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<DIV><BR>Purchasing the wood this weekend for a 5' replica of the "sacred Cod"
of Massachusetts. Gonna be one of the bigger projects I've ever taken
on. I am a little apprehensive due to the size but it will get done one
step at a time. Preliminary work will be the hard part. The glue up
and band sawing will be something challenging. I have already made a
smaller version, 3' a few years ago so that makes it easier.<BR><BR>History of
the Sacred Cod<BR>A representation of a cod has hung in the seat of
Massachusetts government since at least the early 18th century. The first cod
was a gilded wood carving of the fish which hung from the ceiling of what is now
called the Old State House. It hung there until a fire destroyed the building's
interior and part of its exterior brick walls, as well as the Cod, in 1747.When
it was rebuilt, the Sacred Cod was replaced by another wood carving, along with
a golden lion and a silver unicorn, symbols of the British monarchy, being added
to the exterior of the State House.In 1776, the Declaration of Independence was
read from the balcony of the Old State House. Afterwards, the crowd that had
assembled to listen, tore down and burned the lion and the unicorn as an act in
defiance of British rule. The Sacred Cod survived the destruction, but went
missing from the House Chamber during the British occupation of Boston early on
in the American Revolution.<BR>The third Sacred Cod was carved in 1784 after
John Rowe introduced the motion to the House "that leave might be given to hang
up the representation of a Cod Fish in the room where the House sit [sic], as a
memorial of the importance of the Cod-Fishery to the welfare of this
Commonwealth, as had been usual formerly.The new Massachusetts State House,
designed by Charles Bulfinch, was completed on January 11, 1798. When the House
was to move to its new room in the new State House, the House ordered the
"immediate removal of the ancient 'representation of codfish' from present
position in the chamber recently vacated by the House, and to cause it to be
suspended in a suitable place over the Speaker's chair in this chamber. The
Sacred Cod was lowered from the ceiling and then wrapped in an American flag. It
was placed on a bier and was carried by three Massachusetts Representatives,
while being escorted by the Seargent-at-Arms. A procession to the chamber began
and the Cod was carried as such to it's new home. When the procession arrived at
the new chamber, the members of the House rose and applauded the fish. It was
hung in the rear of the House Chamber, over the public gallery, in such a manner
that the Speaker of the House faces the cod when he addresses the House. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Cod-napping<BR>The Harvard Lampoon Castle, home of the Harvard Lampoon
magazine. Students from this publication were involved in the Cod-napping.<BR>On
April 26, 1933, members of the Harvard Lampoon magazine stole the Sacred Cod as
a practical joke in an event that came to be known as "The Cod-napping".
Three members of the Lampoon staff pretending to be tourists, sneaked a pair of
wire cutters into the State House and, when no one was looking, cut the cords
suspending the cod. They hid the cod in a flower box that they had brought for
that purpose and left the State House with it. An anonymous call tipped off
State House officials that the cod was missing. The theft was considered a
major one, with the House of Representatives declaring that it would not
legislate without the cod present. The Harvard Crimson investigated the theft
themselves and determined that the Lampoon was behind it. On April 27, the
Crimson gave the staff of the Lampoon an ultimatum to give the Sacred Cod, by
midnight, to them and allow the Crimson to take credit for returning it or they
would go public with their findings. After not receiving a reply from the
Lampoon, the details of theft were printed in the next morning's edition of the
Crimson.<BR>The Massachusetts State Police were called in to assist with the
search for the cod. They went so far as to dredge the Charles River, in hopes of
recovering the Sacred Cod. The authorities also found out that a
member of the Lampoon staff was onboard a plane heading to Newark, New Jersey.
They searched Logan International Airport and wired the authorities in Newark to
search the plane the student was on when it arrived, but the cod was still not
recovered. The office of the mayor of Boston also received a call saying
to "tell the Mayor that when the Sacred Cod is returned it will be wrapped in
the municipal flag, now flying in front of City Hall" and to "Try and catch us
when we cop the flag ". Two days after the
Sacred Cod was stolen, the Harvard University Police Department received an
anonymous phone call informing him on how to get the Sacred Cod back. This led
to the Harvard University Police following a car without a license plate in West
Roxbury. After 20 minutes, two men, dressed in collared shirts with the collars
turned up and hats pulled down, jumped out of the car and handed the cod to the
police before speeding away. The cod was not wrapped in the municipal flag as
threatened.<BR>On April 28, the Sacred Cod was again hung in the rear of the
House Chamber, over the public gallery, only this time it was hung 6
inches higher to prevent future thefts. No charges have ever been filed
against anyone for the "Cod-napping", and the details on the whereabouts of the
cod, during the 50 hours it was missing, never surfaced.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV align=center>Maura<BR><A
href="http://www.Carvinginnyc.com">www.Carvinginnyc.com</A></DIV>
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