I was visiting a Lodge recently that is contemplating selling its building. One of the Lodge member’s biggest concerns is that their historical artifacts don’t end up in a junk store somewhere. They seemed quite relieved when I mentioned our Grand Lodge Museum, and let them know that the museum would be pleased to preserve their important objects.
How important is it to you that we have such a resource?
Have you visited our, or another Masonic Museum?
Do you think that enough resources are being used to support these endeavors, or do you feel that more should be devoted to them?
For items of true historic value, that are important to the whole Fraternity, but are now still housed by Lodges, do we as a Fraternity do enough to protect them? If not, how could we improve on that?
I have over the years been involved with 4 lodges merging with other lodges. Every time I contacted our Masonic museum the Brother were more than helpful with the artifact. I learned a lot about the time and energy these Brothers put into their work of getting things inventoried and place in the proper place. These Brothers are all volunteers and truly like helping for the protection of our artifacts. If you haven't visited out museum it's well worth your time.
I’m in a similar situation out here in Oregon. Our lodge building will be 100 years old next year. The forming of our original lodge (in the old building) predated Oregon statehood. We were originally the 7th lodge chartered in the Oregon territories. Our building has fallen into such disrepair, exacerbated by the extreme weather here on the coast. Inside, a treasure trove of history and artifacts lie mostly uncared for. The history of our lodge is not only important to Masons, but to the history of the area.
With the help of a local archivist, I have begun the process of cataloguing and preserving our history. Once that slow process is closer to being done, the Mason who runs our own Grand Lodge Museum has offered to come help me curate the collection. If I can create a museum like collection, and open our building up to the public for tours, perhaps I can rally the community to help us save this history from disappearing.
I've never been inside of your Lodge building, but my wife and I have stopped and peeked in the windows while driving through Astoria. The building is a true treasure, and I hope that you have great success in your efforts to preserve it for future generations.
It is also superb to read about the efforts you are making to preserve the artifact collection. In my travels I see that many of our Lodges have truly wonderful things, but far too often they are gathering dust somewhere instead of being properly displayed and preserved.
They're right to be concerned. I've seen lodges consolidate and lots of artifacts got shuffled off to - where exactly? Sometimes it's temporary (a brother's attic) - 5 years on will anyone know? 20 years on?
AASR valleys and lodges sometimes put valiant efforts into this kind of preservation, but (just my $0.02) they're the wrong place to do it. They're the obvious close-by candidates because of existing relationships, but what you get here is 10-12 small, not professionally organized museum rooms.
Visiting these is not the greatest experience (they may not have a manifest to even know if they have this-or-that) and you can't get much of a comprehensive experience without traveling an entire state. If you're on the far end of the state, you won't know who has what without asking around a lot and you might not get any answers.
It's another case of where the decentralized model of Masonry I think serves us poorly. Historic preservation of artifacts is a thing better handled centrally (by an AASR jurisdiction, or a GL) because scope of vision, resources to persist over decades, and reach is further.
If A consolidates into B, and (10 years later) B into C, where are A's artifacts? The chances are good the answer will end up being "nobody knows"
Museums are serious business. Why not have some professionals in the craft who get paid to be excellent at this function?
I too think that in most cases this is a function best served by a Grand Lodge, and for exactly the reasons you mention. When a Lodge takes in 4 or 5 neighboring Lodges, it will find that there is no more room for anything, and that is when things are shuttled off to storage units where they very quickly decay.
In my view, a large and comprehensive Masonic museum, especially given the fact that it will reflect quite closely the history of the State, would be a draw to the public, which people would be willing to give donations to see. That in turn could lead to the professionalism you mention. We would, as with most things though, need to jump start it, for the one can't happen without the other.
We've been contacted several times by relatives of masons who have passed who left behind a number of masonic keepsakes. We always endeavor to make sure those items go to their rightful places, either their home lodge, or to GL. Some things we've kept for our own use within the lodge. We've even had boxes of items left literally on our doorstep.
But, our brothers need to do a far better job educating their family on what to do when they do pass. It's an uncomfortable subject for a lot of people, but it has to be done. That is the only way we can be assured our treasured mementos don't end up in a pawn shop or a landfill.
