Promise & Protest in the American Revolution

For 50 years the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library in Lexington has been telling the story of America and the Masonic traditions that are interwoven with that narrative. The museum has a collection of more than 17,000 objects and manages another 11,000 objects belonging to the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts. Objects from that collection and pieces from their world-class library are being used to launch a new exhibit on April 13, 2025 entitled Protest & Promise: The American Revolution in Lexington. Join Professor Allison in conversation with Assistant Curator Stacey Fraser on this iconic museum, its connection to the Bicentennial and the special exhibits and projects they have planned for the 250th.

Transcript

WEBVTT
 
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 Hello, everyone.
 
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 Welcome to the Revolution
 
 00:00:02.507 --> 00:00:03.708
 Two Fifty podcast.
 
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 I'm Bob Allison.
 
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 I chair the Rev Two Fifty Advisory Group.
 
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 We are a consortium of about
 
 00:00:08.471 --> 00:00:09.352
 seventy five groups in
 
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 Massachusetts planning
 
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 commemorations of the
 
 00:00:11.273 --> 00:00:12.894
 beginnings of American independence.
 
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 And our guest today is Stacey Fraser.
 
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 Stacey Fraser is the
 
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 assistant curator at the
 
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 Scottish Rite Masonic
 
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 Museum and Library in the
 
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 town of Lexington, where you're from.
 
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 So you've been steeped in
 
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 Lexington since the very beginning.
 
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 It's true.
 
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 Thank you for having me.
 
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 And the Scottish Rite Museum
 
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 is about to observe its
 
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 fiftieth anniversary.
 
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 It opened on April twentieth
 
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 of nineteen seventy-five.
 
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 Was there a correlation
 
 00:00:37.195 --> 00:00:38.658
 between the bicentennial
 
 00:00:38.798 --> 00:00:39.981
 and the opening of the museum?
 
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 There was, yeah.
 
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 The museum has been,
 
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 was founded and funded by
 
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 the Scottish Rite Masons in
 
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 the Northern Masonic jurisdiction,
 
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 which is about fifteen states,
 
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 New England,
 
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 and then about out to Michigan.
 
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 And they had had an office
 
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 in Boston for a long time
 
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 in the Statler building and
 
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 other previous iterations
 
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 since about eighteen thirteen.
 
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 And then in nineteen sixty eight,
 
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 they decided to move out of
 
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 the city and move into the
 
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 country like many people did.
 
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 And so they bought some land in Lexington.
 
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 And then with the approaching bicentennial,
 
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 their their CEO,
 
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 basically the sovereign
 
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 Grand Commander George Newberry,
 
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 thought it would be a
 
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 wonderful opportunity to
 
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 create a museum of national
 
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 history right around the
 
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 time of the bicentennial,
 
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 given the location in Lexington.
 
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 So they bought another
 
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 parcel of land and that's what they did.
 
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 Oh, that's great.
 
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 And of course,
 
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 the Masons were involved in
 
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 the beginnings of the
 
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 revolution and then throughout.
 
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 They were, yeah, between, you know,
 
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 Paul Revere and John
 
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 Hancock and Joseph Warren
 
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 and so many other names
 
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 that are familiar because
 
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 of their Sons of Liberty activities or,
 
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 you know, governmental activities.
 
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 They were all Masons.
 
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 And so there's a lot of
 
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 overlap in that group of people.
 
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 And now I know you have an
 
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 exhibit open now, actually,
 
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 on looking back, moving forward,
 
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 fifty years of collecting.
 
 00:02:02.343 --> 00:02:03.423
 I wonder if we could start
 
 00:02:03.442 --> 00:02:04.364
 maybe with that one and
 
 00:02:04.384 --> 00:02:06.265
 talk about what's in the collections.
 
 00:02:06.873 --> 00:02:07.375
 Yeah, you know,
 
 00:02:07.415 --> 00:02:08.217
 I always tell people when I
 
 00:02:08.236 --> 00:02:09.419
 do my tours that typically
 
 00:02:09.459 --> 00:02:10.320
 we do sort of a quick
 
 00:02:10.360 --> 00:02:11.241
 history of the museum in
 
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 the lobby before we go see
 
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 the exhibitions.
 
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 But my boss, Hilary Anderson Stelling,
 
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 has curated this great show,
 
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 on the museum's collections
 
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 over fifty years.
 
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 So it's even easier now
 
 00:02:21.520 --> 00:02:22.219
 because we just started
 
 00:02:22.340 --> 00:02:24.241
 that show and go through the intro.
 
 00:02:24.942 --> 00:02:27.062
 So much of what I said before, basically,
 
 00:02:27.082 --> 00:02:28.443
 the idea was to create a
 
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 Museum of American History
 
 00:02:29.724 --> 00:02:32.526
 to really kind of honor and
 
 00:02:32.985 --> 00:02:33.866
 celebrate some of the
 
 00:02:33.926 --> 00:02:36.388
 ideals that were expressed
 
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 by founding masons and founding fathers.
 
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 Washington, obviously,
 
 00:02:39.770 --> 00:02:40.811
 is a big part of sort of
 
 00:02:40.871 --> 00:02:42.312
 Masonic culture and American culture.
 
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 And the museum was built, it was
 
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 early, finished early and under budget.
 
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 Wow.
 
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 As we all know.
 
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 That's remarkable.
 
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 That's worth celebrating.
 
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 Yeah.
 
 00:02:55.512 --> 00:02:56.872
 So it was actually done in
 
 00:02:57.153 --> 00:02:58.235
 the summer of seventy four,
 
 00:02:58.294 --> 00:02:59.096
 but they decided to wait
 
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 until Patriot's Day weekend
 
 00:03:00.217 --> 00:03:02.500
 of seventy five to dedicate
 
 00:03:02.520 --> 00:03:03.080
 it and open it.
 
 00:03:04.061 --> 00:03:06.342
 So the museum collections at
 
 00:03:06.382 --> 00:03:07.643
 the time were fairly small.
 
 00:03:08.383 --> 00:03:09.604
 We had some material from
 
 00:03:09.644 --> 00:03:10.704
 the Scottish Rite offices
 
 00:03:10.843 --> 00:03:13.164
 in Boston that was up the
 
 00:03:13.205 --> 00:03:14.306
 hill that was now the
 
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 Lexington Community Center,
 
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 what used to be the Supreme
 
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 Council's offices.
 
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 But then it grew.
 
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 People knew that we were
 
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 building a museum.
 
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 So people gave things and
 
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 generously donated.
 
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 We have a beautiful
 
 00:03:26.151 --> 00:03:27.371
 Rembrandt Peale Washington
 
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 portrait that came in that first year.
 
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 It was on display that first year.
 
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 When we opened,
 
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 we had a loan of quilts
 
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 from Lexington Historical Society,
 
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 now Lexington History Museums.
 
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 So it really was a great
 
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 start to the collection.
 
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 And then since then, you know,
 
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 through donation,
 
 00:03:44.902 --> 00:03:46.664
 through careful acquisitions,
 
 00:03:47.405 --> 00:03:48.786
 we've really built the collections up.
 
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 So we showcase, you know,
 
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 sort of decade by decade in
 
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 that what some of the
 
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 highlights are and
 
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 collecting goals for each decade.
 
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 Right.
 
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 Interesting.
 
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 Interesting.
 
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 Again,
 
 00:04:02.665 --> 00:04:03.906
 we can jump around to the different
 
 00:04:03.925 --> 00:04:04.385
 exhibits,
 
 00:04:04.425 --> 00:04:05.687
 but I'll let you tell us what
 
 00:04:05.706 --> 00:04:06.766
 are your favorite things.
 
 00:04:06.787 --> 00:04:08.548
 You have an exhibit opening
 
 00:04:08.587 --> 00:04:11.209
 on April thirteenth, Protest and Promise,
 
 00:04:11.288 --> 00:04:13.550
 the American Revolution in Lexington.
 
 00:04:13.569 --> 00:04:15.631
 It seems like a great topic for Lexington.
 
 00:04:16.788 --> 00:04:18.009
 Yes.
 
 00:04:18.028 --> 00:04:18.949
 So this is our,
 
 00:04:19.089 --> 00:04:21.269
 I think our fourth show on
 
 00:04:21.310 --> 00:04:22.451
 the topic of Lexington and
 
 00:04:22.471 --> 00:04:23.690
 the Revolutionary War in
 
 00:04:23.750 --> 00:04:24.771
 our fifth year history.
 
 00:04:25.211 --> 00:04:26.872
 So it's perennial favorite,
 
 00:04:27.391 --> 00:04:28.612
 always gets a good response.
 
 00:04:28.653 --> 00:04:29.973
 It makes a lot of sense to do.
 
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 Our collections, you know,
 
 00:04:31.894 --> 00:04:33.653
 are not as extensive in the
 
 00:04:33.733 --> 00:04:35.454
 area of sort of Lexington history as,
 
 00:04:35.754 --> 00:04:36.035
 you know,
 
 00:04:36.055 --> 00:04:37.315
 some other places like Lexington
 
 00:04:37.336 --> 00:04:37.915
 History Museums.
 
 00:04:39.036 --> 00:04:40.517
 But really a lot of richness
 
 00:04:40.637 --> 00:04:41.959
 in the Revolutionary War,
 
 00:04:42.699 --> 00:04:45.461
 collecting sort of founding material.
 
 00:04:45.581 --> 00:04:48.223
 So we've got some great powderhorns,
 
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 a personal favorite of mine.
 
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 We have a few from the
 
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 French and Indian War, you know,
 
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 at the beginning of the
 
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 show to talk about how, you know,
 
 00:04:55.629 --> 00:04:56.470
 the impacts of the French
 
 00:04:56.490 --> 00:04:58.351
 and Indian War eventually
 
 00:04:58.451 --> 00:04:59.733
 contributed to what
 
 00:04:59.773 --> 00:05:00.713
 happened in Lexington on
 
 00:05:00.774 --> 00:05:01.353
 April nineteenth.
 
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 Are these decorated or carved?
 
 00:05:04.487 --> 00:05:04.987
 They are.
 
 00:05:05.327 --> 00:05:06.728
 Yeah, they've got, you know,
 
 00:05:06.749 --> 00:05:07.370
 the sort of some of the
 
 00:05:07.410 --> 00:05:08.730
 typical ones you'll see
 
 00:05:08.850 --> 00:05:10.112
 sort of daisy wheels and
 
 00:05:10.271 --> 00:05:12.194
 English folk art motifs.
 
 00:05:12.654 --> 00:05:13.535
 But also,
 
 00:05:13.855 --> 00:05:15.177
 we have an interesting powder
 
 00:05:15.197 --> 00:05:17.178
 horn that has Masonic symbols.
 
 00:05:17.319 --> 00:05:18.720
 We have a couple of Masonic
 
 00:05:18.740 --> 00:05:19.500
 symbols as well.
 
 00:05:20.704 --> 00:05:22.206
 And then some that have things like,
 
 00:05:22.245 --> 00:05:23.725
 you know, a hunting scene,
 
 00:05:24.925 --> 00:05:25.747
 or there's one in the
 
 00:05:25.766 --> 00:05:26.427
 collection we didn't use
 
 00:05:26.447 --> 00:05:27.966
 for the show that has a mermaid,
 
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 very rough, dropping mermaid.
 
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 It's just,
 
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 I found Powderhorn art so
 
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 fascinating because it's so individual,
 
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 whether it's a, you know,
 
 00:05:35.509 --> 00:05:36.610
 a carver is doing it for
 
 00:05:36.629 --> 00:05:38.490
 the owner of the horn or they're doing it,
 
 00:05:39.110 --> 00:05:39.990
 you end up with this really
 
 00:05:40.031 --> 00:05:41.011
 personal record of what's
 
 00:05:41.071 --> 00:05:41.750
 important to them.
 
 00:05:41.771 --> 00:05:43.552
 And you know who they were?
 
 00:05:44.012 --> 00:05:44.232
 Yeah,
 
 00:05:44.312 --> 00:05:45.793
 we know for at least two out of the
 
 00:05:45.812 --> 00:05:46.733
 three later in the show.
 
 00:05:47.514 --> 00:05:48.593
 And they were both stationed
 
 00:05:48.673 --> 00:05:50.314
 at Crown Point in New York
 
 00:05:50.334 --> 00:05:51.935
 during the French-London War, which,
 
 00:05:51.975 --> 00:05:52.175
 you know,
 
 00:05:52.235 --> 00:05:53.576
 eventually becomes part of the
 
 00:05:53.596 --> 00:05:54.776
 story for the World War II.
 
 00:05:54.836 --> 00:05:56.016
 So it's kind of an
 
 00:05:56.057 --> 00:05:57.557
 interesting bridge between
 
 00:05:57.577 --> 00:05:58.317
 the two events.
 
 00:05:58.437 --> 00:05:59.499
 That's fascinating.
 
 00:05:59.918 --> 00:06:03.139
 And then you also have an
 
 00:06:03.199 --> 00:06:04.940
 exhibit on the Battle of Bunker Hill.
 
 00:06:04.961 --> 00:06:06.420
 I mean, you're not just covering Lexington,
 
 00:06:06.440 --> 00:06:07.802
 you're doing the Revolution,
 
 00:06:08.302 --> 00:06:09.283
 which is a great thing.
 
