Ground Hog Day

On Tuesday, February 2 the Alaska Masonic Library and Museum Foundation, assisted by the Alaska 2nd Circle Committee of the Masonic Society conducted its first annual fundraiser. The funds raised will be used to cover operating expenses of our Library and Museum. This event took place the night before the Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge of Alaska and included several visitors from around the state and around the country, including visitors from the Grand Lodges of California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Wyoming, Vermont, and Nevada.


Fellowship was a key ingredient of the evening, where our guests enjoyed each other’s company, while participating in a “Paring Food with Beer” presentation. German food and German beer highlighted the festivities, and the participants received an education about different beers and ales, how they enhanced the food being enjoyed, and how they were enhanced by it. From my perspective, it was a very enjoyable evening, and I heard several guests remark what a great time they were having. It was plain to see that the evening was planned to please everyone, and to unite them in the grand design of being happy and communicating happiness.

The fundraising activity included a silent auction of various items donated for the purpose. The auction was enthusiastically received and bidding was quite lively, with some items being bid up far above their market value. The following is a list of the various Masonic books, which had been signed by their authors and what they sold for:

Book	Author	Donated by	Sold for
Building Boaz and Building Hiram	Dr. John Nagy	Dr. John Nagy	$40
Lifting the Veil	Dr. John Nagy	Dr. John Nagy	$10
American Freemasons	Mark Tabbert	Bo Cline	$225
The 32 Secret Paths of Solomon and The Alchemical Keys to Masonic Ritual (2 sets)	Timothy Hogan	Timothy Hogan	$30
Committed to the Flames	S. Brent Morris & Arturo DeHoyos	S. Brent Morris & Arturo DeHoyos	$45
Idiots Guide to Freemasonry	S. Brent Morris	S. Brent Morris	$30
Morgan – The Scandal that Shook Freemasonry	Stephen Dafoe	Bo Cline	$25
Masonic Enlightenment	Michael Poll	Michael Poll	$12
Mystic Fire, Rosicrucian Writings of A.E. Waite	Michael Poll	Michael Poll	$25
The Masters and the Path	Leadbeater	Michael Poll	$20
Collected Rosicrucian Thought	Michael Poll	Michael Poll	$20
Robert’s Rules of Order (Masonic)	Michael Poll	Michael Poll	$25
Our Stations and Places	Meacham	Michael Poll	$22
Masonic Words and Phrases	Michael Poll	Michael Poll	$10
Knights & Freemasons	Michael Poll	Michael Poll	$42
A Reporter’s Life (First Edition)	Walter Cronkite	Judy & Richard Fletcher	$120
The Reef (First Edition)	Nora Roberts	Judy & Richard Fletcher	$30
Deciphering the Lost Symbol	Chris Hodapp	Chris Hodapp	$30
Solomon’s Builders	Chris Hodapp	Chris Hodapp	$30
A Laudable Pursuit	Knights of the North	Chris Hodapp	$20
Freemasons for Dummies	Chris Hodapp	Chris Hodapp	$25
Conspiracy Theories & Secret Societies for Dummies	Chris Hodapp	Chris Hodapp	$20
Templar Code for Dummies	Chris Hodapp	Chris Hodapp	$15

Overall, the Alaska Masonic Library and Museum Foundation raised over $2,000. I wish to thank all those generous people who donated items to this cause and all those who took part in the auction and purchased those items.