Frank S. Land Day is November 8th!

As many of you know from your Leadership Correspondence Course, DeMolay International has several days that it obligates all chapters to observe.  What do we call these obligatory days of observance? Obligatory Days!

These days are so important that they are explicitly included in the promises a Master Councilor makes and our Advisory Councils are to make sure they happen.  We want to make sure that all of our Chapters and DeMolays are observing them and wanted to give some background on our upcoming one on November 8, 2019  “Frank S. Land Memorial Day.”

Who was “Dad” Frank Sherman Land?

“Dad” Frank Sherman Land was the founder of the Order of DeMolay. He was a lot of other things too, a dutiful son, a member of the Kansas City School Board, a man of faith, a loving husband, a distinguished Scottish Rite Mason, a past Imperial Potentate.

  In a time of great societal upheaval, he saw the need for an organization for young men to be able to come together, to grow, to learn and to develop a spirit of comradeship.  His vision that started out with nine youth at a Scottish Rite building in Kansas City has expanded to impact millions around the globe.

“Dad” Land literally knew presidents, senators, business leaders, spiritual leaders and a whole bevy of important people. Yet, he always made time to listen to youth, to ask youth, and to talk to youth.  His memory lives on every day in DeMolay when one generation cares for and mentors the next generation.

Why November 8?

It was on this day in 1959 that “Dad” Land died. We gather to remember him and to  perpetuate, or carry on, his memory.

Must it be on November 8?

It does not need to fall right on November 8, but ideally plus or minus a week.  What I care about is that you observed it in some manner.  

How do we celebrate Frank S. Land Memorial Day?

There are a number of different ways that Chapters have been able to observe Frank S. Land Memorial Day. The list below is not exhaustive but hopefully gives you a few ideas of things you could do. Maybe you even do multiple ones.

- Host a talk about “Dad” Land at your next meeting. 
One Chapter I know assigned the Senior Deacon to present about “Dad” Land for five minutes. The young man did not know anything about “Dad” Land so he went through and read the book “Hi Dad!” (Don't have a copy? Florida DeMolay has it in PDF https://www.fldemolay.org/files/resources/books/Hi,%20Dad!.pdf )

- Make a donation to a Masonic charity in honor of “Dad” Land.  

A Chapter I worked with made an annual contribution to the local Shrine Hospital Fund.  Some years it was $25 other years it was as much as $500 depending on how their fundraising went. Another Chapter I knew donated to the Scottish Rite Learning Centers in honor of “Dad” Land.  In another jurisdiction the chapters donated to the state charity in honor of “Dad” Land.
Some options:
Children's Dyslexia Centers: https://www.childrensdyslexiacenters.org/donate/ 
Shriner's Hospitals: https://lovetotherescue.org/
Masonic Medical Research Institute: https://www.mmrl.edu/donate/ 
Camp Turk https://www.campturk.org/wishlist.html 
If you wish to donate to the State Charity we take checks payable to NY DeMolay memo section "State Charity" 

- Buy a Brick in Honor of “Dad” Land at the Masonic Care Community
The Masonic Care Community is building an amazing Horticultural Center and there is an opportunity to purchase bricks: 

https://www.fundraisingbrick.com/online-orders/mcc/

You can take a tour here: https://www.masonichomeny.org/about-us/quality-of-life/greenhouse/

- Donate a Copy of “Hi Dad!” to the local library or if your Masonic Center has a library to them.
https://www.shopdemolay.org/chapter-supplies/books-resources.html

- Host a membership class in honor of “Dad” Land  (If your chapter wants to do this, we’ll reimburse the DI fee!)

- Present a “Dad” Frank Sherman Land certificate to a mason who represents the ideals of our Founder

- Present a gift or certificates to your advisors who continue the vision of “Dad” Land

- Invite a speaker from a Masonic organization he was active in to talk to your group, perhaps someone from your local Shrine, Scottish Rite Valley, or Blue Lodge.

- Present the Shield Talk: Do you know that “Dad” Land designed each and every one of our emblems? He spent a lot of time thinking about the symbolism of it and he was quite proud of it. https://demolay.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/SHIELD-TALK.pdf

But our chapter only has a few guys, what should we do?

What’s great about “Dad” Frank S. Land Day is that you can do it with as few or as many people as you want to.  A group of one can do a certificate. You can partner with another chapter. Together, let’s go honor “Dad” Land!


Finally, let us know what you are doing! We would love to feature some stories and photos of great events! Email us at info@nydemolay.org