 00:06:09.302 --> 00:06:10.502
 So remembering the Battle of
 
 00:06:10.523 --> 00:06:12.343
 Bunker Hill is another of your exhibits,
 
 00:06:12.403 --> 00:06:12.803
 I think, that
 
 00:06:14.834 --> 00:06:15.473
 opened in March and will be
 
 00:06:15.494 --> 00:06:15.954
 up through October.
 
 00:06:15.973 --> 00:06:16.074
 Yep.
 
 00:06:16.095 --> 00:06:17.615
 Yeah, just opened a couple of weeks ago.
 
 00:06:17.935 --> 00:06:20.576
 And that one was curated by our librarian,
 
 00:06:20.677 --> 00:06:21.697
 Director of Library and Archives,
 
 00:06:21.737 --> 00:06:23.098
 Jeff Croteau.
 
 00:06:23.199 --> 00:06:24.059
 And he's done a great job.
 
 00:06:24.079 --> 00:06:24.298
 You know,
 
 00:06:24.338 --> 00:06:26.199
 we've got some interesting material.
 
 00:06:26.461 --> 00:06:26.901
 You know,
 
 00:06:26.940 --> 00:06:28.442
 Lafayette was involved in the
 
 00:06:28.482 --> 00:06:31.202
 Cornerstone laying and he was a Mason.
 
 00:06:31.644 --> 00:06:32.783
 So there's a lot of material
 
 00:06:32.903 --> 00:06:33.685
 related to him.
 
 00:06:34.446 --> 00:06:35.766
 We have an invitation from a
 
 00:06:36.228 --> 00:06:37.168
 Masonic chapter in New
 
 00:06:37.208 --> 00:06:39.230
 Hampshire to the cornerstone laying.
 
 00:06:40.511 --> 00:06:41.632
 And we have other materials
 
 00:06:41.672 --> 00:06:43.273
 sort of associated with the monuments.
 
 00:06:44.074 --> 00:06:45.194
 King Solomon's Lodge
 
 00:06:45.314 --> 00:06:46.795
 actually put up the first monument,
 
 00:06:46.855 --> 00:06:48.517
 as you probably know, to Joseph Warren.
 
 00:06:48.557 --> 00:06:51.199
 So we have a monument model
 
 00:06:51.459 --> 00:06:54.742
 about maybe twenty inches tall,
 
 00:06:54.762 --> 00:06:55.603
 alone from them,
 
 00:06:55.963 --> 00:06:57.124
 that's on display in the
 
 00:06:57.163 --> 00:06:58.225
 library part of it.
 
 00:06:58.245 --> 00:06:59.286
 Yeah.
 
 00:06:59.326 --> 00:07:00.346
 So that was put up in the
 
 00:07:00.367 --> 00:07:00.826
 seventeen nineties.
 
 00:07:00.846 --> 00:07:01.668
 And then the monument we
 
 00:07:01.687 --> 00:07:03.449
 know starts in the eighteen twenties,
 
 00:07:03.470 --> 00:07:04.050
 luckily at least.
 
 00:07:08.745 --> 00:07:10.706
 initially there to honor
 
 00:07:10.726 --> 00:07:11.567
 Joseph Warren yeah and what
 
 00:07:11.627 --> 00:07:12.588
 I didn't realize and Jeff
 
 00:07:12.627 --> 00:07:13.408
 actually you know had a
 
 00:07:13.428 --> 00:07:14.689
 photo when he did a talk
 
 00:07:14.709 --> 00:07:16.451
 for the staff last week um
 
 00:07:16.531 --> 00:07:17.572
 is that we have sort of the
 
 00:07:17.612 --> 00:07:18.651
 wooden model on loan from
 
 00:07:18.692 --> 00:07:19.932
 the Lodge but there's a
 
 00:07:20.153 --> 00:07:21.514
 marble model of that first
 
 00:07:21.574 --> 00:07:22.754
 Monument you know on the
 
 00:07:22.774 --> 00:07:24.755
 ground floor of the current
 
 00:07:24.776 --> 00:07:26.716
 so yeah this connection to
 
 00:07:26.757 --> 00:07:27.538
 sort of the earliest
 
 00:07:27.577 --> 00:07:29.098
 Monument but the first one
 
 00:07:29.119 --> 00:07:30.100
 was wooden so my
 
 00:07:30.139 --> 00:07:31.060
 understanding is it didn't
 
 00:07:31.079 --> 00:07:31.860
 last long with the weather
 
 00:07:31.880 --> 00:07:33.161
 right right yeah
 
 00:07:35.062 --> 00:07:35.723
 And then you also have an
 
 00:07:35.764 --> 00:07:36.564
 exhibit about the
 
 00:07:36.644 --> 00:07:37.865
 revolutionary views about
 
 00:07:37.886 --> 00:07:38.827
 the American War for
 
 00:07:38.867 --> 00:07:39.968
 Independence in print.
 
 00:07:42.413 --> 00:07:43.634
 Because you have a pretty
 
 00:07:43.673 --> 00:07:44.093
 good print collection.
 
 00:07:44.113 --> 00:07:44.233
 We do.
 
 00:07:44.293 --> 00:07:45.295
 Yeah, especially, you know,
 
 00:07:45.314 --> 00:07:46.074
 that was another one where
 
 00:07:46.095 --> 00:07:47.055
 it was interesting to look
 
 00:07:47.175 --> 00:07:49.216
 at sort of collecting
 
 00:07:49.276 --> 00:07:50.398
 priorities over the years.
 
 00:07:50.517 --> 00:07:51.658
 And in the early nineties,
 
 00:07:52.059 --> 00:07:53.459
 we purchased a lot of
 
 00:07:53.500 --> 00:07:54.620
 American history prints.
 
 00:07:54.641 --> 00:07:56.382
 And so we have some really
 
 00:07:56.442 --> 00:07:57.002
 interesting ones.
 
 00:07:57.043 --> 00:07:58.504
 We have five interpretations
 
 00:07:58.524 --> 00:07:59.884
 of Washington crossing the Delaware.
 
 00:07:59.904 --> 00:08:00.644
 Wow.
 
 00:08:01.165 --> 00:08:02.725
 One, you know, the Emanuela Loitza,
 
 00:08:02.966 --> 00:08:03.266
 you know,
 
 00:08:04.266 --> 00:08:05.747
 and then four others with just
 
 00:08:05.809 --> 00:08:07.009
 different views, you know,
 
 00:08:07.209 --> 00:08:08.389
 all featuring Washington
 
 00:08:08.430 --> 00:08:09.250
 and the boats on the river,
 
 00:08:09.310 --> 00:08:11.012
 but different ways of looking at it.
 
 00:08:12.432 --> 00:08:15.274
 You mentioned setting and
 
 00:08:15.314 --> 00:08:16.295
 collecting priorities in
 
 00:08:16.334 --> 00:08:17.074
 different decades.
 
 00:08:17.095 --> 00:08:17.995
 I wonder if you could talk a
 
 00:08:18.016 --> 00:08:18.836
 little bit about what they
 
 00:08:18.875 --> 00:08:20.377
 have been and what you see
 
 00:08:20.437 --> 00:08:21.737
 going forward as collecting
 
 00:08:21.776 --> 00:08:25.139
 priorities for the museum.
 
 00:08:25.158 --> 00:08:25.338
 Sure, yeah.
 
 00:08:25.399 --> 00:08:26.480
 I think early on,
 
 00:08:26.560 --> 00:08:27.980
 especially starting with
 
 00:08:28.021 --> 00:08:29.100
 that early collection that
 
 00:08:29.141 --> 00:08:30.341
 started coming together in
 
 00:08:30.422 --> 00:08:31.701
 seventy-four or so,
 
 00:08:32.342 --> 00:08:34.744
 very much sort of American
 
 00:08:34.783 --> 00:08:36.105
 history and material that
 
 00:08:36.144 --> 00:08:37.144
 specifically sort of
 
 00:08:37.164 --> 00:08:38.485
 relates to our national story.
 
 00:08:39.985 --> 00:08:40.785
 And then I think, you know,
 
 00:08:40.806 --> 00:08:42.407
 we've sort of evolved over the years.
 
 00:08:43.126 --> 00:08:43.767
 One of the things we're
 
 00:08:43.787 --> 00:08:44.606
 trying to make an effort
 
 00:08:44.726 --> 00:08:46.368
 more now is to collect from
 
 00:08:47.467 --> 00:08:48.727
 Prince Hall Freemasonry or
 
 00:08:48.768 --> 00:08:50.187
 historically black Freemasonry.
 
 00:08:50.568 --> 00:08:51.688
 We started collecting
 
 00:08:51.729 --> 00:08:52.928
 material from Prince Hall
 
 00:08:53.208 --> 00:08:54.649
 Masons probably in the
 
 00:08:54.688 --> 00:08:56.629
 nineteen eighties or nineteen nineties.
 
 00:08:57.009 --> 00:08:57.690
 But it's something we've
 
 00:08:57.710 --> 00:08:59.190
 made a real push on lately
 
 00:08:59.250 --> 00:09:00.750
 to try to understand that
 
 00:09:00.831 --> 00:09:03.530
 aspect better and also try to understand,
 
 00:09:03.571 --> 00:09:03.811
 you know,
 
 00:09:03.831 --> 00:09:05.731
 there are other black fraternal
 
 00:09:05.772 --> 00:09:06.711
 groups that were formed
 
 00:09:07.393 --> 00:09:08.474
 around the same time and
 
 00:09:08.514 --> 00:09:12.378
 parallel to the other mainline groups.
 
 00:09:12.557 --> 00:09:13.839
 And so trying to collect that,
 
 00:09:15.019 --> 00:09:16.181
 really sort of broadening the story,
 
 00:09:16.221 --> 00:09:16.922
 collecting women's
 
 00:09:16.961 --> 00:09:18.202
 fraternal group material,
 
 00:09:18.604 --> 00:09:19.404
 children's groups.
 
 00:09:19.424 --> 00:09:20.024
 There's a lot of youth
 
 00:09:20.065 --> 00:09:20.905
 auxiliary groups that are
 
 00:09:20.926 --> 00:09:22.768
 associated with Freemasonry.
 
 00:09:23.849 --> 00:09:24.769
 So I think that's one thing
 
 00:09:24.809 --> 00:09:26.030
 we've really expanded is
 
 00:09:26.071 --> 00:09:28.072
 sort of the fraternal groups in general.
 
 00:09:29.053 --> 00:09:30.394
 groups and, you know,
 
 00:09:30.453 --> 00:09:32.615
 the Odd Fellows and really
 
 00:09:32.715 --> 00:09:34.695
 a wide swath of material
 
 00:09:34.754 --> 00:09:36.576
 from different kinds of
 
 00:09:36.635 --> 00:09:37.735
 ways that people choose to
 
 00:09:37.796 --> 00:09:38.696
 organize themselves.
 
 00:09:38.716 --> 00:09:39.535
 That's interesting.
 
 00:09:40.056 --> 00:09:41.057
 We're talking with Stacey
 
 00:09:41.076 --> 00:09:42.317
 Fraser from the Scottish
 
 00:09:42.376 --> 00:09:43.537
 Rite Masonic Museum and
 
 00:09:43.596 --> 00:09:45.317
 Library in Lexington,
 
 00:09:45.817 --> 00:09:47.398
 formerly known as the
 
 00:09:47.437 --> 00:09:48.937
 Museum of Our National Heritage,
 
 00:09:49.038 --> 00:09:51.818
 that both were part of the original title,
 
 00:09:52.658 --> 00:09:53.879
 and fifty years.
 
 00:09:53.999 --> 00:09:56.580
 Congratulations on that.
 
 00:09:57.559 --> 00:09:58.681
 Now you mentioned the
 
 00:09:58.740 --> 00:09:59.562
 different fraternal groups.
 
 00:09:59.581 --> 00:10:00.663
 I'm just wondering if
 
 00:10:00.763 --> 00:10:01.943
 different groups meet at
 
 00:10:01.984 --> 00:10:03.905
 the museum or if it's strictly a museum.
 
 00:10:04.600 --> 00:10:06.341
 Strictly a museum most of the time,
 
 00:10:06.400 --> 00:10:08.503
 although we do sometimes have, you know,
 
 00:10:08.523 --> 00:10:09.943
 we have a lot of function rentals.
 
 00:10:10.104 --> 00:10:11.304
 It's a beautiful facility,
 
 00:10:11.365 --> 00:10:12.544
 so people will rent it for
 
 00:10:12.765 --> 00:10:13.586
 any manner of things.
 
 00:10:14.066 --> 00:10:15.287
 And I know sometimes local
 
 00:10:15.326 --> 00:10:16.347
 Masonic lodges might rent
 
 00:10:16.388 --> 00:10:18.249
 it for an installation of a master,
 
 00:10:19.309 --> 00:10:20.331
 especially if their lodge
 
 00:10:20.350 --> 00:10:21.291
 doesn't have air conditioning.
 
 00:10:21.711 --> 00:10:23.152
 That's really common with
 
 00:10:23.172 --> 00:10:24.192
 the older lodge buildings,
 
 00:10:24.293 --> 00:10:25.193
 and we do have it here.
 
 00:10:25.214 --> 00:10:26.114
 So it's more comfortable
 
 00:10:26.375 --> 00:10:27.716
 with that kind of thing here.
 
