Moving Scenery – Page 4 – Drypigment.net

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Acquiring The Fort Scott Scottish Rite Scenery for the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center, part 17.

While Wendy Waszut-Barrett is recovering from travel and catching up on current projects. She is reposting a few early 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 seventeenth post from March 2, 2017.

Part 17: Rolling the Drops

The drops were loosely rolled to transport down the winding staircase to the first floor in Fort Scott. There, they would need to be unrolled and rolled again onto cardboard tubes for shipping. Prior to any final rolling, however, they we carefully matched up with all of the corresponding scenes. Entire scenes were not lowered simultaneously; we slowly worked from upstage to downstage in succession for safety reasons.

A year earlier, I had completed this same task with Paul Sannerud and was absolutely dreading it. For the Winona scenery, we carefully flattened each scene on the floor and rolled each drop onto 6” tubes of PVC. This was an option due to the shorter length of twenty feet – the height of each scene. For Fort Scott we needed longer tubes -twenty-five feet, hence the cardboard tubes from North Carolina.

I had found a company that manufactured shipping tubes to order. Unfortunately, due to the initial contractual delays, the tubes were very late in arriving – so we had to alter my anticipated process. Instead of “lower, take downstairs, roll and stack” it became “lower, take downstairs, place somewhere, and wait to roll.” This meant that I had to divide each scene on the first floor and remember where all of the scenes were once we started rolling – as there would be a specific placement in order to unload the collection from the truck into the storage unit.

The difficulty of this task is always trying to roll a piece of fabric that is not flat. When a drop hangs for decades, the shape becomes altered over time and it is no longer a perfect rectangle. People fail to understand that the fabric continues to stretch from a variety of factors. Primarily, uneven pick points allow the weight of the batten at the bottom of the drop to reshape the rectangle into a trapezoid – often undetectable from the auditorium. Then there is the hourglass shape with curling edges on each side of the drop – very identifiable from the audience.

Furthermore, the air currents bellow out the center. Think of it as the center of the drop moving forward and backward, gradually stretching the fabric, resulting in a central sagging. These alterations are almost unperceivable, until you lay the fabric on the floor. Some areas will form bubbles, like when you played “parachute” in gym class. Remember how all of the edges could be brought to the floor and the center puffed up? A similar thing happens to the drop when all of the fabric settles to the ground, there are still irregularities in the center.

Another way to understand the difficulty of this task is to think of rolling linoleum on a tube. The rigidity allows it to roll perfectly. This is not what happens with old fabric and wrinkles appear. When wrinkles appear during rolling, the fabric subsequently creases and the paint it cracks off, thus forming an irreparable line.

Even after restoration, wrinkles often occur during rolling. That is the reason why I am so adamant about only restoring scenery on site. You might have a restored a drop and it looks perfect on the floor, but the rolling and transport will damage all of your work. Therefore, you would need to do additional work once it arrived at the space; work that would be extra and drive up the overall expense. This was another point of contention with the CEO. He refused to believe that the drops couldn’t be restored off site and transported without harm. In the end, he found someone to restore them off site. Upon inspection of the first few “restored” drops during February 2017, all of my fears about transportation after restoration were verified.

In Fort Scott, there was not a single space on the first floor where we could fully layout any drop. This added an additional layer of complexity to the process. Prior to rolling, we had to loosely “accordion pleat” about two-thirds of the scene.

Preparing a drop for rolling in Forts Scott, Kansas at the Scottish Rite theater. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, November 2015.

I had always rolled up the drops on the floor, but my lead rigger Brandon invented a rolling machine that saved our backs, knees and the painted surface on many drops! He called his invention the “rigger–mo’-roll!”

Rolled drop encapsulated in muslin on the “rigger-mo’-roll,” invented by Brandon Fischer of Fairhope, Alabama. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, November 2015.

Starting to roll the wood cut drop in Fort Scott. Notice the netting in the center holes. This was one of the early drops where I had not yet decided to remove the dirty netting. In the end, I regretted this choice as some of the old netting was left on but others restoring the scene. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, November 2015.

He picked up sawhorses and casters from Kansas City to create a fabric roller. It took a while to assemble, but I was amazed at the end result. Not perfect, but the weight of the fabric would keep the rolls mostly taut and minimize the wrinkles. In the end, each drop would weigh 100 lbs. and take four robust individuals to safely transport it anywhere.

