West Virginia GM Boots OES Chapters Out of All Masonic Buildings

by Christopher Hodapp

NOTE: THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED AS OF TUESDAY APRIL 8, 2025 AT 7:50AM:

I've had it confirmed that on March 21st, 2025, David Ray Pyle, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge AF&AM of West Virginia, issued a directive ordering all chapters of the Order of the Eastern Star to vacate all West Virginia Masonic buildings, effective immediately.

WV Grand Master David Ray Pyle

In his directive, he states that the O.E.S. in West Virginia no longer requires Masonic membership as a prerequisite. Consequently, they may no longer be permitted the use of any Masonic hall in that jurisdiction. He further states that the order extends to all Masonic building premisses, not just the lodge room itself.

GM Pyle has given the O.E.S. until July 21st to remove their property and ephemera from all Masonic halls, with a final drop-dead eviction date of September 21st.

GM Pyle's explanation in his directive is not exactly correct. The Masonic membership prerequisite still remains in place for men wishing to join the OES. Only the female relationship to an existing Mason has been dropped from their requirements.

Here's the change announced last November by the OES General Chapter:

WASHINGTON — At the Order of the Eastern Star (OES) 51st General Grand Chapter held in Florida [sic]* in October 2024, a resolution was passed to allow membership to all women who are sponsored by two members of the Order and are eligible for membership. This is a change from the previous requirement that OES members have a Masonic family affiliation or have been a members of a Masonic youth group. OES members nationwide are excited about this change as it will allow more women the opportunity to experience the friendship of Star and to make a difference in the world through its charitable works and kindness to others. 

Information regarding the OES can be found at the websites https://washingtonoes.org or https://easternstar.org

*To be completely factual, their triennial assembly last year was in Myrtle Beach, SC, not Florida. Thanks to Brother C. Winston Douglas for finding this OES announcement. 

To reiterate, the OES has ONLY dropped the familial relationship with an existing Freemason for women. Men joining the OES still are required to become a Master Mason first.

So, GM Pyle does have leeway, even with their regulations in West Virginia. And to cut off the OES, which is seen as being of benefit to hundreds of lodges throughout the U.S. (along with being an occasional goad to non-Mason men whose girlfriends, wives or daughters are OES members to seek Masonic membership), seems unduly harsh and shortsighted. While the OES has waned in popularity over the decades, there are still plenty of Masonic lodges that will struggle, or even close, if their Star chapter isn't there to support them (or share in the cost of running their building). It's pretty tough to see how kicking them to the curb when nothing substantive has changed benefits - or even protects - Freemasonry in West Virginia.

Says the Dummy Mason from the relative safety of his perch in Indiana where we don't load up our regulations with needlessly restrictive stuff like this. 

I don't recall exactly when West Virginia holds its annual communication, but I believe it's in November, which will be after Pyle's final eviction date. So even if someone can sponsor a resolution to change the rule and get it passed, it will be too late to stop the U-Haul trucks.

I've not yet seen an official reaction from the O.E.S. Grand Chapter of West Virginia or the O.E.S. General Grand Chapter in Washington, D.C. 

Wisconsin MasoniCon in Eau Claire This Saturday April 12th

by Christopher Hodapp

The MasoniCon season is heating up. Join me this Saturday, April 12th at the Wisconsin MasoniCon in Eau Claire, where I'll be speaking along with Steven Harrison of the Midnight Freemasons blog and author of Freemasons–Tales from the Craft.

The day will kick off at 10AM with a special meeting of the Silas Shepherd Lodge of Research #1843. Steven and I will speak after lunch.

This event takes place at the magnificent Eau Claire Masonic Temple located at 616 Graham Avenue, from 10AM to 6PM.

You can't beat the price - admission is free and lunch is provided. After the event, BBQ dinner from Famous Daves is a paltry $20.

