
                      BIENNIAL SESSION 1991 

                    Dr. John W. Boettjer, 33 
                         Managing Editor 
                    The Scottish Rite Journal 
                    1733 Sixteenth Street, NW 
                    Washington, DC 20009-3199 

   IN HIS MESSAGE of welcome to all Brethren attending the 1991 
Biennial Session, Sov Gr Cmdr C. Fred Kleinknecht noted the 
special international accent of the event saying: "Today, as 
never before in this century, Freemasonry and Scottish Rite are 
moving forward around the globe. Grand Lodges are being 
reactivated throughout Eastern Europe. The Light of Masonry was 
restored first in Hungary, then in Yugoslavia, and most recently 
in Czechoslovakia." 

   In fact delegates, numbering 15 in all, from these three 
countries attended the Biennial Session. Leading the delegations 
were: MW Zoran Nenezic, 33, Grand Master of Masons, Grand 
Lodge of Yugoslavia; MW Jozsef Ferencz, 33, Grand Master of 
Masons, Grand Lodge of Hungary; and RW Christian Weger, 33, 
Grand Secretary, Grand Lodge of Czechoslovakia. 

   The Session's first major event, following a week of committee 
meetings, was held on Sunday, October 20, a bright, crisp fall 
day in our nation's capital.  The event was a beautiful vesper 
service of remembrance dedicated to honoring Grand Commander 
Albert Pike on the centennial of his death in 1891. Held in 
historic St. John's Church located on Lafayette Square across 
from the White House, the service was attended by a capacity 
assemblage of Brethren, their ladies, and guests who heard an 
inspiring sermon entitled "What Keeps You from Coming Alive?" by 
Bishop Carl J. Sanders, 33, GC, Grand Chaplain of The Supreme 
Council. 

   After the vesper service, many visited the House of the Temple 
to enjoy an elegant reception and view the many improvements 
implemented during the last two years, most notably the Temple's 
new evening illumination, exterior identifying inscription, and 
Temple Architects Hall of Honor. 

   On Monday, October 21, the 1991 Session formally opened at 
9:00 A.M. MW Darwin A. Brock, 32, KCCH, Grand Master of 
Masons in the District of Columbia, gave a very warm welcome to 
all attending Brethren, and then Sov Gr Cmdr Kleinknecht 
personally introduced many of the distinguished visitors and, as 
a mark of special honor, invited several to join him in the East. 
Ill Thomas C. Raum, Jr., 33, Grand Orator of The Supreme 
Council and SGIG in Kansas, tendered greetings to every 
participant. This  was  followed by  Grand Commander Kleinknecht 
reading a brief summary of his Allocution highlighting a few of 
the many Scottish Rite accomplishments during the last two years. 

   The informative committee reports that followed accented this 
theme of Scottish Rite achievement in several areas. Among them 
were the following: State of the Order by Ill John D. 
Blankinship, 33, Lt Gr Cmdr and SGIG in Washington State; 
publications by Ill D. Walter Jessen, 33, Gr Chancellor and 
SGIG in Louisiana; Treasurer's report by Ill Sam E. Hilburn, 
33, Gr Treasurer and SGIG in Texas; House of the Temple 
report by Ill Edward L. Pine, 33, Grand Chamberlain and 
SGIG in Nevada; and insurance by Ill Harry S. Barrows, 33, 
SGIG in Iowa. 

   After these reports, Gr Cmdr Kleinknecht convened the 
Council in Executive Session, and the election of Knights 
Commander of the Court of Honour and Thirty-third Degree 
Inspectors General Honorary was completed and its results 
announced. Following a delicious luncheon buffet served in the 
banquet hall of the House of the Temple for all participants, the 
General Session resumed in the Temple Room. 

   Then came a special event. Given the significant changes in 
the House of the Temple itself and Scottish Rite's many new 
avenues of endeavor, Grand Commander Kleinknecht, following an 
appropriate prayer by Bishop Carl J. Sanders, rededicated the 
Temple to the high principles and practical accomplishments of 
our Order. 

   This inspiring theme was continued by an eloquent necrology 
rendered by Ill David O. Johnson, Chairman of the Committee on 
Obituaries, with "Taps" played on the trumpet by Ill Robert E. 
Redding, 33, and sung by Bro Gerald Connelly, 32, U.S. Navy. 

   During the day, ladies and Brethren not attending the Session 
were invited to participate in a shopping tour of the new 
Pentagon City Shopping Center at Crystal City, Virginia, with bus 
transportation provided. The entertainment climax, however, of 
the Session's first day was a gala evening performance of the 
United States Air Force Band and Singing Sergeants in the concert 
hall of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. 
Cosponsored by The Supreme  Council,  33,  and the Children's 
National Medical Center of Washington, D.C., the festive occasion 
featured many beautiful selections in addition to a nostalgic 
medley entitled "Silver Wings, Golden Memories" saluting the 50th 
anniversary of the United States Air Force Band. The concert 
ended with an inspiring muscial salute to all the Armed Forces 
and a standing ovation. 

