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On the Twelfth Day of Christmas

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…the current December event that replaced staged performances in many Masonic facilities.
 
Why? Here is my thought – a simple lack of individuals to participate in the performance during a busy time of year. This is one of the main reasons that many Scottish Rite Valleys stage a very small number of degrees; comparative to previous decades. Declining membership has taken its toll. Unfortunately, the message sent to the public from the fraternity also changes when they lose the message of the “Christmas Carol” to “we give you something for free.” In many ways, this is a continuation of the discussion that I started about Masonic museum exhibits in Europe where the main message focused on how members gave back to society and NOT how an organization donates a lot of money. It was more of a discussion that depicted how masonry didn’t just “make good men better,” but gave them the tools to make a difference in the world of politics, music, art, medicine, etc…
 
I hope that you all have enjoyed the twelve days of Christmas!

On the Tenth Day of Christmas

On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…

This is one of the only times that I encountered something that was too damaged to save. As it was on my own dime, I had to be selective with what I kept for future training. The reason for the disposable was because of the newspaper plastered on the back of the drop (for opacity from upstage lights, I’m sure). This, combined with massive dusting pigment and a pretty ugly composition made it undesirable to salvage and store for restoration training. We unrolled the drop in the parking lot of the Minneapolis Scottish Rite because of the mess. It was one of 70+ scenes! This is just drop that I salvaged from the Peoria, Illinois Scottish Rite Cathedral after they transitioned to rear projections and gutted the rigging. All of the Peoria Christmas Carol Scenery had to be thrown out due to the contaminants. I ended up only saving the Peoria Scottish Rite Masonic scenery for future experimentation with restoration methods. The remainder of the collection was from the turn-of-the-twentieth century (Volland & Toomey) that Becker Studios refurbished and sold to the Peoria Scottish Rite in 1924. Over time, Twin Cities Scenic Company contributed a few pieces to the collection, such as the “Christmas Carol” in the 1940s.