ASCENDING THE WINDING STAIRCASE
(A One Act Play)
Revised for the Masonic Spring Workshop - April 2001
'FRINGE' PRESENTATION - AUGUST 1997
ACACIA LODGE # 11 A.F.& A.M., G.R.A. - CENTENNIAL
(Six performances 1:00 - 2:00 pm    August - 15,16,17 - 22,23,24)
(Friday, Saturday, Sunday - consecutive weekends)

Written by Rt. Wor. Bro. Rod B. Ponech

This presentation is designed to be read from the various officers' stations with the exception of the Tyler's and Inner Guard's work which are very brief and should be memorized. The work of the Senior Warden, when he is perambulating the Lodge room, would best be done without reading from the script (this material may be read, memorized, reduced to simple notes or even ad-libbed). As much as possible the exact text should be followed to ensure the accuracy of information and consistency.

In its current state the script may be appropriate for Lodge Open Houses, Family and Friends' Nights and even for presentation at Ladies' Nights.

It is suggested that revisions be made to "personalize the presentation and reflect a Lodge's own history and traditions.

Required Players:
Selected to represent the officers of the Lodge

Speaking (reading) parts:
WM - presides - from station
SW - most animated and longest parts- works from notes and memory or ad lib
JW - from station
Sec - most dramatic role - from station
Chap - from station
IG - admission of the audience (floor work)
T - organizes audience for entry (first to be seen)

Preferred additions (not required):
Organist - for musical floor work
SS & JS - to fill floor chairs and possibly to conduct guests to and from seats
SD & JD- to fill floor chairs and offer security for properties
Other officers - as available (IPM, DofC, Reg, Hist, Piper, Treas)

Lodge room setup:

The audience is seated in all available chairs - preferred seating is in the north on either side of and behind the Chaplain.(three chairs west of the Chaplain reserved for "cowans").

Three audience members are chosen as "cowans"and remain outside the Lodge Room with the Tyler.

PRESENTATION BEGINS

[All lights are lowered, the officers enter from the ante room in order of seating as they circumnavigate room once - Led by SW - Chap to rear]
[Once in position the WM gives one rap - officers seated - lights brought up]
[following a brief period of silence and inactivity]

T (4 knocks)
IG [rises and moves to door] (4 knocks)
T (1 knock)
IG (1 knock)
  [Door Opens]

WM The audience is requested to remain seated. (3 knocks)
  [All officers stand at their stations]
IG [Still at Door] Who comes here?
T A group of cowans who have ascended the winding staircase and now desire entrance to the Lodge in an effort to learn more of the hidden mysteries and secrets of Ancient Freemasonry.
IG Halt while I make due report.
  [Door remains open]

IG Brother JW, outside the door of the lodge is a group of cowans who have ascended the winding staircase and now desire to learn more of the hidden mysteries and secrets of Ancient Freemasonry.
JW Worshipful Master, outside the door of the lodge is a group of cowans who have ascended the winding staircase and now desire to learn more of the hidden mysteries and secrets of Ancient Freemasonry.
WM As our order holds nothing of which we are ashamed, or of which we must be secretive, let them be admitted in due form.
JW Brother Inner Guard, by command of the WM you will admit them.

IG Brother Tyler, by command of the WM as communicated to me by the JW, you will admit them. [IG conducts the three "cowans" to the altar, introduces them (by name)
WM [Rises] Brother Inner Guard - you will seat the "cowans"
  [IG seats the "cowans" west of the Chaplain]
[IG returns to door] [Door is Closed]

T (1 knock)
IG (1 knock)
WM (1 knock)
  [Officers seated]
WM [Rises]
On behalf of the officers and members of Acacia Lodge No 11 Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of the Grand Lodge of Alberta, I welcome you to our Lodge Room.

This year we celebrate our 104th anniversary. It may be of interest to you to know that our Lodge was formed in 1897 under the leadership of our first Worshipful Master, Alexander Cameron Rutherford, whom many of you will recognize as being the first Premier of the Province of Alberta and Chancellor of the University of Alberta. Two of his homes are preserved as historical sites, one on the University of Alberta Campus and an earlier home which has been relocated to Fort Edmonton Park. A.C. Rutherford's house in Fort Edmonton Park sits adjacent to the Historical Masonic Hall there and if you have the opportunity to visit that facility, you will see displayed the original furnishings from our Lodge's first meeting room, over a century ago.

