Canadian Mason
Renfrew’s Masons celebrate 150 years
Wed, 12/30/2009 - 12:21Source: www.yourottawaregion.com
First local master was Abel Dowswell
Celebrating 150 years. Ontario Masons District Chaplain Gordon Roberts provides an inspiring address during the September 2001 dedication of the Renfrew lodge’s new mosaic pavement. Renfrew Weekender
Freemasonry is one of the oldest and largest fraternities in the world, but members of the Renfrew Lodge 122 get to enjoy their own distinctly historical landmark this weekend.
Many of the 64 members, plus visitors and guests, will celebrate their 150th anniversary and such guiding activities as the spirit of helpfulness, brotherly love and strict moral principles that encourage goodwill toward all mankind.
For decades, Freemasonry has been dubbed a secret society, but local members find that ridiculous, if not irritating. The fact it’s closed to women is simply because it’s a fraternity, says executive member Graham Jamieson of the fraternity thought to be about 3,000 years old.
“I’ve met some great people, they’ve made me a better man – just the beliefs, the morals,” says Jamieson.
“At one time, when I first joined the lodge (in 1990 as a 29-year-old) I wouldn’t get up and speak. Now I’m still not comfortable, but I’ve gained that confidence to do it a little bit more.”
An electrician by trade, Jamieson is part of the wide-ranging backgrounds of Masonic lodge members. A case in point is the position of Worshipful (as in praiseworthy) Master, the head of each year’s executive.
The very first local master 150 years ago was Abel Dowswell, a justice of the peace in Arnprior and Burnstown. Subsequent worshipful masters included Renfrew hotel keeper John Munro Sr. in 1861, clergyman Robert Campbell in 1877, telegraph operator William Usher in 1911, Northcote farmer John Campbell Simpson in 1927 and accountant Harry Hinchley. Elected worshipful master in 1941, he was later widely regarded as the town historian, thus the nickname of Harry ‘The Historian’ Hinchley.
Current Worshipful Master John Baird first joined Freemasonry as a member of the Sioux Lookout in 1999, after being aware of the brotherhood for years.
“What drew me was my grandfather, who was involved with the Masonic lodges in Scotland,” recalls Baird. “We had a portrait photograph of him in his regalia in our house when we were growing up in Newfoundland.”
While in Sioux Lookout, he talked to local masons before joining.
“What attracted me to it was it was totally different from what I was doing day to day,” says Baird, who works in municipal government administration.
“It was a way to get to know people in the area and interact with people I wouldn’t normally interact with on a normal business basis. And just to become a better person and to learn a bit about history and why (Freemasonry) was a major organization around the world.”
Interestingly, it’s against Masonic Lodge rules to actually solicit members, just as it’s not permitted to actively fundraise (from community members) for projects they support locally or abroad.
All projects are funded from the very pockets of lodge members, stresses long-time Renfrew Masonic Lodge member Gord Cross.
Projects include, or have included, the Masonic Child Identification Program, physician recruitment and equipment donations for Renfrew Victoria Hospital, blood donor clinics, and scientific research and development for prostate cancer, hearing loss and autism.
Through membership with Masonic lodge branches in Alberta and Ontario, and through his wide-ranging travels, Renfrew member Jack Ledger says his life has been tremendously enriched.
“I joined masonry 41 years ago and it’s a fraternal organization I’ve absolutely loved all those years,” says Ledger.
“They’re like-minded men with a high standard of morals and they’re lots of fun,” says Ledger, the local District Deputy Grand Master.
When he decided to move back from Alberta to his hometown Renfrew about eight years ago, despite knowing many friends had moved. But he says the lodge became a place of comfort where he found a “new myriad of friends … Visiting lodges and making new friends, and the camaraderie of the organization is absolutely great.”
However, he says not just Renfrew Lodge 122 plays an important role in community support and development. Other service organizations fill the same role, says Ledger, noting they all could use more young and middle-aged members.
A few decades ago, the Renfrew lodge featured about 200 members. Members, now ranging in age from 30s to 90s, number 64.
Declining numbers in the Masons and other service clubs is due, says Ledger, to society’s increasingly “cocooning” ways, and the changing dynamics of parenthood, as fathers take a more active role with their children.
Still, Ledger says Freemasonry membership isn’t overly demanding, with one lodge meeting and one committee meeting per month.
