Between 1924 and 1925, Thomas G. Moses, Fitch B. Fulton and Harry E. Naile delivered scenery to several Masonic theaters. The Pasadena Scottish Rite project began on the heels of the Fort Scott Scottish Rite project. It all started with Fort Scott, Kansas.
In August 1924, Moses wrote, “Fulton is now in Fort Scott getting ready for our big work. I bought a round trip ticket for a long western trip and started on the 16th of August arriving in Fort Scott on the 17th. Put in one day with Fulton, leaving on the 19th.”
Fulton was on site setting up the paint space in the theater and was already painting when Moses arrived for a day in Fort Scott. The two worked on a platform twenty-feet above the stage-left side of the theater. The project would be completed in spits and spurts that year.
After leaving Fort Scott and stopping in Salt Lake City, Moses arrived in Los Angeles on the afternoon of the August 22, He wrote, “Got busy immediately at Pasadena for ten days. As a final deal, I offered the Little Rock drops for $8,500.00, closed the deal and at Los Angeles for a big interior for the Consistory.”
So, while Fulton began the Fort Scott job, Moses landed the Pasadena job.
Moses returned to the Fort Scott Project, finished the work with Fulton, and then headed back to Chicago. By November 1924, Moses wrote, “I must get back to Pasadena as they want to open on the 24th of February, so we put the house in perfect shape for cold weather and got our tickets via the D.R.G. through Colorado. Met Fulton at Denver and were soon on our way to San Jose. Arriving in San Francisco, we reached the 3rd Street Station just in time to catch a train for San Jose. Went to the Vendome Hotel and Mrs. Fulton came up. It took us eight days to close a $7,000.00 contract and get to Los Angeles where we spent two days, finally securing a fine apartment at the 159 S. Los Robles Avenue in Pasadena, where we will remain for two months. Had a delightful Christmas day at Walters.”
Moses and Fulton planned on preparing the used Little Rock scenery for installation and painting a few new scenes for the Pasadena Scottish Rite.
Scene by Sosman & Landis for the Scottish Rite theater in Little Rock, Arkansas, 1902. It was sold to the Pasadena Scottish Rite and installed in 1925.Scene by Sosman & Landis for the Scottish Rite theater in Little Rock, Arkansas, 1902. It was sold to the Pasadena Scottish Rite and installed in 1925.Backdrop painted by Thomas G. Moses and Fitch Fulton in 1925 for the Pasadena Scottish Rite.Painted detail. Backdrop painted by Thomas G. Moses and Fitch Fulton in 1925 for the Pasadena Scottish Rite.
On February 14, 1925, the “Pasadena Post” reported, “The magnificent scenic drop curtains which have been hung in the new Scottish Rite cathedral to be dedicated Tuesday evening, are a gift of Major Charles M. Skillen, in memory of his son, the later Dr. Ralph G. Skillen. Both father and sone were charter members of the Pasadena Consistory.“The 73 drops represent some of the finest work of the artists of Sosman & Landis company of Chicago have ever produced, according to Thomas G. Moses, president of the firm, who is in Pasadena to personally supervise the work of installing them. “Each of the drops was especially designed and finished for the Pasadena cathedral. Months were spent in the preparation of then, it is said. About half were painted in the Chicago studios of the company and the reminder finished in this city. While Mr. Moses has watched carefully the painting of the curtains, much credit for their final perfection must go to the assistant and scenic artist, F. B. Fulton. Mr. Fulton believes the scenic work to be some of the finest he has ever produced. The final work of hanging and installing the curtains will be under the supervision of Harry Nail, a member of the Sosman & Landis company. This work demands such expert workmanship that Mr. Nail [sic.] was brought from Chicago so that no mistakes in installation could be made.”
The stage machinery at the Pasadena Scottish Rite installed by Harry E. Naile in 1925. This is the same system that was previously used at the Little Rock Scottish Rite from 1902 to 1923.The Pasadena Scottish Rite theater became known as the Cobb Auditorium in 1935.The original decor at the Pasadena Scottish Rite from 1925.The renovated Pasadena Scottish Rite, ca. 1965.The Pasadena Scottish Rite, c. 2017.
Only if you were standing backstage at the Pasadena Scottish Rite and saw “Little Rock” written all over the back of many of the scenes would you suspect that they scenery was not new. That a good portion of the collection was previously designed and installed at the Little Rock Scottish Rite in Arkansas.
