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The oldest organization still in existence in Prince Edward County celebrated its 200th anniversary Saturday with a reception and banquet at the Prince Edward Community Centre.
“Freemasonry and our lodges have always been common ground for men to meet for the betterment of themselves, to advance the craft and for the betterment of a society as a whole,” said Dale Porter, Worshipful Master of Prince Edward Lodge #18. “There have been many challenges during the past 200 years and no doubt, there will be in the future… It is the desire of Freemasonry that every member live respected and die regretted, and that the genuine tenants of our time-honoured institution will be transmitted through our members, pure and unimpaired, from generation to generation.”
Porter grew up in Picton. His father and grandfather both became masons in the former lodge, then located above the Mary Street School. The current Masonic Hall is located on the Loyalist Parkway, just outside of Picton.
“What Freemasonry teaches us is not just words, but a way to live our lives honourably. If it were not for this commitment from the charter members in 1811 right through to the members of 2011, a volunteer organization like ours could never continue to flourish and prosper in the way that Freemasonry has, not only in Picton, but across the face of the earth.”
The reception was attended by numerous Grand Lodge officers from across the province as well as worshipful masters from the Prince Edward District and area. Dale Miller, Director of Ceremonies, introduced the head table and special guests. Bernie Gaw was the evening’s master of ceremonies.
The nearly 200 guests in attendance  welcomed Raymond Daniels, the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Canada in the Province of Ontario.

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.

A warning worth repeating. With increased interest in Freemasonry comes unwanted side effects. And open houses can often invite folks with less than honorable intentions.

This from Terre Haute, Indiana tonight: "Students commit crime for historic lesson".

A spokeswoman for the office of the Queen’s new representative in Canada has bad news for amateur code breakers puzzling over David Johnston's coat of arms.

Don't bother trying to find a hidden message in the string of zeros and ones that adorn the Governor-General's heraldic design. There is none.

After the popularity of author Dan Brown's books, such as "Angels and Demons," "The DaVinci Code," and "The Lost Symbol," the Freemasons have become an alluring, yet, for some, a mysterious organization. This Saturday, the Madison Freemasons invite the public to an open house located at Madison Lodge No. 93 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Posted by Jack Abell on Aug 31, 10 10:18 AM in Good Causes
BEACONSFIELD Freemasons have won the royal seal of approval for encouraging youngsters to do community work in the area.
The Duke of Kent paid tribute to 28 groups at the Masonic Centre in Windsor End, Beaconsfield, who had encouraged teenagers to care for others in the ihelp project.
The scheme provides around £14,000 in prize money for youths who give up their time to help others.
The Duke, who is the head of Freemasonry in England Wales, met Buckinghamshire Freemasons during a private visit to Stoke Place, Stoke Poges, where he was briefed on how initiatives are giving the order a higher profile in the community.
He said: "I have been very impressed by all that you do. It is important to channel the energies of young people into helping others.
"And it is vital to explain freemasonry's ideals of friendship, decency and charity to a wider community.
"The ihelp project is clearly achieving all those objectives. I congratulate you all."
He also praised a group of Masonic cyclists who raise more than £50,000 for good causes in a marathon trek from Gibraltar to Bucks.

CORKONIANS WILL get a chance to step back in time next weekend when some of the city’s most historic buildings are opened to the public in a series of guided tours and talks as part of Cork Heritage Open Day on Saturday August 28th.

Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr Michael O’Connell said the Heritage Open Day provided a unique opportunity for Corkonians to visit some of the city’s most noted buildings, buildings which are rarely open to the public, as well as exploring other fascinating aspects of the city’s past.

“For the first time ever, we’re opening up the Lord Mayor’s office here in City Hall and I will be telling the story of Tomás MacCurtain and Terence MacSwiney and the fact that the portraits we have of both men were donated by another former lord mayor, Gerald Goldberg.

“We have many of the oldest buildings in the city being opened to the public, but we also have some of the newest like the extension here to City Hall, the Elysian Tower and the penthouse suite on the Clarion Hotel so there’s a great mix of old and new.”

Among the historic buildings open to the public on Saturday next are the Masonic Hall on Tuckey Street, which has been the home of Freemasonry in Cork since 1844 and the Unitarian Church on Princes Street, the oldest documented surviving building in the city.

Local historian Liam Ó hUigín will give a guided tour of the old walls of the city, while there will also be tours of Cork City Hall and the Washington Street courthouse. Another local historian Ronnie Herlihy will give a guided tour of St Joseph’s Cemetery in Ballyphehane where temperance campaigner Fr Matthew is buried.

Among the other events planned is a screening of a film by pioneering British filmmakers Mitchell and Kenyon, who visited Cork in the early 1900s, which is being shown in the Civic Trust House on Pope’s Quay.