THE RITE RECORDERValley of Cincinnati www.32masons.com December 2017

Traveling Degrees

Mid-Winter Gathering

Hand-Lettered Certificate

THE RITE RECORDERVolume 74 No. 5

Cincinnati Masonic Center317 East Fifth Street Cincinnati, OH 45202–3399 513-421–3579 • 800-561–3579 Fax: 513-562–2661

Web: www.32masons.com

EDITOR

Ben P. Rosenfield, 32ºbenr@32masons.com

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Chairman K. Douglas Akers, 33º

Members at LargeDonald E. Hoffman, 33ºThomas E. Uhl, 32º Jeffrey P. Waltz, 33º Dwight D. Wilson, 33º

PRESIDING OFFICERS

Gibulum Lodge of Perfection Michael R. Stewart, 32º

Dalcho Council, Princes of Jerusalem Timothy N. Shannon, 32º

Cincinnati Chapter of Rose Croix Richard A. Dickerscheid, 32º

Ohio Consistory Jeffrey A. Bickel, 32º

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Robert W. Dumford, 33º

rdumford@32masons.com

FRATERNAL SECRETARY

Michael A. Himes, 33ºmhimes@32masons.com

Secretary Emeritus John R. Teller, Jr., 33º

TREASURER

Ronald W. Zemites, 33º

HOSPITALER

Kraig J. Walker, 33º

TYLER

Keith L. Clepper, 32º

THE SUPREME COUNCIL

Deputy for the State of OhioDouglas N. Kaylor, 33º

Active Member, Resident in CincinnatiM. Todd McIntosh, 33º

Sovereign Grand CommanderDavid A. Glattly, 33º

Active Member at Large Robert O. Ralston, 33º, P.S.G.C.

Active Member EmeritusWilliam R. Powers, Jr., 33º

Catch the 4º and 10º at J.B. Covert LodgeThis is a great chance to witness a degree that’s seldom portrayed

On Saturday, December 9, 2017, the Valley of Cincinnati will journey to J. B. Covert Lodge No. 437 (its namesake is pictured at left) to witness the 4º video, Master Traveler, and the 10º, Master Elect, to be portrayed by members of the Sixth District Scottish Rite Club.

The 4º is the introduction to all the Scottish Rite degrees, and is offered at all Valley of Cincinnati degree events so that new candidates can meet the requirement needed to start their Scot-tish Rite journey.

The 10º, Master Elect, teaches that a person who violates his obligations, regardless of his station in life, will not go unpun-ished. This degree is not a Core Value degree, and is not usually included in a class, so if you need to see the 10º to add another notch to your Scottish Rite passport, come out and join us on

December 9. J.B. Covert Lodge No. 437 is located at 848 Clough Pike, Cincinnati, OH 45245. Coffee and doughnuts are available at 9:30 a.m.. The degrees start at 10:00 a.m. Lunch follows.

The 4º and 21º Come to Proctorville LodgeGet your passport ready for this degree program

January 13, 2018 finds the Scottish Rite caravan in Proctorville for the 4º video and the 21º, Patriarch Noachite. The 21º teaches that Freemasonry is not a shield for wrongdoing and that justice, a core value of Scottish Rite, is one of the pillars of our Fraternity. Proctorville Lodge No. 550 is located at 340 Front St. Proctorville, OH 45669. Lunch is at noon.Degrees follow.

Dayton Hosts 2018 Mid-Winter GatheringThree degrees, portrayed by three Valleys, await at the Dayton Masonic Center

The next Mid-Winter Gathering will be held on February 13, 2018 at the Dayton Masonic Center (pictured below), located at 525 W. Riverview Ave., Dayton, OH 45405. The Valley of Dayton will be presenting the 6º; the 13º will be portrayed by the Valley of Columbus; and the Valley of Cincinnati will exemplify the 28º. The 13º and 28º are not Core Value degrees, so this date presents yet another opportunity to fill up your Scottish Rite passport. Further details on the day’s events will be published in the January edition of The Rite Recorder and posted at our Website, 32masons.com.

In MemoriamWalter Morris 9/4/2017William K. Murphy 9/4/2017Lionel D. Pflanzer 9/9/2017Dormas C. Manning 9/10/2017Harvey Bergman 9/11/2017Fred H. Rasnake 9/12/2017Earl M. Walther 9/18/2017

William L. Abernathy 9/19/2017Leeman G. Anderson 9/19/2017Ronald H. Maxstadt 9/20/2017Howard R. Pyles 9/20/2017Anton J. Dsuban III 9/22/2017Albert W. Hamant 9/23/2017Frederick L. Gardnier 10/5/2017

Ray Hobbs 10/5/2017Glen E. Stamper 10/6/2017William R. Morgan 10/14/2017Jack L. Myers 10/16/2017Richard L. Murphy 10/19/2017Ronald P. Hockney 10/20/2017Everett D. Reamer, 33º 10/20/2017

Michael A. Hauer 10/21/2017Glenn L. Rider 10/24/2017Gerald D. Owens 10/25/2017Loyd P. Dean 10/27/2017

Hand-Lettered Certificate a Highlight of AASR Library ArchivesBy Jeffrey Croteau, director of Library & Archives, Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, Lexington, MA

The Van Gorden-Williams Library & Archives’ Digital Collections Website (https://digitalvgw.omeka.net/) features a rich collection of digitized documents from the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library.