 00:10:27.735 --> 00:10:27.936
 Sure.
 
 00:10:29.527 --> 00:10:31.110
 And do you have things, you know,
 
 00:10:31.150 --> 00:10:31.993
 Paul Revere, of course,
 
 00:10:32.013 --> 00:10:33.255
 was a Mason and he made a
 
 00:10:33.355 --> 00:10:35.240
 lot of the regalia.
 
 00:10:35.682 --> 00:10:36.043
 Early on,
 
 00:10:36.062 --> 00:10:38.107
 do you have any of Revere's regalia?
 
 00:10:38.934 --> 00:10:40.774
 We have some material, yeah.
 
 00:10:41.416 --> 00:10:42.535
 We have a lot of really
 
 00:10:42.596 --> 00:10:43.975
 wonderful extended loans
 
 00:10:44.796 --> 00:10:46.976
 with local lodges and with other groups.
 
 00:10:47.456 --> 00:10:47.996
 As I mentioned,
 
 00:10:48.037 --> 00:10:49.216
 sort of older lodge building,
 
 00:10:49.256 --> 00:10:52.217
 sometimes the climate control, security,
 
 00:10:52.278 --> 00:10:53.278
 things aren't ideal.
 
 00:10:53.717 --> 00:10:54.458
 So for things that are
 
 00:10:54.499 --> 00:10:55.719
 really important to the lodges,
 
 00:10:55.739 --> 00:10:56.739
 sometimes they will put
 
 00:10:56.759 --> 00:10:57.918
 them on extended loan with us.
 
 00:10:57.938 --> 00:11:00.059
 And one of those is a set of
 
 00:11:00.139 --> 00:11:01.059
 Mason's Jewels.
 
 00:11:01.519 --> 00:11:02.620
 which are kind of the badge
 
 00:11:02.659 --> 00:11:03.701
 of office that they wear,
 
 00:11:03.721 --> 00:11:05.261
 either in color or it's pinned.
 
 00:11:05.282 --> 00:11:07.744
 We have a pretty complete
 
 00:11:07.803 --> 00:11:10.885
 set made by Revere's shop.
 
 00:11:11.446 --> 00:11:12.846
 And it comes with the receipts.
 
 00:11:12.886 --> 00:11:13.908
 It actually has the paper
 
 00:11:13.927 --> 00:11:14.989
 receipt from the lodge,
 
 00:11:15.428 --> 00:11:16.590
 which is Washington Lodge.
 
 00:11:17.610 --> 00:11:18.572
 Formerly of Roxbury,
 
 00:11:18.631 --> 00:11:20.133
 moved to Lexington in the sixties,
 
 00:11:20.452 --> 00:11:21.192
 merged with Simon W.
 
 00:11:21.313 --> 00:11:23.034
 Robinson Lodge a couple of years ago.
 
 00:11:23.534 --> 00:11:24.995
 So that is a pretty amazing jewel.
 
 00:11:25.035 --> 00:11:26.918
 We just took it off display recently.
 
 00:11:27.018 --> 00:11:27.378
 I said jewel.
 
 00:11:28.083 --> 00:11:29.405
 But it's a whole case with, you know,
 
 00:11:29.426 --> 00:11:30.426
 twelve different silver
 
 00:11:30.466 --> 00:11:31.748
 jewels made by Revere Shop.
 
 00:11:31.768 --> 00:11:33.548
 Well,
 
 00:11:33.570 --> 00:11:35.311
 it must be interesting going through
 
 00:11:35.370 --> 00:11:36.091
 and putting together
 
 00:11:36.172 --> 00:11:37.592
 exhibits from the material
 
 00:11:37.653 --> 00:11:38.474
 you have and thinking what
 
 00:11:38.514 --> 00:11:39.414
 different directions you
 
 00:11:39.434 --> 00:11:41.096
 can go in with your exhibits.
 
 00:11:41.676 --> 00:11:43.297
 Yeah, it is a pretty broad remit.
 
 00:11:43.336 --> 00:11:44.697
 You know, we're American history,
 
 00:11:44.817 --> 00:11:47.120
 we're Freemasonry and we're fraternalism.
 
 00:11:47.640 --> 00:11:48.822
 And that includes, you know,
 
 00:11:48.961 --> 00:11:51.563
 women's groups and all manner of kind of,
 
 00:11:52.004 --> 00:11:53.365
 really the qualifier is, you know,
 
 00:11:53.404 --> 00:11:54.346
 do you have sort of a
 
 00:11:54.365 --> 00:11:55.447
 ritual to your group?
 
 00:11:55.466 --> 00:11:56.868
 That's kind of our cutoff for,
 
 00:11:57.207 --> 00:11:58.229
 is it a fraternal group or
 
 00:11:58.288 --> 00:12:00.370
 is it sort of a social group?
 
 00:12:00.389 --> 00:12:01.291
 There's a lot,
 
 00:12:01.350 --> 00:12:02.231
 a lot of intersections
 
 00:12:02.272 --> 00:12:03.952
 between those groups in American history.
 
 00:12:04.033 --> 00:12:06.014
 There's a lot really we can cover,
 
 00:12:06.154 --> 00:12:06.794
 which is wonderful.
 
 00:12:06.815 --> 00:12:08.576
 That is a great thing.
 
 00:12:08.596 --> 00:12:10.298
 You also are going to be having on display
 
 00:12:10.855 --> 00:12:12.697
 one of the Lexington Alarm Letter.
 
 00:12:12.716 --> 00:12:13.518
 And that's an interesting
 
 00:12:13.557 --> 00:12:16.599
 story about this document.
 
 00:12:16.779 --> 00:12:18.179
 Yeah, it's really wonderful.
 
 00:12:18.279 --> 00:12:19.100
 It's something actually,
 
 00:12:19.301 --> 00:12:19.961
 when I was working at
 
 00:12:20.020 --> 00:12:22.442
 Lexington History Museums, J.L.
 
 00:12:22.482 --> 00:12:23.943
 Bell was consulting on one
 
 00:12:23.964 --> 00:12:24.844
 of our shows and really
 
 00:12:24.864 --> 00:12:25.985
 helped me sort of get my
 
 00:12:26.024 --> 00:12:26.985
 mind around the alarm
 
 00:12:27.025 --> 00:12:28.206
 letters and what they were,
 
 00:12:28.586 --> 00:12:29.466
 what purpose they served.
 
 00:12:30.027 --> 00:12:32.028
 And we have a copy of one that was done by,
 
 00:12:32.369 --> 00:12:34.850
 it was copied by Daniel Tyler in Norwich,
 
 00:12:34.889 --> 00:12:35.429
 Connecticut.
 
 00:12:36.350 --> 00:12:37.591
 It's been on display in the
 
 00:12:37.631 --> 00:12:38.591
 past at the Leffingwell
 
 00:12:38.611 --> 00:12:39.673
 House Museum down there.
 
 00:12:40.895 --> 00:12:42.638
 And it is a wonderful piece.
 
 00:12:42.778 --> 00:12:43.898
 It's fragile, obviously.
 
 00:12:43.918 --> 00:12:45.578
 It was created April, the twentieth,
 
 00:12:45.620 --> 00:12:46.559
 seventeen seventy five.
 
 00:12:47.201 --> 00:12:48.260
 So we put it on display for
 
 00:12:48.280 --> 00:12:49.182
 a couple of weeks around
 
 00:12:49.221 --> 00:12:50.283
 Patriots Day every year.
 
 00:12:51.243 --> 00:12:52.403
 And it's just it's a really
 
 00:12:52.484 --> 00:12:53.644
 amazing document.
 
 00:12:53.684 --> 00:12:55.505
 The fact that it's kind of a
 
 00:12:55.546 --> 00:12:56.385
 complicated game of
 
 00:12:56.426 --> 00:12:57.346
 telephone where everyone's
 
 00:12:57.386 --> 00:12:58.768
 copying the message down
 
 00:12:59.307 --> 00:13:01.190
 and then writing who they
 
 00:13:01.230 --> 00:13:02.350
 are and when they received it.
 
 00:13:02.691 --> 00:13:04.211
 So you can sort of track the
 
 00:13:04.251 --> 00:13:05.392
 news as it goes down the
 
 00:13:05.432 --> 00:13:06.153
 eastern seaboard.
 
 00:13:07.293 --> 00:13:08.335
 It's pretty fascinating to
 
 00:13:08.355 --> 00:13:09.937
 see that and to have a copy
 
 00:13:09.956 --> 00:13:12.179
 of the original.
 
 00:13:12.200 --> 00:13:12.941
 Joseph Palmer,
 
 00:13:12.961 --> 00:13:13.620
 I think he was from the
 
 00:13:13.640 --> 00:13:15.342
 Watertown Committee of Correspondence,
 
 00:13:15.724 --> 00:13:16.104
 on April,
 
 00:13:16.144 --> 00:13:18.106
 the next day he writes this account.
 
 00:13:19.398 --> 00:13:20.619
 He actually does it day of.
 
 00:13:20.639 --> 00:13:20.818
 Okay.
 
 00:13:21.779 --> 00:13:22.759
 He does because that's the
 
 00:13:22.779 --> 00:13:23.841
 thing is he doesn't mention
 
 00:13:23.880 --> 00:13:25.582
 Concord because it hasn't happened yet.
 
 00:13:25.602 --> 00:13:27.124
 You know, he's writing it sort of, well,
 
 00:13:27.264 --> 00:13:28.465
 maybe it's still happening.
 
 00:13:28.504 --> 00:13:30.086
 He writes it around like late morning,
 
 00:13:30.105 --> 00:13:30.567
 they think.
 
 00:13:30.647 --> 00:13:31.927
 And so he just focuses on
 
 00:13:31.947 --> 00:13:33.849
 the skirmish at Lexington at first.
 
 00:13:34.529 --> 00:13:35.791
 And so the day's fight is
 
 00:13:35.831 --> 00:13:37.091
 still going on when he's
 
 00:13:37.131 --> 00:13:37.972
 writing this letter and
 
 00:13:38.013 --> 00:13:39.833
 sending it by riders off, you know,
 
 00:13:39.854 --> 00:13:42.035
 to other places, which is kind of.
 
 00:13:46.493 --> 00:13:47.313
 It's amazing to think about
 
 00:13:47.333 --> 00:13:49.115
 how the news would have spread.
 
 00:13:49.155 --> 00:13:49.376
 Yep.
 
 00:13:49.417 --> 00:13:50.477
 And then eventually, you know,
 
 00:13:50.498 --> 00:13:51.739
 the information gets into
 
 00:13:51.759 --> 00:13:52.640
 the newspapers and
 
 00:13:52.681 --> 00:13:54.022
 broadsides and starts being
 
 00:13:54.062 --> 00:13:55.344
 part of the printed material.
 
 00:13:56.284 --> 00:13:57.927
 But it is, it's fascinating how, you know,
 
 00:13:57.947 --> 00:13:58.868
 because much of it is sort
 
 00:13:58.908 --> 00:14:00.370
 of it's how information
 
 00:14:00.811 --> 00:14:02.373
 gets spread that helps
 
 00:14:02.653 --> 00:14:03.833
 shape the public opinion at
 
 00:14:03.854 --> 00:14:04.615
 the beginning of the war.
 
 00:14:05.702 --> 00:14:06.864
 And do you have any of the
 
 00:14:06.884 --> 00:14:07.864
 printed versions of it or
 
 00:14:07.945 --> 00:14:09.264
 where it appears in print?
 
 00:14:09.284 --> 00:14:10.265
 I don't think we do.
 
 00:14:10.306 --> 00:14:12.226
 We have, you know, we know some examples,
 
 00:14:12.267 --> 00:14:13.207
 but we don't have any of
 
 00:14:13.248 --> 00:14:14.788
 the newspaper versions, I think,
 
 00:14:14.808 --> 00:14:15.590
 although that would be
 
 00:14:15.830 --> 00:14:17.010
 would be pretty great to have.
 
 00:14:17.730 --> 00:14:18.971
 We typically put this letter
 
 00:14:19.011 --> 00:14:20.472
 on display with a broadside
 
 00:14:20.513 --> 00:14:21.594
 from John Hancock.
 
 00:14:22.594 --> 00:14:23.514
 It's titled, you know,
 
 00:14:23.615 --> 00:14:24.716
 In Provincial Congress,
 
 00:14:24.816 --> 00:14:26.557
 and it's April fifteen and
 
 00:14:26.616 --> 00:14:29.099
 is calling for a day of fasting to,
 
 00:14:29.119 --> 00:14:29.818
 you know,
 
 00:14:29.859 --> 00:14:31.500
 to protest basically the British
 
 00:14:32.020 --> 00:14:33.522
 overreach in the
 
 00:14:33.542 --> 00:14:34.982
 governmental overreach in Boston.
 
 00:14:37.543 --> 00:14:39.445
 So that's April, before things happened.
 
 00:14:39.825 --> 00:14:40.065
 Right.
 
 00:14:40.144 --> 00:14:40.905
 Four days before.
 
 00:14:40.926 --> 00:14:42.767
 So it's interesting timing.
 
 00:14:42.826 --> 00:14:43.267
 Definitely is.
 
 00:14:43.287 --> 00:14:43.606
 Definitely is.
 
 00:14:44.087 --> 00:14:44.227
 Yeah.
 