To be continued…

Rolling the Egyptian backdrop at the Fort Scott Scottish Rite. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, November 2015.

Rolled tubes and battens, all stacked according to each scene. This was necessary as the unloading into the final storage unit dictated the original packing order. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, November 2015.

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Acquiring The Fort Scott Scottish Rite Scenery for the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center, part 13.

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 thirteenth post from February 26, 2017.

Part 13: Getting My Hands Dirty

The rigging crew would later admit that no one knew what my contribution would be prior to the project, even Ty Prewitt, owner of BellaTEX. Would I sit with my camera in the auditorium slowly photographing the removal process, or would I actually get my hands dirty? It is important to understand that when I was went to Fort Scott, my directive was to solely supervise and not to help out as a “common laborer.” That was a directive by the CEO.

It is important to understand that throughout the duration of my career I always worked alongside my crew, never expecting anyone to perform a task that I wouldn’t do myself. I realized long ago that this type of attitude and a general willingness to get one’s hands dirty had a positive impact on any work environment. Showing great appreciation for your staff and lending a hand is such an easy thing to do and it always pays off in the long run.

My hands after an hour of handling the Fort Scott Scottish Rite scenery on site. Although I often wore gloves, not ever task could be accomplished while wearing them. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, November 2015.

In addition to this instilled work ethic, I was raised to conquer obstacles and take pride in my work. Therefore, when I encountered the thick layer of contaminants coating the scenery and set pieces, I couldn’t ignore it.

Removing loose contaminants on Pepper’s Ghost unit in Fort Scott, Kansas, at the Scottish Rite theater. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett from November 2015.

Removing loose contaminants from the backside of a drop in Fort Scott, Kansas, at the Scottish Rite theater. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett from November 2015.

It is possible that others would have ignored the dirt, rolled the drops, shipped them, and dealt with the consequences later. That was not an option for me, so I tackled this initial obstacle, knowing that it would add many hours onto the project in Fort Scott.

We covered both the stage floor and auditorium floor with heavy duty plastic to catch the majority of the dirt that fell off of the drop as it was lowered to the floor and stripped of both battens and hardware. I purchased both dry mops and wet mops to clean the plastic as often as possible so that dirt from one backdrop, wouldn’t contaminate another backdrop. We also occasionally replaced the plastic sheeting.

Then, the drop was placed on the auditorium floor face down. I used my handy Festool dust extractor to remove the majority of loose contaminants with its special HEPA filter. The drop was then flipped face up so that I could vacuum the loose particulates from the painted surface. This initial cleaning was to protect the painted surface during shipping and limit the amount of airborne particles in the space on site.

Dirt and pigment would continue to dust off during the rolling and transportation, necessitating additional vacuuming and extensive cleaning with archival sponges before any necessary repairs or restoration could take place. The vacuuming for each drop in no way made the surface either completely clean or free of contaminants. After vacuuming both sides, it took four of us crawling across the floor on our knees to loosely roll the 24’x36’ long drop. This loose roll meant it could be carried down the winding staircase to the first floor where it would then wait to be rolled onto 25’ cardboard tubes.

The drops couldn’t be rolled immediately after vacuuming on the second floor as the winding staircase could not accommodate a 25’ rigid tube. This was the process prior to rolling, wrapping, and loading each drop onto our shipping truck. Multiply this procedure ninety-two times.

The need for any additional cleaning prior to restoration was a point of contention with the CEO as I had already vacuumed each drop in Fort Scott. Even after several conversations, I could not convince him that this initial cleaning was not sufficient. Nor would he believe that the drops had to be stabilized or any repairs made prior to hanging. It was impossible to convince him that the dusting pigments and other surface contaminates were dangerous to both the performers on stage and the audience members alike.

When I saw the drops hanging at the Minnesota Masonic Heritage center during February 2017, there were still sections of the original netting attached to the drops and contaminants were visible. My heart sank as I wondered if anyone had ever been told of the dangers that I described to the CEO and the general director.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Acquiring The Fort Scott Scottish Rite Scenery for the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center, part 11.

Part 11: Wooden Battens

Most drops in Scottish Rite facilities have wooden sandwich battens at the tops and bottoms of each drop. This means that the fabric is “sandwiched” between two pine boards. The battens at the top were typically 1×4 boards, whereas the battens at the bottom were 1 x 3 boards.

