, Louisiana.

During the spring of 2015, I contacted a fellow Scottish Rite Research Society member and the SGIG of Louisiana to help me attain images of the New Orleans Scottish Rite scenery collection. The New Orleans collection was posted online as “free,” and advertised through the League of Historic American Theatres (LHAT) page. I had received this information as my company was an allied service provider to LHAT. My contact with the New Orleans Valley Secretary stalled and I never received any information concerning their actual scenery inventory. That is why I turned to the Louisiana SGIG for help. Unfortunately, the entire scenery collection had been already sold for small sum of $1000 without the knowledge of the SGIG. It was sold to a group in Austin during June of 2015.

My search for a Scottish Rite scenery collection to display at Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center resumed in full force with the threat that were only one year away from opening and a space had been designed to accommodate an historical scenery collection. I focused solely on researching the artistic provenance of the Fort Scott scenery collection, using my previous contact information from the initial call made by the Kansas SGIG in 2011. Luckily, the local representative remembered me and we scheduled an onsite visit to evaluate the collections for possible removal, transportation and restoration. By June 2015, I had also accepted the job as Curatorial Director for Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center.

The General Director of Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center and a local Scottish Rite mason accompanied the CEO and myself to both Fort Scott and Guthrie, Oklahoma. Guthrie was a side trip to do “a little research” for interior decoration pertaining to possible architectural ornamentation for the new building. Previous travels had brought us to Detroit, Michigan for MMHC architectural ornamentation research and to Washington D.C. In D.C. we examined other Masonic museums and fraternal displays. In DC, I also I pitched the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center museum project to nationally-recognized Masonic scholars as the CEO was interested in hiring someone who could contribute name recognition and credibility to the entire endeavor.

Wendy Waszut-Barrett with S. Brent Morris, February 2015.

Wendy Waszut-Barrett with Sean Graystone and Art DeHoyos, February 2015.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 161 – Thomas G. Moses, Son of a Son of a Sailor

When I first viewed the damaged Fort Scott scenery at the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center, I kept thinking, “They really don’t really understand the significance of the artist or this acquisition.” Why would anyone leave the repair and hanging of these large scale paintings to inexperienced hands? At the time, it was difficult to wrap my mind around the CEO’s final decision, especially after I had repeatedly explained the importance of this unique artist and his work.

Up to this point in my tale, I have presented information about the history of the collection, its components, the removal and transportation from Kansas to Minnesota, its subsequent destruction during an attempted restoration, and the many other manufacturers of painted illusion. I will now examine the talented individual who designed and painted the 1924 scenery collection at sixty-eight years old – Thomas Gibbs Moses (1856-1934).

Here are the first few lines from his typed manuscript:

“I was born in Liverpool, England, July 21, 1856. My father, Lucius M. Moses, was born in Great Falls, New Hampshire, April 21, 1822. He married my Mother, Mary Wingate Titcomb, August 14, 1849, at Wells Beach, Maine, where she was born on May 14, 1825.”

Moses’ parents both came from significant New England families. His mother was one of five children born to Joanna Wentworth Rollins (1804-1860) and Jeremy H. Titcomb (1801-1880). She married Lucius Moses of Somersworth, New Hampshire, in 1849. The wedding took place at her father’s property in Wells Beach, the well-known Atlantic House. Titcomb had opened the residence for business on June 15, 1846.

The Atlantic House in Wells Beach, Maine, where Thomas G. Moses’ parents were married in 1849.

Moses’ father was a sea captain and part owner in the ships that he sailed, the last being a bark built by William Hanscom in 1833. Moses recorded, “The wonderful full rigged ship “Pactolus” was handed over to another Master, much regretted by my Father, for he loved salt water and sailing. As I do sketching and painting, I am afraid I inherited some of his roving disposition.” Lucius M. Moses was certainly “the son of a son of a sailor.” I recalled the line sung by Jimmy Buffet, “As a dreamer of dreams and a traveling man, I have chalked up many a mile.” Moses was born at sea. The family sailed as far as east India and as far south as Rio de Janeiro.

Photograph of an unidentified three-masted bark, similar to the Pactolus – the last ship sailed by the Moses family before moving inland.

The Sterling Daily Gazette, would later note Lucius Moses as “one of several old New England sea captains who settled in Whiteside county” (Dec. 13, 1927, page 2). Genealogical records state that Lucius’ career on the sea lasted for twenty-two years before returning to land. Lucius Manlius Moses, mainly known as Capt. L. M. Moses, was born the son of another sea captain who had worked for many years in the merchant marines, Theodore Bland Moses.

Moses’ diary notes that that his father was in the fortunate position that allowed his family to accompany him on long voyages. Life on the sea, however, was never without tragedy. Two of the Moses’ children died while at sea, their first son Lucius and their daughter Kate. The remaining five children were Lucia Gray (1853), Thomas Gibbs (1856), Frank Deming (1858), Illie (1860), and Little Kate (1862).

