On Saturday, April 12th, Shelby Chapter #178 hosted a group of Royal Arch Masons for a special conferral of the Royal Arch degree. The cast members for the degree were composed from a group of Masonic fishermen that travel to Onaman Lake, Ontario, Canada each September for a fly-in fishing trip.
After 6 years of friendly discussions, the one non-Masonic fisherman, Roger Smith of Lexington, OH, joined the fraternity at the One-day Grand Masters class held in 2007. When he petitioned Shelby Chapter, it was found that the entire cast for the Royal Arch degree could be fielded by his fellow fishermen.
Attire for the day was Canadian casual - blue jeans, fishing shirts, and tennis shoes. Fishing vests and jewels, fashioned from old fishing lures suspended from twine, completed the attire. In keeping with the theme, the cable tow for the candidate was fabricated from several fishing stringers. The degree was conferred (with proper robing, of course) with nearly flawless work. This amazed the side line members! Considering the cast was composed of a number of past and present Grand Chapter officers. Now, if they could only learn to fish!!
Following the degree work, several of the cast members prepared a typical Canadian camp dinner. 22 lbs of deep fried perch filets along with all the trimmings were served to the Companions and guests. |