End view of bottom sandwich batten from the Fort Scott Scottish Rite scenery collection. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, November 2015.

View of top sandwich batten on Fort Scott Scottish Rite scene while still hanging on site. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, November 2015.

Drops were rolled in the studio without the battens and attached onsite during installation. Lumber for battens was ordered from companies specializing in theatrical lumber and shipped separately in linear feet, not pre-cut to shipment. Typically, the Scottish Rite Valley and the name of the recipient were stenciled onto the battens for shipping. I have frequently encountered these markings. Two examples that stick out are William Hayes Laird for the Winona Scottish Rite, and Charles Rosenbaum for the Little Rock scenery (moved to the Pasadena Scottish Rite in 1924). In the case of Fort Scott, Dr. Chas. Van K was the recipient.

Shipping label on wooden sandwich batten from Fort Scott scenery collection. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, November 2015.

Once the drops and the lumber arrived on site, the lumber for the top batten was laid in a straight line on the stage floor. This would become the backside of the top batten. It was secured to the stage floor with clout nails to prevent shifting while the top of the fabric backdrop was attached to it. The top edge of the drop was tacked down every four inches.

Tacks that secured the painted drops to the wooden battens for the Fort Scott Scottish Rite scenery collection. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, November 2015.

Once the fabric was secured, a second batten was placed on top to “sandwich” the drop. At this point slotted screws secured these two battens together. The entire batten was pried from the stage floor and the clout nails were hammered over into the wood. Half-inch holes were then drilled into the top batten for the pick points. A similar process happened to the bottom of the drop, but without the holes for pick points.

Bottom battens were especially important as the weight stretched out apparent wrinkles while hanging. Eventually wooden batten were replaced with pipe pockets. Usually the bottom battens were rounded, allowing them to easily pass by each other and not catch during raising or lowering of scenes. The shapes of wooden battens were anywhere from perfect ovals to angled edges. In Fort Scott, both the top and bottom battens were beveled at forty-five degree angles.

To transport or restore a scene, the battens are removed from the fabric. This is a slow process due to the initial assembly.

Most people don’t realize that these wooden battens contain a treasure trove of information pertaining to the transportation, installation, client, and artist. Fort Scott was the best example of “hidden text” that I have ever come across in my career. Often I have encountered a shipping stencil or the individual who would receive the lumber on site, but Fort Scott was truly unique. One example scribbled on the inside of these boards was the preliminary ordering of scenes.

Preliminary order of scenes found on the inside of a Fort Scott Scottish Rite wooden batten. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, November 2015.

Another depicted how a counterweight rigging system worked to raise and lower the drops.

Drawing of counterweight system on the inside of a Fort Scott scenery collection wooden batten. Photograph by Wendy Waszut-Barrett, November 2015.

Mathematical formulas were written and corrected everywhere. Even the onsite paint frame was disassembled and became part of the top wooden battens.

I was meticulous in documenting every hand written detail because I would later need this information to analyze the collection in its entirety. Clues were everywhere, and I had little time to catch them all. As the crew stripped the battens and hardware from the drops, they would shout out “Scribbles!” and I would come running with one of three cameras to make sure that a picture wouldn’t be blurred or lost.

The majority of the writing was that of Thomas Moses. I knew this as I was familiar with his writing. In most cases he was carefully explaining installation details to his crew

You can imagine the panic that I felt while sitting in the audience at the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center concert February 2017 when I noticed that all of the wooden battens were missing. I immediately realized that those who “restored” the Fort Scott scenes had replaced the wooden battens with pipe pockets. My mind was reeling as I kept thinking, “All of that history is now lost.” I desperately hoped that the unused wooden battens were safely sitting in a storage unit somewhere, preserving the history for someone.

There is also the physics involved in sewing canvas pipe pockets onto old and fragile fabric. Often the pipes selected are not heavy enough to pull out the wrinkles. When the pipes are heavy enough, the stitching works like a perforated page and the pipe eventually falls to the floor.

Wooden battens were removed and replaced with pipe pockets at the St. Louis Scottish Rite. Almost all have failed. This is a common occurrence as the seam that attaches a new pipe pocket to the aged fabric will fail. It is like creating a perforated page. The weight of a pipe acts like someone tearing out a sheet of paper from a notebook.

