Centennial Memory #93: Multimedia Center and Atrium Dedication Ceremony

To celebrate the DeMolay Centennial, PA DeMolay will be counting down 100 memories worth celebrating that took place within the DeMolay Chapters and Jurisdiction of Pennsylvania.

On December 12, 1998, the Masonic Conference Center in Elizabethtown saw some renovations made to enhance the quality of the facility. The front part of the building, including 6 breakout classrooms, the atrium and the multimedia center were established.

A dedication ceremony took place to officially open this part of the facility. Members of Pennsylvania DeMolay and several distinguished guests, including the Right Worshipful Grand Master, James Ernette, and the rest of his Grand Officers were present for this dedication. A date stone was placed in the middle of the atrium dedicated to Freemasonry and Youth, presented by all of the Grand Lodge Officers of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania.

Along with this, the Multimedia Center had a special dedication of its own, as the Multimedia Center was named after "Dad" Samuel C. Williamson, whose hard-work and dedication helped make this, as well as all of the other renovations of the building, possible. A portrait of "Dad" Williamson was placed outside of the Multimedia Center. Take your photo with it the next time you are in at Patton Campus.

Below, you will find photos from this special occasion.

Happy Birthday "Dad" Williamson

Until next time - "Dad" Joe Pullin

The Story of Thomas R. Patton

The following blog post was written by Brother Hunter Winters, Youth Region D Representative, and PMC of Carlisle Chapter. 

History is a very important part of DeMolay because of the many ancient ideals it is based on. The origins of DeMolay stem from the 9 boys who decided to come together and form this group, but there are other influential figures. Frank S. Land is known as the Founder of this Order and is highly recognized in the world of DeMolay. Thomas Patton is one of these influential figures, who many DeMolays know very little about even though he is the namesake for the Masonic Conference Center - Patton Campus in Elizabethtown.

Thomas Ranken Patton was born in Ireland in 1824. He came to the United States in 1844 and started to work with his uncle in the tea importing business. He would quickly find his own success in the United States by starting a grocery importation business and would soon become a full citizen in 1852. He then became a Freemason in 1861 by joining Union Lodge No. 121 in Philadelphia. He served as Worshipful Master in 1867.

Throughout his life he gained a number of important positions in both the business world and in the realm of Freemasonry. In business, he became the director of the Union Trust Company and the Electrical Cable Construction Company among many other titles. In Freemasonry, he served as the Grand Treasurer for the Grand Lodge and was the Representative of the Grand Lodge of England to the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania.

After the death of his wife, Ellen, he created the Thomas Ranken Patton Memorial Charity Fund to help widows. He donated 150,000 dollars to this fund and helped many people throughout the masonic world. He then donated the building which would eventually become the Thomas Ranken Patton Masonic Institution for Boys, known by many today as Masonic Conference Center - Patton Campus, a place where DeMolays, Rainbows and Job's Daughters can gather from all over the Commonwealth, and on occasion, from all over the world.

When you walk into the side entrance of Patton Campus, you will walk past a number of display cases containing items such as the ones below. These items served as physical reminders of the life of Thomas Patton, the immigrant who would serve his community and his Freemason brethren throughout his life. If you'd like to read a little more about the life of Thomas R. Patton, check out the biography on the PMYF website at pmyf.org. 

KeyMan University

For the 32nd year, Pennsylvania DeMolay will host the annual KeyMan Conference, known for the last 4 years as KeyMan University. The week long DeMolay experience will take place at the Masonic Conference Center - Patton Campus in Elizabethtown, PA on August 6th to 12th, 2017. Members and sweethearts are encouraged to join us for what is known throughout DeMolay International as a premier DeMolay leadership program. So why should you attend? Here are several reasons why you will want to be in Elizabethtown in August.

10. The Directors of KMU, "Dad" Dan Loughin and "Dad" Matt Blaisdell, have put together a stellar staff roster to help teach members and sweethearts everything they need to know during the week.

9. Participants will enjoy a week long stay at Patton Campus. For those who have never been to the campus, the facility consists of several meeting size rooms, dorm room style accommodations, a state of the art Multimedia Center, a cafeteria, and plenty of outdoor space to play all kinds of games and sports.  

8. Patton Campus has a half Olympic size pool that participants will have opportunities to enjoy. Assigned time frames for the pool will be reflected on the schedule.  

7. For the sports fanatics, there will be assigned time to let off some steam, with sports such as dodgeball, flag football, kickball, volleyball and basketball. Not a fan of sports? Not to worry, there are plenty of other things to do on campus, including a closet full of board games and a few chess tables in the atrium. 

6. One of the things that makes KMU special is the emphasis on service through our various service projects that will be built into the week. More details on this will come in a later post. 

5. Each participant will be placed into a department, which will be the emphasis for their learning experience through the week. New members will be placed in the DeMolay Education department. Other departments include Ritual and Performance, Chapter Leadership and Operations, Communications and Media, Events and Program Planning, Brotherhood and Membership, and Interpersonal Development.

4. There will be opportunities to work on LCC's throughout the week. Participants can also start working on their Representative DeMolay Award. 

3. FOOD!  

2. Participants will get to meet other members and sweethearts from their Jurisdiction as well as others. KMU is a DeMolay International known program, with participants traveling from Virginia, Maryland, New York, Canada and others to participate in our program. 

1. The week long fun that will be had at KMU will surely provide stories and memories that can be shared for years to come. It will also provide lessons that can, and should, be taken back to your home chapter.   

I hope this motivates members and sweethearts to join us for what is guaranteed to be a great DeMolay experience. Registration is open now, so go to keyman.pademolay.org to register now.

Until next time - "Dad" Joe Pullin

Films Every DeMolay Should See: Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Over the history of Pennsylvania DeMolay, one of the most popular films utilized in the planning of programs and events has been Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Even though this is a popular film, I've still heard plenty of people, DeMolay's and Advisors, say that they have not seen it. I'll be honest, DeMolay is the reason I've seen this movie in the first place, as we used this movie for a membership theme when I was a State Officer and I thought it important to see the movie in order to push the theme. The main reason this movie is on the list is due to the upcoming Movie Mashup Weekend: Quest for the Holy Grail.

The film is a comedy spoof that follows the journey of King Arthur and his quest for the holy grail. To set forth on his journey, King Arthur recruits knights to fill out the famous "Knights of the Round Table," and assist him on his quest. Arthur's knights include Sir Lancelot the Brave, Sir Bedevere the Wise, Sir Galahad the Pure, and Sir Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-As-Sir-Lancelot. The film follows the knights on their journey with lots of humor, adventure and several one-liners (if you don't believe me, refer to the March issue of the Keystone Crusader.) 

So what makes this a film that every DeMolay should watch? Well, it tends to come up a lot in the program planning of our events, especially in Pennsylvania. Currently, the Movie Mashup Weekend, which will take place this weekend at Patton Campus, will center around the film. Participants will go on their own quest, with their own knights of the round table (well, maybe not a round table,) and partake in numerous puzzles, riddles and tasks along the way. Aside from this event, PA DeMolay once held a membership theme based on the film called "The Quest!" During the year, members of the State Officer team dressed up as knights and performed skits of their quest. If you haven't seen the movie, participants who have already registered for Movie Mashup Weekend will get the chance to see it during the weekend. We look forward to yet another fantastic event.

Until next time - "Dad" Joe Pullin