In 1859, the family left living a life on the sea and headed inland. Lucius sold his interests in the ships and moved west with his family to New Hampshire. He invested in a tannery for a side line and began to carve out his new life on land. It was then that their mother Mary perished after the birth of Little Kate, leaving Lucius to raise four children by alone until he found another wife. Moving once again, the family settled in Sterling, Illinois, where Lucius established Sterling Hide and Leather Shop with a partner. His business was a successful one and eventually he owned sole interest in the company, also running a tannery and harness shop.

1869 view of Sterling, Illinois. Thomas G. Moses was thirteen years old when the town was this size.

When his mother died at the age of five, Thomas Moses recalled, “I remember every detail and incident of her heath. I can see each dear friend of Mother’s grouped about. I crawled upon the bed to kiss her good-bye. One of her last bequests was to give her watch to “Tommy,” which I received after I had passed middle age.”

But it was his mother’s drawing book from 1835 that Moses would treasure the most. Later in life, he lamented, “If she had only lived, what a wonderful Art companion I would have had. I know she would have given me the encouragement I needed to start with.”

He identified the loss of his mother as much more than that of a parent. He agonized over the loss of his first potential art instructor, knowing that his artistic training as child would have given him a leg up in the art world. In 1931 Moses wrote, “I feel that at the age of 75 years the twilight of my life is rapidly approaching, and when the sun goes down all of my ambition to shine in the art world will go with it; closing the career of one who has had many rosy dreams that have proven to be the dreams of a plodder. Had my mother been spared to me, I would have had the proper art training to develop the natural ability which I inherited from her, for she was very artistic in many ways as shown in one of her drawing books when she was only fifteen years of age. I have this book. Without this training, I have been exiled to live and struggle against great odds in my effort to gain a foothold in art. It has been a long fight to get standing as scenic artist, in which field I have won a certain reputation which has carried me into the limelight, of which I am justly proud. However, at the same time, I realize that an early training would have been a great help, and possibly enabled me to reach my goal of landscape painting without the aid of scenic painting.”

At such an early age he lost the only family member who would ever understand his choice to leave his job at the tannery in Sterling and enter the world of art.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 115 – A Women Erased From Masonic History

I recently had lunch with a local Mason and one of the first things he asked was, “So how does it feel to be erased?” How do you respond to a question like that? Unfortunately, it was not only my work that was erased at the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center, but also the work of others who worked with me. There were four gentlemen who made everything possible in Fort Scott and their contribution needs to be recognized. Without them, the project would have been almost impossible. In this installment, I want to acknowledge their participation in the project and the company that they worked for during the scenery removal and transportation of the Fort Scott scenery to the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center storage facility. The onsite crew included Brandon Fischer, Todd Whately, Mark Wilson, and Austin Gray. The team was assembled by Ty Prewitt, founder and owner, of BellaTex, LLC.

In thinking back to my involvement in the identification, acquisition, and relocation of the Fort Scott scenery, it marks a threshold in my career. This particular Scottish Rite scenery collection was more than just another project for me; it was significant in terms of all future work and research. A botched restoration by others has destroyed the physical significance of this artifact, but the design and creation process will live on as a context for other fraternal heritage discussions. Sometimes monumental discoveries are not so much about the final display of an object, but its creation and initial handling.

The timing of this project was ideal as working with the BellaTex rigging crew was a welcome break from those at Masonic Charities and the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center. Over the years, I have come to believe that the founder, or the individual in charge of a company, directs the overall tone of the workplace environment. Here is an actual situation where the “trickle down theory” applies. When a company’s employees begin to address the dysfunction of the workplace on a daily basis and question the CEO’s ability to successfully make decisions, it signals a severe problem for the future of any entity. It was a workplace with fear, distrust, and abuse without a common vision or goal. By the time I arrived in Fort Scott, I desperately needed to be around people who both respected and valued their employer. In the back of my mind, I knew that I needed to return to the theatre. It was very apparent that BellaTex’s owner also treated his employees well and with respect. They appreciated him for it and worked very hard to make the project a success.

The conditions in Fort Scott during November 2015 were cold and dirty, just like the drops. The hours were long and there was not access to heat or running water. In the beginning I knew that it could be an unbearable project, especially if the crew didn’t “sync” and work well together. I typically make friends easily and genuinely enjoy getting to know people. This is why I like traveling and meeting new people, exploring new regions during restoration work. It makes everything so much easier when you like and respect the people that your are working with on a daily basis. I have always been fond of my various crews, but the one that Prewitt assembled was something special.

Our project included several steps and complicated procedures. To recap, the project included securing each drop line, removing the weights from each arbor, and lowering each drop to the floor.

Brandon Fischer securing rigging to lower the Fort Scott drop to the stage floor. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, 2015.

Lowering Fort Scott scenery for transport. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, 2015.

Lowering Fort Scott cut drop for transport. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, 2015.

Once the drop was detached from its corresponding pick points, the wooden battens were removed, bundled, labeled, and placed in a pile before transporting to the first floor.

Removing wooden battens from Fort Scott drop. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, 2015.

Battens from Fort Scott hell scene. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, 2015.

The drop was laid out face down in the second-floor auditorium to remove surface contaminants from the back. It was then flipped over (face up) for the same process.

Removing some contaminants from Fort Scott scenery for transport. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, 2015.