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. 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 84 – Devaluing History Scenery and The Winona Scottish Rite

The devaluation of historical scenery at one theater can affect the understanding and appreciation of others. At the same time we were planning the future of the Fort Scott collection in the Ives Auditorium, the City of Winona was also planning for the future for their Masonic collection.

Vintage postcard of Winona Masonic Temple.

During the summer of 2014, Paul Sannerud and I had put the entire Winona scenery collection to bed over the course of two action-packed weeks. Under the City’s watch, the collection had suffered extensive water damage from a leaking roof. To facilitate repairing the roof and restoration of the theater, Sannerud and I were hired to remove and place all of the drops into a custom-designed storage unit. This would protect the scenery during the renovation. Here is the link to images of the drops from my 2010 evaluation so you can see the collection in its entirety: https://www.cityofwinona.com/…/Historic-Masonic-Theater-Bac…

Paul Sannerud lowering the lines at the Winona Masonic theater, July 2014.

Waszut-Barrett as guest speaker before all of the drops are removed and placed into storage at the Winona Masonic. 2014.

Last public viewing of the collection before it was placed in storage during 2014. Here is Waszut-Barrett as guest speaker at the event in the Winona Masonic. 2014.

An individual representing the City of Winona contacted the general director of the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center during the fall of 2015 to discuss the significance and value of the Winona Scottish Rite scenery collection. Remember, at this time I was the Curatorial Director for the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center. The general director chose to not include me in the discussion concerning the Winona scenery collection and I was unaware of the conversation until he casually mentioned it a few weeks later.

I was finishing a meeting and packing up my notes when the general director made an offhanded comment about the City of Winona needing to find a home for their scenery collection or they were going to throw it away. My surprise changed to dismay and then smoldering anger as he explained his conversation with the individual from Winona. The general director described how he said that there was no market value for the historical scenery at all and the entire collection was simply a “cookie cutter collection” that had been replicated all over the United States. I immediately asked, “Who did you speak with from the City of Winona? Was it Chad Ubl? That’s who handles the management of the Masonic theatre and I’m surprised to believe that they would throw something out that they spent money on to store.” The only name that the general director could remember was “Mike.”

I decided to do a little checking before I tackled any problem, still reeling from the fact that I had not been included in a discussion about a local historical scenery collection. So I called the Sanneruds (Paul Sannerud and Peggy Nelson Sannerud) to see what was going on in Winona. The news of recent events was disheartening and I wondered how much the general director had devalued the Winona collection. I inquired if Ubl had been replaced by a gentleman named “Mike.” Sannerud explained that Ubl was still in the employ of the City, but there was a new plan for the Masonic Theater.

A potential investor, Mike Slaggie of Hurry Back Productions, had entered the picture. An unknown persona at the time, he would forever alter the future of Winona Masonic Theater and their scenery collection. Slaggie planned on making a significant investment in the restoration of the Masonic building as he envisioned it as a future multipurpose arts venue. His vision to restore the building, however, did not include all of the scenery and suggested that preserving the entire scenery collection would be detrimental to the endeavor. He saw a theatre museum as a liability to the overall success of this venture.
Here is a brief summary of why the Winona scenery collection is important on the world stage. The Winona Masonic Center was primarily placed on the National Register because of its scenery collection. Both Lance Brockman and Charlie Nelson (same man for whom the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center library is named) had made a concerted effort to outline the cultural heritage stored high above the stage. I believe that it is the most complete Masonic collection produced by Sosman & Landis Studio of Chicago.

This 1909 collection includes stage settings for Symbolic Lodge (Blue Lodge), York Rite, Shrine, and Scottish Rite degree productions. The designs for the auditorium interior are still available and contained in the Performing Arts Archives at the University of Minnesota. Additionally, many of the drop designs are also available in the online scenery collection database in the University of Minnesota Libraries (http://umedia.lib.umn.edu/scenicsearch). In other words, there is artistic provenance for the scenery collection. Some of the wooden counterweight frames (arbors) also have original manufacturer tags from Sosman & Landis – the first that I have encountered to date. Rick Boychuk (author of “Nobody Looks Up: the History of the Counterweight Rigging Systems”) could elaborate on the international significance of this particular counterweight rigging system too. Most importantly, I have recently been able to document the earliest use of Masonic scenery in the Southern Jurisdiction to Winona, Minnesota. This was an extremely significant collection that should be preserved in its entirety for future generations and not auctioned off piece-meal. The assessment and comments made by the general director were dead wrong and I believe contributed to the demise of this significant collection.