 00:14:45.467 --> 00:14:47.288
 So you've spent a lot of your career,
 
 00:14:47.469 --> 00:14:48.929
 all of your career in Lexington,
 
 00:14:48.970 --> 00:14:50.910
 in the Lexington historical
 
 00:14:50.951 --> 00:14:54.332
 museums and their previous iterations.
 
 00:14:55.014 --> 00:14:56.514
 So I'm wondering what
 
 00:14:56.594 --> 00:14:57.654
 surprises you now about
 
 00:14:57.695 --> 00:14:59.255
 coming to this institution
 
 00:14:59.336 --> 00:15:00.376
 and telling the story
 
 00:15:00.437 --> 00:15:01.376
 through this particular
 
 00:15:01.437 --> 00:15:02.918
 lens or what you bring to it.
 
 00:15:03.399 --> 00:15:04.139
 Yeah, well,
 
 00:15:04.179 --> 00:15:05.280
 I think one thing I found
 
 00:15:05.341 --> 00:15:06.783
 really great was, you know,
 
 00:15:06.802 --> 00:15:07.864
 being able to delve into
 
 00:15:07.884 --> 00:15:09.325
 the Revolutionary War collections here.
 
 00:15:09.345 --> 00:15:09.544
 You know,
 
 00:15:09.585 --> 00:15:10.846
 I always felt very lucky working
 
 00:15:10.927 --> 00:15:12.467
 at Lexington to have access
 
 00:15:12.488 --> 00:15:13.789
 to all this wonderful
 
 00:15:13.850 --> 00:15:15.572
 material culture from the
 
 00:15:15.611 --> 00:15:16.633
 first day of the war and
 
 00:15:16.732 --> 00:15:17.974
 after and all the
 
 00:15:17.994 --> 00:15:19.215
 commemorative material as well.
 
 00:15:20.056 --> 00:15:21.297
 So looking at the collection
 
 00:15:21.356 --> 00:15:23.078
 here and finding out more about, you know,
 
 00:15:23.099 --> 00:15:23.960
 we have a musket that was
 
 00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:24.880
 gifted by the Sons of the
 
 00:15:24.900 --> 00:15:25.721
 American Revolution.
 
 00:15:26.609 --> 00:15:27.229
 We have, you know,
 
 00:15:27.269 --> 00:15:28.350
 a lot of really wonderful
 
 00:15:28.389 --> 00:15:30.529
 material that ties into those early days.
 
 00:15:31.309 --> 00:15:33.010
 Maybe it's not all Lexington, you know,
 
 00:15:33.030 --> 00:15:33.870
 some of the Powderhorns are
 
 00:15:33.890 --> 00:15:35.270
 from New Hampshire or what have you,
 
 00:15:35.812 --> 00:15:36.971
 but it helps tell that story.
 
 00:15:38.032 --> 00:15:38.711
 And then I think what was
 
 00:15:38.731 --> 00:15:40.072
 interesting in doing this show is that,
 
 00:15:40.113 --> 00:15:40.312
 you know,
 
 00:15:40.332 --> 00:15:41.173
 we're not focused on
 
 00:15:41.192 --> 00:15:43.754
 fraternalism or fraternal collections,
 
 00:15:43.854 --> 00:15:45.634
 but as I looked more at the
 
 00:15:45.653 --> 00:15:46.855
 commemorations,
 
 00:15:46.894 --> 00:15:48.134
 which the exhibition talks about,
 
 00:15:48.855 --> 00:15:50.216
 I'm finding you know the
 
 00:15:50.255 --> 00:15:51.498
 parades were really the big
 
 00:15:51.538 --> 00:15:52.798
 thing for much of you know
 
 00:15:52.958 --> 00:15:54.019
 the the reenactment
 
 00:15:54.080 --> 00:15:54.941
 lexington doesn't start
 
 00:15:54.961 --> 00:15:57.202
 until so the you know
 
 00:15:57.263 --> 00:15:58.724
 outside of one one case in
 
 00:15:58.764 --> 00:16:00.065
 eighteen twenty five so the
 
 00:16:00.085 --> 00:16:00.946
 parades really are the
 
 00:16:00.966 --> 00:16:02.587
 thing and because you know
 
 00:16:02.607 --> 00:16:04.028
 there's so many american
 
 00:16:04.048 --> 00:16:05.289
 fraternal groups they're
 
 00:16:05.309 --> 00:16:06.451
 marching in the parades you
 
 00:16:06.471 --> 00:16:07.511
 know you've got you've got
 
 00:16:07.552 --> 00:16:08.972
 the masons nowadays you've
 
 00:16:09.013 --> 00:16:10.114
 got you know the military
 
 00:16:10.214 --> 00:16:11.254
 order of the loyal legion
 
 00:16:11.294 --> 00:16:13.096
 of the united states you've got the
 
 00:16:13.355 --> 00:16:14.816
 American Legion, you've got, you know,
 
 00:16:14.836 --> 00:16:16.136
 all these veterans groups
 
 00:16:17.017 --> 00:16:18.057
 that are marching in the parade,
 
 00:16:18.076 --> 00:16:19.217
 and we have some of that
 
 00:16:19.317 --> 00:16:20.317
 overlapping material.
 
 00:16:21.038 --> 00:16:22.658
 Aleppo Shrine has been, you know,
 
 00:16:22.678 --> 00:16:24.019
 it's a very large shrine
 
 00:16:24.058 --> 00:16:25.519
 group in Wilmington, Mass,
 
 00:16:25.919 --> 00:16:26.779
 and they've been involved
 
 00:16:26.879 --> 00:16:28.221
 in commemorations.
 
 00:16:28.240 --> 00:16:31.101
 Their band, you know, has played in
 
 00:16:36.537 --> 00:16:37.136
 And, you know,
 
 00:16:37.157 --> 00:16:38.158
 was involved in the nineteen
 
 00:16:38.177 --> 00:16:39.518
 seventy five bicentennial.
 
 00:16:39.597 --> 00:16:40.998
 They'll have their, you know,
 
 00:16:41.177 --> 00:16:42.479
 their their clown cars and
 
 00:16:42.499 --> 00:16:43.558
 their motorcycles in the
 
 00:16:43.578 --> 00:16:44.278
 parade this year.
 
 00:16:44.619 --> 00:16:44.859
 You know,
 
 00:16:44.958 --> 00:16:46.399
 so seeing how those fraternal groups,
 
 00:16:46.779 --> 00:16:48.539
 both nationally and Massachusetts,
 
 00:16:48.919 --> 00:16:50.900
 have tied in with the rest
 
 00:16:50.921 --> 00:16:52.561
 of the story has been really fascinating.
 
 00:16:52.581 --> 00:16:55.081
 Jonathan reminds us that
 
 00:16:55.101 --> 00:16:56.881
 there are Aleppo Minutemen.
 
 00:16:56.942 --> 00:16:57.881
 Yes, there you go.
 
 00:16:58.003 --> 00:16:58.602
 Perfect example.
 
 00:17:02.301 --> 00:17:02.380
 Now,
 
 00:17:02.400 --> 00:17:05.103
 do you see correlation with these
 
 00:17:05.143 --> 00:17:06.963
 different groups?
 
 00:17:07.023 --> 00:17:07.243
 I mean,
 
 00:17:07.845 --> 00:17:08.865
 one of the things that another
 
 00:17:08.904 --> 00:17:09.546
 historian and I were
 
 00:17:09.566 --> 00:17:10.526
 talking about last week is
 
 00:17:11.446 --> 00:17:12.747
 we often approach Lexington
 
 00:17:12.767 --> 00:17:13.788
 and Concord as though we
 
 00:17:13.807 --> 00:17:15.209
 said we're a CNN group and
 
 00:17:15.229 --> 00:17:16.690
 there's a disaster here and we're there.
 
 00:17:16.730 --> 00:17:18.351
 We know about what happened in this day.
 
 00:17:18.391 --> 00:17:20.531
 And then a week later, a year later,
 
 00:17:20.571 --> 00:17:21.692
 we've completely forgotten
 
 00:17:21.972 --> 00:17:23.673
 what happened in this particular place.
 
 00:17:23.713 --> 00:17:25.954
 So what kind of here you do
 
 00:17:25.994 --> 00:17:27.736
 see Lexington keeping this
 
 00:17:27.776 --> 00:17:29.277
 alive or actually focusing on this?
 
 00:17:30.046 --> 00:17:30.566
 And of course,
 
 00:17:30.586 --> 00:17:32.186
 with all of the material you have,
 
 00:17:32.227 --> 00:17:32.707
 you are tracing a much
 
 00:17:32.727 --> 00:17:33.307
 longer history than simply
 
 00:17:33.326 --> 00:17:34.367
 what happened on April of nineteen.
 
 00:17:34.387 --> 00:17:34.647
 Yeah.
 
 00:17:37.749 --> 00:17:38.068
 Yeah.
 
 00:17:38.088 --> 00:17:38.489
 We you know,
 
 00:17:38.509 --> 00:17:39.568
 we end up sort of bringing it
 
 00:17:39.628 --> 00:17:41.009
 up pretty much to present day.
 
 00:17:41.470 --> 00:17:43.230
 And we actually have a
 
 00:17:43.269 --> 00:17:44.310
 slideshow at the end of the
 
 00:17:44.371 --> 00:17:45.191
 exhibition where we're
 
 00:17:45.211 --> 00:17:46.451
 hoping visitors will submit
 
 00:17:46.511 --> 00:17:47.612
 photos of this year's
 
 00:17:48.192 --> 00:17:49.633
 reenactments and
 
 00:17:49.653 --> 00:17:50.692
 commemorations that they
 
 00:17:50.732 --> 00:17:52.093
 can we can add to the show.
 
 00:17:52.653 --> 00:17:53.933
 We really wanted to kind of bring it up,
 
 00:17:53.953 --> 00:17:54.953
 but also show that whole
 
 00:17:54.993 --> 00:17:56.615
 span from Washington's
 
 00:17:56.654 --> 00:17:58.355
 visit tour of the Northeast
 
 00:17:58.395 --> 00:17:59.435
 in seventeen eighty nine.
 
 00:18:00.195 --> 00:18:01.436
 all the way through present day.
 
 00:18:01.876 --> 00:18:03.616
 Lexington commemorates it every year,
 
 00:18:03.856 --> 00:18:05.778
 but sort of goes big on
 
 00:18:06.739 --> 00:18:08.679
 those every-fifty-year marks, really.
 
 00:18:08.699 --> 00:18:11.960
 Did Lafayette visit on his national tour?
 
 00:18:12.240 --> 00:18:12.820
 He did.
 
 00:18:12.881 --> 00:18:14.621
 He visited in eighteen twenty-four,
 
 00:18:14.921 --> 00:18:16.221
 and he went to the Green,
 
 00:18:16.541 --> 00:18:17.761
 and there's a beautiful
 
 00:18:17.842 --> 00:18:18.663
 banner that's in the
 
 00:18:18.682 --> 00:18:19.383
 collection of Lexington
 
 00:18:19.423 --> 00:18:21.683
 History Museums that says, Welcome,
 
 00:18:21.824 --> 00:18:23.663
 Friend of America to the
 
 00:18:23.703 --> 00:18:24.825
 Birthplace of American Liberty.
 
 00:18:25.446 --> 00:18:27.108
 And it is thirty nine feet long.
 
 00:18:27.650 --> 00:18:29.050
 So it is amazing.
 
 00:18:29.491 --> 00:18:30.792
 It was it was a joy to care
 
 00:18:30.813 --> 00:18:32.035
 for it when I worked there.
 
 00:18:32.575 --> 00:18:35.199
 And we've had another group I work with,
 
 00:18:35.219 --> 00:18:36.480
 like see her in Lexington,
 
 00:18:36.880 --> 00:18:38.422
 created a replica banner
 
 00:18:38.501 --> 00:18:40.305
 that we can actually use and handle.
 
 00:18:41.244 --> 00:18:41.925
 And for our show,
 
 00:18:41.945 --> 00:18:43.686
 we have it in sort of a big vinyl,
 
 00:18:43.948 --> 00:18:46.349
 you know, graphic on the wall,
 
 00:18:47.130 --> 00:18:48.050
 a portion of the length.
 
 00:18:49.311 --> 00:18:49.791
 And, you know,
 
 00:18:49.852 --> 00:18:51.413
 really sort of made a big deal, you know,
 
 00:18:51.433 --> 00:18:52.094
 and there's still,
 
 00:18:52.134 --> 00:18:53.015
 there's still living
 
 00:18:53.055 --> 00:18:54.496
 veterans at that time.
 
 00:18:54.576 --> 00:18:56.678
 So they're honoring him.
 
 00:18:56.718 --> 00:18:58.118
 It all took place at the monument,
 
 00:18:58.138 --> 00:19:00.740
 the seventeen ninety nine monument was,
 
 00:19:00.760 --> 00:19:00.941
 you know,
 
 00:19:01.060 --> 00:19:03.442
 only twenty five years old at that point.
 
 00:19:04.683 --> 00:19:07.046
 And really it was it was an amazing event.
 
 00:19:07.105 --> 00:19:08.346
 It was great to have him there.
 