Then the drop was temporarily rolled for transport from the second to the first floor as a 25’-0” tube could not fit down the curved staircase. There, it was carefully rolled up on a cardboard tube, encapsulated with lightweight muslin and set aside.

Rolling Fort Scott drop for transport to Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, 2015.

Rolled tube wrapped in muslin. Fort Scott Scottish Rite. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, 2015.

Repeat this process ninety-four times, using eighty-four tubes. Then we focused on disassembling the massive Pepper’s Ghost unit and packaging many other set pieces and stage props for transport.

Half of disassembled Pepper’s Ghost unit in Fort Scott. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, 2015.

Never was there a complaint or any kind of attitude from the crew. We laughed a lot and told stories to make the workday pass by quickly. Our breakfasts, lunches, and dinners were all spent together. The after hours beverages placed on the tailgate of a truck in the hotel parking lots served as happy hour before heading out to dinner. It was a chance to discuss the day’s events and plan tomorrow’s activities. It was the best that could be made of difficult project and we enjoyed each other’s company.

Todd Whatley wearing shirt with same message as sign posted in local Fort Scott bar. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, 2015.

For the two years that I worked in Bloomington, I watched productivity cease as soon as the CEO left the building. His SUV would depart and many of the staff would leave shortly thereafter. I repeatedly heard about their fear and resentment for their leader during my time their as Curatorial Director. I frequently wondered what the workplace would be like if the Minnesota Masonic Charities CEO showed the same amount of respect and consideration for his employees as practiced by Prewitt of BellaTex, LLC.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 112 – Documenting the Fort Scott Scottish Rite

There are some things that are not considered “picture worthy.” I think it simply depends on who is taking the photo. A close friend of mine took a picture of the boiler in the basement of a Scottish Rite and it is a haunting image. She captured the rust and decay that had settled in over the decades and the image is a work of art.

Fort Scott Scottish Rite elevator. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, 2015.

I took a photograph of the old elevator at the Fort Scott Scottish Rite. It might not be considered art, but it to recorded a detail from this deceased Scottish Rite facility. The new building owners might not save this aged machine as current safety regulations could prohibit its continued use. I both loved and feared that elevator, becoming intimately familiar with it as I transported supplies up to the second floor theatre. The entire crew knew exactly how fast it could ascend to the second floor. After pushing the button, we could race up the thirty-seven-step curved staircase and arrive before the doors would even open. It was extremely slow and every trip became a gamble. Every time the door closed I wondered if we would get stuck between floors. As in McAlester, the metal gate had to be completely shut before the contraption would move and inch. Regardless of my fears, there was something nostalgic about that elevator. I was transported back in time whenever the door shut and the motor began to whirr, jarring the elevator into motion.

Stairs leads from Fort Scott Scottish Rite to second floor theater. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, 2015.

The entire building was a treasure trove of memories, filled with forgotten bits and pieces from the past. When I arrived on site during November 2015, the stage area was quite unkempt. The building had been vacant for over a year and there were piles of unwanted items scattered throughout the building.

Piles of unwanted items left behind after the Fort Scott Scottish Rite 2014 auction. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, 2015.

Piles of trash scattered in stage left area of stage at the Fort Scott Scottish Rite. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, 2015.

These were all remnants from the previous year’s auction that liquidated almost all of the building’s contents. However, this rubbish did not detract from the former beauty of the stage and shadows of its former glory were still apparent. I could look beyond the grime, imagining the space with new wooden arbors and the shiny cable.

Stage right side of the stage and arbor cage filled with weights. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, 2015.

Fort Scott Scottish Rite arbor cage with weights. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, 2015.

As I glanced at old stage equipment, it was difficult not to imagine standing under brand new scenery and border lights; the smell of fresh mortar, the scent of cut wood, and the acrid tang from new metal filling the space. An historic stage fills me with a yearning to experience the era of its creation.

As the weights were pulled from each arbor to remove a drop from the corresponding line, I was reminded of skeletal remains in a crypt. This rigging system had once been something quite special; effortlessly raising or lowering painted settings at a moments notice. The stage machinery had transformed the stage and once transported generations of men to far away lands. Now that the scenery was gone, leaving the counterweight system useless and out of date. It would eventually become disposed of as scrap metal.

Arbor cages devoid of weights at the Fort Scott Scottish Rite. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, 2015.

Empty arbor cages in Fort Scott, Kansas, at the Scottish Rite theater. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, 2015.

Cut cable and empty arbor cages after removing the scenery collection at the Fort Scott Scottish Rite for the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, 2015.

Perhaps that is why both Rick Boychuk and I salvaged complete rigging sets from the Fort Scott theater. Not as simple souvenirs or personal mementos, but to save a theatrical landmark in the evolution of stage design and machinery. The intricacy of an arbor could provoke a conversation so this technology could be remembered in the future.

It is now difficult for me to separate the painted scenery from the rigging as they are both so entwined in my mind, two halves of a whole. For me, the landscape above the stage is almost as exciting as those painted scenes below.

To be continued…

Here is a link to Rick Boychuk’s work http://www.counterweightrigging.com/