Waszut-Barrett’s 2010 scenery evaluation as the City of Winona began considering the future of this collection.

The Winona incident made me wonder why the general director was going out of his way to devalue historical scenery. Did he not realize that his actions – as a representative of a Heritage Center – had a lasting impact on the future preservation of other fraternal artifacts?

What might have been the outcome if the general director of the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center had forwarded on the Winona inquiry to the staff member who was hired on in part for her specialization in Masonic scenery?

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 65 – The Austin Scottish Rite, a Used Scenery Collection

The Valley of Austin was just down the street from the Harry Ransom Center on West 18th. Eric Colleary had kindly provided a preliminary email introduction to the woman that ran the Scottish Rite theater. This was another situation where a community theatre group had primary access and control of the stage and not the Masons. Taking a break from the reading room, we walked over to the Scottish Rite to meet the women who were the theater’s new caretakers. I intended it as a short trip for an in-person meeting, hoping one day to come back and evaluate the scenery collection in its entirety.

I knew that most of the Austin Scottish Rite scenery had been purchased second-hand through the M. C. Lilley Company from Lance Brockman’s research, but not much more. Mitchell C. Lilley (1819-1882) founded the M.C. Lilley Company in Columbus, Ohio during 1865. Originally starting as bookbinder and publisher, his company expanded to include regalia and paraphernalia for both military and fraternal organizations, as well as stages for fraternal theaters. For the many Scottish Rite Valleys in the Southern Jurisdiction, it was M.C. Lilley who contracted the entire project and then subcontracted individual portions of the project to various manufacturers and suppliers.

The Austin Scottish Rite scenery was purchased second hand through M. C. Lilley in 1913. It was originally manufactured by Sosman & Landis for Guthrie, Oklahoma in 1900. At the time of the scenery’s creation, David Austin Strong (1830-1911) still supervised Masonic scenery production in the shop; Moses had again left the studio and was freelancing in New York at this time. In his typed manuscript, Moses credited Strong as the “Daddy” of all Masonic design. I had always wondered about this statement as I had traced the origins of Scottish Rite scenery elsewhere in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, believing that Moses was solely referring to Strong’s influence on Masonic scenery at the Sosman & Landis studio, and their individual designs for the Scottish Rite.

Strong was a prolific artist in his own right, having flourished in New York as a scene painter before moving to Chicago. Among many impressive accomplishments, he is credited as one of the original artists for the 1866 productions of the “Black Crook” and “Rip Van Winkle.” His story is a tale that desperately needs to be told too.

Of the total 67 drops installed at the Austin Scottish Rite in 1913, 53 included the original charcoal markings designating their origin for Guthrie and measuring 15’ high by 30’ wide. This scenery was replaced when stage was enlarged in 1910, necessitating new scenery that measured 19’ high by 38’ wide. M.C. Lilley offered the the Guthrie Scottish Rite $1400 credit toward their new scenery purchase, intending to quickly resell the collection to another Scottish Rite Valley. This 1910 Guthrie scenery collection then was later transferred to their current building in 1923.

Records from Guthrie suggested that the original scenery collection had been purchased by Fort Scott, Kansas – a fact that shocked me when I stumbled across it. I now believe that the original Guthrie collection was split up immediately upon its return to M.C. Lilley; a few of the old drops were sent to Fort Scott to expand their 1904 collection and the rest remained in storage.

My discovery of the two scenes in Fort Scott that were much older than the remainder of the 1924 collection supports this theory. Furthermore, a 1912 letter to the Valley of Austin from Bestor G. Brown, then manager of the Western Offices for M.C. Lilley, discussed the division of the original Guthrie installation; noting that all of the original scenery would not be installed at the Austin Scottish Rite. Brown mentions that there were several drops and scenic pieces that would be of no use to the Austin Bodies.

As an M.C. Lilley representative, Brown negotiated with the Valley of Austin for the sale, arrangement, and installation of the Guthrie collection in their “new” theatre; they purchased an existing building. A scene plat was mailed to the Austin Scottish Rite for use when determining the final arrangement of scenes. Brown wrote, “The arrangement of drops is one of the most difficult things.” I know this intimately, as I designed how the Fort Scott scenery could fit into the new rigging system for the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center. There is a rhythm that you must follow to ensure an effective stage picture that will accommodate scenic illusions.

