The North Carolina Mason

Page 2 The North Carolina Mason July/August 2015 see VANCE page 8 By Mark-Ellis Bennett ASHEVILLE — Masons from across the state and beyond gathered here June 6 for the rededica- tion of the Vance Monument cornerstone at Pack Square. A procession of about 100 Masons clad in white lambskin aprons, and their families, progressed up Broadway from the Masonic Temple to the square where the rededication of the Vance Monument cor- nerstone took place. Also in attendance at the cer- emony were representatives of the more than 150 donors who contributed to the recent cleaning and restoration of the monument. e monument was erected to the memory of Ze- bulon Baird Vance, a Confederate military officer in the American Civil War, the 37 th and 43 rd Governor of North Carolina, U.S. Senator, and member of Mt. Hermon 118. "ree years ago the 26 th NC Regiment entered into a partnership with the City of Asheville for the purpose of raising of the necessary funds to conserve the Zebulon Vance Monument. Now, we find our- selves at the completion of this worthy project," said master of ceremonies Randal Garrison. e restoration process led to the discovery of the deposit box placed in the cornerstone at its dedica- tion. anks to the Western Regional Archives of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, and archivist Heather South, the contents of the Vance Monument deposit have been saved from de- struction by exposure to the elements and preserved for future generations. "Just as the cornerstone of the Vance Monument was dedicated in 1897 by the Grand Master of Free- masons of North Carolina, I am honored and pleased that the current Grand Master, Douglas Caudle, and members of the Grand Lodge could join us today to rededicate the cornerstone," Garrison said. Caudle pointed out that officers of the Lodge wore collars with jewels around their necks. "e jewel that I am wearing dates back to 1873, and is the same jewel that Grand Master Moore wore 118 years ago when he laid the cornerstone. Due to its historical signifi- cance, I wear this jewel only for special occasions such as this." Caudle then officiated in conducting the Ma- sonic Rites. He declared the monument to be "well formed, true and trusty, and correctly placed accord- ing to the rules of the ancient customs," and solemnly dedicated the monument in the name of God to virtue and universal benevolence. Elements of the rededication ceremony, such as the poetry, and singing of patriotic songs were taken from the original dedication ceremony and the monument's early history. e North Buncombe High School Chamber Choir performed a stirring a cappella ren- dition of "America." Asheville City Councilman Jan Davis and Chair of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners, David Gantt, offered comments from the city and the county respectively. Davis noted that the square was always historically the center of town, the center of activity for public en- gagement, and remains so today. He said that when an edition of the Colored Enterprise was discovered in the 1897 time capsule it told us a lot about our community. "A third of our inhabitants at that time were African- American. ere's been a little bit of controversy about why that community's not recognized here." He said a monument is an example of history, but sees no reason why there should not be a marker in the area to rec- ognize them. Gantt noted that 1897 was a difficult time for some in the community, and said there is no reason we can't talk about all the history instead of part of it. "We were passing Jim Crow laws, putting discrimination into law, and it was wrong. We can't whitewash that and just forget about it, but what we can do is balance it with who Zeb Vance was." Gantt, an Asheville attorney, spoke about the me- teoric rise of Vance's political career. "Zeb Vance, as governor, said North Carolina is going to be the only state in the Confederacy that still observes Habeas Corpus, which means people have a right to know what they're charged with and how to get out of jail." Gantt said we can't celebrate the monument to support past policies on race. "ey were wrong, everybody here knows that." Gantt discouraged the community from cherry-picking historical events to affect their understanding of the past and invited them to "look at the whole picture." Chris Roberts, as president and commanding offi- cer of the Society for the Historical Preservation of the 26 th Regiment North Carolina Troops, and Padgett & Freeman Architects associate had the lead role in the restoration of the Vance Monument, and organizing the rededication ceremony. In his closing remarks Roberts spoke about how Vance was remembered upon his death. "His funeral in Washington was attended by a majority of the House and Senate, justices of the Supreme Court, the com- manders of the Army and the Navy, President Grover Cleveland, and Vice President Stevenson. A delega- tion of six senators and seven representatives was se- lected to escort his body back home." A procession re- ported to have numbered 10,000 pedestrians and 710 Vance monument rededicated Ric Car ter photos

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