“Little Rock” written on the back of a drop at the Pasadena Scottish Rite.“Little Rock” written on the back of a drop at the Pasadena Scottish Rite.Also included is information about the size, composition, scenic piece, and degree.
When the Scottish Rite in Little Rock purchased new scenery in 1923, their old scenery was returned on credit, applied toward the purchase of new scenery. This used collection was stored and then split between the Miami Scottish Rite and the Pasadena Scottish Rite. When some of the old Little Rock scenery arrived in Pasadena, Moses and Fulton touched up the scenes and then added some drops.Over the decades, the scenery collection was expanded, touched up, and repositioned. A complete remodel of the auditorium took place from 1964-1965, greatly altering the overall aesthetic and proscenium opening that showcased the scenic artworks.https://www.pasadenascottishrite.org/about-us/history/
Thomas G. Moses worked with Fitch Fulton on a variety of Scottish Rite scenery projects during 1924 and 1925. One was Pasadena Scottish Rite, a project that offered escape from the cold in Chicago. Moses desperately wanted to spend his winters in California, and the Pasadena Scottish Rite project ensured a few months of work in a warm location.
At the end of 1924, Moses wrote, “The last Sunday in the year we spent at the Fultons, where we enjoyed the day. As I had hoped a year ago, we are spending the winter in California and so far we have thoroughly enjoyed it, as we have many winters in the past.”
Even when Moses and Fulton weren’t painting scenery, they enjoyed social gatherings and sketching trips. The two were a generation apart, with Fulton in his 40s and Moses in his 60s. Both were skilled artists and greatly enjoyed plein air painting. Of one excursion, Moses wrote, “Walter, Fulton and I went out for a day’s sketching at Sycamore Rock near Eagle Rock. We had plenty of visitors. I found a vast difference between the far east and California as far as atmosphere is concerned. So, I was not as successful with my sketches as I had hoped to be.”
Later in 1925, Moses wrote, “We all enjoyed the many week-end trips, we took with wonderful lunches and good sketching grounds. Mrs. Fulton looked after the eats and she certainly did not overlook anything, as we were overfed and did not feel like sketching after the meal. We found some very good sketching down in Topanga Canyon, over towards Santa Monica and Flint Cliff. I would like to make an extended sketching trip out here, but I am very much afraid I will never be able to, as business will keep me from it as it has always done in the past. It has been very pleasant out of doors. Some days the sun was so hot that we had to get under a tree – pretty good for January.”
Topanga postcard form the 1920s.Topanga postcard form the 1920s.Topanga postcard form the 1920s.Topanga postcard form the 1920s.Topanga postcard form the 1920s.Topanga postcard form the 1920s.Topanga postcard form the 1920s.Topanga postcard form the 1920s.Topanga postcard form the 1920s.Topanga postcard form the 1920s.
In 1924 Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Fitch Fulton drifted in from the west on the 18th of July and we found work for him on designs.”
Fulton became Moses’ right-hand man for the next few years. Moses, Fulton and Harry Naile formed a unique scenic trio that went from one Masonic project to another, completing work secured by Fred R. Megan. Two of their projects included Scottish Rite theaters in Pasadena, California and Fort Scott, Kansas. Fulton was Moses’ painting assistant, friend, and sketching companion. Like many of Moses’ friends living in California, Fulton transitioned from theater to motion pictures by the 1930s. Moses did not.
Today, Fulton is primarily associated with one particular painting – his matte painting of Tara from “Gone With the Wind.” Measuring 36 inches by 31.5 inches, it was used under the films’ opening credits. In 2013, CBS reported on a Hollywood Memorabilia Auction, where Fulton’s painting was sold for $225,000. (https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/hollywood-memorabilia-auction/). Fulton originally gifted the painting to his son, John P. Fulton, inscribing on the lower right corner, “To John from Dad.” His son John P. Fulton ended up in special effects for the motion picture industry, starting out as a cameraman.
Men like the Fitch Fulton bridged the gap between nineteenth-century special effects and twentieth-century special effects. It is no wonder that his son would excel in the planning and engineering of special effects for film, as he grew up watching his father engineer special effects for the stage. The only difference was that one century created illusion for live performance on stage and the other century used the screen. Again, nineteenth-century scenic artists did much more than paint backdrops, they engineered and often constructed stage illusion, spectacles, amusement park rides and other popular entertainment. Those, like Moses, who clung to only producing special effects for the stage continued to struggle. Interestingly, they became more reliant on the integration and sale of draperies.