Premier Rutherford, in 1905, as one of the first Acts of the Alberta Legislature, enacted a private members' bill establishing the Grand Lodge of Alberta of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. Our provincial Grand Lodge office is in Calgary and has been in existence since 1905. Our own Lodge predated its formation by a number of years and in 1905 we left the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Manitoba where we were numbered 66 to become the 11th lodge in seniority for Alberta.

Within this province we have 10 Lodges older than Acacia in centres such as Fort McLeod, Medicine Hat, Calgary, Red Deer, and Banff. Many of Western Canada's oldest Lodges were originally formed by members who travelled west with the Northwest Mounted Police Detachments. Edmonton Lodge No 7 also predates Acacia Lodge but ours was the original Lodge in the old town of Strathcona across the river south of Edmonton.

Again, let me welcome you and I sincerely hope that you find the next half hour or so both interesting and informative.

[WM - seated]
SW [Rises on Sign of Fidelity]
WM, with your permission, perhaps we should take a few minutes and go a little further back into the history of Freemasonry.

Some of our guests may have noticed the plaque on the front of Acacia's Lodge building showing the date 5997 and they may be under the impression that Masons claim a history of being in existence for 6000 years. While we trace many of our rituals and symbolism to the building of King Solomon's Temple at Jerusalem 6000 years ago, the specific origins of our order are lost in the sands of time.

There is no doubt that the operative stone masons who built the great stone Cathedrals in Europe over the past 1000 years formed themselves into what they described as Lodges. These organizations of working stone cutters had the dual purposes of training and certifying the skills of men working with stone as well as being an early form of benevolent societies. The stone masons of the middle ages worked hundreds of feet in the air on wooden scaffolding and with tools which were crude by our standards. The work was difficult and dangerous, and resulted in numerous serious injuries and often in death. These early Masonic Lodges, if I may refer to them as such, were committed to the care and keeping of injured brother workers or their widows and orphans.

The original concepts of education and benevolence have been maintained by present day Lodges. Both the Grand Lodge of Alberta and each individual Lodge in the Jurisdiction maintain segregated 'benevolent funds' for the relief of distressed members and their widows and orphans.

Written documentation of Masonic Lodges exists for the past 500 years. Historical records may be found in England and Scotland which clearly indicate operative masons accepting as members, what they described as speculative Masons who, while not workers in stone, were deemed worthy of membership as a result of their high moral standards and their demonstrated commitment to the practice of benevolence and charity.

The terminology of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons takes its meaning from being Ancient - as the oldest fraternal organization in the world, Free -as admitting craftsmen of their own free will, and Accepted - as welcoming (or accepting) men of high moral standards into their fold.

[SW is Seated]
JW [Rises on Sign of Fidelity]
WM, Again with your permission, perhaps I might comment briefly on years between 1700 and 1900. These were the first 200 years of recorded details of Masonic meetings and activities. I will refer only to records available in the English language and specifically in Great Britain, the United States and Canada but similar activities occurred around the world as stone masons in every nation carried out their good works and expanded their membership through the admittance of good men into their ranks.

During the 1700's, 1800's, and early 1900's, Masonic Lodges and associated groups of Masons established schools and ran orphanages and hospitals throughout Great Britain - these were years prior to government social programs and without the charitable works of the world's Masonic Lodges, life would have been unbearable or even impossible for many of the less fortunate in society.

We have an elderly member of our own Acacia Lodge who was born in Ireland and educated in a Masonic sponsored elementary school. In the United States of America, George Washington was a Mason and the Washington Memorial was completed by the Masons when the federal government ran out of funds. An examination of the Memorial will clearly show where the colour of the stone changes two thirds of the way up the spire as the Masonic order changed stone quarries when they undertook its completion.

The Declaration of Independence was authored in large measure by Benjamin Franklin, a Mason, and the majority of the signatures on that declaration were Masons as have been many American Presidents, Senators and Supreme Court Judges. John Glen is a Senator, an Astronaut and a Mason.

The great Washington Cathedral, one of the largest and most elaborate stone structures in North America, has much Masonic symbolism built into it and one of the prominent stained glass windows in that edifice features a moon rock in its centre which was carried back to earth by a Mason.

Some prominent Masons in the U.S. were Will Rodgers, John Wayne and Walt Disney.