In 1912, Brown explained that they would arrange the used scenery so that it would be “properly adapted to the different Degrees and the sequence of Degrees.” However, he noted that even after careful preparation, some modifications would still occur after all of the scenery was hanging. Interestingly, all of the negotiations with Austin were delayed due to another M.C. Lilley project – the Santa Fe Scottish Rite.

As Brown later explained M.C. Lilley had only one employee who specialized in Scottish Rite scenery installation. I believe that this individual was possibly the stage machinist, Charles S. King, a Sosman & Landis employee. Little is known of King beyond a few newspaper articles identified furing the extensive research conducted by Rick Boychuk regarding the history of counterweight rigging.

Brown notes that the one who would be “superintending the installation” for the Austin project was currently occupied in Santa Fe at the Scottish Rite, installing an entirely new stage there, necessitating that he remain on site for approximately three weeks. Shortly after his correspondence, this superintendent and installation expert died from an accident. Brown explained that their deceased employee was the “only one thoroughly familiar with the special method of installing Scottish Rite scenery.” This special method was referred to as “Brown’s special system.” Then he continued, “We do not mean that it is impossible to follow the same methods as heretofore, but it will take a longer time to do it because of a lack of familiarity with the work.”

On January 23, 1913, Brown also noted the condition of the 1900 Guthrie collection, noting that “The scenery is in very good shape – infinitely better that the average theatrical scenery used on the road. The writer personally went over the scenery at the studio last week. While our contract does not contemplate it, we are touching up some of the scenery and if it be properly lighted, you will have a handsome set of scenery that we would not undertake to paint and install for less than, at least, $8,000.00”

The M. C. Lilley contract on February 25, 1913 sells the Austin Scottish Rite Bodies 64 used drops for $1,650, with a third due upon installation (cash), a third due the following year, and the final third due in two years. This financing was standard for these Scottish Rite endeavors and Brown writes, “In fact, if we had not been able to carry the Bodies in the Southern Jurisdiction as we have, we believe that fully one half of the development of the past ten years would not have been possible.”

Up to that time, M. C. Lilley had installed between 35 and 40 Masonic installations nationwide since 1900. And now some of these collections were finding new homes. I immediately thought of the line from Fanny Brice’s recording of “Second Hand Rose” for the 1921 Ziegfeld Follies: “It’s no wonder that I feel abused, I never get a thing that hasn’t been used.”

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Acquiring The Fort Scott Scottish Rite Scenery for the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center, part 56.

A Final Visit to Scenery Storage

On Monday, June 27, 2016, I visited the Fort Scott scenery storage unit in Bloomington, Minnesota. Little did I know at the time, but this would be the last moment that I would see the collection until after it was hanging in the Ives Auditorium. The restoration start date was currently on hold, waiting for some final construction delays in the theatre space.

My design for the one of two storage units that held the Fort Scott scenery collection, beginning on November 23, 2015.

After the Grand Opening, my new task was to take stock of the rolled scenery tubes and battens, verifying where the Ready Labor crew had placed them during November 2015. I would create a document noting the placement of each tube and the batten locations for future reference. My mural painting assistant was there to help shift any scenery due to my back injury. We stopped by the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center for her to run in and get the keys from the general director, as he had forgotten to pass along the three storage unit keys at the opening.

While visiting the storage unit that Monday, I noticed an extremely sore area on my upper shoulder; this was in addition to a swollen eyelid and low-grade fever that had instantaneously appeared the day before. I felt absolutely miserable while opening up the doors at the storage unit. Upon inspecting the tubes, we noted Asian spotted beetles throughout the space, little dots of black piled up in corners and scattered across the muslin covers. This was not a good sign.

Noticing bugs on the Fort Scott scenery while visiting the storage unite for the last time.

About the time that we noticed the bugs, a fellow scenic artist stopped by. She was visiting the Twin Cities, but had been unable to attend the grand opening. I suggested that she stop by the storage unit while I was working. I wanted her to meet my painting assistant and see the entirety of the Fort Scott collection, neatly tucked away into my custom-designed storage system.

As my shoulder pain continued to worsen, I asked my friend to see if had she noticed a bug bite or sting mark. “I would have a doctor look at this soon,” she suggested, “it looks pretty bad.” I agreed with her, saying, “We can always finish this later as the restoration start date isn’t even scheduled yet,” and sent them both on their way.