BELIEF IN SUPREME BEING
Members of the lodge all, before becoming members, must express their belief in the existence of a supreme being, whether it’s God or another supreme entity.
“Because we’re a Christian society, the bible is open on our altar,” says Ledger. “But if I was a Muslim, I could ask for the Quran to be open on the altar when I take my obligations to maintain the secrets of the various degrees.”
The secrets have led to the Freemasonry being labeled as a secret society, but the secrets, say members, are restricted to such items as secret modes of recognition, namely signs, handshakes or words for use in the lodge room during meetings.
As Jamieson puts it: “We’d like to get rid of the idea we’re a secret society. Ford doesn’t tell General Motors what they’re doing in their meetings. And you can walk into the Legion (as you can the Masonic lodge), but you can’t walk into their meetings unless you’re a member.”
The secret passwords and life lessons (to benefit mankind) are among the material members must memorize. Other memory work is of Freemasonry history.
“If you like history, there is a lot of history here,” says Jamieson.
Morality is at the foundation of Freemasonry.
“The only thing about good men is we like to make them better,” says Cross, who says masons don’t take a chance with men with criminal records.
“If you have a criminal record don’t apply,” he explains. “It’s not written, but (it’s written) in moral stone.”
Asked why, he surmises: “I have a feeling Masonry doesn’t want to take a chance to have anyone bring disrepute to the name of Freemasonry.
“Freemasonry is not an exclusive club. It will include any man, any good man who wants to improve himself. But the important thing is you have to want to improve yourself.”
The 150th-anniversary celebrations of Renfrew Lodge 122 take place Saturday evening in the old opera house building, next to O’Brien Theatre.
There are about 50,000 Freemasons among Ontario’s 44 districts, and six million members worldwide.
FREEMASONS: Winchester Resident elected to the 33rd Degree
Wed, 12/30/2009 - 12:17Source: www.wickedlocal.com
WINCHESTER, MA - Kamel Oussayef, a Winchester Resident was recently awarded the prestigious 33rd Degree of Freemasonry and was presented the medal of his attained rank. The brief ceremony took place last Saturday at the Masonic Grand Lodge in Boston.
In August 2009, more than 2,000 33rd Degree Freemasons and their Ladies gathered in Boston at the Sheraton hotel Hynes Convention Center for the annual meeting of the Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite for the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction. The Supreme Council is the governing entity for more than 210,000 Freemasons in the 15 northeast and Midwest states of the Unites States of America.
Among those in attendance were Grand Masters from American Grand Lodges and Representatives of 29 Masonic Jurisdictions around the World.
The highlight of the meeting was the conferring of the prestigious 33rd Degree upon 110 members who were selected for outstanding service to Scottish Rite freemasonry and for significant contributions to their respective communities that reflects credit upon the Masonic fraternity.
Their election, to receive what the Masons refer to as the 33rd and last degree of Freemasonry, took place a year earlier in Providence, R.I, during annual meeting of the Supreme Council, which meets every year in a different State.
Oussayef, a resident of Winchester, was among the recipients of the distinguish award. Oussayef, a past master of William Parkman Lodge of Winchester was born in Algeria and schooled in France near Paris. He has resided in Winchester for more than 20 years with his wife Mary Park Lenox and two children.
Oussayef holds a Master Degree from both the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and the School of Public Communications at Boston University. He works as an Insurance Broker for the Prudential and has an office in downtown Winchester.
Oussayef has been a Freemason for more than 33 years. He is a member of the Shriners, the Scottish Rite and the International Relations Committee of the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts. Since 2003, Oussayef has also worked as a research volunteer on precious, and sometimes unique historic French Masonic manuscripts preserved at the National Heritage Museum in Lexington.
Editor’s Note Richard Maggio lives on Spruce Street in Winchester. For more information about the Free Masons contact Maggio atrichardmaggio@comcast.net.
Summit Lodge celebrates the season
Wed, 12/30/2009 - 12:15Source: the-news-leader.com
Summit Lodge #213 Free and Accepted Masons recently hosted its fifth Annual "Breakfast with Santa" Christmas celebration Dec. 5.
More than 125 guests were in attendance at the Summit Masonic facility on Shepard Road to enjoy a pancake and sausage breakfast prepared by Russ Sypen, of Twinsburg, and his band of brothers and helpers.
