Frank Carlucci I, "Sublime Prince"

[Rigorous Intuition]

Interesting profile <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0506/S00418.htm" target="top">here</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--> of Frank Carlucci's grandfather. The boy came by it naturally.<br><br>Frank Carlucci I, "Sublime Prince"<br><br>By Suzan Mazur<br><br><br>The life of Frank Carlucci I has largely escaped public scrutiny, possibly because he's grandfather to one of the knights of the political chessboard -- Carlyle Group’s Frank Carlucci III -- who is not known for being flashy. But Carlucci I was an ebullient man and left a legacy as a master builder that merits attention, some of his projects including the Ellis Island Landing Station in New York Harbor, the Grand Stairway at Arlington National Cemetery and Washington D.C.’s Willard Hotel. Moreover, his life provides further insight into the political motivations of his grandson. [Click here: Scoop: Suzan Mazur: Unspooking Frank Carlucci] <br><br>His talent for secrecy in the Masonic brotherhood, for example, for which he was rewarded with the highest honor: “sublime prince of the royal secret” was no doubt coded somewhere in the Y chromosome passed along to Frank Carlucci III, who has so far served as deputy director of the CIA, secretary of defense and national security adviser, among other trusted appointments. <br><br>Carlucci I’s power base was his craft. As a third-generation Italian stone cutter, he was confident of his work. He was also a strikingly handsome man, sporting a handlebar moustache in an 1897 photo in the Portrait and Biographical Record of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania.<br><br>But to get a sense of what other forces shaped Carlucci I, you have to think your way back to another mythical age when medieval secret societies and ethnic fraternal organizations played a protective role in America’s emerging communities - as they did in the late 1800s in mineral-rich Scranton, Pennsylvania, where the Carlucci family settled after emigrating from Italy. Carlucci I belonged to them all - Masons, Knights Templar, Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, Mystic Shrine and Irem Temple Shrine. <br><br>....<br><br>But Carlucci was a stone mason. Think Da Vinci Code for a moment. At the heart of Masonry and its occult rituals and symbols (a couple of which are stamped on US currency) is the building of the Temple of Solomon and fate of its master builder. Through the centuries this association with mysticism has put the Masons at odds with the Catholic Church, which has long rejected occult secret societies. <br><br>Carlucci obviously valued the traditions of his craft and professional associations, and the knowledge of the keystone in building an archway was part of the Mason success story. So, Carlucci opted for membership in St. Luke’s Episcopal church in Scranton. He also organized several Republican political clubs and served on various local councils. <br><br>....<br><br>Frank first worked in Scranton with a German building contractor named Conrad Schroeder, leaving the firm in 1884 to form a cut stone partnership with Nick - Frank Carlucci & Brother, then F&N Carlucci. In 1900, F&N Carlucci merged with Schroeder, reorganizing as The Carlucci Stone Company. <br><br>The Carluccis advertised as wholesale dealers and general contractors in cut stone and cut stone buildings. They dealt in limestone, bluestone, pink granolithic sandstone and crushed stone. This was before the widespread use of cinder blocks in building. Schroeder remained president of the company until his death two years later from an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound.<br><br>....<br><br>In celebration of the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s discovery of America, Carlucci proposed erecting a Columbus monument in Scranton’s Courthouse Square. Italian sculptor Albini Cottini drew the model for Columbus and Carlucci carved it from a 9½ foot block of solid limestone. The statue still stands on the square where Carlucci spoke at the October 11, 1892 unveiling. <br><br>In an encore in 1893, Carlucci carved a statue of George Washington for the square. According to Mary Ann Moran, director of the Lackawanna Historical Society who has been studying the Carlucci monuments, the night of the Washington statue dedication a theater benefit was held entitled “The Voodoo or the Lucky Charm”, which seems to say something about the life of Carlucci .<br><br><!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>more...</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--><br><br><!--EZCODE IMAGE START--><img src="http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/images/0506/ed1a3a8921517ee553e3.jpeg" style="border:0;"/><!--EZCODE IMAGE END--> <p></p><i></i>