 00:19:08.606 --> 00:19:09.288
 And I think,
 
 00:19:10.269 --> 00:19:11.710
 It really ties in, you know,
 
 00:19:11.730 --> 00:19:12.931
 sort of having that celebrity guest,
 
 00:19:12.971 --> 00:19:14.613
 having Washington, having Lafayette,
 
 00:19:15.553 --> 00:19:18.236
 Grant, and Pershing, Dawes, Ford,
 
 00:19:18.256 --> 00:19:19.236
 and all these other people.
 
 00:19:19.896 --> 00:19:21.198
 It's really amazing.
 
 00:19:21.218 --> 00:19:22.199
 I'm just thinking then about
 
 00:19:22.298 --> 00:19:23.339
 the veterans who were there.
 
 00:19:24.183 --> 00:19:24.703
 Initially,
 
 00:19:24.743 --> 00:19:25.845
 there must have been an idea
 
 00:19:25.865 --> 00:19:27.486
 that this will never be forgotten.
 
 00:19:27.546 --> 00:19:28.287
 But as you say,
 
 00:19:28.307 --> 00:19:29.288
 it really does take this
 
 00:19:29.528 --> 00:19:31.328
 active community engaged in
 
 00:19:31.368 --> 00:19:32.650
 remembering this event and
 
 00:19:32.670 --> 00:19:34.270
 commemorating it every year.
 
 00:19:34.290 --> 00:19:36.053
 Yeah,
 
 00:19:36.073 --> 00:19:37.953
 there's a great quote that I
 
 00:19:37.993 --> 00:19:38.755
 personally love.
 
 00:19:39.015 --> 00:19:40.236
 Reverend Caleb Stetson,
 
 00:19:41.115 --> 00:19:42.076
 who was actually living at
 
 00:19:42.116 --> 00:19:42.917
 Buckman at the time,
 
 00:19:42.978 --> 00:19:45.019
 he married Julie Miriam Stetson,
 
 00:19:45.058 --> 00:19:47.000
 who was grown up at Buckman
 
 00:19:47.019 --> 00:19:49.642
 when it was a private home after, in the
 
 00:19:51.666 --> 00:19:54.449
 And he basically says,
 
 00:19:54.469 --> 00:19:55.669
 when the monument's dedicated,
 
 00:19:55.709 --> 00:19:57.349
 this idea of sort of,
 
 00:19:57.369 --> 00:19:59.090
 we are commemorating this monument,
 
 00:19:59.971 --> 00:20:01.612
 but it has this inherent value.
 
 00:20:01.711 --> 00:20:03.152
 And as we see sort of that
 
 00:20:03.192 --> 00:20:05.032
 continue to grow as the
 
 00:20:05.053 --> 00:20:06.273
 generations go down.
 
 00:20:06.753 --> 00:20:07.394
 So in some ways,
 
 00:20:07.433 --> 00:20:09.214
 it's kind of a promise that
 
 00:20:09.295 --> 00:20:10.976
 the community will keep that going,
 
 00:20:10.996 --> 00:20:12.056
 will sort of keep that fire
 
 00:20:12.096 --> 00:20:14.497
 going for the men who died
 
 00:20:14.537 --> 00:20:15.238
 that day and who were
 
 00:20:15.258 --> 00:20:17.077
 wounded and all the sacrifices over,
 
 00:20:17.519 --> 00:20:20.359
 hopefully, in his mind, in perpetuity.
 
 00:20:20.960 --> 00:20:22.902
 And I think I did a pretty
 
 00:20:22.922 --> 00:20:24.303
 good job of that over the years.
 
 00:20:24.323 --> 00:20:25.784
 Yeah, we're talking with Stacey Fraser,
 
 00:20:25.824 --> 00:20:27.265
 the Assistant Curator at
 
 00:20:27.325 --> 00:20:29.105
 the Scottish Rite Museum
 
 00:20:29.226 --> 00:20:30.906
 and Masonic Museum and
 
 00:20:30.967 --> 00:20:34.470
 Library in the town of Lexington.
 
 00:20:34.930 --> 00:20:35.769
 And we were talking before
 
 00:20:35.789 --> 00:20:36.691
 we got on about school
 
 00:20:36.730 --> 00:20:38.092
 groups coming in or teachers coming in.
 
 00:20:38.132 --> 00:20:39.353
 What kind of engagement do
 
 00:20:39.373 --> 00:20:40.634
 you have with schools in
 
 00:20:40.673 --> 00:20:41.974
 Lexington and the surrounding area?
 
 00:20:42.548 --> 00:20:44.308
 So we used to have a really
 
 00:20:44.368 --> 00:20:46.170
 robust museum education program.
 
 00:20:47.329 --> 00:20:48.349
 And that was unfortunately
 
 00:20:48.450 --> 00:20:50.130
 one of the things that kind
 
 00:20:50.170 --> 00:20:51.131
 of suffered a bit during
 
 00:20:51.451 --> 00:20:53.211
 the recession in two years.
 
 00:20:53.250 --> 00:20:54.290
 That was one department that
 
 00:20:54.330 --> 00:20:55.590
 was severely cut.
 
 00:20:56.652 --> 00:20:58.511
 So now we're focused a little more.
 
 00:20:58.551 --> 00:21:00.692
 We've done great things in
 
 00:21:00.731 --> 00:21:02.752
 the past and we hope to
 
 00:21:02.792 --> 00:21:04.212
 continue to engage in the future.
 
 00:21:05.272 --> 00:21:07.373
 We're hoping we're having our big event,
 
 00:21:07.413 --> 00:21:07.973
 our big fiftieth
 
 00:21:07.993 --> 00:21:10.453
 anniversary kickoff is April thirteenth.
 
 00:21:11.838 --> 00:21:12.780
 And we're really hoping that
 
 00:21:12.820 --> 00:21:13.762
 that will be a chance for
 
 00:21:13.823 --> 00:21:15.085
 us to reengage with the
 
 00:21:15.105 --> 00:21:16.146
 community a little bit to
 
 00:21:16.188 --> 00:21:17.369
 remind people what's there.
 
 00:21:18.791 --> 00:21:19.934
 So not a lot of sort of
 
 00:21:19.974 --> 00:21:20.997
 formalized programs,
 
 00:21:21.076 --> 00:21:23.781
 but to really use that opportunity.
 
 00:21:24.788 --> 00:21:25.730
 to tell people, you know,
 
 00:21:25.769 --> 00:21:27.211
 to encourage families to come visit.
 
 00:21:27.290 --> 00:21:29.212
 You know, the museum's free of admission.
 
 00:21:30.173 --> 00:21:30.874
 Intentionally,
 
 00:21:30.933 --> 00:21:31.835
 the Masons always really
 
 00:21:31.855 --> 00:21:33.195
 intended it as a gift to
 
 00:21:33.215 --> 00:21:34.076
 the American people.
 
 00:21:34.517 --> 00:21:35.938
 So there is no charge for entry.
 
 00:21:36.077 --> 00:21:36.699
 If we do, you know,
 
 00:21:36.719 --> 00:21:37.980
 we do guided group tours
 
 00:21:38.000 --> 00:21:38.980
 and sometimes we will do
 
 00:21:39.000 --> 00:21:39.800
 those with like high school
 
 00:21:39.820 --> 00:21:41.883
 students or sort of
 
 00:21:42.042 --> 00:21:42.963
 alternative schools that
 
 00:21:42.983 --> 00:21:44.484
 have more flexibility in their schedule.
 
 00:21:45.526 --> 00:21:46.386
 But, you know, it's really,
 
 00:21:46.567 --> 00:21:47.508
 we really want people to
 
 00:21:47.548 --> 00:21:49.950
 come and see things and families and,
 
 00:21:50.170 --> 00:21:50.450
 you know,
 
 00:21:50.470 --> 00:21:51.230
 hopefully there's a little
 
 00:21:51.250 --> 00:21:52.050
 something for everyone.
 
 00:21:52.070 --> 00:21:52.852
 Yeah.
 
 00:21:53.156 --> 00:21:54.539
 really beautiful facility
 
 00:21:54.660 --> 00:21:55.761
 and you do have a lot of
 
 00:21:55.801 --> 00:21:57.324
 stories that you tell very well.
 
 00:21:58.573 --> 00:21:59.472
 Yeah,
 
 00:21:59.733 --> 00:22:00.834
 we were just talking about that earlier.
 
 00:22:01.473 --> 00:22:03.434
 It's fifty years old and it's been really,
 
 00:22:03.555 --> 00:22:05.996
 really well maintained and
 
 00:22:06.336 --> 00:22:07.696
 beautifully done by some of
 
 00:22:07.717 --> 00:22:08.376
 the same staff.
 
 00:22:08.416 --> 00:22:09.298
 We've got people who've been
 
 00:22:09.357 --> 00:22:10.778
 here since the eighties
 
 00:22:11.118 --> 00:22:12.398
 take care of the building
 
 00:22:12.519 --> 00:22:13.680
 and they do a beautiful job.
 
 00:22:14.160 --> 00:22:15.380
 And with everything we knew
 
 00:22:15.420 --> 00:22:16.161
 coming up with the
 
 00:22:16.221 --> 00:22:18.001
 anniversary to celebrate,
 
 00:22:18.422 --> 00:22:19.961
 we've been working on other things.
 
 00:22:20.001 --> 00:22:21.623
 We just redid all the bricks
 
 00:22:21.663 --> 00:22:22.763
 outside on our patio.
 
 00:22:22.784 --> 00:22:23.544
 They've been the original
 
 00:22:23.584 --> 00:22:25.345
 bricks from nineteen seventy five.
 
 00:22:26.045 --> 00:22:27.465
 They were getting a little bit tired,
 
 00:22:27.506 --> 00:22:28.807
 so we redid everything and
 
 00:22:28.826 --> 00:22:29.666
 it looks beautiful.
 
 00:22:30.867 --> 00:22:31.828
 And we're very lucky to have
 
 00:22:31.888 --> 00:22:33.349
 the space we have and try
 
 00:22:33.369 --> 00:22:34.029
 to take good care of it.
 
 00:22:34.049 --> 00:22:35.451
 That's great.
 
 00:22:35.490 --> 00:22:36.471
 Now, I know you've been,
 
 00:22:36.652 --> 00:22:37.531
 you had your hands full
 
 00:22:37.551 --> 00:22:38.972
 planning these exhibits for
 
 00:22:38.992 --> 00:22:39.693
 the revolution,
 
 00:22:39.773 --> 00:22:41.295
 but I wonder what happens next.
 
 00:22:41.335 --> 00:22:42.695
 You must be looking ahead to
 
 00:22:43.155 --> 00:22:44.616
 what happens after the
 
 00:22:44.636 --> 00:22:46.117
 Bunker Hill exhibit and the
 
 00:22:47.613 --> 00:22:50.295
 Protest and Promise exhibits.
 
 00:22:50.315 --> 00:22:50.394
 Yeah.
 
 00:22:50.414 --> 00:22:51.256
 So some of these will be up
 
 00:22:51.296 --> 00:22:53.218
 for a couple years, the two gallery shows,
 
 00:22:53.597 --> 00:22:54.699
 Looking Back, Moving Forward,
 
 00:22:54.739 --> 00:22:55.699
 Fifty Years of Collecting,
 
 00:22:55.838 --> 00:22:56.819
 and Protest and Promise.
 
 00:22:57.260 --> 00:22:58.821
 Those will both be up for about two years.
 
 00:23:00.522 --> 00:23:02.785
 We tend to swap out our corridor show,
 
 00:23:02.825 --> 00:23:04.266
 which is the print show right now,
 
 00:23:04.905 --> 00:23:05.727
 about every year.
 
 00:23:05.987 --> 00:23:07.248
 So the next that will go up
 
 00:23:07.288 --> 00:23:08.989
 in that hallway will be
 
 00:23:09.068 --> 00:23:10.170
 Revolutionary War Era maps.
 
 00:23:10.190 --> 00:23:10.911
 Awesome.
 
 00:23:11.451 --> 00:23:11.951
 reflecting.
 
 00:23:12.371 --> 00:23:13.592
 We actually have some
 
 00:23:13.632 --> 00:23:15.932
 material from basically
 
 00:23:15.972 --> 00:23:17.253
 Lafayette's cartographer
 
 00:23:18.074 --> 00:23:19.555
 who's over here with him
 
 00:23:19.734 --> 00:23:21.096
 and sort of recording the
 
 00:23:21.256 --> 00:23:23.457
 theater of war in battles.
 
 00:23:23.517 --> 00:23:24.876
 And so we have some of his maps.
 
 00:23:25.857 --> 00:23:26.958
 And if they're in good
 
 00:23:26.978 --> 00:23:28.338
 enough condition to display,
 
 00:23:28.358 --> 00:23:29.278
 we can put those out.
 
 00:23:29.640 --> 00:23:30.619
 So we're still working on
 
 00:23:30.980 --> 00:23:31.980
 putting that all together.
 
 00:23:32.641 --> 00:23:34.882
 But that will be the next corridor show,
 
 00:23:34.942 --> 00:23:36.123
 the framed show.
 
 00:23:37.083 --> 00:23:38.423
 Yeah.
 
 00:23:38.523 --> 00:23:39.104
 It's amazing.
 
 00:23:39.124 --> 00:23:39.364
 Yeah.
 