All the children had an opportunity to visit with Santa and have their photograph taken with him. The Rainbow Girls of Brecksville served as elves -- whose sleigh bells could be heard for miles.
Charles Saxton of Macedonia, the current Master of Summit Lodge, was Santa's helper.
The photography team was Larry Landals of Twinsburg Township and Ruth and Dennis Bradley of Twinsburg. Craft tables, headed by Nina Landals, were available and all the children had a chance to make a Christmas-themed craft to take home with them.
Other Santa's helpers included Lee Pilous of Twinsburg and Charlie Steach of Northfield.
Freemasonry is the oldest, largest and most widely recognized fraternal organization in the world. Today, there are more than 2 million Freemasons in North America alone.
Charity is an important tenet of the Masonic fraternity. The 110,000 Freemasons in Ohio provide approximately $15 million in annual charitable giving. This year, Ohio Masons gave $50,000 in college scholarships, contributed $200,000 to Special Olympics Ohio Summer Games, and funded $70,000 in training for school teachers to recognize at-risk students. They also provided $12 million in elderly care and helped many needy Ohio families and individuals through their charitable foundation.
General information is available at www.freemason.com. For local information, contact Sypen at 330-425-2401, or see www.summit213.org.
Big Changes at the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania
Tue, 12/29/2009 - 09:32Source: Freemasons For Dummies
Pennsylvania has always had one of the largest memberships in the U.S., for more than 250 years. But their ritual and rules are very different from any other masonic jurisdiction. If you ever have the opportunity to visit a Pennsylvania Master Mason degree, go out of your way and take the extra effort to do so.
Freemasonry in the Keystone State has always been strict as far as their practices go. No written rituals—all work is mouth to ear, and the W?M? does almost all of the speaking in all three degrees. Pennsylvania has never succumbed to one day classes, or even limited solicitation.
Well, much of that is changing this year. R?W?B? Thomas K. Sturgeon, Grand Master for 2010/2011 has announced an ambitious slate of changes for the upcoming year, under the aegis "21st Century Renaissance."
- Selective invitations allowed
- Three black balls now required to reject a candidate, instead of one
- One day class in 13 locations next October 30th
- District ritual teams may confer degrees on multiple candidates
- Any 60+ year old Mason who successfully recommends two new members under 30 are granted lifetime dues remission
- Dues may now be paid via credit or debit card (any GL that doesn't allow this is out of its fiduciary mind)
- A proficiency pin program certified by schools of instruction (Indiana was one of the first to do this)
- Shortened versions of opening and closings for meetings are now allowed
- Suspensions and expulsions to be largely handled at the local lodge level, and not by the Grand Master, with new clarifications about providing proper due process (Hooray!)
- Relaxation of the traditional formal dress code in meetings
- Per capita increase of 50¢ to support youth groups
- Greater expansion of community and charity service, including an individual commitment by every single Pennsylvania Freemason to perform a weekly random act of kindness (a simple, but beautiful and proper lesson in the real meaning of masonic charity)
- Simplified secretary/treasurer software to help each lodge with its annual audit (every GL should be doing this)
- A Masonic "congress" meeting in February for all Masonic groups, to seek ways to work together statewide
- A written ritual will now be made available for study for the first time in Pennsylvania history
There is much more, and the entire program can be read here. This is the most formidable outline of reforms and changes I have ever seen a grand master propose all at one toss. I am sure there will be grumbling across Pennsylvania, but Grand Master Sturgeon and his fellow officers have obviously been thinking long and hard about ways to face the challenges all jurisdictions are confronting.
The "Laudable Pursuit" generation of grand lodges officers are moving into the top positions all over the country, and are at last making the changes needed to adapt to the new century. In case you think Freemasonry never changes, we are living through a momentous time in the fraternity, with greater experimentation going on than at any other moment in history. Power is being devolved to the lodges, and grand lodges are removing barriers to new methods of holding meetings, teaching, learning and operating.
We live in exciting times. I'll be curious to see the reaction of Pennsylvania brethren.
Thanks to Brother Lee Martin for the heads up.
Viking Lodge installs new officers
Thu, 12/17/2009 - 18:14Source: Interlakespectator.com
Posted By Roger Newman
Updated 2 days ago
Thor Stevens (center, front row) was installed last Thursday as master of the Gimli Viking Lodge. He is flanked by fellow masons including David Lodge (front row, far right), the grand master of Manitoba s 47 lodges.