In Canada Masons include Prime Ministers, such as John Diefenbaker, Governor Generals, Premiers such as A. C. Rutherford and many prominent Masons throughout our history.

Ours is a historic and honourable order - and we are proud of our heritage.

[JW seated]
Sec [Rises on Sign of Fidelity]   [very loud and emotional]
WM, if I may be so bold; I think we have gone far enough. It is one thing to talk about our history because it is well documented and open for research in any public library, but we are a secret organization and we can carry openness too far.

Many people in this world have declared themselves to be anti-Masonic and have tried to describe our order as a cult and even have attempted to link us to devil worship and worse. Perhaps we should ask these Cowans and our visitors to leave and let us get on with a normal meeting.

[Loud mutterings of disagreement from the other officers]

[Sec is seated]
WM [Rises]
Brother secretary, your concerns are well founded. It is normal for people to distrust those things which they do not understand but we are not a secret organization.

By definition, a secret organization is one which hides itself from the public and whose members keep their membership hidden from others. Masonry does not do these things.

Masonic buildings are prominently identified in their communities. In Edmonton, our hall is open to the public, it is used by the "Fringe," and for wedding receptions, as well as social and community functions. Freemasons' Hall downtown, across from the former YWCA building, is open every day and used for activities such as weddings and even Royal Conservatory of Music examinations. Highlands Masonic Hall on 118th Avenue is an integral part of the northeastern Edmonton community just as we are on the south side.

Throughout the world, Masonic buildings are clearly identified. They are easy to locate. In central Alberta Masonic Halls may easily be found in Cold Lake, Elk Point, Kitscoty, Vermilion, Holden, Vegreville, Forestburg, Stony Plain, Wetaskiwin, Camrose, Lacombe, Ponoka, Leduc, Westlock; you name it and we are there - we exist and we are proud of it.

Members of our fraternity wear the familiar symbols of Freemasonry - the square and compasses - on their ring fingers and on lapel pins and we proudly display them.

We have nothing to hide and perhaps the fault has been ours for not shouting out our good works from the roof tops. We are not a secret organization.

[WM is seated]

Chap [Rises on Sign of Fidelity]   [Stepping forward and turning to face the audience]
WM, I couldn't agree more; what about our "two million dollars a day" in charitable works? The general public and indeed the members of our audience here today, may have no idea of the extent of the work we do in our communities.

In North America alone, the Masonic family contributes well in excess of 750 million dollars per year (yes, over two million dollars a day - to charity.)

How many people even realize that the members of the Ancient and Arabic Order of the Mystic Shrine are Masons? They are all first members of a Masonic Lodge and as Masons, and only then, may they join the Shrine. The Shriners have their parades with funny marching bands, minibikes and bagpipes but they also fully support the Shrine Hospitals for crippled children with hundreds of millions of dollars annually.

In Canada, the Shriners' Hospital in Montreal is the primary location for medical care for our nation's most severely injured and disabled young people. Millions of dollars are allocated there each year by Masons and no fee has ever been charged to the families of these unfortunate children.

In Edmonton, another branch of Freemasonry, the Scottish Rite, donated $25,000 to the Children's Library and the Alzheimers' Care Centre. The also fully fund an endowed scholarship in Medicine at the University of Alberta.

The Grand Lodge of Alberta, through its Higher Education Bursary Fund, is the largest non-government provider of post-secondary education bursaries in the Province, giving nearly $100,000 annually to deserving students in Alberta's Colleges, Universities and Technical Institutes.

The Masters' Wardens' and Deacons' Association, a group of senior Lodge officers in Edmonton, recently completed the construction of and the funding for the construction of a house for "Habitats for Humanity", and several months ago we witnessed the presentation of an $11,000 cheque to ISAR, the Institute for Stuttering Training and Rehabilitation, from the Masonic Foundation of Alberta.

Masonic charity touches all Albertans and Canadians through research grants, through the support of Hospitals and Universities and by annual gifts of thousands of dollars to the Salvation Army, the Burn Centre at the U of A Hospital, the Christmas Bureau, the Bissell Centre and countless other charitable organizations. These Edmonton Charities are mirrored in Calgary, Red Deer, Lethbridge and countless other communities around our province, nation and indeed the world.

Masons supply drivers for the Cancer Clinic and work in inner city schools such as Norwood with early childhood intervention and reading programs.

Every Lodge, District and Region has its own charitable projects working in their local communities.

