We had a busy summer, and now Labor Day is just a around the corner. We just finished up with a third degree and I’d like to welcome Kevin Mattson as our newest Master Mason. Kevin was treated to a very interesting 3rd degree, because we had guests from the Iron Range who did some of the work in Finish. I didn't understand a word of it, but Kevin sure did. I would like to thank all of you for coming out and stepping up to take on some major parts at the last minute, and I mean last minute! Thanks again. I'd also like to thank my wife and her friend Bev who prepared a fine diner for us all.
In addition to our stated meetings and dinner meeting there will be an Entered Apprentice Degree on Monday, September 20th. Please come down and see the fine degree work. The Fellow Crafts Degree is scheduled for Monday, October 18th.
Saturday, October 23rd at our annual Pumpkin Give-Away and Open House, we will doing something new this year. We will be hosting the Grand Lodge Kids ID program. The Grand Lodge will provide Arcana with the equipment and supplies necessary to print children's photo identification sheets and computer diskettes. This information will be given, free of charge, to the parents to keep in a save place for use in case of an emergency. I strongly encourage all parents to bring your children to the Lodge that Saturday morning for a free pumpkin and
I am still hoping to have a fall fundraiser. Please watch the next months Trestleboard for details.
Fraternally yours,
Dave Sibben, Master
In 1984 professional treasure hunter Berry
Clifford discovered the site of the sunken pirate ship The Whydah Galley. Among
the more than 100,000 artifacts or treasures recently recovered from the ocean
depths just off the coast of Cape Cod Massachusetts was a dinner plate with a
crudely engraved Masonic Square and Compass symbol on it. Of course we will
probably never know who engraved the symbol on that plate. Was it booty, the
personal expression of one of the seamen, or simply a coincidence (these Masonic
working tools are also employed by sailors for navigation)? It is interesting to
note however, that this ship sank in the same year that Freemasonry made itself
public in England.
The Whydah Galley is the first pirate ship ever discovered in North America. Samuel "Black Sam" Bellamy is known to have plundered more than 50 ships during his yearlong pirate career. In February of 1717 while prowling the Caribbean Sea Bellamy commandeered the fast, three masted, English slave trader, Whydah Galley. He then plotted a course to Richmond Island off the coast of Maine, and continued raiding the East Coast of North America along his way. On April 26, 1717, in what may have been a diversion to visit his mistress on Cape Cod, Bellamy's treasure filled pirate ship sailed square into a howling nor'easter and capsized in the turbulent shoal waters only 1/4 mile off the Massachusetts coast.
The Whydah's story begins in London in 1715 when she was launched under the command of Captain Lawrence Prince. The 100-foot, 300-ton vessel was destined for the infamous "triangular trade" connecting England, Africa and the West Indies. Carrying cloth, liquor, hand tools and small arms from England, the Whydah's crew would buy and barter for up to 700 slaves in West Africa, then set out with them for the Caribbean. There the slaves were traded for gold, silver, sugar, indigo, and cinchona (a source of quinine), all of which went back to England. On only her second voyage the Whydah was chased down and easily over powered by two pirate ships led by the former English sailor Black Sam Bellamy.
I'd like to thank brother Jim Young for directing me to the May 1999 issue of National Geographic where the full story is published. Additional information is available on the Internet at www.nationalgeographic.com/whydah. Also check your television listings for National Geographic EXPLORER's "Pirates of the Whydah" on PBS. Photo above copyright National Geographic.
The Child Identification program is coming to the Arcana Lodge Annual Pumpkin Give-Away and Open House on Saturday, October 23rd, 1999, 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. This program has already been used at several other lodge and community events and at least one county fair. The response to the program has been overwhelmingly positive. This includes the response from the local lodges working on the events and the response of the families the program has served.
One universal characteristic of each site where the equipment has been used is a long line of families waiting patiently to have their children's diskette made. Even in those instances where the family has had to return at a later time or date they remain very favorably impressed by the program.
The basic program consists of a laptop computer, a digital camera, a digital fingerprint reader and a color printer. A sample of the printout is on page 2. We have already added a set of institutional quality scales and a banner to promote the site. The local lodge simply needs to add manpower and the Child Identification program is up and running!
While many of the parents whose children have benefited from the program have asked if they can make a donation, this is not a fund raising event. This is a community service program and may well be the most successful community service program we have been involved with since the Grand Lodge scholarship programs were put into service.
Advanced preparations for this worthwhile event are under way. In addition to the need for volunteers on the day of the event, we are also looking for local businesses that would like to sponsor the purchase of supplies such as the printing of "IMPORTANT DOCUMENT" envelopes to hold the diskette and printout that is given to every family with the admonition that they be taken home and stored in a safe place.
This is a great program and its success will depend on the support of the whole Lodge, and all of the other organizations that meet at Arcana. Please direct any questions about the Child Identification Program to the event coordinator, WB Doug Roswold via email at webmaster@arcana187.org.
This year featuring the KIDS Program
A One Day Class for the Three Degrees of a Master Mason
November 20th, 1999 - 8:00 AM - Scottish Rite Temple, 2011 Dupont Avenue S, Minneapolis, MN 55405