The Viking Lodge No. 175 celebrated 45 years of freemasonry in Gimli with a public installation of new officers last Thursday night at the Shorepointe clubhouse.
Thor Stevens was selected as Worshipful Master, the top officer who will govern the lodge for the coming year. This was the second time around for Stevens. He also served in 1999 as master of Viking Lodge which was established in 1964 with a nucleus of commercial fishermen and Gimli airmen as its first members.
The Gimli masons formed a group a few centuries after the freemasonry fraternal organization was started by the guilds of stone masons who constructed Europe's historic buildings in the Middle Ages. It is an organization of men helping men, based on a belief in a supreme being but no specific religion.
While membership is exclusively male, affiliated masonic organizations, such as the Eastern Star and Jobs daughters, are open to women and young women. Shriners are also part of the masonic fraternity, with the result that 44 per cent of masons belong to both organizations.
David Love, grand master of Manitoba's 47 masonic lodges, was guest speaker at the Shorepointe installation attended by an audience of family and friends.
"Masons belong to an organization where older men teach younger men to be better people," said Love who belongs to Winnipeg's Dormer Lodge. "We support each other when there are difficulties in our lives."
He also said masons often help with needs in the community. As an example, he said Manitoba masons since 1983 have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars towards the purchase of vehicles by the Canadian Cancer Society.
"We have also given countless hours to driving cancer patients to and from their appointments," he said.
Stevens, meanwhile, succeeds Richard Mushrow as master of Viking Lodge. Other newly-elected officers are Ted Zaik, Don Carganillo, Gil Strachan, Baldur Nelson and Alain Dumak. Appointed positions will be filled by Von Mark Dator, Allan Villanueva, Michael Senden, Norman Gudbjartson, Tim Vermaak, Jan Lumasac and Elvin Garcia.
Gil Strachan conducted the installation while Ron Meisner gave a talk on what it means to be a mason.
Freemasonry the Reality, a review.
Wed, 12/16/2009 - 08:05 Source: Freemasoninformation.com Tobias Churton is a prolific Masonic author and one I’ve come to hold in high esteem. For many, he may not be a regular household name as his work (and residence) come from abroad in the U.K. and in an dense American marketplace of books, his work is less well known here. Nevertheless, its importance is megalithic which is very much evident in his re-released bookFreemasonry – The Reality.Churton is not just a Freemason writing on the fraternity, he also happens to be a scholar and professor at Exeter university, Lecturer in Freemasonry and Rosicrucian’s at the Center for the Study of Western Esotericism. Churton’s published works span the breadth of western mystery traditions encompassing the early Gnostics, Rosicrucian’s, and Freemasons, which pull together many of the offshoots and ideas that went into the composition of the groups today. Churton’s work however is less about dazzling aggrandizement of a mysterious past, focusing instead on the known and with a meticulous hand, reconstructing the holes of the fraternities formation.
In Freemasonry – The Reality, Churton leaves no stone unturned and with his meticulous hand reconstructs the modern day mystery tradition from its most extreme foundational stones buried in the footnotes of history, following each loose thread back into the whole garment of the present day craft. But in this work he also refuses to hold back any punches in his analysis that our present manifestation of the craft is every bit a result of our manufactured past, from the clever arrangement of James Anderson and the constitutions of 1720 and the marrying of the “Speculative” with the “Operative” tracing back the foundation of Masonries earliest of ideas to the early Renaissance work of author Pico Mirandola and the Oration on the Dignity of Man.
One aspect that stood out to me in crisp detail was the way in which Churton pulls together in several seemingly unrelated bits of history and finds their common connection that brings them into a coherent theme. From early meeting notes, names on a register, royal archives on the guilds, and diary mentions, each of these bread crumbs become the framework by which he assembles the whole work. By digging deep into symbols that at one time held great significance, and in his work he re-illuminates them so as to demystify and put them back into a proper perspective. Case in point, the pentagram, reminding the reader of the earlier Masonic appellation (under Robert Moray) to represent AGAPA (or the Greek word agapein), or love, a geometric perfection.
In the end, the work is extensive and covers thoroughly the origins of Freemasonry and delves specifically (as the name implies) into the reality of the its formation and pre-history. It is not an easy read, or to be taken casually. Rather Churton’s work is something to be savored and consumed slowly and with great thought, because every page is a sequential feast of Masonic history waiting to be consumed.