   A very special moment, however, came during the second half of 
the program when the conductor, Lt. Col. Alan L. Bonner, paused 
to recognize the good work of both the Scottish Rite and 
Children's National Medical Center in the area of treating 
childhood language disorders. Lt. Col. Bonner then paid special 
tribute to Ill Earl H. Wicker, 33, and his wife Ruth. Ill 
Wicker is the major benefactor of the newly opened Scottish Rite 
Childhood Language Center in Richmond, Virginia. Coincidentally, 
that very day, October 21, was Ill Wicker's 90th birthday! The 
entire audience joined in a warm round of congratulatory applause 
for this outstanding man and Mason. 

   Prior to resuming the Session, members of The Supreme Council 
and distinguished guests participated as VIP's in the formal 
midmorning welcoming at the White House by President and Mrs. 
George Bush of his excellency Vaclav Havel, President of the 
Czech and  Slovak Federal Republic, and Mrs. Havel. This was a 
particularly moving moment for the Czech Brethren attending the 
Session, for it underlined the growing cordiality between their 
nation and ours as well as Czechoslovakian and American 
Freemasonry. 

   Tuesday morning Session activities continued with work in 
Executive Session and the premier meeting of the new Scottish 
Rite Research Society whose officers are Ill Warren D. Lichty, 
33, SGIG in Nebraska, President; Ill Forrest D. Haggard, 
33,GC, Vice President; Ill Plez  A.  Transou,  33,  
Secretary; Ill Reynold J. Matthews, 33, Treasurer; and Ill S. 
Brent Morris, 33, Editor. By 3:30 P.M. all work had been 
accomplished and The Supreme Council moved to the Scottish Rite 
Temple of the District of Columbia for the Thirty-third Degree 
conferral and the formal closing of the 1991 Biennial Session. 

   The gala banquet that evening at the Capital Hilton Hotel in 
Washington, D.C., was a time to exchange congratulations and 
enjoy the warm fellowship that comes from sharing in a job well 
done. Over 1,000 Brethren and their ladies filled the hotel's 
grand ballroom and enjoyed a gourmet dinner and fine music by the 
Stereo Strings and the Capital Aires. 


   Acting as Master of Ceremonies, Robert W. Miller, 33, 
President, Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge, introduced the 
stellar head table which consisted of: Sov Gr Cmdr C. Fred 
Kleinknecht; Bishop Carl J. Sanders, 33, GC; Bro and Lt. 
General Walter Eugene Boomer, 32, KCCH, U.S. Marine Corps, 
Commanding General of U.S. Marine forces in Operation Desert 
Storm; Ill Donald J. DeFore, 33, well-known actor and former 
U.S. ambassador; Ill J. Strom Thurmond, 33, GC, U.S. Senator 
from South Carolina; Ill Charles R. Richey, 33, U.S. District 
Judge, District of Columbia; Ill Francis G. Paul, 33, Sov Gr 
Cmdr Supreme Council, N.M.J.; Ill John W. Dean, III, 33, 
Imperial Potentate, Imperial Council, AAONMS; Ill John Paul 
Hammerschmidt, 33, GC, U.S. Congressman from Arkansas; Ill 
Alan K. Simpson, 33, GC, U.S. Senator from Wyoming and 
Minority Whip of the Senate; Ill Henry O. Dormann, 33, 
President and Editor-in-Chief, LEADERS Magazine; Ill Ernest 
Borgnine, 33, GC, well-known actor and narrator of the 
Scottish Rite's new film "On the Wings of Words"; Ill W. Henson 
Moore, 33, GC, Deputy Secretary of Energy, U.S. Department of 
Energy; Ill David B. Sentelle, 33, Judge, U.S. District Court 
of Appeals, Washington, D.C.; Ill Marshall B. Coyne, 33, 
Proprietor, The Madison Hotels; MW Darwin A. Brock, 32, 
KCCH, GrM of Masons, Washington, D.C.; MW Zoran Nenezic, 
33, GrM of Masons, Grand Lodge of Yugoslavia; MW Jozsef 
Ferencz, 33, GrM of Masons, Grand Lodge of Hungary; and R W 
Christian Weger, 33, Grand Secretary, Grand Lodge of 
Czechoslovakia. 

   Accepting the Scottish Rite's highest honor, the Grand Cross 
of Honour, that evening were Ill Brothers Moore, Borgnine, 
Sanders, Simpson,and Hammerschmidt. Each made appropriate remarks 
before Gr Cmdr Kleinknecht wound up the gala's events with his 
closing   words.  "Two  short  years ago,"  he noted, "we had 
dreams of an exciting future. Today, our accomplishments extend 
even beyond our original dreams." 

   On this note of congratulation and accomplishment, the 1991 
Session ended and the Brethren set themselves to making the next 
two years even more successful. 
 _____ 

   John W. Boettjer former professor at George Washington 
University, The Virginia Military Institute and Michigan State 
University, is a member of Cypress Lodge No. 295, Naples, FL; the 
Scottish Rite Bodies of Alexandria, VA; and Kena Shrine Temple, 
Fairfax, VA. 
