North Carolina Mason
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/295836
Page 4 The North Carolina Mason March/April 2014
RUFUS, from page 1
He had seen Senator Sam, who was from Morganton near Ed-
misten's home of Boone, over the years at political events.
"He'd come to Boone sometimes, and I'd see him around, po-
litically, and I'd say, 'I want to come to work for you some day.' I
guess I aggravated him to death.
"I graduated from North Carolina and moved to Washington.
ere wasn't a job opening with the senator, so I taught third
grade for a year. I finally got a call from his office and went to
work as a gofer for the first few years. I studied the law at night
[at George Washington University]."
As the Watergate break-in began to unravel, the Senate began
its investigation of its mysteries.
"Senator [Mike] Mansfield was the majority leader at the time.
He had to find someone with impeccable credentials to head the
committee. So guess who he called on — Senator Sam Ervin. He
had been a judge. He had been a legislator. He had been a North
Carolina Supreme Court justice. He was a strict constitutionalist,
a Southern conservative, and he had all that respect from people.
"Senator Ervin made me deputy chief counsel to the commit-
tee, and we had to put the committee together real quick. Now that
was a real job. I brought up a lot of people from North Carolina.
"We had a lot of North Carolina people there for a good
reason. We wanted to minimize any attempts to do an end run
around the senator. When you have something that momentous
occurring so suddenly, so quickly, and consuming so much of peo-
ples lives, you get all sorts of agendas.
"[I brought in these people because] I knew them all. I was able
to keep a consolidated group that was less connected to Washing-
ton. is core group knew it was their job to stay together and
make sure that [Ervin] succeeded.
"Like everyone else, [at the start] I thought [the Watergate
break-in] was just a little nothing burglary. I didn't know why
anyone would want to break into a campaign headquarters, be-
cause there's nothing there fit for anybody, not even a mouse. If
you want names, you just have to go to the Board of Elections."
at disturbed him.
As time went on, there was a sense of momentous things
building. e hearings were broadcast nationally with Senator
Sam becoming an incarnation of America's Sheriff Andy. His bon
mots and country wisdom became more famous.
"Now there's another wonderful man there, [pointing to
a photo of ] Howard Baker. Both of them were plain men
from North Carolina and Tennessee. It was a rare time when
one of these things worked, because they decided it would. It
wouldn't work today.
"e hearings were all day long on all three networks and Pub-
lic Television. At the height of the hearings, we received more
than 40,000 pieces of correspondence. Some said, 'Leave Nixon
alone.' A good many said, 'Cut those hearings out because we're
missing our soap operas.'"
"e gallery was full every day. Barbara Streisand and Robert
Redford liked to come. Everybody wanted in on it, because it
was a big deal."
Eventually, an underling mentioned in passing a taping sys-
tem in the White House. Eyes popped open. e Committee
knew the importance of the tapes. ey issued a subpoena to the
President to produce those tapes for examination. Edmisten was
tapped to deliver the demand.
dential power was absolute. Eh-
rlichman maintained that while
Nixon did not authorize the
break-in of [Daniel] Ellsberg's
psychaitrist's office, the presi-
dent did have the inherent right
to do so, as well as to take any
other action he deemed neces-
sary to protect national security.
Ervin was incensed. "Foreign
intelligence activities had noth-
ing to do with the opinion of
Ellsberg's psychiatrist about
his intellectual or emotional
or psychological state," Ervin
snapped. When Ehrlichman's
lawyer interrupted to ask, "How
do know that, Mr. Chairman?"
Ervin retorted, "Because I can
understand the English lan-
guage. It's my mother tongue,"
and the audience broke into
laughter.
Edmisten is often asked: "Do you
think that they should have indicted Nixon?"
"No. He suffered the greatest humiliation possible. To see a
president in handcuffs would have been going too far."
Edmisten's association with Senator Ervin was a highlight
of his life.
"What a wonderful time when I got to be with that man. I
drove him for ten years, ate with him, slept with him. He told the
most wonderful stories, riding down the road in that old Chrysler.
