BEACON July/August 2008
VOLUME 15, ISSUE 4
A JOINT PUBLICATION OF THE GRAND LODGE OF OHIO AND THE OHIO MASONIC HOME
Treasured Masonic Artifacts Headed to Ohio An exposition of some of the
most treasured Masonic artifacts in our country will be featured at the Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge in Columbus on October 16-18. Among the key displayed items will be: • The St. John’s (or George Washington Presidential Inaugural) Bible. This is the Bible on which Brother George Washington and several other subsequent Presidents of the United States took their oath of office. It is the property of St. John’s Lodge #1 in New York City. (See story on page 5.) • The George Washington gavel, which our First President used in the Masonic Cornerstone Ceremony for the U.S. Capitol. This is property of Potomac Lodge #5 in the District of Columbia. • The George Washington trowel, which was used by Brother Washington to lay the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol. It is the property of AlexandriaWashington Lodge #22 in Arlington, Virginia. • Several items will be loaned from the National Heritage Museum of the Scottish Rite, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, in Lexington, MA. These include a quilt; a Red Skelton painting; a Master’s Chair originally from Vinton County, Ohio; a Masonic powder horn
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Bible from St. John’s Lodge, New York City, on which Brother George Washington took first oath of office as U.S. President.
and musket, and some M.C. Lilley prints. • A set of 21 Masonic related paintings from Artist Peter Waddell, on loan from the Octagon Museum in Washington, DC. This collection, called, “The Initiated Eye,” has been touring the
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country. Mr. Waddell is the artist commissioned for Ohio’s Bicentennial painting, “From Whence We Came.” A chest, originally owned by our first Grand Master Rufus Putnam, on loan from American Union Lodge #1, Marietta. A set of historic officer jewels from Lodge of Amity #5, Zanesville. Pillars from Paragon Lodge #788 Old furniture. Items from the Grand Lodge Museum.
The display of items will be in the Delaware Ballroom of the Hyatt Regency Hotel during the Grand Lodge session, and, at times, will be open to the public.
Ohioan New DeMolay Grand Master An Ohio Mason has become the Grand Master of DeMolay International. C. Michael Watson, pictured with his wife, Brenda, was installed into his new international position on June 21 in California. Most Worshipful Brother Watson is a Past Grand Master of Masons in Ohio and a Past DeMolay Executive Officer in Ohio. He is only the second DeMolay Grand Master in history from Ohio. The other was Most Worshipful Brother Chester Hodges.