Fulton is repeatedly mentioned by Moses his memoirs in 1924 and 1925, I am going to include a little history about this interesting individual. Like Moses, he was not only a scenic artist, but also an easel artist and exhibited his work in California. He was a member of the Painters and Sculptors Club, the Artists of the Southwest, Academy of Western Painters, the California Watercolor Society and the California Art Club.
Fitch Burt Fulton was born in Beatrice, Nebraska, on Oct. 10, 1879. He was the son of John Blythe Fulton (1835-1924) and Sarah Phipps Fulton (1835-1902). One of six children, his siblings were Margaret Ann (1859-1951), Thomas B. (1867-1946), William S. (1868-1955), Richard N. (1870-1953) and Jessie Berlin (1873-1912). Fulton’s artistic ambitions were apparent by the 1890s.
On September 30, 1898, “The Tribune” in Beatrice, Nebraska, reported, “Fitch B. Fulton, the young Beatrice designer and engraver, is rapidly coming to the front. He has gotten up some very handsome and artistic designs of late. The young man shows great ability and undoubtedly has a very bright and successful career before him” (page 6). On October 15, 1898, the “Beatrice Daily Express” reported, “The carnival cut on this page is the design of Fitch B. Fulton of this city. It is a credit to Mr. Fulton’s genius and betrays the evidence of a rising young artis.” He continued his artistic studies in Chicago at this time.
Fitch Fulton’s Carnival Cutfor the Beatrice Daily Express, 1898.
In 1899, Fulton returned to his studies in Chicago after holiday break. On March 14, 1899, the “Beatrice Daily Express” reported, “Fitch B. Fulton has gone to Chicago to re-enter the art institute there.” Fulton studied under John Vanderpoel, Frederick W. Freer and J. Francis Smith at the Art Institute. He also studied at the Arts League of New York.
Fulton married Anna Maria Engstrom (1879-1941) in on March 8, 1902, and the two celebrated the birth of a son, John Phipps Fulton (Nov. 4, 1902), and the birth of a daughter, Bernice (July 23, 1905). Bernice was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
On Dec. 16, 1902, the “Beatrice Daily Express” reported, “The Beatrice Book and Stationary Co. has on display in their north show window a number of sketches done in watercolors by Fitch Fulton, a local artist. These simple studies are well excited and show a fidelity to nature that is remarkable. The color is rather subdued but it is the more striking because of the prevalence and effect of the soft tints. At present Mr. Fulton is in Omaha engaged in work of this nature.”
In 1913, the Fultons moved to San Francisco on where he worked on the railroad exhibit at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in 1914. After the world Fair’s work, the Fulton’s loved in Denver for a year before permanently moving to Los Angeles in 1916.
In 1918, Fulton listed that he was working as a scenic artist at the Edwin H. Flagg Scenic Co. in Long beach, California, on his WWI draft registration card. At the time, his physical appearance was described shirt and stout, with black hair and brown eyes. By 1920, the Federal Census listed the Fultons as living next to fellow scenic artist Arthur R. Hurtt and his wife Winnifred (58 and 55 yrs. old, respectively). The Fultons were at 1510 Mowhawk Street and the Hurtt’s at 1518 Mowhawk Street. That year Fulton partnered with J. D. Martin and Wm. T. Martin to establish the J. D. Martin Scenic Co., Los Angeles. It was listed in the Incorporations section of “Southwest Builders and Contractors” (11 Feb 1920, page 30). The listing included: “Capital stock, $25,000; subscribed, $3,000; Directors J. D. Martin and Wm. T. Martin, 215 E. 25th St., and Fitch B. Fulton, 1519 Mohawk St.; Attorney: William Crop, 544 Wesley Roberts Bldg.
In 1922, the Fultons were living at 1545 Columbia in Glendale, California. That year he was credited with painting a landscape for California’s Pageant of Progress and Industrial Exposition. On September 4, 1922, the “Los Angeles Times” reported, “Camping styles for maid who crave to trade their skirts for knickers and steal away with rod and gun to fish and hunt have become distinctly a Los Angeles product. The best examples of this young Diana styles are on display at one of the most unique and effectively decorated booths on the exposition grounds. The Army and Navy camp shows a mountain woodland scene with a scenic background painted by Fitch B. Fulton, who received a gold medal at the Panama Pacific Exposition for the Gould Railway exhibit. He is a member of the California Art Club.” In 1922 Fulton also received applause for his stage settings for “La Golondrina (The Swallow)” at the playhouse in San Gabriel (Los Angeles Evening Express, 9 April 1922, page 16). J. M. Cox was the director.Throughout the 1920s, he continued to primarily work on stage productions. On June 1, 1925, he was credited with the settings for “The Big Top” at the Majestic (Los Angeles Evening Express, 1 June 1925, page 6).
