PA State Officers Go Spelunking...

... well, not really.

Imagine yourself walking descending down to almost one hundred feet below the surface and you come across a DeMolay Degree. This past weekend, Matt Blaisdell, DSMC, Alex Rauschenberger, SSC, and "Dad" Labagh, EO had that opportunity. First off, to clarify, they didn't trudge through the dirt with a pale and shovel. Rather, they attended the Virginia State Association of DeMolay who hosted their annual Grand Masters Class at Luray Caverns in the Shenandoah Valley. After a three hour drive from Patton Campus,the group met up with the Virginia 's State Master Councilor, PJ Shuey, their Deputy State Master Councilor, Robert Marsters, along with some others from  Virginia and Region two. They had a light lunch and just shared fraternal bonds until the degrees began. Alex was heard to say "It was amazing to see not just active members of Virginia there, but other jurisdictions as well! Not to mention, the ritual preformed by the members was great!" 

Following the degree, "Dad" Labagh was approached by a familiar figure; later to find out it was our very own "Dad" Eric C. Johnson, 49th State Master Councilor of Pennsylvania DeMolay. With a few minutes to spare, Matt, Alex and "Dad" Labagh made their way to the 4,000,000 year old cavern where Virginia DeMolay hosts their DeMolay Degree. After seeing some amazing stalactites and stalagmites and some even more amazing ritual by members of Virginia DeMolay, the group was privileged to listen to the largest stalactic-pipe organ. Go have yourselves a listen at the video below. "It was really cool, and I recommend anyone who enjoys some good ritual, good brotherhood and some great stalactic-pipe organ playing, tag along next year with us and I guarantee you won't regret it!" Matt said.

Take Control! 
Matt Blaisdell

The DeMolay Crest

Thanks to Bro. Matt Blaisdell, DSMC of PA DeMolay, for sending me this!

The DeMolay Crest has experienced many changes throughout it's history. Regardless of those modifications, it has always been a point of pride among the members of the fraternity. Below is an image taken from an old guide book on how the Coat-of-Arms should be constructed. The information uses some very specific heraldic terminology that may not be familiar too you.

Let's break down the first paragraph, shall we? Azure refers to the blue color on the inside of the shield. The cross of eight points is in reference to the Maltese style cross in the middle. The "dexter chief" is the upper left corner of a shield while the "sinister base" is the lower right corner of the same. "Mullets" are the technical name for five pointed stars when used in heraldry. Lastly, it states that the shield should be over two crossed swords, "saltirewise" - meaning at an angle. See, it's not that complicated!

The "double azure" of the mantling again refers to color. The Crest obvious makes reference to the helmet and the laurels surrounding it. The "decrement" is the small decoration placed above the helm, in the case the traditional DeMolay moon and star (or mullet.)

I think the motto is pretty self explanatory!

Now, why don't you go look up your family crest, or maybe some heraldry from other organizations and see what you can learn!

Frat! ~ "Dad" Seth Anthony

Remembering the 7th Precept

As we observe this Memorial Day, it seemed only appropriate that I put something on the Blog relating to the holiday. This information is taken from http://lemont.patch.com/articles/ten-things-you-should-know-about-memorial-day-2 and I appreciate their efforts.

How did Memorial Day get started, and why is it on May 30? Here are some facts about the national day of remembrance for America’s fallen heroes.

1. Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day.
2. More than two dozen cities lay claim to being the site of the first Memorial Day commemoration.
3. Gen. John Logan officially proclaimed Memorial Day on May 5, 1868.
4. The first national commemoration took place on May 30, 1868, as flowers were placed on the graves of both Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.
5. In 1966, Congress and President Lyndon B. Johnson declared Waterloo, NY, as the “birthplace” of Memorial Day, citing a ceremony held on May 5, 1866 to honor Civil War dead.
6. It is believed that the date was chosen because by May 30, flowers would be in bloom all over the country.
7. Inspired by the poem “In Flanders Field” Moina Michael wrote a poem of her own, and came up with the idea of wearing red poppies in honor of Memorial Day.
8. Some Southern states have special observances specifically in honor of fallen Confederate soldiers, including Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Louisiana, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
9. In 2000, Congress passed the National Moment of Remembrance Act to encourage people to give back to the country, as well as promote commemorations of Memorial Day.
10. The National Moment of Remembrance Act urges all Americans to pause, wherever they may be, at 3 p.m. local time on May 30 for a moment of silence in honor of the country’s fallen heroes.

Frat! ~ "Dad" Seth Anthony

Musings from Westmoreland

Today's post is by "Dad" Bruce Neubauer, Chapter Chairman of Westmoreland Chapter, located in Greensburg, PA. "Dad" Neuabauer wrote this article unsolicited and sent it to PA DeMolay. I enjoyed his thoughts and he graciously allowed me to post it here. I hope you enjoy it!

You might think DeMolay is just about the young men, but it's not. DeMolay is also about the Advisors. You might say that this comment does not fit in with the "Unplugged" concept. But remember, Unplugged does not mean disconnected. I hope you find this story interesting. I have seen some things lately that I thought were amazing.

Westmoreland DeMolay has a very long and exciting history in PA. In the olden days the Chapter was very active in ritual competitions and sporting events. We understand they had a Chapter with a lot of members. Over the years the members got involved with other activities and a lot aged out and moved on. Westmoreland Chapter was lucky to continue to have a few young men to keep it alive. Our hats go off to these young men, because it would have been easy to go dark. Westmoreland continued to have a good Advisory Council that did not want to see the Chapter close.

