Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

Bus Bar with Masonic Poem, "Work"
1981
Scott Cline, engraver
USA: California (Monterey Park)
Aluminum
Overall: 3"h x 12"w x 1/4"d
Gift of Scott Cline
2018.011

Aluminum bus bar with inscribed Masonic poem, "Work." Rectangular, solid aluminum bar has four oval-shaped holes drilled through it (two at each corner). Long sides of bar have shiny rounded edges; short sides' edges are flat. Metal is shiny underneath the poem inscription on one side, with the surrounding area engraved with tiny scratches. Poem on front reads, "WORK! / I am the foundation of all business. I am the fount of all prosperity. I am the / parent of genius. I have laid the foundation of every fortune in America, from the Rockefeller's [sic] down. I must be loved before I can bestow my greatest blessings / and achieve my greatest ends. Loved, I make life sweet and purposeful / and fruitful. I can do more to advance a youth than his own parents, be they / ever so rich. Fools hate me, wise men love me. I am represented in every loaf / of bread that comes from the oven, in every train that crosses the continent, / in every newspaper that comes from the press. I am the mother of democracy. All / progress springs from me. Who am I? What am I? I am Work - The American Mason." Reverse side has scratches which appear to cover previously engraved words, and at the bottom is the engraved text, "From Scott May 21st, 1981".