During the 1920s, Fulton became increasing active in art shows. In 1923, he exhibited with the California Watercolor Society. On January 7, 1923, the “Los Angeles Times” reported “Fitch Fulton’s ‘Wedding Dream’ is remarkably decorative in composition and color, it is permeated with delicate and refined beauty, it is a painted Epithalamium.” In 1925, some of Fulton’s painting were included in the first exhibition of the Artland Artists. On Nov. 1, 1925, the “Daily News” listed “Soboba Sycamore” by Fitch B. Fulton as one of the oil paintings on display (page 33). In 1926, Fulton’s artworks were part of the third exhibit of paintings by the L. A. Art Club (Los Angeles Evening Express, 3 September, 1926, page 17). That year, he also was the president of the Painter and Sculptors Club in Los Angeles. He continued to exhibit artworks whenever he could, but held off on a one-man exhibit until 1951. On April 29, 1951, the “Los Angeles Times” announced “Fitch Fulton Impresses.” (page 14). Fitch Fulton, now 62, has long been known here as a good landscape painter. Until his recent retirement from work for motion pictures, however, he was always too busy to prepare an exhibit. So, at 62 Fulton has his first one-man show. It consists of small oil landscapes, very sensitively recording things see by a poetic eye. This exhibit is on until May 7 at the Little Gallery, 626 N. Glendale Ave.” For a glimpse at some of his paintings, visit Mutual Art at https://www.mutualart.com/Artist/Fitch-Fulton/41294041B9B9CE70/Artworks
Fitch Fulton painting sold at auction.Fitch Fulton painting sold at auction.Fitch Fulton painting sold at auction.Fitch Fulton painting sold at auction.Fitch Fulton painting sold at auction.
All the while, he kept working as a scenic artist, completing projects for a variety of studios and under his own name. In 1927, Fulton was credited with the scenic design for the “Devil’s Plum Tree” (San Francisco Examiner, 11 Sept. 1927, page 52.). J. D. Martin Studios in Hollywood executed Fulton’s designs. By the 1930s, Fulton transitioned to the motion pictures and was associated with the visual effects for “The Enchanted Cottage” (1945), “Citizen Cane” (1941), and “Gone with the Wind” (1939). He was listed as part of the technical staff for “Mighty Joe Young” (1949), credited with special effects for the film. Again, this is no surprise as Fulton was already familiar with engineering special effects for the stage.
Fitch Fulton is credited with special effects for “Mighty Joe Young.”Fitch Fulton is credited with special effects for “Mighty Joe Young.”
He lost his wife Anna just as his film career was starting to gather momentum in 1941. On April 7, 1941, their hometown newspaper reported, “A message was received here yesterday announcing the death of Mrs. F. B. Fulton, formerly of Beatrice, which occurred at Glendale, Calif., where she had resided since leaving this city. She has been in failing health for a year or more. Surviving are her husband, who has long been connected with the scenic department of the movie colony in Hollywood, one son John, who is also with the movies as a production representative and a daughter, Bernice. (Beatrice Daily Sun, page 1).
Fulton soon remarried the next year. On May 8, 1942, he was wedded to Mary Ann “Mamie” Davlin Fulton (1890-1994). Mary is quite interesting in her own right, as she was the first woman in the United States and Canada to become a freight router. A native of Plankington, South Dakota, she spent most of her adult life in Los Angeles, where she attended Heald Business College. This was Mary’s second marriage too. She long out lived Fitch, passing away in 1995 at the age of 104.
The grave of Fitch and Mary Fulton
He died on Feb. 23, 1955 in Glendale, California and is buried at Mission Hills, Los Angeles, California. His obituary was published in the “Los Angeles Times” on Feb. 25, 1955. It noted, “Mr. Fulton, who first came to California in 1913, was a designer and artist. He leaves his widow Maryl; a daughter Mrs. Krutchfield Ahair, Santa Barbara; a son, John P. Fulton, North Hollywood, and four grandchildren.”