I agree 100%, that we all need to talk with our relatives about those Masonic things that are important to us. If we don't, then as you rightly point out, they will hit the garage sale or the dumpster.
For personal things that are donated to a Lodge, like a Mason's rings, I rather like the idea of the Lodge giving them to a new Mason. Two of the Lodges I belong too have done this, and it seems like an excellent and living way to preserve a man's memory. Even aprons. Again Two of my closest Masonic friends wear aprons that they received after a Brother they were especially close to passed away.
As an aside, I had visited the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop (Pawn Stars fame) a few years ago. The items on display are vastly different than what is shown during the TV show. The TV shows more antiques and expensive items/memorabilia, while the shop normally displays what you're regularly find in a pawn store - lots of jewelry. I asked one of the guys behind the ring counter if they had any masonic rings, he said no, they can't keep that stuff in stock, it flies off the shelves as quickly as it comes in.
Now that you mention it, I don't think I've seen a lot of old Masonic rings out in the wild. I have though always purchased vintage Masonic rings for myself. W Brother Howard Sobel (he can be found on Facebook) has an inventory that must be seen to be believed.
This is a large problem over here in the Far East mainly due to consolidations. Deaths account for much personal equipment (swords, headwear, badges, etc) but we had a Lodge incinerated a couple years ago and they need start-up furniture. We have some of that here to help. The Colville consolidation was very special as it was a very old Lodge dating back to the US Army Fort days plus the written records mostly survived. The written materials are very legible and neat, easy to use for history research, etc.
I had always heard that the GL Museum was overloaded with stuff and furthermore we need to do a solid job of prioritizing on whatever we transfer. Also, families usually have no idea what to do with the personal Masonic mementos or whether a Masonic funeral is in order. Some of our old Brothers simply did not communicate with their families.
Washington Masonic Charities (Kim) is quickly, effectively communicating with family members but she is only one "Heartbeat". We must do a much better job educating our members and families.
It is true, our GL Museum is currently quite full. I think that if we devote some more resources and attention to it, that issue can be easily dealt with. Ours isn't actually a part of the Grand Lodge though, it is a part of Washington Masonic Charities.
I have over the years been involved with 4 lodges merging with other lodges. Every time I contacted our Masonic museum the Brother were more than helpful with the artifact. I learned a lot about the time and energy these Brothers put into their work of getting things inventoried and place in the proper place. These Brothers are all volunteers and truly like helping for the protection of our artifacts. If you haven't visited out museum it's well worth your time.
I’m in a similar situation out here in Oregon. Our lodge building will be 100 years old next year. The forming of our original lodge (in the old building) predated Oregon statehood. We were originally the 7th lodge chartered in the Oregon territories. Our building has fallen into such disrepair, exacerbated by the extreme weather here on the coast. Inside, a treasure trove of history and artifacts lie mostly uncared for. The history of our lodge is not only important to Masons, but to the history of the area.
With the help of a local archivist, I have begun the process of cataloguing and preserving our history. Once that slow process is closer to being done, the Mason who runs our own Grand Lodge Museum has offered to come help me curate the collection. If I can create a museum like collection, and open our building up to the public for tours, perhaps I can rally the community to help us save this history from disappearing.
I've never been inside of your Lodge building, but my wife and I have stopped and peeked in the windows while driving through Astoria. The building is a true treasure, and I hope that you have great success in your efforts to preserve it for future generations.
It is also superb to read about the efforts you are making to preserve the artifact collection. In my travels I see that many of our Lodges have truly wonderful things, but far too often they are gathering dust somewhere instead of being properly displayed and preserved.
They're right to be concerned. I've seen lodges consolidate and lots of artifacts got shuffled off to - where exactly? Sometimes it's temporary (a brother's attic) - 5 years on will anyone know? 20 years on?
AASR valleys and lodges sometimes put valiant efforts into this kind of preservation, but (just my $0.02) they're the wrong place to do it. They're the obvious close-by candidates because of existing relationships, but what you get here is 10-12 small, not professionally organized museum rooms.