Among these items is this hand-drawn certificate of appreciation issued by the Supreme Council, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, to Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, the Mayor of Boston and an Active Member of the Supreme Council. The certifi-cate, dated June 19, 1869, was given to Shurtleff in recognition of the Supreme Council’s “high appreciation of the most cordial and fraternal welcome extended” to the Council during the Annual Meet-ing held in Boston, June 16-19, 1869.

The 1869 Annual Meeting was held at the Masonic Temple in Boston. According to the 1869 Supreme Council Proceedings, on the second day of these meetings, Friday, June 18, the Supreme Council voted on “an invitation to accept the hospitalities of the Mayor of the City of Boston, the Hon. and Ill. Bro. Nathan-iel B. Shurtleff, at Young’s Hotel, at 7½ o’clock, this evening.” On motion, the Mayor’s party invitation was unanimously accepted.

While the 1869 Proceedings provide no details about the celebration held at Young’s Hotel, an article published in the July 1, 1869, issue of The Freemasons’ Monthly Magazine gives a brief account of the dinner. It records that the tables for the reception “were furnished with such luxu-ries as the markets at this season of the year can afford, and were in great abundance.” The celebration continued “until late in the evening, when it was increased by the addition of music, by an excellent band from the City of Troy, New York, who had previously been contributing of their skill to the success of the Peace Jubilee.”

The National Peace Jubilee, which hap-pened to coincide with the 1869 Annual Meeting, was a five day music festival held in Boston. It began on June 15, 1869, and celebrated the end of the American Civil War four years earlier. Thousands of people attended the Jubilee, and a huge temporary

coliseum which could seat 50,000 people was constructed for the musical perfor-mances.

The event was so attractive that The Freemasons’ Monthly Magazine reported that the Jubilee actually delayed the start of the Annual Meeting: “The session [i.e. the Annual Meeting] was informally opened on Wednesday, at 12 o’clock, noon; but, in consequence of the interest which the members manifested in the festivities of the opening of the Peace Musical Jubilee, the Council was called off until the following

morning at 10 o’clock, and no business was transacted.”

The celebration hosted by Mayor Shurtleff at Young’s Hotel made a great im-pression upon his guests. The following day, at the Supreme Council’s Annual Meeting, Henry L. Palmer, a future Sovereign Grand

Commander for the Supreme Council, offered a resolution, the text of which was incorporated into the certificate by its artist, Charles E. Sickels (1841-1927).

In 1869 Sickels was a 28-year-old artist and engraver who executed this certificate entirely by hand. He had only been a Mason for two years. His father, Daniel Sickels, 33º, Grand Secretary General for the Supreme Council, signed and sealed the certificate in the lower left-hand corner. Charles Sickels would later go on to become the head of the Art Department of the American Bank Note Company, which printed currency and stamps for the federal gov-ernment, as well as stock certificates. By 1875, the American Bank Note Com-pany printed membership certificates for the Scottish Rite.

You can get a closer look at the Certificate of Appreciation by visiting the Van Gorden-Williams Library & Archives Digital Collections Web-

site: http://digitalvgw.omeka.net/items/show/452.

The Van Gorden-Williams Library & Archives is located in Lexington, MA, at the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library and is open to the public 10-4, Wednesday-Saturday. Have questions? Drop us a line at library@srmml.org or give us a call at 781-457-4109.

Certificate of Appreciation Issued to Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, 1869. Collection of Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, SC 040.

UPCOMING EVENTS

The Valley of Cincinnati has an exciting slate of events scheduled for you. There certainly is

something for everyone on this schedule.

10º (6th District Club) Dec. 9, 2017 J.B. Covert Lodge

Masters Dinner (West) Jan. 11, 2018 RSVP Banquet Hall

21º (Lawrence County Club) Jan. 13, 2018 Proctorville Lodge

Masters Dinner (East) Jan. 13, 2018 Portsmouth Brewery

Mid-Winter Gathering Feb. 17, 2018 Dayton Masonic Center

30º (Highland/Clinton Clubs) Mar. 10, 2018 Hillsboro Lodge

March Madness Party Mar. 16, 2018 Club 32, Cincinnati Masonic Center

Reunion (4º, 14º, 16º, 18º, 32º) Apr. 14, 2018 Cincinnati Masonic Center

Spring Fling for Charity Apr. 21, 2018 Shawnee State University

Fishing Derby May 12, 2018 Shawnee State Park