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Assembly Installation
Photo courtesy of New Hampshire IORG |
Many of my fellow California Majority Members like to joke about our varying degrees of crown envy. As time has gone on and social media has expanded our horizons, we've discovered, thankfully, that we're not alone. There are jurisdictions which allow crowns and others which do not. And then, there's the whole of New England.
My level of crown envy has always been minimal, after all I now live in Oregon where crowns are allowed. I've known for years that New Hampshire was special, that not just their Worthy Advisors wore crowns but their entire Line. It wasn't until recently though that I learned New Hampshire is not alone. This practice is customary throughout all of the New England states.
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Vermont Grand Officers 2013
Photo courtesy of Vermont IORG |
Vermont? Check! Connecticut? Check! Massachusetts? Check! The entire Grand Line and assembly Line Officers wear crowns in every single one of those jurisdictions. Tongue in cheek, I joked with a few Facebook friends earlier this week, "we now know why Job's Daughters never caught on in New England!" Who cares if the top three Line Officers wear crowns in Jobies when all five of 'em get to wear crowns in Rainbow? I jest, but really, can anyone explain why Job's Daughters never made any inroads in the Northeast?
And then, there are Maine and Rhode Island. They take this crown wearing to a whole other level. It's not enough for the Worthy Advisor, Worthy Associate Advisor, Charity, Hope and Faith to wear crowns. Nope, not at all. Why not throw Chaplain and Drill Leader in for good measure? I'm pretty sure both of my nieces, who were each Drill Leader at the tender age of twelve, would have been a-okay with wearing a crown while escorting dignitaries. And if I ever tell them about this little New England tidbit, or they ever read this blog, or we ever visit a New England jurisdiction and see all those glittering tiaras in person, I'm pretty sure their level of crown envy will equal mine currently, which is just another way of saying, "I'm jealous!"
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New Hampshire Grand Line 2013
Photo courtesy of New Hampshire IORG |
Now, my only questions is, since the six New England jurisdictions are jointly hosting Supreme Assembly next year in Providence, Rhode Island, will they put crowns on the Acting Supreme Line Officers, Chaplain and Drill Leaders? That would get people talking! And give the rest of the Rainbow world a serious case of crown envy.
Traditions do not constitute envy. Would one of our jurisdictions make negative comments about one of your traditions? I would hope not. Please remove the NH photos from blogspot as I feel with your commentary it shows my girls in a negative way. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI didn't read those as negative comments -- more like "Oh, man, this is so cool, I wish we did this too!"
DeleteThis is a beautiful tradition and I would love to see it at Supreme. Joan, I am so sorry that it came off as negative. I saw the term crown envy and thought, that is exactly how my girls would feel in that they would be begging to start the tradition. My own daughter sat with the GWA and GR from Connecticut last week at SC GA and informed me that we need to start the line officers crown tradition in our assembly. Please know that we genuinely love all our Rainbow family and would never look down on another jursidictions traditions. Our diversity is part of what makes Rainbow so beautiful.
ReplyDeleteWow. I am so sorry to have not replied earlier. I thought I had my Gmail notifications set to receive any comments but apparently not. I absolutely did not intend any disrespect about the tradition of New England's Line Officers wearing crowns. The term "crown envy" is most certainly not meant in a derogatory way. One of my dearest California Rainbow friends coined the term many years ago when she saw the beautiful crowns worn by Worthy Advisors, Grand Worthy Advisors, Royal Matrons and Grand Royal Matrons, telling us how she wished that California Rainbow still allowed their girls to wear crowns. One of our set of mutual friends had a gorgeous crown she inherited from her mother which she wore when she was installed as Royal Matron and our friend stated she had some serious "crown envy". I love the idea of Line Officers wearing crowns - I would totally get on board with something like this migrating to my jurisdiction.
ReplyDeleteI am a PWA of an assembly in Connecticut, so I have firsthand experience with the "higher office, larger crown" tradition & I miss it. My daughter is now WA of her assembly in South Carolina, where the crown practice was never encouraged & certainly never caught on. Instead, they have a separate coronation ceremony for the new WA away from the altar after the ritualistic portion of the installation ceremony concludes. It's different from what I knew as an active girl, but I'm not passing any judgment on the tradition. Nor did she or I judge any traditions of the other jurisdictions she has served as a Grand Representative of thus far, though some are quite different (e.g. Massachusetts presenting the gavel to Hope "because that's when she needs one as a line officer.") Diversity & respect for that diversity are what make IORG continue to be a great organization for young ladies.
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DeleteI am a PWA from Massachusetts and wore a crown for years (literally as I was installed as WA 11 times!). We had a tradition of passing down a travelling gavel necklace from the Jr. PWA to the newly installed WA, but I have never heard of presenting a gavel to Hope, it was always presented to a new WA by her parents.
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