Valley Chorus

Valley Chorus

Scottish Rite Chorus travels
to Johnson Island

By Chester F. Willey, Jr.
Valley Director of Music

On Sunday May 25th, 2003, the Scottish Rite Chorus set out on an adventure that yielded both pleasure and instruction to the participants. We drove almost due west to Sandusky, and thence across the Causeway to Johnson's Island, the site of an important historic and Masonic site. It was on Johnson's Island (then known as Bull's Island), during the Civil War Years 1861-65, that a prison camp for captured Confederate soldiers, mostly officers, was maintained by the Union Army. Of more than 10,000 prisoners held there (records are extremely vague and not necessarily absolutely, scholastically, and historically reliable) at least 206 men died and are buried there. Many of the cemetery markers bear Masonic emblems, and there is a beautiful bronze statue of a Confederate soldier looking North ("No Retreat"), the pedestal of which was donated by the Grand Lodge of Mississippi in grateful recognition of the humane treatment that Brother Masons on both sides of the battle lines accorded each other, at that time, in this place.

Oliver Hazard Perry Lodge has, for many years, conducted a service at the Cemetery each Memorial Day Weekend, usually on Sunday, in recognition of our fraternal ties to the brethren who are at rest there. Coordinated by Brother Ronald Doll, with the assistance of Worshipful Master Albert Sowards and Secretary Ron Zerkle, the Scottish Rite Chorus of the Valley of Cleveland was asked this year to add their music to the solemnity of the event. Luckily, the weather was beautiful and, after a pleasant drive of a little more than an hour, the several cars arrived at the site.

We set ourselves up in the appointed place at the appointed time, and donned our Aprons, black armbands, and held sprigs of Acacia, all provided by Perry Lodge. We joined with over 500 people, including Island residents, many officers and members of Perry Lodge, the Mayor of Sandusky, and Grand Lodge officers PGM Thomas Reynolds, Grand Marshal Ronald L Winnett of Reynoldsburg, and Senior Grand Deacon Charles Murphy of Perrysburg, and participated in a most beautiful and moving ceremony that included a recitation of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, a reading by the Mayor of a most perceptive and sensitive essay written by a high-school student about why we should do things like this and what it means to her and her generation, watched as women and young children in period costumes laid wreaths at the monument, and over all of of this, the Chorus floated their wonderful sound in "The Lord's Prayer" and "Soldier, Rest". The Chorus then joined in procession with members of Perry Lodge and other Masons to lay their sprigs of Acacia on an Apron in front of the Monument, and finally, led those attending in a rousing rendition of "God Bless America".

What a beautiful setting it was, looking out over the Bay, with the pine trees whispering in the wind, and the period costumes reminding of us of our collective heritage of centuries of brave service to Duty, Honor, Country. Further, to see so many people participating in this ceremony was truly uplifting - other than our singing for the Grand Master's Class of 2002, and for the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction Convocation in the mid-1990's, this was the largest single audience the Chorus has sung for since I joined the Chorus in 1991 - certainly, the largest public/non-Masonic audience. At lunch afterward in the Clubhouse I clearly heard someone ask Brother Bill Koeckert “who are these guys, anyway?” He replied with the immortal words "The Masons are the oldest and largest fraternal organization in the world..." - and he was off and running.

After the ceremony was concluded, thanks to the efforts and knowledge of another member of the Chorus, David R Freeman, several of us were guided to downtown Sandusky for another moment of Masonic education. (I only got there because of the efforts of Chorus Membership Coordinator Hob Miller, who guided my car out of a tight parking situation. What Dave knew was that, on the main square in downtown Sandusky, there is a plaque placed by the Ohio Historical Society, paid for in part by donations from Ohio FreeMasonry, that certifies that the entire city of Sandusky was laid out in 1816 in such a manner that the downtown city streets form a Square and Compass - and this was done quite deliberately by the architect/surveyor, who was a Mason.

As we are currently celebrating the Bicentennial of Ohio as a State of the Union, and as we look forward to the Bicentennial of the Grand Lodge of Ohio a few years' hence, it is well that we remember where we have been, and what Masons have done, and in that contemplation, position ourselves as a people and as a Fraternity to maintain our rightful place of leadership within our communities and within the state and the nation. Now more than ever, Masonic virtues of Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence, and Justice are needed in every place of deliberation within our culture - there is not one decision made anywhere, anytime, that would not profit from Masonic experience, knowledge, and perspective.
To be effective as Masons, and to properly serve both our Brethren and our communities, many Masonic leaders of much more wisdom and perception than I can claim have stated repeatedly, "We need to tell the Masonic Story". Of course, in order to tell the Masonic Story we must first know the Masonic story and, as much as I love and enjoy the Ritualistic work of Blue Lodge and Scottish Rite and York Rite, it's more than that. The Masonic story involves our charitable efforts, the Shriner's Hospitals and the Scottish Rite Learning Center, and the Knight Templar Eye Foundation. It involves things like the Masonic Volunteer activities led by Ill... John A Hall, and the many public activities and charities for which he and his volunteers make sure the Square and Compasses are front and center - as they should be. It used to be a Proverb in America - "If you want it done right, and you want it done honestly, find a Mason to do it." Our country and our culture need to return to that standard, that "...purity of life and rectitude of conduct" which describe the "...distinguished badge of a Mason", the white Apron on which we at Johnson's Island laid, in humility and with reverence, our sprigs of Acacia. So Mote it be!