We support youth groups and the aged - but ours is a quiet kind of charity.

Other organizations do good works but demand advertising and recognition in return. You will not however, see the Masonic emblems emblazoned on any vans we purchase or medical buildings which we support - that is not our way.

For years, the Masonic family of organizations worked with and supported the Canadian Red Cross in Edmonton in their efforts to assist fire victims with emergency housing and the necessities of life.

Thousands of grade three students attending public, separate and private schools in this province have received basic first-aid training in their classrooms from the St. John's Ambulance through a training program called, "We Care." This program has saved lives and it is fully funded by Freemasons.

We know that without our support quietly given to charity, people would have died.

For all of this, the Masonic Organizations do not solicit public recognition for themselves; our objectives are to help others and not to glorify ourselves.

Perhaps we have been at fault in not making all these good works more widely known, but in our own quiet way, we know the impact we have made on society and each one of us sleeps a little better at night knowing what we have done.

Our heritage began hundreds of years ago with stonecraft masons banding together to offer benevolent assistance to the unfortunate. This is a tradition we carry on today, with pride, but with humility. I am proud to be a Mason and I receive a personal satisfaction from all of the good works we are involved in.

[Chap is seated]
WM [Rises]
Brother Chaplain, thank you. Perhaps your explanation of what we are all about will help our guests here today to better understand Freemasonry.

[Sec - rises on sign of Fidelity]
[WM remains standing (he is becoming impatient)]

Sec. WM, again I have to rise and express my concern. Brother Chaplain has painted a glowing picture of our charitable works and perhaps it is time for us to be a little more public about that aspect of Freemasonry, but with all due respect, we begin to sound like a service club similar to the Lions or the Kiwanis - aren't we more than that?
[Sec is seated]
WM [Still Standing]
(now somewhat irritated by the Sec)
Again, we hear the voice of caution from behind the desk. Yes Bro. Secretary, we are much more than that. We are the largest and oldest organization of its kind in the world.

A wise man once said that the objectives of Freemasonry are to be happy ourselves and to communicate that happiness to others. Our goal is to take good men and make them better. Through our organization we welcome men into our order and offer one of the finest settings possible for fellowship and charitable endeavours.

[WM seated]
SW [Rises on Sign of Fidelity]
WM, with your permission, perhaps I could take a few minutes and explain some of the symbolism in this room and outline just what occurs at a meeting of Masons.

[Sec. - rises on Sign of Fidelity]
[SW is seated]
Sec WM, caution once more; we may not be a secret organization but we are an organization with secrets.

[Sec - seated]

WM Bro. Secretary, little of what we do needs to be kept secret. While we have modes of recognition by which we can identify one another, nothing in this room nor in our activities is such that it need be hidden.
WM Bro. S.W., please continue.

[S.W. - rises on Sign of Fidelity - steps to the floor and circumnavigates room]
S.W. Ladies and Gentlemen (boys and girls), allow me to explain what you see about you.

The format of this room has been copied throughout the world. The parliaments of England and Canada and our Provincial Legislatures are virtually identical; with seating on the perimeter and a presiding officer at one end.

You have no doubt noticed that we refer to our presiding officer as "Worshipful Brother" this is not however a religous title but rather one of respect as with "His Worship the Mayor of Edmonton" or addressing a Provincial Judge as "Your Worship".

[SW turns to WM and gives sign of fidelity]

I am the SW of this lodge, and serve the Lodge in an office which would more commonly be called the first vice president. My role is to assist the WM when the Lodge is in session and in the normal course of events, I would one day assume the WM or presidents's chair. You will note that he is seated three steps up, I am elevated two steps and the JW, or second vice president, is up one step.

[indicates JW]

The elevation simply recognizes our ranks in the order. The JW has the added responsibility of looking after the social aspects of our Lodges.

We annually have a Robbie Burns' banquet (Burns was a mason who devoted much of his poetry to our teachings), a St. Patrick's night, a St. George's night, family barbeques or potluck suppers, and special teas and functions for the widows of our deceased members.

The JW is assisted by two stewards who carry what look like spears in our ceremonies.

[Indicates wands]

Please note that they are adorned with cornucopias, the symbols of plenty. The stewards assist with our dinners and social gatherings.

Our deacons also carry wands but rather than weapons, they are adorned with doves carrying olive branches, the symbols of peace.