Freemasonry – The Reality is published by Lewis Masonic and is available on Amazon.
Burns Night Celebration at Medicine Hat - 23 Jan 2010
Tue, 12/15/2009 - 06:00
Source: GrandLodge of Alberta by webmaster@freemasons.ab.ca (Hugh Young)
The Freemasons of Medicine Hat Burns Club (Member 2064 of the Robert Burns World Federation) is pleased to present the 4th Annual Burns Night Celebration of the Bard.
It will be held at The Cypress Centre, Medicine Hat on Saturday 23rd January 2010 with cocktails at 6:00pm and dinner at 7:00pm for a cost of $50.00 per person.
Full details and contact information can be found HERE.
Now THAT'S a Masonic Building!
Thu, 12/03/2009 - 08:48Source: Freemasons for Dummies
Masonic building ("Casa do Maçom") spotted on Google Earth in Nova America, Brazil at coordinates 20 34 45.51 S, 48 34 34.14 W.
Click the photo to enlarge.
(Forwarded by way of Mark Tabbert from Alan Jones)
The "House of Mason John Baroni" offers lodging to Masons and their families from all over Brazil who undergo treatment at the local Cancer Hospital. It is in Barretos, a suburb of Sao Paulo.
From the street in a photo by Rodolfo Lomas.
I'd like to speak to that architect. Broad Ripple Lodge needs a makeover.
The Royal Society puts historic papers online
Mon, 11/30/2009 - 19:27Source: BBC News
One of the world's oldest scientific institutions is marking the start of its 350th year by putting 60 of its most memorable research papers online.
The Royal Society, founded in London in 1660, is making public manuscripts by figures like Sir Isaac Newton.
Benjamin Franklin's account of his risky kite-flying experiment is also available on the Trailblazing website.
Society president Lord Rees said the papers documented some of the most "thrilling moments" in science history.
The Royal Society grew out of the so-called "Invisible College" of thinkers who began meeting in the mid-1640s to discuss science and philosophy.
Its official foundation date is 28 November 1660 and thereafter it met weekly to debate and witness experiments.
Mozart study
The papers published on the Trailblazing website were first printed in the society's journal, Philosophical Transactions.
They were chosen from 60,000 printed since the journal's foundation in 1665 - a date which makes it the oldest continuously published scientific periodical in the world.
Among the highlights are a gruesome account of a 17th Century blood transfusion and the article in which Sir Isaac showed that white light is a mixture of other colours.
The scientific papers represent a ceaseless quest by scientists over the centuriesLord Rees
President of the Royal Society http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/arrow.gif); background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; line-height: 1.3em; background-position: 8px 8px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; margin: 0px;" class="arr">Audio slideshow: 350 years of discovery
Also included is Mr Franklin's account of his ill-advised attempt in 1752 to show that lightning was a form of electricity by flying a kite in a storm, and a 1970 paper on black holes co-written by Professor Stephen Hawking.
There is also an entertaining paper about a study of the nine-year-old Mozart in London in 1770 to determine whether he really was a child prodigy.
Suggestions he was in fact a midget adult were dismissed by writer Daines Barrington on the grounds that young Wolfgang was more enthusiastic about playing with his cat than practising his harpsichord.
'Thrilling moments'
Lord Rees said: "The scientific papers on Trailblazing represent a ceaseless quest by scientists over the centuries, many of them Fellows of the Royal Society, to test and build on our knowledge of humankind and the universe.
"Individually, they represent those thrilling moments when science allows us to understand better and to see further."
The Royal Society is holding a series of events during its 350th year to mark the anniversary.
They include a nine-day science and arts festival next summer and a series of public lectures and debates at its London headquarters.
McClenachan's 'Book of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite' Reprinted
Sun, 11/29/2009 - 07:20Source: Freemasons for Dummies
Michael Poll's Cornerstone Book Publishers keeps finding new ways to part Masons eager for education from their hard-earned cash. His newest item that dangles like a shiny dangly thing this Christmas is especially of interest to Scottish Rite Masons in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction. It is a facsimile reprint of Charles T. McClenachan's Book of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, originally published in 1884 (there was a later revision in 1914). It was the only real monitor published by the AASR-NMJ, which has altered and rearranged its degrees substantially ever since. At the time of its publication, the NMJ had adopted some of Albert Pike's revised rituals from the Southern Jurisdiction, and McClenachan gives Pike credit where it is due. But many of the degrees were very different from the SJ, even then.