I was diagnosed with Shingles. Finally my stress had manifested into a physical condition; I was a prime candidate and the doctor pointed that out. “You have got to slow down,” she said, “Just go home and take some time off from work. I know that this prescription is often given to those over 50, but we might have caught it early enough for it to really work on you. ” I was flabbergasted with her diagnosis and picked up my prescription. “Really!?!” I told my husband, “On top of everything else, I need to get Shingles now?”

The final series of betrayals I experienced at the grand opening of the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center had crushed my last my spirit and any hope that it would be a world-class research facility. It also suppressed any lingering enthusiasm for to work for the CEO or on the Fort Scott restoration project. I honestly knew that it was just a matter of time before I was let go and would never touch Thomas Moses’ paintings again; the future of the scenery collection was no longer in my hands.

The next day, I cancelled my afternoon appointment with the CEO emailing, “I will not be in today due to illness. Yesterday, I developed a fever and rash on my right eyelid and right shoulder. Today, I was diagnosed with Shingles and placed on a prescription for Acyclovir. I have scheduled a follow-up appointment for this Thursday afternoon as [my doctor] was concerned with the possible complications for my vision. I will keep you posted regarding my recovery and return to work.”

Two days later on June 30 at 8:35AM, the CEO responded to my email, inquiring about a possible date for a future meeting, “I hope you are recovering from your bout with shingles. I would like to meet with you in my office on Thursday, July 7 at 10 am. Will you be able to meet at that time?”

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Acquiring the Fort Scott Scottish Rite Scenery Collection for the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center, part 26.

Unloading the Truck

We first unloaded the trailer; packing the first storage unit with several large-scale flats, boxes of hand props, five-gallon buckets of whiting, folded floor cloths, the painted cyclorama, a large wooden track for the five small vision drops, stage weights, and a variety of other theatrical artifacts. These items all had to be unloaded in order to reach the wooden battens as they needed to get paired up with the appropriate rolled drops. Due to the late start, it soon became lunchtime.

At lunch, I again discussed the necessary process with the general director. Again, I explained that we really needed a four people to unload the battens and tubes, as I needed to supervise where each item would be placed within the storage units. The general director explained that he would step in and be the fourth individual as it was apparent that no one else from Ready Labor was available. It was going to be difficult task to unload both trucks and I once again wondered why they hadn’t asked a crew of Masons to show up.

We had been planned for this to be a big public relations event; one more thing that would keep the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center on the public’s radar as they anticipated the opening. The Masonic Charities’ Director of Communications and our advertising firm were adamant that this opportunity was crucial to draw positive attention. Our next opportunity would be the unrolling of drops on the stage and beginning the restoration. Yet there was no one there and I wondered whether it was because of the individuals from Ready Labor.

During lunch, I called my husband, explaining that it would be a long day to arrange for childcare that evening. I still suggested that he come down to meet Ty and Amanda from BellaTex, LLC, as I had spoke so highly of them and their company during the past three weeks.

In Fort Scott, I had carefully organized and packed the truck based on the order of future restoration. The last drops to be pulled for restoration were placed in the center of each unit. This allowed us to pull out those on each side, slowly working our way toward the center. As each tube was loaded into the storage unit, two of the four people carrying the unit would break off and go within each unit to help convey the tub along its path.

Unfortunately, during lunch the general director explained that we would be restoring the cathedral scene first as a member was planning a September wedding. This meant that my order of unloading the tubes wouldn’t work and I had to scramble. Initially, the cathedral scene was going to be restored in the second phase of the work and was currently slotted closer to the center of the storage unit. I quickly drew a diagram, labeling each storage unit row with a letter and number – creating a grid so that my crew would know where to place each tube as I shouted out the location. I would shout “A1” or “B5” and each rolled drop would be placed that space.

We returned to the storage unit after lunch and started the slow process of unloading the tubes. Getting the tubes out was difficult at best and I realized that the drops were going to be damaged if this type of handling continued throughout the afternoon. Someone had to get in the truck and I looked at my options.