Visiting these is not the greatest experience (they may not have a manifest to even know if they have this-or-that) and you can't get much of a comprehensive experience without traveling an entire state. If you're on the far end of the state, you won't know who has what without asking around a lot and you might not get any answers.
It's another case of where the decentralized model of Masonry I think serves us poorly. Historic preservation of artifacts is a thing better handled centrally (by an AASR jurisdiction, or a GL) because scope of vision, resources to persist over decades, and reach is further.
If A consolidates into B, and (10 years later) B into C, where are A's artifacts? The chances are good the answer will end up being "nobody knows"
Museums are serious business. Why not have some professionals in the craft who get paid to be excellent at this function?
I too think that in most cases this is a function best served by a Grand Lodge, and for exactly the reasons you mention. When a Lodge takes in 4 or 5 neighboring Lodges, it will find that there is no more room for anything, and that is when things are shuttled off to storage units where they very quickly decay.
In my view, a large and comprehensive Masonic museum, especially given the fact that it will reflect quite closely the history of the State, would be a draw to the public, which people would be willing to give donations to see. That in turn could lead to the professionalism you mention. We would, as with most things though, need to jump start it, for the one can't happen without the other.
We've been contacted several times by relatives of masons who have passed who left behind a number of masonic keepsakes. We always endeavor to make sure those items go to their rightful places, either their home lodge, or to GL. Some things we've kept for our own use within the lodge. We've even had boxes of items left literally on our doorstep.
But, our brothers need to do a far better job educating their family on what to do when they do pass. It's an uncomfortable subject for a lot of people, but it has to be done. That is the only way we can be assured our treasured mementos don't end up in a pawn shop or a landfill.
I agree 100%, that we all need to talk with our relatives about those Masonic things that are important to us. If we don't, then as you rightly point out, they will hit the garage sale or the dumpster.
For personal things that are donated to a Lodge, like a Mason's rings, I rather like the idea of the Lodge giving them to a new Mason. Two of the Lodges I belong too have done this, and it seems like an excellent and living way to preserve a man's memory. Even aprons. Again Two of my closest Masonic friends wear aprons that they received after a Brother they were especially close to passed away.
As an aside, I had visited the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop (Pawn Stars fame) a few years ago. The items on display are vastly different than what is shown during the TV show. The TV shows more antiques and expensive items/memorabilia, while the shop normally displays what you're regularly find in a pawn store - lots of jewelry. I asked one of the guys behind the ring counter if they had any masonic rings, he said no, they can't keep that stuff in stock, it flies off the shelves as quickly as it comes in.
Now that you mention it, I don't think I've seen a lot of old Masonic rings out in the wild. I have though always purchased vintage Masonic rings for myself. W Brother Howard Sobel (he can be found on Facebook) has an inventory that must be seen to be believed.
This is a large problem over here in the Far East mainly due to consolidations. Deaths account for much personal equipment (swords, headwear, badges, etc) but we had a Lodge incinerated a couple years ago and they need start-up furniture. We have some of that here to help. The Colville consolidation was very special as it was a very old Lodge dating back to the US Army Fort days plus the written records mostly survived. The written materials are very legible and neat, easy to use for history research, etc.
I had always heard that the GL Museum was overloaded with stuff and furthermore we need to do a solid job of prioritizing on whatever we transfer. Also, families usually have no idea what to do with the personal Masonic mementos or whether a Masonic funeral is in order. Some of our old Brothers simply did not communicate with their families.
Washington Masonic Charities (Kim) is quickly, effectively communicating with family members but she is only one "Heartbeat". We must do a much better job educating our members and families.
It is true, our GL Museum is currently quite full. I think that if we devote some more resources and attention to it, that issue can be easily dealt with. Ours isn't actually a part of the Grand Lodge though, it is a part of Washington Masonic Charities.
I think it was simply a case of not enough space dedicated to it. Of course, I haven’t stepped foot in GL in years, things might have changed.
Yeah, I think that's right. There is space, it would just need to be re-allocated.
Thanks for the response, now I know something new!