The book also contains statutes of the period, along with curiosities like a Scottish Rite baptism ceremony (in case you thought only the SJ was circulating such rituals), a Hebrew calendar, Grand Constitutions of 1786, a Lodge of Sorrow ritual, and much more.
Book of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite
Charles T. McClenachan
616 pages
Cornerstone Book Publishers (November 7, 2009)
ISBN-10: 193493562X
Available from Amazon for $29.95
Historic City Memories: The Northeast Corne
Tue, 11/24/2009 - 15:15
Source: historiccity.com
The Mystery of the Northeast Corner
Part III of a three-part series.
By Geoff Dobson
St. Augustine is not immune from speculation as to secret symbols. Frequently, there are about us alleged hidden secret signs and geoglyphs unable to be seen. Conjecture arises over such symbols.
As an example, many have speculated as to the purpose of the ancient Incan symbols on the Plains of Nazca in Peru which are visible only from airplanes. Some have cited the symbols as proof the Incas invented hot air balloons or aliens visited Peru in flying saucers.
Similar arguments have been made as to the seasonal Crop Circles in the South of England or as to the great Medicine Wheel in the Big Horn Mountains east of Lovell, Wyoming.
The Wheel, at 9,642 feet elevation, contains 28 spokes with a central cairn. At the end of one spoke extending to the south, according to a 1902 description, rested a buffalo skull. The skull faced east to the rising sun. The rising sun itself has been adopted as a mystic symbol appearing among other places on George Washington’s chair at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. The Wheel bears an uncanny resemblance to other mysterious circles in the Orkney Isles north of Scotland.
Others see, in the street patterns of Washington, D.C., the Square and Compass of Freemasonry. In Gainesville in the Murphree Area of the University of Florida campus, there is a giant “UF” not visible from the ground, but capable of being seen only from airplanes flying high above.
Is there such hidden symbolism in St. Augustine? An advantage of small towns such as St. Augustine is that one gets to know all of the “characters.” Years ago, the Readers Digest published a series known as “My Favorite Character.” St. Augustine has a plethora of such individuals.
One such character, a bon vivant, man-about-town, world traveler and an individual who exudes Freemasonry from every pore, believes that there is a hidden symbol within the Plaza which, because of the growth of the trees, is no longer visible from airplanes or to visiting space aliens in their flying saucers. The character is one who has traveled all about the world: to Easter Island in the distant South Pacific, to Ladysmith in the Thukela District of KwaZulu-Natal. In KwaZulu he visited the hill known as Spion Kop.
In a sense, notwithstanding travels about the world and the journey around the Masonic Lodge, our man-about-town has not led a full life. He has never sat in Florida Field and sung “We Are the Boys from Old Florida”. He has visited Liverpool, but has never sat in Liverpool’s Spion Kop where the most boisterous Liverpudlians watch their team play association football in the Premier League. Liverpudlians are more avid in their support of their team than the most enthusiastic Gators are of Florida.
Our man-about-town has not sung at the top of his lungs the traditional song:
Ohhhhhh… I am a Liverpudlian
I come from the Spion Kop
I love to sing, I love to shout
I go there quite a lot (Every Week)
We support the team that’s dressed in Red
A team that you all know
A team that we call Liverpool
And to glory we will go
We’ve won the League, we’ve won the Cup
And we’ve been to Europe too
We played the toffees for a laugh
And we left them feeling blue - Five Nil!
Our man-about-town firmly believes that the Plaza conceals a giant Union Jack. Indeed, the patterns of the sidewalks do form a giant Cross of St. George, Cross of St. Andrew and a Cross of St. Patrick; the three crosses which combine to form the British flag. However, close examination reveals that the crosses are offset one from the other. The resemblance to the British flag is only in one’s imagination.
Nevertheless, near the Plaza is a mysterious object, the Mystery of the Northeast Corner.
In the northeast corner of numerous public buildings such as Courthouses, State Houses, and religious buildings, similar objects have been ceremoniously placed after first being consecrated with the corn (in the British sense), as an emblem of nourishment; wine as an emblem of refreshment and oil as an emblem of joy and happiness.
