Want to know a secret? All is told at Mason exhibit

By PATRICK BALES , EDITOR

The St. Lawerence Lodge No. 131 is commemorating its 150th anniversary and to celebrate this momentous occasion a new exhibit is now officially open at the Bruce County Museum and Cultural Centre in Southampton.

"Freemasonry -A History Hidden in Plain Sight" opened Saturday afternoon with more than 200 people from across the province in at tendance to get the first look at the one-of-a-kind exhibit, which features various displays showcasing the history of freemasonry not only in Bruce County, but all around the world. Also included is a model of the actual lodge the local masons meet in.

In fact, Barbara Ribey, curator of the museum told those gathered for the opening ceremony the exhibit is the only one like it currently in Canada. However, it is an exhibit that is designed to travel and there is interest already from other museums in the province to rent it following its inaugural showing in Southampton.

The opening ceremony for the exhibit was held in the OPG feature gallery in the museum's lower level. The exhibit itself, which was prepared with assistance from a $13,600 Ontario Trillium Foundation Grant, is in the Bruce Gallery on the third floor.

"The Freemasons in Bruce County -specifically St. Lawrence Lodge -have an intriguing his-tor y of dedicated community service and fellowsh ip," said Huron Bruce MPP Carol Mitchell in a letter. Mitchell was unable to attend Saturday's grand opening and her remarks were del ivered by Ron Oswald, who is not only a member of the Local Ontario Trillium Foundation Grant Review Team, but also has been a Mason for more than 50 years. "This exhibit offers an exciting opportunity to learn more about the mystery surrounding Freemasonry and the role it has played in our local heritage," Mitchell p>The guest of honour for the opening ceremony was Brother Raymond SJ Daniels, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Canada in the Province of Ontario. Daniels spoke at the ceremony before the ribbon cut-t ing, proclaiming Saturday to be "a great day for freemasonry in Ontario."

The goal of the exhibit is to inform, arouse curiosity and promote the heritage and cultural identity of Freemasonry in Canadian communities, as well as show the public the history, role and admirable qualities of Freemasonry and the role of the Masons in Bruce County in decades past, wrote Shannon Paiva, marketing/special events co-ordinator for the museum in a news release.

The exhibit will show the "role masonry paternalism played in development of the county and this great province," said Garry MacGregor, the media representative for the Masons for this exhibit and emcee for the opening ceremony.

"The exhibit is absolutely spectacular," Daniels raved after he and Ribey cut the ribbon and the mass of people poured through. "It's one of the greatest exhibits I've ever seen and I'm so proud of the work the fellows here have done on it."

The idea for the exhibit was credited to Doug Pedwall, a past master of the St. Lawerence Lodge No. 131 and chairman of the 150th anniversary committee. Being formed in 1860, just two years following Southampton's incorporation as a village, the lodge is the oldest continuous service group in Saugeen Shores.

"If you stop and think, what other organization in Southampton has been active here at the heart of this community for 150 years?" Daniels said.

The original intention, Pedwall said, was to do a "small display" about the lodge itself. Then it morphed into something much larger, encompassing many more elements of masonry and many more groups. There were 15 lodges involved in putting the exhibit together from both the Bruce and North Huron districts.

Pedwall is a bit of a history buff and has done plenty of reading and research on the masons over time, so the information presented in the exhibit was not really surprising to him, however, many pieces of information, such as the philanthropy of the various lodges might be news to several of the museum's visitors.

"All lodges tend to be small in numbers at any given time but they are very long and very active in their communities," he explained. "As

we went through the minute books... we found out that prior to the (public health care), Masonic lodges were contributors to a number of hospitals that patients from their community would go to. For example our lodge gave a yearly donation to the forerunner of Sick Kid's Hospital, which was started by one of our Grand Masters."

Pedwall added most people may not realize how much money Masonic lodges donate to various projects because the groups often do not publicize their philanthropy. For many, that is just part of some of the grand mysteries that still surround Freemasonry. There is hope "Freemasonry -A History Hidden in Plain Sight" will help to dispel some of those myths.

"I've got a secret," Daniels joked with the crowd during his remarks before the ribbon cutting. "And today I'm going to tell you." But then he said he would not tell any secret because of what the people were about to see.

"A picture is worth a thousand words," he added.

After the ribbon cutting, Daniels touched on the misconceptions of the secrets of the Masons.

"We've always been accused of being a secret society, which clearly we are not. You can go in there and see anything you want to see and there will interpreters to answer questions you want to ask," he said. "So what I've been describing in the last 50 years as Grand Master, we've endured a cultural revolution in opening ourselves up to the public. We have nothing to hide; we have everything to be proud of."

The exhibit will be on display between April 30 and July 3. For more information, contact the museum locally at 519-797-2080 or toll free at 1-866-318-8889.