I finally settled on an image for the site, at least for now. I purchased this power horn at a historical gathering where people demonstrated many old crafts and associated items for either sale or demonstration purposes. There was soap making for the early settlers of America and many other areas for time appropriate demonstrations.
One of those was scrimshaw. This are can be done on many surfaces and often is quite artistic. In the time before modern firearms power horns were fundamental to every day life for most men. Some were decorated and that is where this replica that I had created for me comes in.
This replica powder horn is adorned with Freemasonry symbols common to what was actually used by many of the fraternities members during that era. The symbols were what was commonly known during those times. The “all seeing eye” which has been used for centuries as a symbol for God is on the left side of the horn as you view it.
The Square and Compass resting on the Holy Bible is indicative of a Christian Freemason. The lower part of the same figure has a “G” in the middle which is now commonly in the center of the Square and Compass but did not come into common use until around the time of the U. S. Civil War.
The next symbol is the Masonic apron, which is said to have been used by the workers building King Solomon’s temple in the Holy Land as referenced in the Old Testament.
Harder to see is the chess set that the power horn stand is resting on. This is meant to symbolize the many opportunities for social engagement over this very old game, reaching back to the time of the Persians who are thought to have invented the game, but for sure are credited with taking it to their many boarders where it was popularized and continued to evolve into the modern version we know today.
Our country has had fraternal groups from it’s very start, with many famous Founding Fathers of America belonging to one or the other. Famous Freemasons include George Washington, and Ben Franklin. Later famous Freemasons include Davy Crockett, Andrew Jackson, Sam Houston, General Douglas McCarther, and Harry Truman among many others.
Several signers of the Declaration of Independence were Freemasons. The hardy silversmith Paul Revere was as well.
This site is about increasing social engagement through the hundreds of volunteer groups in America. For the volunteer the health benefits alone merit the effort. For the charity supported by the fraternal or civic or veterans group, they can only gain by increased members support.
In summary, everyone wins and collectively if this volunteer efforts grows America will see a resurgence of civic engagement that will reinvigorate and even rebuild what many feel was a volunteer ethic that made America great.