I'd heard those stories 15 or 20 times apiece, and they were still
funny to me."
One day during their conversations,
Freemasonry came up. "I was telling Senator
Sam that I was thinking about joining the
Masons, and he said, 'Let's get it done.' He
signed my petition and carried me to lodge."
Ervin joined him as he petitioned and
went through his degrees at Virginia's Al-
exandria-Washington 22 in 1971. Rufus
later moved his membership to Raleigh
becoming a member of Hiram 40 and lat-
er Millbrook 97. He joined Amran Shrine
at the same time as Senator Jesse Helms
and NC Supreme Court Chief Justice I.
Beverly Lake Jr. Senator Sam was a life-
long member of Catawba Valley 217 in
Morganton, from 1922 until his death in 1985.
Many of the artifacts in the exhibit at the NC History Museum
are from the personal collection of Edmisten. ey are eventually
destined for the North Carolina Collection at the University of
North Carolina where they will join Senator Ervin's papers as well
as extensive archives of the Grand Lodge.
Drop by to see the displays before they leave in August. ere's
a reasonable chance you see a bit of living history there. If you do,
say, "Hey," to Brother Rufus.
Pointing to the original subpoena on display, "I carried that
subpoena right there, that very one, down to the White House. It
was the first time a sitting president had ever been subpoenaed by
a committee of Congress. ere were three or four hundred news
people there at the Executive Office Building when I arrived with
it." President Nixon's lawyer Leonard Garment accepted service.
After a court battle, the tapes were produced by a unanimous
order of the Supreme Court. e tapes proved to be the proverbial
smoking gun which led Nixon to resign rather than face prom-
ised impeachment. Many of the President's men were indicted,
convicted, and spent time in prison for
their actions.
As Edmisten was watching videos
of the hearings in the exhibition, Mu-
seum Director Ken Howard came over.
Maurice Stans' testimony was being
played. Edmisten got very serious and
said to Howard that Stans had offered
what he found the saddest moment of
the hearings.
"Maurice Stans asked, 'Can some-
one please tell where I can go to get
my reputation back?' How poignant —
you throw it away, it's gone." He returns
his attention to the screen quietly for a
long moment.
What was his favorite moment? It is well told by Karl E. Camp-
bell in his Senator Sam Ervin, e Last of the Founding Fathers.
e battle for the tapes overshadowed the testimony
of Ehrlichman and Haldeman, but their appearances
before the committee still attracted a considerable
amount of attention. Ehrlichman's testimony was espe-
cially noteworthy… the highlight of Ehrlichman's tes-
timony came during his confrontation with Ervin, who
was outraged by Ehrlichman's contention that presi-
Mementos go to Homes
CLEMMONS — At the 11
th
Annual Clemmons Charity Golf
Tournament, Clemmons Lodge placed pin hole flags honoring
the residents of WhiteStone and the Masonic Home for Chil-
dren at Oxford. The lodge presented the sponsorships to the
two Homes. At top, Bruce Ayres, left, give the flag to Administra-
tor Mark Kolada during a recent first Tuesday luncheon held at
WhiteStone. At bottom, Greg Key and Larry Holloman give the
other flag to Home for Children Administrator Kevin Otis and
Development Director Chris Richardson during a recent Or-
phans Lodge meeting. — Bruce Ayres
Edmisten points out some of the artifacts in the in the Watergate exhibit.
Edmisten talks with Museum Director
Ken Howard beside video monitors
playing the hearings.
RALEIGH — e Ninth Annual Masonic Carolina Pig Jig
Barbecue is coming up Saturday, May 17. As in the past, it will be
held in conjunction with the Got to Be NC Festival at the North
Carolina State Fair Grounds
If you're just looking to sample dozens of different barbecue
recipes, serving will be from May 17 from 11:00 a.m. until the
barbecue is gone. Tickets are $15 for 12 years old and up, kids sev-
en to eleven eat for five dollars, and under seven years free. Adult
tickets are available online at