[Indicates deacon's wands]

The deacons' role is to escort dignitaries during our meetings and to act as assistants to the WM and SW.

The chaplain is seated across from the JW and near the Altar.

[Moves to area between altar and Chap]

Yes, that is a Bible in the centre of the room but ours is not a religious order. In fact the discussion of religion or religous matters within a Lodge is strictly forbidden. Many lodges will have more than one book on the Altar if there is a member of a different faith in attendance - the Koran and other writings have been on that Altar.

Rudyard Kipling wrote of a meeting in his Lodge in India where seven different sacred writings adorned the Altar on one evening, representative of the seven faiths in attendance at his Lodge that night.

Our belief is that while a man's religion is important, it is also personal and his beliefs remain his own.

[indicating the "G" above the Altar and in the East]

The letter "G" represents the Great Architect or Grand Geometrician of the universe - symbolic of each man's belief in a higher being. To be a mason requires a belief in God - not necessarily a Christian God, nor a Protestant God, but simply an individual belief in an ultimate creator.

Masons in Alberta and around the world come from all faiths and include Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Mormons, Hindus, Muslims, and many others. Any religious restrictions to membership in our order are imposed by those religions, not by Freemasonry. Atop the Bible are our familiar square and compasses, the square to remind us to square or perfect our lives and actions, and the compasses to remind us to limit ourselves within those actions which are acceptable to our creator.

[Moves to the east]

We display the flags of our Country and Province, symbols of patriotism and our allegiance to country) as well as our Charter. (from 1897 under the Grand Lodge of Manitoba and 1905) under the Grand Lodge of Alberta.

We have an organist for any musical portions of our ceremonies, a secretary to take minutes and inner and outer guards who have symbolic swords similar to any honour guard.

[Moves back towards his station]

Nothing in this room represents anything threatening, cultish or religious in nature. This afternoon we do not have a full slate of Lodge officers in attendance but the collars and attached jewels you see displayed give you some indication of the number of individuals involved in the operation of a Lodge of Freemasons.

Each of the officers wears the collar and jewel at all of our regular meetings. The jewels or emblems attached indicate their role in the Lodge - for example the Lodge Treasurer wears a set of crossed keys, our historian wears an ancient style lamp and the Chaplain wears an open book symbolic of the sacred writings of every religion. There is even the emblem of a bagpipe for our ceremonial piper.

The three principal officers are adorned with the symbols of a square , a level and a plumb rule. Each has an obvious representation of their uses in construction but from a symbolic standpoint, they represent our commitment of acting " on the level" with all mankind, of conducting ourselves "uprightly" in all we do, and of always being " on the square" or as near to perfection in our activities as is humanly possible.

At our meetings, we read minutes and correspondence, we pay our operating expenses, pass motions of a business nature and discuss the welfare of our members and widows to determine if there is any assistance required.

Our meetings may be very formal and ritualized but are really quite ordinary in content.

Of course I left out the most obvious symbol in the room. Why are we wearing these aprons? They are nothing more than modern representations of the original leather aprons worn by stone masons to protect their clothing from rock chips. We wear them to remind us of our humble origins. The Aprons are made of lamb skin, symbolic of purity, and while some might like to do without them I personally feel that there is much to be said for maintaining our ancient traditions and their symbolism.

[Returns to station]
SW Following our presentation, WM, I am sure any of us would be willing to explain or comment on any questions I have left unanswered.

[SW - seated]
JW [Rises on Sign of Fidelity]
WM, one last area we should explain is how the family of Freemasonry is organized and how individuals become involved. We have a wonderful method of screening members. Quite simply, we never ask anyone to join.

It is against our principles to conduct membership drives or solicit new members. Rather, it is our practice to live our own lives in such a manner that others would wish to be like us. We make no secret of our Masonic affiliation, and if others inquire about our membership, we are more than willing to extend the hand of brotherhood to any who inquire, but they, (not us) must be the first to ask.

Once a man has become a Mason, a whole new world of opportunities opens up to him and to his family.

He may choose to join any of our affiliate bodies of York Rite or Scottish Rite Masons. He may enter the visible playground of Masonry in the local Shrine Organization and even become involved in charitable fundraising with events such as the Shrine Circus, which is presented annually in major centres in support of the Children's Hospitals.

His children may elect to become involved in our associated youth groups of Job's Daughters for girls and the Order of DeMolay for boys. His wife may join the Order of Eastern Star or the Daughters of the Nile.