I cannot end this post without a brief mention of Fulton’s daughter and son. Both of the Fulton children were artistically gifted. When Bernice married in 1932, the “San Bernardino Country Sun” reported, “Miss Fulton has been a teacher in the art department of the Belmont high school, Los Angeles, for five years, being a graduate of U. C. L. A. and also studies in Europe. Her father was the artist painting the curtain in the municipal auditorium in San Bernardino.”
Her brother, John P. Fulton, directed his artistic abilities toward the film industry. In 1930, John P. was listed as a Cinematographer in the motion picture industry, living at 1168 ½ on Hampshire Blvd. in Los Angeles.
A decade later, John P. was listed as a cameraman in the 1940 census. By 1947, his draft registration card listed his employer as Universal Pictures Corp, Universal City. At the time, John was living with Bernice at 1521 Kings Rd. Hollywood, California. There is a great amount of information out there about Fitch’s son, especially blog posts. Here is a link to
Sadly, John passed away only a decade after his father. In 1965, he contracted a rare infection while working on a film in Madrid, Spain (“The Battle of Britain”), and passed away in an English hospital.
My post about the Scottish Rite scenery at Fort Leavenworth from 1924 included the standard Sosman & Landis design for the 18th degree. Labeled “Peristyle,” the design included a landscape with river dividing the scene, a pelican feeding its young, and a few other symbolic objects. The pelican was supposed to be piercing its breast to feed its young – a symbol of sacrifice.
Correct image of pelican posted to the Traveling Templar. here is the link: https://www.travelingtemplar.com/2013/08/the-pelican.html
This image is not unique to Freemasonry at all. It is found on stained glass windows in churches and even on the Louisiana state flag.
At Fort Leavenworth, however, Moses painted the pelican is feeding its young a worm.
18th degree setting at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.Detail painted by Thomas G. Moses – pelican feeding a worm to its young.
He had done this before – many times. Besides, pelicans are water birds, and don’t really search for worms in the ground. I had always wondered who kept adding the worm and should have made the connection long before now. After all, in 1904, the artistic direction at the studio was handed over to Moses when he returned and became the vice-president of the firm. Moses and Fred Megan purchased the Sosman & Landis name after the company liquidated in 1923 and continued to deliver Scottish Rite scenery. It was seeing the pelican with a worm on the Fort Leavenworth scenery this week that made me realize Moses was the culprit. After all, he didn’t become a Mason until 1925, so it is understandable. What I find humorous is that it wasn’t immediately pointed out, or quietly fixed over the decades.
Correct depiction of pelican painted when Thomas G. Moses was not in charge of Masonic scenery production at Sosman & Landis.Scottish Rite scene for Winona, Minnesota, painted under Thomas G. Moses’ supervision.Scottish Rite scene for McAlester, Oklahoma painted under Thomas G. Moses’ supervision, 1908. This scene was later sold to the Salina Scottish Rite.Scottish Rite scene for St. Paul, Minnesota, painted under Thomas G. Moses’ supervision.
There are few Scottish Rite scenes that were solely designed for Masonic degree productions. Most stage settings that were used by the Fraternity originated for other venues. Many stage compositions had been used for centuries in a variety of theatrical and operatic productions. Palatial interiors, cathedrals, catacombs, dungeons, classical interiors, mausoleums, Egyptian temples, desert scenes, forests, rivers, landscapes, Gothic armories, rocky coasts, and garden scenes were all used for both commercial and fraternal productions.
The “INRI Peristyle” scene for the eighteenth degree, however, was unique. It would become a standard setting in many Southern Jurisdiction Scottish Rite theaters during the first decade of the twentieth century. This scene used a translucent lighting effect. The words “Infinity,” “Nature,” “Reason,” and “Immortality” were typically placed at the tops of columns. The first letter of each word (I.N.R.I.) was backed with red silk, allowing it to glow.
I am frequently asked questions about the subject matter and necessary symbolism in degree production scenery. How did the artists know what to paint? How did the Masons ensure appropriate symbolism on each backdrop without revealing any secrets? Did all of the scenic artists understand what they were painting on drops? The short answer is, “No, look at the pelican; it’s a perfect example of a detail being lost in translation.”
The pelican is an integral part of the eighteenth degree. In many stage settings it either appears on the backdrop or cut drop. Sometimes it is included as a set prop or light box.
Pelican piercing its breast light box for the 18th degree at the Scottish Rite stage in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
Screwing up this significant image is a big deal, and yet many Scottish Rite scenes still have a Pelican feeding a worm to its young.