For reservations and more information CLICK HERE. Technically, reservations are closed because of the lunch and dinner catering requirements, but the admission is free and organizers won't turn you away (as long as you feed yourself...)

April 13th: Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library Celebrates Its 50th

by Christopher Hodapp

The Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library in Lexington, Massachusetts is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. If you've never visited, make the effort. It's one of the top Masonic museums in the U.S.

The Museum & Library first opened as the 'Museum of Our National Heritage' in 1975 to correspond with the American Bicentennial, on the 200th anniversary of the battles at Lexington and Concord. It was envisioned by then-Sovereign Grand  Commander George A. Newbury as an institution that could unite people after the divisive social upheavals of the 1960s, to help "build a better and more noble United States of America." 

Located next to the Scottish Rite NMJ's headquarters in Lexington, the museum started out with a small collection of souvenirs, historic Masonic objects, along with Civil War drawings, American portraits, decorative arts, and quilts loaned to them by other institutions. It also included the Van Gorden-Williams Library & Archives with more than 5,000 volumes and archives related to Scottish Rite Freemasonry. 

Since its beginning, the museum and library have worked to fulfill Newbury's vision of telling "the story of America" through programs, publications, exhibitions, and collections. Stories related to historic Lexington, Massachusetts, where the "shot heard 'round the world' was fired, kicking off the American Revolution, are frequently featured at the museum, to this day. But while the early museum concentrated on the patriotic telling of the American story, in recent decades the concentration has been more on presenting the history, artifacts and ephemera of Freemasonry and American fraternalism in general. No longer forced to rely on borrowed items from other museums, their own collection has become one of the best Masonic-related museums in the country.

On Sunday, April 13th there will be a rededication of the Museum, along with the opening of new exhibits and the kickoff of a year of special programming:

• "Looking Back, Moving Forward." For 50 years the museum and library has sought to fulfill Newbury’s vision “to tell a thrilling story—the story of America” through programs, publications, exhibitions, and collections. This exhibition explores how the museum and library’s collection has grown, changed, and helped tell this story over half a century.
• “Remembering the Battle of Bunker Hill.” This display memorializes the battle with a scale model of a 1794 Bunker memorial to Joseph Warren, souvenirs from the battle’s 1875 centenary, sheet music, and items related to the Bunker Hill Monument Masonic cornerstone laying ceremony in 1825.
• “Protest & Promise: The American Revolution in Lexington” will explore the events of April 19, 1775 with images, objects, and an in-depth look at this pivotal event and how it has been remembered.

The museum is located at 33 Marrett Road in Lexington, Massachusetts. Click here for more information about the museum, its April 13 events, and the exhibits.

Thanks To Rochester, New York's College of Freemasonry

by Christopher Hodapp

Last Saturday I was supposed to be in New York to make a presentation at the 2025 College of Freemasonry, sponsored by the Scottish Rite Valley of Rochester. The theme of the event was the 200th anniversary of the disappearance of William Morgan in nearby Batavia back in 1825. Alice and I were hoping to drag out the Airstream and camp out in upstate New York after this event. Unfortunately, Alice is still recuperating from her foot surgery performed back in February and is unable to walk yet, which means she can't be left alone for more than a few hours. So, I was unable to attend in person.

Fortunately, Shawn Eyer WAS there in person, and presented on the wider topic of Anti-Masonry in America. Thankfully, the Rochester brethren were quite understanding and permitted me to present my talk through the miracle of Zoom. Both John Bizzack and I gave our presentations via long distance and participated in a follow-up discussion. 

John's drew heavily on his 2022 book, The Age of Unreason, in which he carefully examines what is provably true in the Morgan case, versus the reams of exaggerations, untruths and downright fabrications made over the last two centuries on all sides of the story. If you know nothing about Morgan, start with John's volume. As a longtime veteran police investigator, he approaches the case with a dispassionate point of view, separating the serious evidence from the nonsense.