 00:23:39.384 --> 00:23:40.664
 Just the chance to be able, you know,
 
 00:23:40.724 --> 00:23:41.744
 I think one of the things I
 
 00:23:41.805 --> 00:23:44.126
 noticed as I was looking at
 
 00:23:44.146 --> 00:23:45.948
 all the commemorations is, you know,
 
 00:23:45.988 --> 00:23:47.949
 we tend to pin it to that one year that,
 
 00:23:48.148 --> 00:23:48.348
 you know,
 
 00:23:48.429 --> 00:23:49.689
 ends with a five or a zero
 
 00:23:49.750 --> 00:23:51.170
 because it's the exact two.
 
 00:23:52.611 --> 00:23:53.852
 But really, you know,
 
 00:23:53.872 --> 00:23:54.571
 there's so much that
 
 00:23:54.612 --> 00:23:55.471
 happens usually the year
 
 00:23:55.491 --> 00:23:56.732
 before and so much that
 
 00:23:56.752 --> 00:23:57.653
 happens the year after
 
 00:23:57.713 --> 00:23:58.733
 because of the anniversary
 
 00:23:58.753 --> 00:23:59.513
 of the Declaration of
 
 00:23:59.534 --> 00:24:00.414
 Independence signing.
 
 00:24:00.976 --> 00:24:02.136
 So, you know, kind of,
 
 00:24:02.176 --> 00:24:03.298
 we get this three-year
 
 00:24:03.578 --> 00:24:04.800
 chunk to work with every
 
 00:24:04.840 --> 00:24:05.541
 time we have one of these
 
 00:24:05.582 --> 00:24:06.462
 big anniversaries.
 
 00:24:07.503 --> 00:24:08.325
 So we're hoping, you know,
 
 00:24:08.384 --> 00:24:09.125
 part of what we're doing
 
 00:24:09.145 --> 00:24:10.288
 for the anniversary outside
 
 00:24:10.327 --> 00:24:12.431
 of exhibitions is we're also having, um,
 
 00:24:12.813 --> 00:24:13.874
 We're having gallery tours
 
 00:24:13.894 --> 00:24:15.094
 of the exhibitions, you know,
 
 00:24:15.153 --> 00:24:16.234
 throughout the following
 
 00:24:16.255 --> 00:24:17.576
 year from April of
 
 00:24:17.615 --> 00:24:19.116
 twenty-five to April twenty-six.
 
 00:24:20.037 --> 00:24:21.498
 We're also going to be doing
 
 00:24:21.739 --> 00:24:22.378
 some collaborative
 
 00:24:22.398 --> 00:24:24.980
 programming with the Paul Revere House.
 
 00:24:25.260 --> 00:24:26.040
 We're doing a lecture with
 
 00:24:26.080 --> 00:24:27.321
 Stephen Bullock in
 
 00:24:27.382 --> 00:24:28.982
 collaboration with them in the fall.
 
 00:24:29.762 --> 00:24:30.443
 We're also doing a lecture
 
 00:24:30.463 --> 00:24:32.325
 with Joel Bowie also in the
 
 00:24:32.345 --> 00:24:33.326
 fall in collaboration with
 
 00:24:33.365 --> 00:24:34.645
 Lexington History Museums.
 
 00:24:35.707 --> 00:24:37.208
 And we're really trying to sort of,
 
 00:24:37.307 --> 00:24:39.509
 you know, keep the momentum going through,
 
 00:24:39.930 --> 00:24:41.631
 you know, to the Declaration and beyond.
 
 00:24:42.133 --> 00:24:43.153
 This is great,
 
 00:24:43.173 --> 00:24:43.733
 because we know the
 
 00:24:43.773 --> 00:24:44.996
 bicentennial did spark a
 
 00:24:45.016 --> 00:24:46.036
 lot of interest in this,
 
 00:24:46.056 --> 00:24:46.876
 and we hope that the two
 
 00:24:46.916 --> 00:24:48.419
 fiftieth will do the same thing.
 
 00:24:48.439 --> 00:24:49.579
 That as a new generation
 
 00:24:49.599 --> 00:24:51.601
 will get excited about the story.
 
 00:24:52.461 --> 00:24:53.222
 Jonathan, I think,
 
 00:24:53.242 --> 00:24:54.604
 was a mere lad when he went
 
 00:24:54.624 --> 00:24:55.525
 to the opening of the
 
 00:24:55.545 --> 00:24:58.426
 museum in nineteen seventy five.
 
 00:24:59.688 --> 00:25:01.009
 So it's a lifetime of
 
 00:25:01.089 --> 00:25:02.009
 engagement with history.
 
 00:25:02.915 --> 00:25:04.076
 Yeah, and he's not the only one.
 
 00:25:04.115 --> 00:25:04.395
 You know,
 
 00:25:04.435 --> 00:25:06.196
 Joel Bowie was like age ten when
 
 00:25:06.217 --> 00:25:07.777
 he went to the Concord Bicentennial,
 
 00:25:07.817 --> 00:25:08.738
 and that clearly stuck for
 
 00:25:08.758 --> 00:25:10.778
 a lot of people.
 
 00:25:10.837 --> 00:25:12.219
 So this is our chance to do that.
 
 00:25:14.439 --> 00:25:14.740
 I wonder,
 
 00:25:14.779 --> 00:25:16.319
 the American Revolution
 
 00:25:16.339 --> 00:25:18.980
 Geographies Online is a project of the BP,
 
 00:25:19.000 --> 00:25:20.260
 the West Public Library,
 
 00:25:20.320 --> 00:25:22.122
 the Levinfield Map Center in Mount Vernon,
 
 00:25:22.622 --> 00:25:23.241
 with maps.
 
 00:25:23.642 --> 00:25:24.962
 I wonder if you've been
 
 00:25:25.002 --> 00:25:26.303
 involved at all with that with the Levin.
 
 00:25:27.239 --> 00:25:28.059
 We haven't, no,
 
 00:25:28.099 --> 00:25:30.320
 but that would be a wonderful connection.
 
 00:25:30.361 --> 00:25:31.721
 That's a great, we could look into.
 
 00:25:32.201 --> 00:25:33.282
 Yeah, we can put you in touch with them,
 
 00:25:33.383 --> 00:25:35.805
 I think, because that's a great thing.
 
 00:25:35.825 --> 00:25:36.905
 And it's amazing because one
 
 00:25:36.945 --> 00:25:38.046
 thing Washington really
 
 00:25:38.105 --> 00:25:39.086
 wanted at the beginning of
 
 00:25:39.106 --> 00:25:40.728
 the war were French engineers.
 
 00:25:40.788 --> 00:25:41.989
 And instead of getting engineers,
 
 00:25:42.009 --> 00:25:43.750
 he got French officers,
 
 00:25:43.829 --> 00:25:44.750
 Lafayette being one of the
 
 00:25:44.790 --> 00:25:46.172
 real exceptions, and others.
 
 00:25:46.192 --> 00:25:49.034
 So it would be great to see,
 
 00:25:49.074 --> 00:25:49.953
 because the French were
 
 00:25:49.973 --> 00:25:51.915
 very skilled engineers and
 
 00:25:52.476 --> 00:25:54.156
 doing this kind of detailed
 
 00:25:54.217 --> 00:25:55.438
 work that was really essential.
 
 00:25:56.977 --> 00:25:58.877
 Right, yeah, they're pretty amazing.
 
 00:25:58.958 --> 00:26:00.579
 We are very lucky to have them.
 
 00:26:00.680 --> 00:26:01.759
 And that's how I feel about
 
 00:26:01.779 --> 00:26:02.681
 a lot of our collections.
 
 00:26:02.721 --> 00:26:02.921
 You know,
 
 00:26:02.941 --> 00:26:04.201
 I'll come across something and say, oh,
 
 00:26:04.241 --> 00:26:04.862
 we have that?
 
 00:26:05.042 --> 00:26:05.343
 You know,
 
 00:26:05.843 --> 00:26:06.523
 and that's just sort of the
 
 00:26:06.544 --> 00:26:07.463
 American history stuff that
 
 00:26:07.503 --> 00:26:08.204
 I know more about.
 
 00:26:08.865 --> 00:26:10.346
 In terms of Masonic collections, you know,
 
 00:26:10.365 --> 00:26:11.586
 we've got some really rare
 
 00:26:12.207 --> 00:26:13.848
 material that a lot of the
 
 00:26:13.868 --> 00:26:15.410
 Masons who visit the museum are just,
 
 00:26:15.549 --> 00:26:15.829
 you know,
 
 00:26:16.150 --> 00:26:18.491
 wide-eyed to see that it exists here.
 
 00:26:18.632 --> 00:26:18.872
 You know,
 
 00:26:18.892 --> 00:26:20.032
 you can come see it if you make a
 
 00:26:20.073 --> 00:26:20.752
 research appointment.
 
 00:26:20.772 --> 00:26:20.972
 I mean,
 
 00:26:20.992 --> 00:26:21.913
 we have a research library that's
 
 00:26:21.953 --> 00:26:22.594
 open all the time.
 
 00:26:23.055 --> 00:26:24.476
 But if you make an appointment,
 
 00:26:24.496 --> 00:26:25.957
 then we can pull things and be ready.
 
 00:26:27.098 --> 00:26:28.220
 We're talking with Stacey
 
 00:26:28.240 --> 00:26:29.420
 Fraser from the Scottish
 
 00:26:29.460 --> 00:26:31.480
 Rite Masonic Museum and Library.
 
 00:26:32.102 --> 00:26:33.383
 Can you just tell us briefly
 
 00:26:33.643 --> 00:26:34.942
 what defines the Scottish
 
 00:26:35.044 --> 00:26:37.684
 Rite masons as opposed to other masons?
 
 00:26:38.468 --> 00:26:40.088
 Oh, of course you got to ask that.
 
 00:26:40.630 --> 00:26:41.849
 So the way I try to sort of
 
 00:26:42.090 --> 00:26:43.592
 try to understand it is, you know,
 
 00:26:43.632 --> 00:26:45.012
 there's what's called, you know,
 
 00:26:45.032 --> 00:26:45.712
 the Blue Lodge,
 
 00:26:45.732 --> 00:26:48.055
 which is basically when you first join.
 
 00:26:48.275 --> 00:26:49.855
 So whatever local lodge you join,
 
 00:26:49.915 --> 00:26:51.737
 you learn how to be a Mason.
 
 00:26:51.797 --> 00:26:52.857
 You go through what's called
 
 00:26:52.917 --> 00:26:54.799
 degree work and you take the first,
 
 00:26:54.839 --> 00:26:55.779
 second and third degrees.
 
 00:26:56.300 --> 00:26:57.621
 And that makes you a master Mason.
 
 00:26:57.641 --> 00:27:00.123
 That makes you equal to any other Mason.
 
 00:27:00.323 --> 00:27:02.265
 You're a full Mason after three degrees.
 
 00:27:03.300 --> 00:27:04.442
 um and then after that you
 
 00:27:04.461 --> 00:27:05.823
 can you can stay you know
 
 00:27:05.843 --> 00:27:07.203
 you can just be involved in
 
 00:27:07.223 --> 00:27:08.743
 your local lodge have
 
 00:27:08.784 --> 00:27:09.865
 plenty to you know do for
 
 00:27:09.904 --> 00:27:10.945
 charitable giving and other
 
 00:27:10.965 --> 00:27:12.567
 activities or you can
 
 00:27:12.606 --> 00:27:14.847
 choose to do more or other
 
 00:27:14.867 --> 00:27:16.909
 things uh so some people do
 
 00:27:16.949 --> 00:27:17.690
 you know move over to or
 
 00:27:18.789 --> 00:27:19.971
 also join the shrine and
 
 00:27:19.990 --> 00:27:20.730
 they get involved with the
 
 00:27:20.750 --> 00:27:21.912
 shriners you know wonderful
 
 00:27:21.951 --> 00:27:23.532
 charities and the circus
 
 00:27:23.553 --> 00:27:24.113
 and the parades and
 
 00:27:24.133 --> 00:27:25.634
 everything else uh some
 
 00:27:25.673 --> 00:27:26.674
 people join the york right
 
 00:27:27.289 --> 00:27:28.471
 which has another sort of
 
 00:27:28.530 --> 00:27:30.051
 set of degrees that goes with it.
 
 00:27:30.613 --> 00:27:31.712
 And then some people join
 
 00:27:31.752 --> 00:27:32.554
 the Scottish Rite.
 
 00:27:33.875 --> 00:27:34.935
 And the Scottish Rite is
 
 00:27:34.976 --> 00:27:36.356
 interesting because it
 
 00:27:36.396 --> 00:27:38.137
 takes that idea of degree work,
 
 00:27:38.718 --> 00:27:40.278
 which are basically sort of, you know,
 
 00:27:40.839 --> 00:27:43.122
 plays or sort of theatrical
 
 00:27:43.442 --> 00:27:45.343
 demonstrations that help teach morals,
 
 00:27:45.383 --> 00:27:46.104
 teach good morals.
 
 00:27:46.880 --> 00:27:48.240
 And it really expands it.
 
 00:27:48.622 --> 00:27:49.281
 In Scottish Rite,
 
 00:27:49.301 --> 00:27:50.423
 you can go from the fourth
 
 00:27:50.462 --> 00:27:51.483
 degree after you've gotten
 
 00:27:51.503 --> 00:27:52.244
 your first three in the
 
 00:27:52.285 --> 00:27:53.806
 Blue Lodge all the way up
 
 00:27:53.826 --> 00:27:55.267
 to the thirty second degree.
 