Since time immemorial, it has been customary to place a cornerstone in the northeast corner of important public buildings and religious structures. Florida Governor Gilchrist placed a cornerstone in additions to the Florida Capitol. All of the historic previous cornerstones for the Florida Capitol bearing Masonic symbols now are placed in the northeast corner of the old Capitol. Other capitols and public buildings have had their cornerstones placed in accordance with Masonic rituals, including the United States Capitol placed by George Washington; Independence Hall in Philadelphia placed by Benjamin Franklin; the Illinois State Capitol; and the Texas State House.
Elsewhere in Florida the ancient ritual continues. This past year schools in Wakulla County and a fire house in Cape Coral have had cornerstones placed by the Grand Master in accordance with the ancient rituals. The ritual of placing a cornerstone is one of only two public rituals performed by Freemasons. The other is a funeral.
The cornerstone (more properly a memorial stone) at Government House does not bear open Masonic symbols — but there it sits in the Northeast Corner. Perhaps a coincidence, but, why the northeast corner? Allegedly the practice of placing the cornerstone in the northeast corner goes back to the ancient operative Masons of the Middle Ages in England. The northeast represents the halfway point between the darkness of the North representing ignorance, and the illumination of rising sun in the east, representing knowledge. It is an important symbol relating to the Entered Apprentice Degree of modern Freemasonry.
The beginnings of organized Freemasonry are shrouded in mystery. In theory, it is claimed that it goes back to the construction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. Others claim it dates back to Roman Britain and Curausus in 286 A.D. and that it was reestablished in York by King Athelstane in 926 A.D.
The writer has looked in vain for recent examples of cornerstones in the northeast corner of public buildings in St. Augustine. None were found on any of the numerous buildings making up the seat of county government north of town. Other buildings are similarly lacking. Our man-about town was asked when was the last time the local lodge (named after the dressed block which constitutes a cornerstone) participated in the setting of a cornerstone. He could not recall any.
The mystery of the northeast corner is the fading away of ancient traditions. The Shriners with small cars in parades, many fraternal orders and the setting of cornerstones are all disappearing.
Even the rituals of funerals are giving way. Indeed, one may now sign electronically, via the wonders of the internet, one’s condolences on the death of an acquaintance, without the necessity of visiting the church or funeral home. For those who are more respectful and believe they should go in person, the New York Times reports that Chicago’s Gatling Funeral Home provides a drive-through service with cameras and a sound system that lets on-the-go visitors pay their respects, sign the funeral register, and view the remains of the loved one round the clock without ever leaving the car.
In Pensacola there was a drive-through funeral home at 609 North Alcaniz Street owned by a former county commissioner. The county commissioner was removed from office for taking bribes. He disappeared the day before he was to be sentenced. A month later, his decomposed body was found under the house of an ex-limo driver for the funeral home along with a few beer bottles and an empty pill container. His death was ruled a suicide as a result of drinking antifreeze. See St. Petersburg Times, January 23, 2005.
But, I suppose I will, like others, when our man-about-town passes on, skip the services at Craig’s and instead go on-line and express my condolences at www.staugustine.com/obits.
Geoff Dobson, a St Augustine resident for the past 32 years, is a western and Florida history writer. He is a former president of the St. Augustine Historical Society and a regular contributor of nostalgic memories to Historic City News. Before his parents moved to Florida, his father was a Black Angus cattleman. Geoff has written extensively on Wyoming history (“Wyoming Tales and Trails”). When Geoff was in high school, his family lived in the cattle country of eastern Sarasota County. The family spread, which his parents called “Wild Cat Slough,” was reachable only by a pair of ruts over the sand hills and through a snake and gator infested slough. Now, it is an area of four-lane roads, expensive subdivisions, shopping centers, and office parks. . His undergraduate degree is in history. Geoff received his post-graduate degree from the University of Florida. He may be reached at horse.creek.cowboy@gmail.com
CanadianMason.ca users can now tweet their blogs or stories
Tue, 11/24/2009 - 13:03I am pleased to announce that CanadianMason.ca users with twitter accounts can now update thier twitter when they write a blog or story.
Simply click on your user name in the upper right hand corner to access your profile, select edit and then twitter account. Once your twitter is filled in, every time you write a story or blog entry you will have the option of tweeting it!
Below the "body" box where you write you will find an entry called Post to twitter.com, simply check the Announce this post on Twitter box and when you hit save it will update.
Happy tweeting.