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Outdoor Fellowcraft Degree
OPEN AIR FELLOWCRAFT DEGREE, SATURDAY, MAY 17, 2025 on SAN JUAN ISLAND
San Juan Lodge No. 175 Free & Accepted Masons of Washington, Ian Welch, WM, will be presenting its annual Open Air Fellowcraft Degree at the John S. McMillin Mausoleum at Roche Harbor on San Juan Island, on Saturday, May 17, 2025. The conferral of the FC Degree by VWB Dino Conti, will proceed BEFORE a Salmon Barbeque at the San Juan Masonic Temple in beautiful downtown Friday Harbor, at the corner of 2nd and Reed Street, across from the courthouse, 5 blocks from the ferry terminal. We will provide bus transportation for those who walk off the 8:40 ferry from Anacortes (scheduled to arrive Friday Harbor at 9:50), to head straight out to the Mausoleum for the Degree Conferral. The new ferry schedule has led us to flip our usual sequence of events into Conferral first, BBQ afterwards.
Our famous Salmon Barbeque will be served in our dining room, upstairs at the Lodge, at about 2:00 p.m. The BBQ is open to visiting brethren and their family members for a suggested donation of $20 per person. Busses will be meeting the brethren at the ferry at 9:50 (or later if the ferry is delayed), to ride the several miles out to the Mausoleum (up an obscure private dirt road in the woods) for the Second Degree Conferral, and back to the Lodge in time for the BBQ and then take the 3:30 ferry back to Anacortes. The busses will stop at the Lodge on the way out, in case any early arrivals queue up there. There will be a bus for the ladies, set up to take them on a tour of the island while the conferral is going.
As an outdoor degree, the brethren are welcome to be attired in “business casual” (ties only if you must, preferably no denim) and should be prepared for showers, should the heavens open, as there are no roofs at the site. Being in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains is not a guarantee of dry weather. Note that the Mausoleum was built expressly for conducting the Fellowcraft Degree Conferral, as well as to serve as the McMillin family mausoleum, and is a work of art.
San Juan Island (Friday Harbor) is accessed from the Anacortes Washington State Ferry Terminal. To get to the terminal, whether you are southbound or northbound on I-5, take the 230 exit off I-5, and head west on State Highway 20 to Anacortes. Follow the signs to Anacortes (don’t turn at the rotary to the highway 20 spur to Oak Harbor or Whidbey Island). When you arrive in Anacortes you are forced into a rotary, from which you should make the first possible right turn, heading north into downtown on Commercial Ave. Turn left at the stoplight at 12th St. There is decent signage along the way, guiding you to the Ferry terminal. Assuming you are walking onto the ferry, do not go through the ferry toll booths, but hold left past the toll booths, and look for parking. If all the parking appears taken, there is a large lot up the hill, out of view. The day parking and walk-on fee is much cheaper than driving onto the ferry, and these days driving onto the ferry on a Saturday morning requires a reservation or a very, very early arrival at the toll booth AND good luck. The last ferry to get you to Friday Harbor for this event leaves Anacortes at 8:40 am, and the return from Friday Harbor after the event is the 3:30 pm sailing that is scheduled to arrive at Anacortes at 5:00. If parking and walking on, we recommend you arrive by 9:10 a.m. to look for parking, walk to the terminal and purchase tickets, but if you have a reservation to drive on to the ferry, you should arrive no later than 9:00 am. If you wish to drive onto the ferry, reservations are arranged at wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/reservations, the Washington State Ferries app on your phone or tablet, or by calling 1-888-808-7977. More reservations become available at 7:00 am sharp on May 15.
For further info: jdwickham@rockisland.com or call or text John Wickham, Secretary, at 360-317-6904.
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