HISTORY OF THE MEMORIAL PLAQUE

Written by Noble Arnie Krenz - February 2018

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I am always amazed how the history of our Shrine Club disappears and that is why I'm writing this historical account of this plaque

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It was one rainy Sunday afternoon in the fall of 2004 when Noble Chris McLean and I were trying to finish off a pot of coffee that the subject of our Memorial Plaque came up. Our original plaque had been the brain child of Noble Karl Von Brevern. How or who he got to make the original plaque is unknown. Chris and I were concerned that the plaque was going to fill up with the names of the deceased Nobles. So what to do?

 

Chris said he had been acquiring different local examples of wood from the Cowichan Valley and this wood was stored at his brother-in-laws in the Glenora area. Later I took upon myself to have a look and with his brother-in-law we cut 14 different woods into roughly 1 1/2" x 2 1/2" x 30" strips. I took them home and cleaned them up, sanding and roughly dressing them. Our idea was to glue them together featuring  these 14 different woods. Good idea but to get to that point was beyond my capabilities with the tools that I possesed. 

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I knew that my son-in-law Peter Cross had the expertise, know-how and tools to complete such a task. So, over many months, he dried, sized, planed and sanded these wood strips into a workable object. As I recall, the wood had to be perfectly dry and at the right moisture content before he could start gluing. To this end he bought and converted a copper tank capable of injection steam to get the desired effect. As these 14 different wood samples all required different lengths of of time and moisture, it was a long and dedicated process. 

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Having completed the process we found we had two pieces of wood from each species of tree. Decission time, what to do? Two long skinny boards or just repeat the process which would make a more presentable rectangular board. On hind sight it was not a big decission. Peter then dowelled, glued and clamped the pieces of wood together which made a total of 28 pieces. So then we had this rough, uneven plaque so we sent it to a commercial sanding establishment that used belt sanders to finsh the project. 

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It was after this that we gave it to Noble Stan Grenda who routered the edges and applied an ey-catching finished product that we have today. 

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The plaque was hung alongside the original in the entrance hall of the Cowichan District Hospital. Since it has been installed, Noble Art Bossons and I have been responsible for acquiring and mounting the name plates of the Nobles visited by the Black Camel on the plaque. 

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Noble Arnie Krenz

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Secretary's Note: we wish to thank the Nobles Arnie Krenz, Chris McLean, Art Bossons and Stan Grenda.

Also thanks to Peter Cross for all the work he did. 

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