 00:27:55.988 --> 00:27:58.269
 So there's a lot of work and
 
 00:27:58.289 --> 00:27:59.770
 a lot of sort of extra study.
 
 00:28:00.211 --> 00:28:01.031
 And so I think a lot of
 
 00:28:01.051 --> 00:28:01.873
 people who are interested
 
 00:28:01.893 --> 00:28:02.574
 in the Scottish Rite
 
 00:28:02.594 --> 00:28:03.714
 particularly really just
 
 00:28:03.974 --> 00:28:05.796
 they want to know more about Freemasonry.
 
 00:28:05.816 --> 00:28:06.576
 They want to be more
 
 00:28:06.596 --> 00:28:08.218
 involved and they sort of
 
 00:28:08.258 --> 00:28:09.599
 go through the path and, you know,
 
 00:28:10.220 --> 00:28:11.441
 The modern organization is great.
 
 00:28:11.461 --> 00:28:13.362
 They have like a passport book, you know,
 
 00:28:13.402 --> 00:28:15.403
 so you can get a stamp for your fourth,
 
 00:28:15.542 --> 00:28:17.003
 your fifth, your sixth degree, you know,
 
 00:28:17.023 --> 00:28:17.763
 go all the way through.
 
 00:28:18.704 --> 00:28:19.644
 And that's sort of, you know,
 
 00:28:19.664 --> 00:28:20.465
 what we've seen is that
 
 00:28:20.486 --> 00:28:21.346
 there's a lot of people who
 
 00:28:21.385 --> 00:28:23.326
 are just really invested in Freemasonry.
 
 00:28:23.366 --> 00:28:24.407
 And so they choose to do
 
 00:28:24.448 --> 00:28:25.188
 Scottish Rite because they
 
 00:28:25.208 --> 00:28:27.449
 want to learn as much as they can,
 
 00:28:27.469 --> 00:28:27.930
 basically.
 
 00:28:27.950 --> 00:28:29.269
 Interesting.
 
 00:28:29.309 --> 00:28:30.030
 Yeah.
 
 00:28:30.411 --> 00:28:32.892
 My grandfather was a thirty-second degree.
 
 00:28:32.912 --> 00:28:32.991
 Nice.
 
 00:28:33.011 --> 00:28:33.393
 I love that.
 
 00:28:36.071 --> 00:28:38.153
 And our son has just become a Mason.
 
 00:28:38.292 --> 00:28:38.853
 Oh, nice.
 
 00:28:38.873 --> 00:28:42.214
 That's wonderful.
 
 00:28:42.234 --> 00:28:43.634
 So much of what the Masons
 
 00:28:43.654 --> 00:28:46.497
 do is charitable work.
 
 00:28:46.557 --> 00:28:47.396
 Yeah, big part of it.
 
 00:28:47.436 --> 00:28:48.478
 And Scottish Rite, you know,
 
 00:28:48.518 --> 00:28:49.657
 the Supreme Council for the
 
 00:28:49.678 --> 00:28:51.058
 Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, you know,
 
 00:28:51.078 --> 00:28:52.118
 they have lots of
 
 00:28:52.278 --> 00:28:53.640
 scholarship programs and
 
 00:28:53.799 --> 00:28:55.201
 relief and aid programs.
 
 00:28:55.800 --> 00:28:56.942
 It really is one of the
 
 00:28:56.981 --> 00:28:59.643
 prime sort of ideas of
 
 00:28:59.663 --> 00:29:00.883
 Freemasonry is giving back
 
 00:29:00.923 --> 00:29:01.604
 to the community.
 
 00:29:01.624 --> 00:29:01.743
 Yes.
 
 00:29:01.903 --> 00:29:04.204
 And I should always show
 
 00:29:07.127 --> 00:29:08.449
 doing a lot to commemorate
 
 00:29:08.469 --> 00:29:09.348
 the two fiftieth.
 
 00:29:09.388 --> 00:29:09.888
 In fact,
 
 00:29:10.529 --> 00:29:11.589
 they're very much involved with
 
 00:29:11.630 --> 00:29:12.770
 Henry Knox Trail because
 
 00:29:12.851 --> 00:29:14.010
 Knox was a mason.
 
 00:29:14.131 --> 00:29:16.393
 And I know there's a plan to
 
 00:29:16.413 --> 00:29:17.833
 put a statue of Knox at
 
 00:29:17.913 --> 00:29:18.693
 Dorchester Heights.
 
 00:29:18.713 --> 00:29:19.314
 And of course,
 
 00:29:19.673 --> 00:29:20.515
 building any kind of a
 
 00:29:20.575 --> 00:29:22.496
 monument involves masons
 
 00:29:23.756 --> 00:29:25.116
 with both a capital M and a
 
 00:29:25.277 --> 00:29:28.538
 lowercase m. And a couple of years ago,
 
 00:29:28.557 --> 00:29:29.778
 when a time capsule was
 
 00:29:29.878 --> 00:29:31.200
 unearthed at the State House,
 
 00:29:31.240 --> 00:29:32.760
 the masons had a ceremony
 
 00:29:32.861 --> 00:29:33.740
 replacing it because the
 
 00:29:33.780 --> 00:29:35.662
 original time capsule was placed there by
 
 00:29:36.663 --> 00:29:38.388
 Samuel Adams and Paul Revere.
 
 00:29:39.090 --> 00:29:40.895
 Adams then being the governor and Revere,
 
 00:29:40.915 --> 00:29:41.215
 of course,
 
 00:29:41.237 --> 00:29:42.599
 being the grandmaster of the
 
 00:29:42.721 --> 00:29:43.583
 Masonic Lodge.
 
 00:29:44.061 --> 00:29:44.521
 Right.
 
 00:29:44.602 --> 00:29:44.801
 Yeah.
 
 00:29:44.922 --> 00:29:46.742
 No, if there's a cornerstone to be laid,
 
 00:29:47.482 --> 00:29:48.903
 masons are really happy to do it.
 
 00:29:49.423 --> 00:29:50.644
 We had a cornerstone laying
 
 00:29:50.664 --> 00:29:51.704
 ceremony here at the museum,
 
 00:29:52.105 --> 00:29:53.125
 March of seventy four.
 
 00:29:54.226 --> 00:29:54.987
 And what we're going to do
 
 00:29:55.027 --> 00:29:56.166
 this year is basically
 
 00:29:56.227 --> 00:29:57.307
 create we have a granite
 
 00:29:57.327 --> 00:29:58.948
 block that just arrived today.
 
 00:29:59.367 --> 00:30:00.528
 And we're going to sort of
 
 00:30:00.588 --> 00:30:02.210
 rededicate the museum and
 
 00:30:02.250 --> 00:30:03.009
 put the granite block
 
 00:30:03.049 --> 00:30:03.910
 somewhere with a time
 
 00:30:03.930 --> 00:30:04.911
 capsule inside with
 
 00:30:04.951 --> 00:30:05.851
 contributions from
 
 00:30:06.230 --> 00:30:07.271
 community groups and Masonic groups.
 
 00:30:07.291 --> 00:30:07.971
 So that's what's happening
 
 00:30:07.991 --> 00:30:08.852
 on April thirteenth.
 
 00:30:10.612 --> 00:30:12.193
 Yeah, that's one of many things,
 
 00:30:12.233 --> 00:30:14.696
 but the Grand Lodge has been kind enough,
 
 00:30:14.738 --> 00:30:15.578
 Grand Master George
 
 00:30:15.618 --> 00:30:17.201
 Hamilton and his officer
 
 00:30:17.221 --> 00:30:18.342
 suite will be here to
 
 00:30:18.782 --> 00:30:20.265
 rededicate the museum in a
 
 00:30:20.305 --> 00:30:21.385
 similar ceremony to the
 
 00:30:21.405 --> 00:30:22.428
 Cornerstone dedication.
 
 00:30:23.269 --> 00:30:23.888
 And then we'll have some
 
 00:30:23.909 --> 00:30:26.029
 remarks in the auditorium, refreshments,
 
 00:30:26.069 --> 00:30:27.809
 chance for people to see the exhibitions.
 
 00:30:28.609 --> 00:30:29.510
 It should be a good day.
 
 00:30:29.530 --> 00:30:31.431
 We've got a really great response so far.
 
 00:30:31.490 --> 00:30:32.471
 We've got over four hundred
 
 00:30:32.530 --> 00:30:34.692
 people who we think are coming.
 
 00:30:35.291 --> 00:30:36.551
 So we're looking forward to that.
 
 00:30:37.393 --> 00:30:39.073
 Our auditorium seats three hundred ninety.
 
 00:30:39.272 --> 00:30:40.633
 So it was kind of like, you know,
 
 00:30:41.173 --> 00:30:41.574
 four hundred.
 
 00:30:41.594 --> 00:30:44.493
 We were like, OK, an overflow room.
 
 00:30:44.534 --> 00:30:45.654
 So it'll be great.
 
 00:30:45.694 --> 00:30:46.295
 We're really looking forward
 
 00:30:46.315 --> 00:30:47.974
 to showing everyone what
 
 00:30:48.174 --> 00:30:49.134
 what's on display and
 
 00:30:49.174 --> 00:30:50.175
 everything that the museum
 
 00:30:50.215 --> 00:30:51.175
 has to offer these days.
 
 00:30:52.227 --> 00:30:53.573
 It's really terrific and I
 
 00:30:53.613 --> 00:30:54.657
 look forward to seeing it,
 
 00:30:54.698 --> 00:30:56.084
 look forward to further
 
 00:30:56.125 --> 00:30:57.148
 exhibits at the museum.
 
 00:30:57.826 --> 00:30:58.768
 Are there other Masonic
 
 00:30:58.827 --> 00:31:00.048
 lodges with museums around the country?
 
 00:31:01.128 --> 00:31:02.368
 There are, yeah.
 
 00:31:02.849 --> 00:31:03.710
 So when I say Northern
 
 00:31:03.750 --> 00:31:05.750
 Masonic jurisdiction for Scottish Rite,
 
 00:31:05.770 --> 00:31:07.192
 there's also a Southern jurisdiction.
 
 00:31:08.231 --> 00:31:08.952
 And ironically,
 
 00:31:08.972 --> 00:31:09.833
 because of how early in the
 
 00:31:09.853 --> 00:31:11.513
 nation's history those were established,
 
 00:31:11.874 --> 00:31:13.015
 they're not equally twenty
 
 00:31:13.055 --> 00:31:14.015
 five and twenty five.
 
 00:31:14.955 --> 00:31:16.277
 They are fifteen for the
 
 00:31:16.297 --> 00:31:17.596
 northern states and thirty
 
 00:31:17.636 --> 00:31:19.417
 five for the remaining states.
 
 00:31:19.818 --> 00:31:21.259
 So it's kind of more, you know,
 
 00:31:21.358 --> 00:31:23.099
 geographically sort of the
 
 00:31:23.119 --> 00:31:24.020
 cluster in the northeast
 
 00:31:24.040 --> 00:31:25.161
 that was kind of earliest
 
 00:31:25.320 --> 00:31:26.321
 and then spread from there.
 
 00:31:26.961 --> 00:31:27.883
 But they have a beautiful
 
 00:31:27.903 --> 00:31:28.864
 museum called House of the
 
 00:31:28.903 --> 00:31:30.944
 Temple down in D.C.
 
 00:31:32.086 --> 00:31:32.865
 And there's a number of
 
 00:31:32.967 --> 00:31:34.346
 other Grand Lodges that
 
 00:31:34.366 --> 00:31:35.647
 have really wonderful museums,
 
 00:31:35.688 --> 00:31:36.788
 Grand Lodge of New York,
 
 00:31:37.169 --> 00:31:38.971
 Grand Lodge of Iowa, California.
 
 00:31:40.332 --> 00:31:41.392
 There's a few others that
 
 00:31:41.432 --> 00:31:43.273
 have these wonderful Masonic museums.
 
 00:31:45.056 --> 00:31:46.176
 in their buildings or in a
 
 00:31:46.217 --> 00:31:46.896
 separate building.
 
 00:31:47.737 --> 00:31:48.656
 And then of course, you know,
 
 00:31:48.717 --> 00:31:50.038
 in England and in Europe,
 
 00:31:50.077 --> 00:31:51.357
 there are art museums,
 
 00:31:51.597 --> 00:31:52.558
 Masonic museums for the
 
 00:31:52.598 --> 00:31:55.078
 Grand Lodges and others.
 
 00:31:55.278 --> 00:31:56.359
 So it's a smaller group in
 
 00:31:56.420 --> 00:31:57.960
 terms of the bigger museum field,
 
 00:31:58.019 --> 00:31:59.921
 but there's more than you would expect.
 
 00:31:59.941 --> 00:32:02.342
 That's interesting.
 
 00:32:02.442 --> 00:32:02.961
 It's interesting.
 
 00:32:02.981 --> 00:32:03.862
 And so you're still actively collecting?
 
 00:32:04.690 --> 00:32:05.170
 We are.
 
 00:32:05.289 --> 00:32:05.611
 Yeah,
 
 00:32:05.651 --> 00:32:06.550
 we have a collections committee
 
 00:32:06.570 --> 00:32:07.352
 meeting every month.
 
 00:32:07.471 --> 00:32:08.413
 And, you know,
 
 00:32:08.452 --> 00:32:10.034
 we either have donations
 
 00:32:10.054 --> 00:32:12.275
 that are offered where we actually I was.
 