About 3 years ago Westmoreland started to get a few more young men. They joined one at a time. Now we know that the guys are to try and recruit their friends, but they need help. Before a member is going to ask a friend, he must believe it is the right thing to do. In the beginning, the young men would not ask anyone to join. Some of our Advisors talked up DeMolay how the young men could join. There were Masons that thought DeMolay was gone. Westmoreland had a sports prospect party that summer and two young men had come because of the interest sparked at the Masonic meeting with a friend. Both guys joined with in a couple weeks. It is very important that the adults never stop talking about DeMolay because the young men need your help.

All of a sudden we had about 6 young men, who were 12 and 13 years old, wondering "What am I doing here?" When they sat through the first business meeting none of the young men knew what to do. At that point the Advisors did a lot. They had to help with ritual, explain how to make a motion, and why you needed one in the first place. The new members were very nervous. We had a Master Councilor That was trying to work with the members and stayed on for an extra term or two until the younger guys were ready. Later that year we had an Advisor that went to a leadership weekend and found out from our Master Councilor that the Advisors were way too involved in the meetings. The Advisors started to back off and it was not easy. This was right before "Unplugged" debuted as a concept. When we read the "Unplugged" article one of our Advisors absolutely did not agree with it because he felt the guys were not prepared to run the Chapter. He thought they did not have the tools needed to be successful. Upon further review the Advisors felt that it would work if you stayed connected when the members needed help.

This now bring us to today. Our guys are now between 12 and 16. We have a truly "Unplugged" but not disconnected Chapter. This does not mean they are own their own. As advisors, you have to know when to get involved. Our young men are working on the "Take Control!" program. The Young men have seen a couple terms and now know some of the things they need to do, such as Scheduling dates with your meeting place, setting a budget for activities, following up with who is going and much, much more. At the Councilors meeting the Chapter Advisor is part of the meeting. This is where the young men review the activity.

We have seen the young men "Take Control!" of the Chapter. They are taking pride in the ritual and Master Councilor puts together a meeting agenda and has copies for everyone. Over the past few meetings the transformation in the Chapter is been amazing. The older members are helping the newer members. We just had a Prospect party with four prospects. But remember, he guys will not ask friends to join until they believe. We can see where the members of Westmoreland Chapter are working as a team by the way everyone had a great time at the party.

Finally the Advisors of Westmoreland Chapter have had a lot to do with the young men gaining the confidence and learning needed to succeed. As an advisor, you must never stop asking your friends, family, or Brothers if they know about DeMolay. The Young men are learning how to be leaders and the Advisors are using their skill to help them learn. As advisors think of the rewards when you can sit back and say WOW what a change.

Just a short update...

I know everyone was starting their Monday with great excitement at the thought of reading another one of my blog posts. Unfortunately, I'm out on the road this week attending the Annual Conclave of the Grand Commandery of Knights Templar of Pennsylvania in Cannonsburg, PA. Many of you are probably asking what exactly all the gobbledy gook means, so, let me explain!

Knights Templar is part of the York Rite of Freemasonry, which is an Appendant (or additional) body of the Fraternity. The York Rite or American Rite is one of several Rites of the worldwide fraternity known as Freemasonry. A Rite is a series of progressive degrees that are conferred by various Masonic organizations or groups, each of which operates under the control of its own central authority. The York Rite specifically is a collection of separate Masonic Bodies and associated Degrees that would otherwise operate independently. The three primary bodies in the York Rite are the Chapter of Royal Arch Masons, Council of Royal and Select Masters or Council of Cryptic Masons, and the Commandery of Knights Templar, each of which are governed independently but are all considered to be a part of the York Rite. There are also other organizations that are considered to be directly associated with the York Rite, or require York Rite membership to join such as the York Rite Sovereign College but in general the York Rite is considered to be made up of the aforementioned three. The Rite's name is derived from the city of York, where, according to a Masonic legend, the first meetings of Masons in England took place, although only the lectures of the York Rite Sovereign College make reference to that legend.

So, what about this Templar business? The Knights Templar is the final order joined in the York Rite. Unlike other Masonic bodies which only require a belief in a Supreme Being regardless of religion, membership in the Knights Templar is open only to Christian Masons who have completed their Royal Arch and in some jurisdictions their Cryptic Degrees. This body is modeled off of the historical Knights Templar in hopes to carry on the spirit of their organization. Throughout history it has been claimed that Freemasonry itself was founded by the Knights Templar or that the Knights Templar took refuge in Freemasonry after their persecution. The Grand Encampment of the United States acknowledges the existence of these theories but states that there is no proof to justify such claims.


A local Knights Templar division is called a Commandery and operates under a state level Grand Commandery as well as The Grand Encampment of the United States. This is unique among Masonic bodies as most report to the state level alone. The Knights Templar confer three orders, and one passing order as opposed to the standard degree system found elsewhere in Freemasonry:

• The Illustrious Order of the Red Cross
• The Order of the Knights of Malta (or simply Order of Malta)
• The Order of the Temple

That's the quick run down on the organization. The event I'm attending this week is the equivalent of the DeMolay Annual Convention. We have meetings, hold elections, and enjoy each others company.

So, I'm going to be a busy boy for the next few days, but I'll be sure to have an update on Thursday - perhaps with a video of our State Master Councilor addressing the Grand Commandery at the banquet on Tuesday night.

Frat! ~ "Dad" Seth Anthony

(Thanks to Wikipedia for the great explanation of York Rite Masonry!)