GEORGE WASHINGTON MASONIC NATIONAL MEMORIAL
GEORGE WASHINGTON MASONIC NATIONAL MEMORIAL Proud Memorial or Forgotten
Legacy?
By Donald M. Robey, P.G.M.
The important question being asked in this Short Bulletin is "Proud Memorial
or Forgotten Legacy?" Faced with increasing costs and decreasing income the
George Washington Masonic National Memorial is now in serious trouble. This STB
was prepared with the intent of telling the story of the Memorial's plight so
that Masons everywhere may know exactly what the situation is! There is a short
history of the Memorial and than a discussion of its financial situation. While
a solution is suggested, the Memorial would welcome any other suggestions as to
how to overcome this most serious problem! MSA thanks Don Robey, PGM of Virginia
and a member of Alexander Washington Lodge # 22 for preparing this Short Talk
Bulletin. -Editor
Just ten years after we entered the Twentieth Century the Grand Lodges of the
United States united in a great National Masonic undertaking. They formed an
Association to erect a Memorial to our most distinguished Mason Brother George
Washington. The period between 1910 and 1922 was utilized to have the building
designed and to get the fund raising operation underway to finance the
construction of this massive undertaking. We must remember that during this time
in our history the world was in a turmoil of controversy which resulted in World
War One. On June 5, 1922 a small party of Masons and friends climbed to the top
of Shooters Hill, on the West side of Alexandria, Virginia and after a short but
formal ceremony, Col. Louis A. Watres, Past Grand Master of Pennsylvania and
President of the Association and Charles H. Callahan, who became known locally
as the founder of the Memorial, officially broke ground. The Cornerstone
ceremony for the Memorial was held on November 1, 1923. Among the honored guests
present for the ceremony were President and Mrs. Coolidge, Chief Justice Taft,
Gov Trinkle of Virginia, almost all of the Grand Masters and many Past Grand
Masters of the 48 states and many members of Congress and government officials.
The list was indeed endless! The trowel used by George Washington when he laid
the cornerstone of the United States Capitol in 1793 was permitted to be taken
from the archives of Alexandria-Washington Lodge and used at this cornerstone
laying ceremony. President Coolidge spread the first cement and each of the
Grand Masters present advanced, one by one, and placed a small dab of cement on
the resting place of the stone.
Construction continued during the 1920's and the outer facade of the
building was completed in early 1932. 1932 was also the Bicentennial Anniversary
of the birth of George Washington. Although the interior of the Memorial was far
from complete, the Association decided to hold a Dedication Ceremony on May 12,
1932 to coincide with the Bicentennial celebration which was being observed
throughout the country. All of the Grand Masters from the Forty-Eight Grand
Jurisdictions in the United States were present for the Dedication Ceremony. It
was indeed a proud day for all Freemasons to so great an American as George
Washington. Housed within this magnificent edifice is a Replica Lodge Room with
the actual furnishings used by Washington while Master of his Lodge. Through the
generosity of the two late Misses Patty and Anne Washington, and Alexandria
Washington Lodge No. 22, the Association has the deed to Mount Vernon, the
Washington family Bible (with the record of the births, baptisms, marriages and
deaths), a portion of the library from Mount Vernon, many priceless oil
paintings of historic significance, Washington's Lifeguard Flag and two original
battle flags of Virginia Regiments of the Revolutionary War. The Washington
Museum on the fourth floor was sponsored by the two Scottish Rite Jurisdictions
as a joint effort. The Library on the sixth floor was furnished by the Grand
Lodge of Pennsylvania and contains well over six thousand volumes on
Freemasonry. The A. Douglas Smith Lodge of Research, which meets in the
Memorial, has volunteered to sort and catalogue the Library collection with the
intent of making the Library available, in the near future, to Masonic scholars
who wish to do research at the Memorial. Any Freemason who visits this beautiful
Memorial cannot help but swell with pride in the fact that this building was
constructed entirely with voluntary contributions from members of the Masonic
Fraternity. The Memorial Association is the only unified effort of all of the
Grand Lodges in the United States. The construction of this beautiful,
awe-inspiring Memorial was the single most important 2Oth century endeavor by
the entire Masonic fraternity. Each Grand Lodge is a sovereign body in its own
territorial jurisdiction but the love and reverence for George Washington by the
Masons in this country is amply demonstrated by the collective effort of all of
the jurisdictions to keep this Memorial to Washington the Mason a living
reality. All this is history.
Today the Association has a major problem: To establish this Memorial on a
sound economic basis. We have an Endowment Fund of something under $7,000,000;
but:
(1) Annual cost of operating this Memorial is about $700,000
(2) Annual income from the Endowment Fund is about $36,000.
(3) Annual contributions from Grand Lodges is about $140,000
(4) Annual contributions from Appendant Bodies is about $70,000
(5) Annual income from use of the building is about $15,000.
(6) Annual deficit is about $115,000 and this cannot continue.
The Executive Committee of the Association has been struggling for several
years to work within the income provided and yet maintain this Memorial in a
manner befitting the memory of our greatest American Freemason, Brother George
Washington. All but eight of the fifty-one Grand Jurisdictions, which are
members of the Association, have adopted a $5.00 per new initiate contribution
to support the maintenance and operation of the Memorial With the decline in the
number of new initiates into our Lodges in every Grand Jurisdiction, the
Memorial is faced with steadily declining income to support the operation and
maintenance of the building. Many members of the Grand Lodges in this country
see an entry in the annual budget of their Grand Lodge indicating an amount for
support of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial.
Many think this is money from the per capita tax, paid to the Grand Lodge
from each member's dues to their subordinate Lodge, but this is not the case. A
few Grand Lodges already have the necessary legislation in progress but no Grand
Jurisdiction has a fixed per-capita tax to support the Memorial. The 1992
edition of the "List of Lodges Masonic" indicates that there are 2,500,000
members in the fifty-one Grand Jurisdictions in the United States. Just five
years ago in 1987 this same publication reported that there were 2,750,000
members. This represents an average loss of nearly 1,000 members per year in
each Grand Jurisdiction during this span of five years. The number of new
initiates in each Jurisdiction is following a similar trend.
If each Grand Jurisdiction had just a $0.15 per-capita tax pledged to support
the operation of the Memorial this would be more than double the amount now
received from the $5.00 per new initiate plan utilized in most Grand
Jurisdictions. Many Grand Jurisdictions have a State Chairman to represent the
Memorial in their respective jurisdiction. Each State Chairman has brochures on
the Memorial available for distribution to Lodges, and each State Chairman has a
set of color slides which can be brought to individual Lodges for a program
about the Memorial.
Unfortunately few Lodges take advantage of this resource for a program about
the Memorial. A concentrated effort is being undertaken to improve awareness
about the program and to make more Lodges aware of the Memorial. It should never
be forgotten that this Memorial is a project of all of the Grand Lodges of the
United States. It is now over 80 years since the Sovereign Grand Jurisdiction in
this country united in this great enterprise to honor the memory of our greatest
American and most well known freemason, George Washington. We have created a
proud Memorial to a great man. I fear that as we face uncertain economic times
in this Country and in our Grand Lodges, we tend to forget the sacrifices our
forefathers made in getting this Memorial erected and dedicated. The greatest
task we face today is to keep alive those dreams our predecessors had for this
fraternity that we all love, and want to see continued for years to come. This
Memorial stands for more than the memory of George Washington. It also stands
for the hard work and contributions of millions of people who believe
Freemasonry has a continuously important place in our nation and society!
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