This major faux pas, however, was not unique to Sosman & Landis. Once Volland installation at the Scottish Rite in Hastings, Nebraska has a lone Pelican piercing its breast – no young anywhere in sight. It’s like a pelican suicide.
Pelican painted by Volland scenic artists for the Scottish Rite in Hastings, Nebraska.
In 1924 Thomas G. Moses wrote, “On my way to Fort Leavenworth very soon, where I closed a small Masonic job of $2,000.00… I started home by way of Omaha. On arriving home, I started to work on Fort Leavenworth drops…Megan on the road most of the time makes the studio work so much harder for me, especially when I want to paint more.”
Moses’ $2,000 scenery project was for Boughton Memorial, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The Masonic Temple was dedicated during the summer of 1922. On June 23, 1922, the “Leavenworth Times” reported, “Hundred Witnessed Dedication at Fort. Impressive Ceremonies Held Last Night at Boughton Memorial, Masonic Temple.” The article continued, “One of the most impressive and interesting ceremonies ever held by Masons at Fort Leavenworth was held last night when Boughton Memorial, the Fort Leavenworth Masonic Temple, was dedicated. There was an unusually interesting program and hundreds of Masons, including two thirty-third Degree Masons, Col. E. B. Fuller and W. L. Burdick.” (page 1).
On June 12, 1924, the “Plainville Times” announced, “Army Lodges Confer Scottish Rite Degrees” (page 6). The article reported, “Fort Leavenworth, Kans. – During the great war the Scottish Rite Bodies of this city were of necessity somewhat disorganized but the bodies are now re-established and are comfortably housed in their new temple. Considerable equipment has been provided and the work is being conducted with efficiency and enthusiasm.”
The “considerable equipment” was the new scenery and properties painted by Moses for the stage. This “small Masonic job” both referred to the number and the size of the drops. The drops are approximately 12-feet high by 18-feet wide.
Scenery by Thomas G. MosesScenery by Thomas G. MosesScenery by Thomas G. MosesScenery by Thomas G. MosesScenery by Thomas G. MosesScenery by Thomas G. MosesScenery by Thomas G. MosesScenery by Thomas G. MosesScenery by Thomas G. MosesScenery by Thomas G. MosesScenery by Thomas G. MosesScenery by Thomas G. MosesScenery by Thomas G. MosesScenery by Thomas G. MosesScenery by Thomas G. MosesScenery by Thomas G. Moses
In 1924, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “I left home on the 5th of January for a southern trip.”
He was heading south to San Antonio, Texas, to bid on another Scottish Rite theatre contract; one that he would not get. Regardless, the trip was quite eventful. Moses continued, “I reached St. Louis quite late on the Alton road. Found our connecting line had gone on. Awfully cold and storming badly. Managed to bluff my way onto another train and was fortunate in securing the same berth number. Travelled all the next day on our way to Paris, Texas, where we had to remain overnight. We left Paris early the next morning and arrived in San Antonio at 8:21 in the evening, where I spent several days with my old friend Herbert Barnard. We had quite a good showing at his studio.”
Barnard had quite a reputation in San Antonio and should have been the local favorite, but he was not a Mason. Barnard was well known as a designer and director of outdoor festivals. In 1923, the “Tulsa Tribune” reported, “Barnard stands almost unrivaled in America. Despite the number of years that he has been engaged in scenic decoration, his work displays ever-increasing ingenuity and originality. He builds the floats in keeping with the spirit and nature of the event for which they are designed, and in some of his former connections has produced carnivals and festivals of bewildering lavishness and startling originality” (July 22, 1923).
Unfortunately, they were bidding against Toomey & Volland, another southern studio with quite a reputation. Unlike Barnard, however, Toomey & Volland were well-respected for their Masonic Scenery production.
Moses wrote, “Barnard is really entitled to the contract and I did all I could to throw the work at him with the understanding that our company would be sharer in the profits. We finally got our estimate submitted. It was $38,000.00 Volland took the contract at $26,000.00.” It was a big project -114 drops.
This was a pattern that would continue to plague Moses for the next decade. No matter how he figured the numbers, Moses often came in as the highest bidder, the projects quickly slipping thru his fingertips.
The Scottish Rite Cathedral of San Antonio was completed in 1924 at a cost of $1.5 million.
The stage at the San Antonio Scottish Rite Cathedral
Scenery by Sosman & Landis Scene Painting Studio for the Scottish Rite Theatre in Wichita, Kansas. In 1908, the Wichita Scottish Rite purchased new scenery. Their old scenery was relocated to the Masonic Temple in Yankton, South Dakota.
