Southampton-Radiant
Star Lodge #806 F&AM
Restoration
of the National Memorial Arch at Valley Forge, PA
How the Grand Lodge Became Aware
of the Need for Repairs to the Arch
By
Henry M. Cole, P.M.
Early in 1995, while watching the noon time news
on the television, there was a short segment, about 30 seconds, on how the
National Memorial Arch at Valley Forge National Park had fallen into disrepair.
It stated that rain water had been infiltrating into the 80 year old monument,
and had deteriorated it to a point where it was structurally unsound and was
closed to the public. The segment ended with the statement that the Arch was
dedicated in 1917 to honor George Washington and his army, who sacrificed so
much during that horrible winter of 1777-78. Also, that park staff was looking
for contributions to fund the one million dollars in needed repairs, since
necessary funding from Washington was not available.
Being familiar with the Arch, most beautiful when
illuminated at night, and as a Mason who revered George Washington as the
Father of Masonry in America, I became highly incensed that the Arch had been
allowed to deteriorate and funding was not made available to fix it.
Since I was acquainted with Brother Edward O.
Weisser, who at the time was Deputy Grand Master, I called him and suggested
that the repair of the Arch might be a good project for him to undertake during
his term as Grand Master. The Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania was able to spend
close to one million dollars at Gettysburg National Park in 1993 on a beautiful
statue and grounds improvement. Possibly we could take on the project at Valley
Forge. On Wednesday, July 5, 1995, Deputy Grand Master Weisser was playing in a
concert with the Greater Kensington String Band at the week long Southampton
Days July 4th Celebration. At intermission, we again discussed the
possible project.
In November of 1995, Brother Weisser called me and
said he had just returned from Valley Forge Park, where he had offered to have
the Grand Lodge take on the repair. At that time, he asked me to serve on the
committee. From that time on, the project was aptly handled by the right
Worshipful Grand Master Edward O. Weisser and his committee.
* The
photograph of the National Memorial Arch above originally appeared in The Pennsylvania Freemason, Volume XLIII, Number 3, August 1996.
Southampton
Radiant Star Members in the News!
For all other Masonic information,
please visit the Web site of The Grand Lodge of PA
Southampton-Radiant Star Lodge # 806 F&AM of Hatboro, Pennsylvania.