No one was going to hop up into the truck due to their size. The one worker who was physically able to do this task was also the only one who had the strength to pull to tub, so I climbed into the truck. My task would be to lift each tube and shove it out the pack, just enough for the one man to grab. He would pull and as the tube slid out of the truck, I would refer to my list and shout out the number. So much for me just supervising…

My husband showed up as we were just getting the second tube out of the truck; it was close to 1:30PM. When he saw me in the truck, his expression confirmed what I already knew –this was going to take awhile. “Can I switch out with you and help?” he asked me. But before I could respond, the general director said,” No, Andrew, you’re not covered by insurance. The Ready Labor guys come with insurance.”

So my only replacement went over to visit with Ty and Amanda while we unloaded the drops.

By the fourth tube, I felt the “pop” in my lower spine, that something had just happened to my lower back. The lifting up of each tube and shoving 100 pounds forward was too much for my 5′ 1½” frame. At this point, I felt like flinging myself onto the top of the tubes, curling up in a ball, and crying. Looking at the crew, I realized that the only person who could do my job was my husband- and he had already been told that he couldn’t help.

I had worked so hard to carefully transport the drops, I was damned if I was going to let the general director and his Ready Labor crew damage them now. This was where I made a mistake, I put the handling of the drops ahead of my own safety. I continued to unload the truck, shouting where each tube should go.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Acquiring the Fort Scott Scottish Rite Scenery Collection for the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center, part 25.

The Final Countdown

My Fort Scott crew loaded all of the drops onto the truck. Each layer of tubes was separated with plastic. My idea was to allow each tube to effortlessly slip into and out if the truck. Each tube weighed about one hundred pounds and need four set of hands to safely carry. Lovingly packed onto the truck, I continued to worry about the unloading process.

Wooden battens loaded before props and set pieces in second truck

In addition to securing a storage unit, the general director of the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center was to secure the labor to unload the truck. We were targeting a Sunday morning departure, with us arriving in Bloomington by the evening. Early that Monday morning, we would unload the trucks at the storage facility. My concern was that there would not be enough labor at the site.

On November 14, I emailed the general director:

“We will need four people to unload the 80 rolls and flats at the

Bloomington storage facility. It will just be the BellaTex driver and myself who arrive at the storage facility. I will not be able to help carry as I will be directing where each tube goes. Rolls weigh about 80-100lbs. Each. We are targeting an arrival on Sunday, but I will be able to provide 24-48 hrs. notice as we get closer. We need individuals that can lift, ideally men.”

I repeatedly requested the general director to contract four men to unload the 25’ tubes from the truck, each weighing approximately 100 pounds. I also explained that we were not only unloading the tubes, but also numerous set pieces, properties, and 13,000 linear feet of wooden battens that would arrive in a second truck.

On Nov 18, 2015, at 1:05 PM I received the following email from the general director:“Wendy, I have things lined up to unload Monday morning. I will be present to supervise the temporary workers. Given the four hour minimum we are doubtful of the need for four workers. I am planning to have two workers on hand.”

This was just a bit too much to handle on top of everything else. Why would he insist on only two laborers for four hours when I specified four laborers for eight hours? Maybe he didn’t understand the weight or the length of the tubes? It made no sense that he would ignore my requests.

I responded to him on the same day at 1:37 PM:

“The tubes are too heavy for two people to carry and load into the rack. There must be a minimum of four people. I cannot be one of the people carrying and placing the tubesPlease be aware that it might take a full day to unload the tubes, battens and other scenery pieces. I will need to supervise the placement of the tubes into the rack as there is a specific order.”

When we arrived that Monday morning there were no individuals from Ready Labor. The general director of the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center immediately suggested that we start unloading the tubes from the truck regardless. He was sure that the individuals from Ready Labor would appear on site soon. The only people on site beside myself were the general director, the owner of BellaTex, LLC (Ty Prewitt) and the executive vice president of operations at BellaTex, LLC (Amanda Zimmerman).

All of us understood the game that was being played and I responded, “No, we’ll wait just for them to show up. Maybe you should call the agency to see why they are late.”

After a few hours, one Ready Labor worker showed up, but he couldn’t stay for the entire day. So we started to unload the props from the first truck. A little while later a second Ready Labor worker appeared and then a third. This was unbelievable and it became obvious that no one had ever been called prior to that morning.

Most of the morning had been wasted and we were now behind schedule. I had worked 240 hours in the past three weeks and had two days off (150 hours more than I was paid during this time period as a staff). I just want to go home and sleep, but that wouldn’t happen due to scheduled meetings for the remainder of the week.

To be continued…