Scenery by Sosman & Landis, 1898Scenery by Sosman & Landis, 1898Scenery by Sosman & Landis, 1898Painted detail. Scenery by Sosman & Landis, 1898Painted detail. Scenery by Sosman & Landis, 1898Painted detail. Scenery by Sosman & Landis, 1898Painted detail. Scenery by Sosman & Landis, 1898Painted detail. Scenery by Sosman & Landis, 1898Painted detail. Scenery by Sosman & Landis, 1898Painted detail. Scenery by Sosman & Landis, 1898Painted detail. Scenery by Sosman & Landis, 1898The Masonic Temple in Yankton, South DakotaThe Masonic Temple in Yankton, South Dakota
In 1927, 117 drops were moved from the Scottish Rite Theatre in McAlester, Oklahoma, to the Scottish Rite Theatre in Salina, Kansas. The collection dates from 1908, originally delivered by the Sosman & Landis Scene Painting Studio of Chicago. Thomas G. Moses (1856-1934) supervised the design and painting of the collection.
Scenery By Sosman & Landis, 1908Scenery By Sosman & Landis, 1908Scenery By Sosman & Landis, 1908Scenery By Sosman & Landis, 1908Scenery By Sosman & Landis, 1908Scenery By Sosman & Landis, 1908Scenery By Sosman & Landis, 1908Scenery By Sosman & Landis, 1908Scenery and stage machinery By Sosman & Landis, 1908Scenery and stage machinery By Sosman & Landis, 1908 Sosman & Landis wooden arbor cage, 1908
Scenery by Thomas G. Moses (1856-1934) for the Scottish Rite Theatre in Fort Scott, Kansas.
Scenery by Thomas G. Moses for the Scottish Rite Theatre in Fort Scott, KansasScenery by Thomas G. Moses for the Scottish Rite Theatre in Fort Scott, KansasScenery by Thomas G. Moses for the Scottish Rite Theatre in Fort Scott, KansasScenery by Thomas G. Moses for the Scottish Rite Theatre in Fort Scott, KansasScenery by Thomas G. Moses for the Scottish Rite Theatre in Fort Scott, KansasScenery by Thomas G. Moses for the Scottish Rite Theatre in Fort Scott, KansasScenery by Thomas G. Moses for the Scottish Rite Theatre in Fort Scott, KansasScenery by Thomas G. Moses for the Scottish Rite Theatre in Fort Scott, KansasScenery by Thomas G. Moses for the Scottish Rite Theatre in Fort Scott, KansasScenery by Thomas G. Moses for the Scottish Rite Theatre in Fort Scott, KansasScenery by Thomas G. Moses for the Scottish Rite Theatre in Fort Scott, Kansas
In 1923, Moses wrote,” I went to El Dorado and signed up for $3,150.00 including the murals. I felt pretty good over that. I will do something worthwhile on them.”
Moses landed the contract for scenery and murals in the lodge room at the new Masonic Hall on North Washington Street in El Dorado, Arkansas. It was a four-story building designed in the Egyptian Revival style. The cornerstone laying ceremony took place on April 28, 1923, and Moses began work on it right away while juggling a few other projects. Although was still employed at Sosman & Landis, this was one of the side projects for Moses & Megan, as they bided their time, waiting purchase the Sosman & Landis name.
Masonic Hall in El Dorado, ArkansasMasonic Hall in El Dorado, Arkansas
Much of the scenery for the El Dorado Masonic Hall was painted after hours when Moses was on site in Binghamton, New York. That fall, Moses wrote, “On the 25th of October, I received a wire from El Dorado, asking me to come on there for a few days and lay out the color scheme. As I had been working on the scenery for El Dorado and Wichita during my stay in Binghamton, I had it shipped so I could put it up.” After arriving in El Dorado to install the scenery, he wrote, “A few days’ work – put all my scenery up and had it paid for, which was a surprise as I expected I would have to wait for some time.” He also collected $600 as a down payment for the mural work. A month later, Moses was working on the lodge room murals. He wrote, “I started my mural panels for El Dorado and some Masonic models which we were sadly in need of…I am very anxious to have my murals at El Dorado come out good as it is going to mean a great deal for me in the future, not only in Masonic work but back again in lobby displays in hotels and theatres.”