The opportunities are endless and the personal rewards limitless. Forgive me WM, my enthusiasm sometimes runs wild but Masonry has been a large part of my life and I cannot help but extol its virtues.

[JW is seated]
Sec. [Rises on Sign of Fidelity]
WM, time marches on and the organizers of this event have allowed us but a brief time for our presentation.

However, before I sit down, let me apologize to you and our guests for some of my previous comments. We must be more open in our activities. In that regard, perhaps I could mention a few names from the history of our own Lodge.

During the past 100 years, Acacia's members have ranged from Provincial Premiers such as A.C. Rutherford to Mayors like Wm. Hawrelak and John Fry and have included educators such as Ross Sheppard.

Many of the neighbourhoods on the south side of Edmonton bear the names of our early Lodge members in recognition of their contributions to the development of our city.

Our organization is a great equalizer; over the years, Kings and Noblemen have met on the level with their gardeners and footmen as equals in the Lodge.

In our own Lodge, the president of a major Alberta Dairy has called one of his milkmen, Worshipful Master.

It is our belief that all men are created as equals and that there should be no distinction between the "haves and the have nots" "the rich and the poor."

While our first Master became the Premier of this Province, his successor in Acacia Lodge was a humble shopkeeper.

WM, I too am proud of our fraternity, its history and my association with its ceremonies and good works.

[Sec is seated]
WM Ladies and gentlemen, our brief time with you has come to an end.

On behalf of the officers and members of Acacia Lodge and the nearly ten thousand Masons in the Province of Alberta, I would like to thank you for your attendance and apparent interest. I trust that you have enjoyed our presentation but more importantly, that you have learned something of Freemasonry and its fraternal and benevolent practices.

Acacia Lodge #11 is only one of the thirty Masonic Lodges in the Edmonton area and there are well over one hundred Lodges in Alberta, each very similar to ours yet individual in its character and membership.

I remind you that if our order interests you further, the key phrase is "to be one - ask one" Masons are not difficult to find - they are upright citizens in your communities, men who quietly lead by example but whom you can always depend on to be there when the need arises.

We trust that after your visit today to the "top of the winding staircase," you have a better understanding of Freemasonry and what Masons are all about. Our hope is that the next time you encounter derogatory remarks about our order, you will recall this time you spent with us and know what the truth really is. In a moment, The Officers of Acacia Lodge will be retiring "in form".

Thank you again.

If any of you wish to ask a question or require further explanation or information, once we have closed this session, we will make every effort to satisfy your curiosity.
WM (3 knocks) (all rise)
Bro. JW, Inform the Tyler that we are closing this Lodge meeting.
JW [Stands]
Bro. IG - by command of the WM, you will inform the Tyler that we are closing this Lodge meeting.
IG (4 knocks)
T (4 knocks)
IG (1 knock)
T (1 knock)

[Door Opens]

IG Bro. Tyler, by command of the WM as communicated to me by the JW, I am to inform you that this Lodge meeting is about to close.
T In obedience to those commands, the portals shall remain open to allow the officers to retire.
WM Bro. Chaplain - you will retire the officers.

Chaplain leads a procession, clockwise from his station, officers join the rear of the procession as he circumnavigates the room 1 & 3/4 times..... Once all have retired the door is closed and ....
T (1 knock)

[PRESENTATION IS ENDED]

For the workshop the officers will re-enter the room to be seated and the Senior Warden will conduct a Question and Answer session with the audience.

At the Fringe it was the visitors who were escorted from the Lodge Room and the Officers remained.

It is hoped that several of our guests will remain with the Tyler for further information. As soon as the majority have departed, the cast are to welcome the remaining visitors back into the Lodge Room and, in a very informal way, engage them in friendly conversation allowing them free access anyplace in the room. Be open and honest but take care in safeguarding our properties.

Note:This presentation was written specifically for performance to the general public at the "Fringe" festival in Edmonton during Acacia # 11's Centennial celebrations in 1997. It is suitable for presentation at Lodge open houses but would require revisions to make it appropriate to each locale and the host Lodge. Acacia Lodge would like to be informed if any uses the script or any part of the material.

July 30th., 1997 (5997)
Rt. Wor. Bro. Rod B. Ponech
[Revisions - April 2001 Masonic Spring Workshop]
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2002-02-01