California Symposium & Masonic Society Dinner 6/25

Each year, the Grand Lodge of California F&AM and the California Masonic Foundation sponsor the Annual California Masonic Symposium. This event, open to both Masons and the public, addresses a topic of historical and philosophical relevance to Freemasonry in an academic setting.

The 2011 California Masonic Symposium, "Morgan Affair: The kidnapping that changed American Masonry," will be held June 25 at the Pasadena Scottish Rite Masonic Center.

Attend the 2011 Symposium for a discussion of the fact and fiction surrounding the Morgan Affair, the public outcry that nearly wiped out Masonry in this country, and why Freemasonry in the United States would never thereafter be the same.

This year’s presenters will address questions such as:

How did American Freemasonry change as a result of the Anti-Masonic period? What policies and practices did the fraternity institute in order to regain public trust and protect itself from further infiltration?

• Henry Wilson Coil Lecturer Mark A. Tabbert, Director of Collections at the George Washington Masonic Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia and author of “American Freemasons: Three Centuries of Building Communities”

What was the social, economic and political climate at the time? How does this climate explain America’s reaction to Morgan’s disappearance?

• R. Stephen Doan, Past Grand Master of Masons of California

What were the events leading up to and surrounding William Morgan’s disappearance and the investigation which followed?

• Art Weiss, President of the California Masonic Foundation

Registration is free. For questions, contact Kim Hegg, program coordinator, at 415/292-9111 or khegg@freemason.org.

An archive of past papers presented at the Symposium in 2010 is available here.

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Following the Annual California Masonic Symposium on the Morgan Affair please join the Masonic Society's California Second Circle for a wonderful meal and fascinating presentation. Their speaker will be Adam Kendall.

5:30pm - 8:30pm

Location:
The Barkley Restaurant
1400 Huntington Drive
South Pasadena

Price: $25 includes meal and gratuity with a choice of 5 entrees including beef, chicken, fish, pork and vegetarian options. No Host Bar available. Seating limited to 35, so make your reservation early as this event will sell out. Contact Simon McIlroy for reservations or more info through either Facebook or at simon.mcilroy@gmail.com.

Adam Kendall, P.M. of the Henry W. Coil Library and Museum of Freemasonry at the Grand Lodge of F. & A.M. of California will present his paper: "Klad in White Hoods and Aprons: Freemasonry, Fraternalism and the Ku Klux Klan in California, 1921-1928."

This essay, which formally debuted at the 2009 International Conference on Masonic History in Edinburgh, details the conflict that arose when the revived Ku Klux Klan dominated the American landscape in the 1910s and 1920s and recruited amongst other fraternal orders, especially Freemasonry, in the United States. It offered itself as a truly American organization—the greatest of all fraternities—and appealed to the fears and nativist patriotism endemic in pre and post WWI America. Based on primary sources found within the archive of the Grand Lodge of F. & A.M. of California, the essay gives a personalized view of a little-known chapter in California history and illustrates the commitment the Grand Lodge of California had in refusing to accept the Klan’s overarching and, ultimately, corrupt influence. Furthermore, what is also explored is the compulsion people have to join groups that uplift their normal sense of identity—especially in an era struggling to define just what it meant to be an American.

This essay will also be published in the forthcoming edition of the Journal for the Research into Freemasonry and Fraternalism. http://www.equinoxpub.com/JRFF

A 1914-1918 prequel to the events described in the essay will be presented at the May 2011 International Conference on Masonic History in Alexandria, Virginia

Adam Kendall is a Past Master of Phoenix Lodge No. 144 in San Francisco, a founding member of Academia Lodge No. 847 in Oakland, and an employee of the Grand Lodge for nine years. For the Henry Wilson Coil Library and Museum as its Collections Manager, he is in charge of the care, inventory, and interpretation of the items contained within the vast archives. He has also written and curated the exhibits featured within the museum and online: www.masonicheritage.org

In addition to his long-standing work with Masonic-oriented educational committees, research societies and museums, he is a frequent international lecturer on the history, symbology and material culture of the Craft--lately concentrating on American and Californian fraternal themes that have had a wide social impact during the early 20th century. He is also published in several venerable Masonic journals, namely The Philalethes, Ars Quatuor Coronati, Journal for the Research into Freemasonry and Fraternalism; and Ahiman: A Review of Masonic Culture and Tradition. Several other upcoming works will be published within and without the fraternity during 2011-12.