At the same time he was working on the El Dorado murals, he and Fred Megan were also going after Masonic projects in Little Rock, Denver and Fort Leavenworth. Those were the projects that required Masonic Models. Early in 1924, Moses wrote, “I started to work on Fort Leavenworth drops, during the week spent some little time on El Dorado murals. My best day on murals is Sunday. Megan on the road most of the time makes the studio work so much harder for me, especially when I want to paint more.” By the end of March 1924, Moses brought his finished murals to El Dorado. Of his trip, he wrote, “Got all my murals up and everyone pleased. Bowers paid me $600.00, a like balance to be paid later.” The mural project was $1800, with 1/3 due upon contractual signing, 1/3 upon delivery and 1/3 at a later date.
El Dorado is quite a fascinating town on its own, situated along the Ouachita River in the Timberlands region of Arkansas. It was timber and agriculture that initially fueled the area. However, on January 10, 1921, the Busey No. 1 oil well was completed one mile southwest of El Dorado. Dr. Samuel T. Busey was an oil speculator who struck it rich. On February 3, 1921, Topeka’s “Petroleum Journal” reported, “A doctor, a farmer and a Chinese laundryman gambled in oil at El Dorado, Arkansas. Now the little town of El Dorado, Ark., is counting its millions, actual and prospective. Samuel T. Busey of Newark, N.J., is the doctor. He’s also a geologist and globe trotter. He heard of a gasser near El Dorado Ark. That was so strong it blew its own vents in the surface on the earth. By July 31, 1921, newspapers announced, “He is a pioneer. A discoverer of three mammoth oil fields, known as the Wildcat King of the Universe; Now drilling a Super Wildcat on 6000 Acres” (Fort Worth Record-Telegram, page 28). Although the Busey No. 1 produced only a short-lived oil run, it brought a wave of speculators into the area, transforming the small town with 4,000 residents into the oil capital of Arkansas.
Fort Worth Record-Telegram, July 31, 1921, page 28
Okay, really hard to write this with the “Beverly Hillbillies” song going through my head…
“Come and listen to my story about a man named Jed A poor mountaineer, barely kept his family fed, And then one day he was shootin’ at some food, And up through the ground come a bubblin’ crude. Oil that is, black gold, Texas tea.”
The Beverly Hillbillies was one of my favorite shows growing up
By the time Moses visited El Dorado in 1923, the city was in the midst of a building boom, with fifty-nine oil contracting companies, thirteen oil distributors and refiners, and twenty-two oil production companies. It’s not surprising with Moses having worked with Herbert Barnard on the Petroleum Expo in Tulsa that year. He likely got the connection at the event.
This is where El Dorado is located in Arkansas
It was during this time that El Dorado Lodge No. 13, F. & A.M. built their new Masonic Hall. By 1925 the El Dorado’s population reached 30,000.
The El Dorado Masons had been around for quite a while, having first received their charter in 1846. Like many Masonic Orders at that time, they met in a variety of locations, until they secured enough funds to purchase their own building. Their luck was not fantastic though, as one after another of their buildings burned to the ground. Their last purchase before building the Hall in 1923 was the Johnsten Opera House; and yes, that burned to the ground too. Fortunately, the El Dorado Masonic Hall has withstood the test of time and even made it onto the National Register in 2001. It is now part of the El Dorado Commercial Historic District, comprised of sixty-nine buildings and one monument.
El Dorado Masonic Temple Marker
Tracking down any historic image of the hall has been quite a challenge. Fortunately, Zackery A. Cothern included two images of the building in “Arkansas Listings in the National Register of Historic Places: Egyptian Revival Design Elements,” published in “The Arkansas Historical Quarterly,” (Vol 63, No. 4, 2004).
Image used in Zackery A. Cothern’s article.
…and then I turned to Facebook…
The Masonic Hall stage pictured on the El Dorado Masonic Lodge FB Page.El Dorado Masonic HallMurals by Thomas G. Moses in the El Dorado Masonic HallMurals by Thomas G. Moses in the El Dorado Masonic HallMurals by Thomas G. Moses in the El Dorado Masonic HallMurals by Thomas G. Moses in the El Dorado Masonic HallMurals by Thomas G. Moses in the El Dorado Masonic Hall
I started looking to see if the lodge or members were posting any photos of ceremonial activities that would provide a glimpse of the stage or lodge room. Strike! Although the stage area still remains a mystery to me, Moses’ murals for the El Dorado Masonic Hall were featured numerous times. They are quite lovely. This small fraternal theater will be part of my next southern travel itinerary.
