First blog post. Thanks to you Gentlemen for agreeing to be a part of this Manhood Ceremony for Jacob Harper. Please see the Participants page for the current list of men.

Planning: the date has been tentatively chosen for August 6th. Jacob wants to spend the summer with his friends, and I fully support this for a variety of reasons. If the date shifts farther out, we will return to the area to hold the ceremony.

Overall vision: my vision is to have the ceremony followed by a bonfire and a meal. I haven’t yet worked out enough details to know if this is all feasible. Please email me with your comments and ideas until I get a discussion area working on this website.

I want for the ceremony to be at Deer Grove Park, with you men placed around a portion of the walking path. Jacob will start out at the beginning and walk to the first man, and then they two will walk and talk together to the next man on the path. I would like to have 15 - 20 minutes of walk & talk, but realize that time will be the limiting factor if all are able to participate. After each man has his turn, they will walk back to a central point. The last man (which may be me) and Jacob will walk together to the central point. I am trying to work out how the conversations can be recorded for Jacob’s future listening and reflection, as I believe that the discussions that will be conducted will be full of wisdom and guidance that will serve him for the rest of his life.

There is a camping area, Camp Alphonse, which has a pavilion and a fire ring. My initial thought is to have the knighting ceremony there with a bonfire. I have to think this through so it is not firm as yet.

I would also like to wind up the event with a shared meal. I haven’t figured out where and how as of yet.