 00:32:12.315 --> 00:32:13.816
 So I personally was a rainbow girl,
 
 00:32:14.017 --> 00:32:14.676
 which is one of the
 
 00:32:15.057 --> 00:32:16.377
 organizations for Freemasonry.
 
 00:32:17.519 --> 00:32:20.080
 And we did not have a rainbow dress.
 
 00:32:20.161 --> 00:32:21.501
 They wear sort of long white dresses.
 
 00:32:21.561 --> 00:32:22.402
 We did not have one in the
 
 00:32:22.442 --> 00:32:24.124
 collection until about a month ago.
 
 00:32:24.763 --> 00:32:25.944
 A wonderful woman from
 
 00:32:26.005 --> 00:32:28.247
 California offered us her
 
 00:32:28.287 --> 00:32:30.008
 rainbow dress from the fifties.
 
 00:32:30.827 --> 00:32:31.509
 Beautiful.
 
 00:32:31.608 --> 00:32:31.989
 And, you know,
 
 00:32:32.009 --> 00:32:33.529
 we have to work out shipping and,
 
 00:32:33.609 --> 00:32:34.471
 you know, all of that.
 
 00:32:35.057 --> 00:32:36.417
 getting it safely across the country,
 
 00:32:36.478 --> 00:32:38.038
 but it arrived and it's great.
 
 00:32:38.578 --> 00:32:39.538
 And we're just really
 
 00:32:39.558 --> 00:32:41.239
 grateful that people offer
 
 00:32:41.499 --> 00:32:43.079
 us material and we've been
 
 00:32:43.099 --> 00:32:43.660
 able to build the
 
 00:32:43.720 --> 00:32:45.339
 collection so well in that way.
 
 00:32:46.099 --> 00:32:46.480
 Wonderful.
 
 00:32:46.960 --> 00:32:48.000
 We're talking with Stacey
 
 00:32:48.040 --> 00:32:49.300
 Fraser from the Scottish
 
 00:32:49.340 --> 00:32:50.721
 Rite Masonic Museum and
 
 00:32:50.780 --> 00:32:52.402
 Library in Lexington,
 
 00:32:52.422 --> 00:32:54.761
 which will be having gala
 
 00:32:54.781 --> 00:32:56.142
 events on April thirteenth,
 
 00:32:56.201 --> 00:32:58.002
 an exhibit opening as well
 
 00:32:58.022 --> 00:32:59.163
 as other things and lots of
 
 00:32:59.202 --> 00:33:01.542
 other exhibits happening at the museum,
 
 00:33:01.583 --> 00:33:03.183
 which tell the story of the
 
 00:33:03.203 --> 00:33:04.183
 American Revolution.
 
 00:33:10.780 --> 00:33:11.541
 and other things.
 
 00:33:11.561 --> 00:33:13.981
 So really, thank you so much, Stacey.
 
 00:33:14.061 --> 00:33:14.623
 Is there anything else we
 
 00:33:14.643 --> 00:33:15.163
 should talk about?
 
 00:33:16.663 --> 00:33:17.844
 I would just add one more
 
 00:33:18.144 --> 00:33:19.163
 exhibition that's been sort
 
 00:33:19.183 --> 00:33:21.105
 of recently added is the
 
 00:33:21.164 --> 00:33:23.105
 DAR and American
 
 00:33:23.144 --> 00:33:24.184
 Battlefield Trust have
 
 00:33:24.224 --> 00:33:26.625
 worked together to create a
 
 00:33:26.665 --> 00:33:28.707
 traveling exhibition based
 
 00:33:28.787 --> 00:33:30.166
 on their online exhibition
 
 00:33:30.207 --> 00:33:30.767
 called the American
 
 00:33:30.807 --> 00:33:31.887
 Revolution Experience.
 
 00:33:31.907 --> 00:33:32.607
 Right.
 
 00:33:33.075 --> 00:33:33.954
 We're going to be hosting
 
 00:33:34.015 --> 00:33:36.895
 that as well during the sort of, you know,
 
 00:33:36.955 --> 00:33:37.776
 I think it's the it'll be
 
 00:33:37.836 --> 00:33:39.336
 up the thirteenth to the twenty seventh.
 
 00:33:39.375 --> 00:33:40.297
 So sort of those two weeks
 
 00:33:40.356 --> 00:33:41.336
 around Patriots Day,
 
 00:33:42.057 --> 00:33:42.817
 we'll be having that as
 
 00:33:42.856 --> 00:33:43.896
 well in our lobby.
 
 00:33:44.297 --> 00:33:45.637
 So there'll be really, you know,
 
 00:33:45.657 --> 00:33:46.678
 you'll come and there's
 
 00:33:46.978 --> 00:33:48.258
 basically five exhibitions
 
 00:33:48.298 --> 00:33:49.518
 for people to see about the
 
 00:33:49.538 --> 00:33:51.358
 revolution and then one
 
 00:33:51.398 --> 00:33:53.138
 about the history of the museum.
 
 00:33:54.259 --> 00:33:55.099
 Tell us about the American
 
 00:33:55.180 --> 00:33:56.779
 Revolution experience that there.
 
 00:33:57.000 --> 00:33:58.621
 so it's a nice you know it's
 
 00:33:58.661 --> 00:33:59.662
 a really nice setup from
 
 00:33:59.682 --> 00:34:01.103
 what I've seen um you know
 
 00:34:01.123 --> 00:34:02.002
 there's sort of the pull-up
 
 00:34:02.042 --> 00:34:03.544
 banner you know style but
 
 00:34:03.624 --> 00:34:05.444
 also with uh kiosks with
 
 00:34:05.464 --> 00:34:06.705
 sort of some interactivity
 
 00:34:07.365 --> 00:34:08.666
 um and it's a really it was
 
 00:34:08.686 --> 00:34:09.427
 based on an online
 
 00:34:09.467 --> 00:34:10.547
 exhibition the dar put
 
 00:34:10.568 --> 00:34:12.588
 together really looking at
 
 00:34:12.869 --> 00:34:14.329
 um you know everyone who
 
 00:34:14.369 --> 00:34:15.331
 contributed which is you
 
 00:34:15.351 --> 00:34:17.092
 know our goal in protest and promise too
 
 00:34:17.632 --> 00:34:19.052
 is it's not just about you
 
 00:34:19.072 --> 00:34:19.994
 know johnny hancock's of
 
 00:34:20.014 --> 00:34:21.335
 the world it's about peggy
 
 00:34:21.355 --> 00:34:22.335
 ship and arnold's and it's
 
 00:34:22.375 --> 00:34:23.135
 about you know prince
 
 00:34:23.155 --> 00:34:24.797
 estabrook and you know the
 
 00:34:24.817 --> 00:34:25.456
 american revolution
 
 00:34:25.496 --> 00:34:26.697
 experience seems to be a
 
 00:34:26.757 --> 00:34:28.659
 good um a good way to kind
 
 00:34:28.679 --> 00:34:29.679
 of approach it from lots of
 
 00:34:29.719 --> 00:34:31.201
 different angles um so
 
 00:34:31.280 --> 00:34:31.981
 we're happy that we'll be
 
 00:34:32.001 --> 00:34:33.623
 able to show that alongside
 
 00:34:33.762 --> 00:34:34.583
 you know the other material
 
 00:34:34.603 --> 00:34:35.724
 will be up for longer that
 
 00:34:36.364 --> 00:34:38.246
 is great so thank you so
 
 00:34:38.266 --> 00:34:39.226
 much for all you're doing
 
 00:34:39.286 --> 00:34:40.646
 to keep history alive and
 
 00:34:40.706 --> 00:34:42.728
 promote it in lexington and beyond
 
 00:34:43.489 --> 00:34:45.652
 Well, thank you for having me.
 
 00:34:45.692 --> 00:34:46.833
 It's really wonderful being
 
 00:34:46.853 --> 00:34:47.594
 in the public history
 
 00:34:47.614 --> 00:34:49.195
 community in Massachusetts,
 
 00:34:49.235 --> 00:34:50.818
 particularly in New England more broadly.
 
 00:34:51.539 --> 00:34:52.119
 These days,
 
 00:34:52.579 --> 00:34:54.382
 we are all very committed to
 
 00:34:54.402 --> 00:34:55.463
 what we're doing.
 
 00:34:55.543 --> 00:34:56.605
 I mentioned this to Jonathan
 
 00:34:56.684 --> 00:34:58.427
 actually months ago when I
 
 00:34:58.447 --> 00:34:59.387
 was in the National Park.
 
 00:35:00.443 --> 00:35:01.463
 just having seen J.L.
 
 00:35:01.483 --> 00:35:03.204
 Bell's talk around the time
 
 00:35:03.304 --> 00:35:04.346
 of the Powder Alarm,
 
 00:35:05.226 --> 00:35:06.768
 just the idea that while
 
 00:35:06.807 --> 00:35:08.369
 writing about the exhibition text,
 
 00:35:08.469 --> 00:35:09.389
 writing the exhibition text,
 
 00:35:09.750 --> 00:35:11.351
 I could go and see, you know,
 
 00:35:11.630 --> 00:35:12.891
 a live firing of the cannon
 
 00:35:12.931 --> 00:35:15.092
 from Knox Country Company and hear J.L.
 
 00:35:15.112 --> 00:35:16.114
 Bell talk about the stealing
 
 00:35:16.134 --> 00:35:16.914
 of the cannon from the gun
 
 00:35:16.954 --> 00:35:17.994
 house in Boston Comet.
 
 00:35:18.335 --> 00:35:19.295
 There's so much sort of
 
 00:35:19.356 --> 00:35:20.677
 material out there because
 
 00:35:20.717 --> 00:35:21.797
 people put it out there.
 
 00:35:22.418 --> 00:35:23.139
 It really makes the
 
 00:35:23.199 --> 00:35:24.960
 experience really rich if you
 
 00:35:25.340 --> 00:35:27.443
 seek it out and experience those things.
 
 00:35:27.463 --> 00:35:29.246
 It's amazing.
 
 00:35:29.347 --> 00:35:29.887
 It really is.
 
 00:35:29.907 --> 00:35:30.728
 So thank you so much for
 
 00:35:30.748 --> 00:35:31.730
 what you do to keep it
 
 00:35:31.769 --> 00:35:33.693
 alive and to share these stories.
 
 00:35:34.293 --> 00:35:34.835
 Absolutely.
 
 00:35:34.875 --> 00:35:35.635
 Thanks for having me.
 
 00:35:35.657 --> 00:35:37.199
 It's been a joy.
 
 00:35:37.259 --> 00:35:38.501
 We've been talking with Stacey Pree.
 
 00:35:44.081 --> 00:35:45.222
 exciting things happening there.
 
 00:35:45.242 --> 00:35:46.103
 So thank you, Stacey.
 
 00:35:46.143 --> 00:35:47.925
 And I want to thank Jonathan Lane,
 
 00:35:47.945 --> 00:35:49.226
 the man behind the curtain.
 
 00:35:49.306 --> 00:35:50.246
 And if you have an idea for
 
 00:35:50.286 --> 00:35:51.527
 something we should talk about,
 
 00:35:51.807 --> 00:35:53.329
 or you want to just get in touch with us,
 
 00:35:53.769 --> 00:35:55.010
 send Jonathan an email,
 
 00:35:55.050 --> 00:35:57.313
 jlane at revolution two fifty dot org,
 
 00:35:57.393 --> 00:35:59.193
 revolution two five zero dot org.
 
 00:35:59.855 --> 00:36:01.096
 And if you're in one of these,
 
 00:36:01.155 --> 00:36:02.237
 every week we thank folks
 
 00:36:02.257 --> 00:36:03.677
 who are tuning in regularly.
 
 00:36:04.338 --> 00:36:05.679
 And I want to thank you and
 
 00:36:05.760 --> 00:36:07.121
 everyone else who joins us
 
 00:36:07.181 --> 00:36:08.842
 to hear and talk about history.
 
 00:36:08.882 --> 00:36:09.943
 So this week, I want to thank
 
 00:36:10.663 --> 00:36:11.804
 If you're in one of these places,
 
 00:36:11.844 --> 00:36:12.983
 send Jonathan an email.
 
 00:36:13.003 --> 00:36:13.844
 He'll send you some of our
 
 00:36:13.864 --> 00:36:15.365
 Revolution Two-Fifty swag.
 
 00:36:16.065 --> 00:36:16.585
 So this week,
 
 00:36:16.606 --> 00:36:17.827
 I want to thank our listeners
 
 00:36:17.887 --> 00:36:19.728
 in Philadelphia, New York,
 
 00:36:20.327 --> 00:36:21.568
 and in Lexington,
 
 00:36:21.989 --> 00:36:23.269
 as well as Clinton and
 
 00:36:23.309 --> 00:36:24.811
 Boston in the Commonwealth
 
 00:36:24.831 --> 00:36:26.831
 of Massachusetts, in Tampa,
 
 00:36:27.012 --> 00:36:29.032
 and in New Egypt, New Jersey,
 
 00:36:29.112 --> 00:36:30.813
 and in all places between and beyond.
 
 00:36:31.153 --> 00:36:32.054
 Thanks for joining us.
 
 00:36:32.074 --> 00:36:32.875
 Now we'll be piped out.