My presentation was about an almost completely unknown work from 1896 that most researchers into Morgan know nothing about: a bizarre, esoteric science fiction/adventure novel called Etidorpha, or the End Of the Earth. Written by a renowned Cincinnati pharmacist named John Uri Lloyd, it describes an un-named protagonist – known only as 'I Am The Man Who Did It' (or simply, 'I Am The Man') – who is clearly supposed to be Morgan himself. It describes his desire to seek the knowledge to Life, the Universe and Everything, which leads him to join the Masons; his falling on hard financial times; his moment of weakness in which he publishes an exposure of the fraternity's rituals; his arrest and kidnapping near the Canadian border... All obviously Morgan's story.

But Morgan's Masonic captors do NOT kill him. Instead, he is taken to a hidden cave in Kentucky where he encounters a strange, glowing blue humanoid figure who guides him down into the bowels of the Earth where he sees prehistoric creatures, experiences weightlessness, hallucinates in a forest of giant magic mushrooms, crosses a vast underground sea that defies all known physics, and finally meets Etidorpha (the goddess Aphrodite, spelled backwards) who informs him that he is to become part of a select group of enlightened adepts (presumably Masons) who have gently guided mankind throughout the Ages. 

Talk about rehabilitating both Morgan's AND his Masonic captors' reputations in one novel!

The book is a wild, esoteric variation on Verne's Journey to the Centre of the Earth, with a touch of Bulwer-Lytton's Vril, the Power of the Coming Race. Its illustrations were done by J. Augustus Knapp, who eventually became a Theosophist and illustrated Manly P. Hall’s famous esoteric work, The Secret Teachings of All Ages, 30 years later.

Finally, I wish to extend my deepest thanks to the College for presenting me with the Thomas W. Jackson Masonic Education Award. This particular award is especially poignant. I first spoke at the College back in 2010 and shared the podium with none other than Tom Jackson himself. I'd met and chatted with Tom at Masonic Week several times over the years, but it was the first opportunity we'd ever really had to spend some time together and get to know each other. He is sorely missed every day, so this beautiful award will be a constant reminder of his friendship. 

An Idiot and a Dummy At Midwest Conference on Masonic Education in Indianapolis May 2-4

Christopher Hodapp

A couple of years ago, the Midwest Conference on Masonic Education posted a lineup of "The Three Books Every (       ) Mason Should Read," and they broke the lists down according to general subject matter – historical, ritualist, esoteric, philosophical, leadership, and so on. The very first category was for the 'Beginning Mason' and it was gratifying to see that the twin titles at the top of that list were Freemasons For Dummies and The Complete Idiot's Guide To Freemasonry.

I'm sure they listed mine first by alphabetizing authors' names.

This year's Midwest Conference on Masonic Education will be held in Indianapolis May 2nd-4th, and to kick off the event, Dr. S. Brent Morris and I will be presenting "An Idiot and Dummy Answer Anything You Want To Know About Freemasonry" on the evening of Friday, May 2nd. Our open forum lollapalooza will be held in conjunction with the Friday night dinner to be held at the famed Rathskeller German restaurant in the historic Indianapolis Athenaeum.

The conference itself will begin Saturday, May 3rd at the Indianapolis Masonic Temple, located at 525 N. Illinois Street, and the Embassy Suites at 110 West Washington Street in downtown Indianapolis will be the official conference hotel.

Other featured speakers at the Conference will include:

• Dr. Heather K. Calloway, Executive Director of University Collections at Indiana University
• Bro. Daniel Gardiner, PM of Helena Lodge No. 10 and Idaho Lodge No. 1
• Bro. Adam Kendall, Editor of Heredom / AASR Research Society; 2024–2026 President of the Philalethes Society

The Masonic Library & Museum will be open during the conference.

The price of the Conference is $125 if you reserve before May 1st (or $140 during the event). Please note that a separate $20 ticket is required to attend Friday night's dinner, but that $20 ticket cost will be applied towards the cost of whatever food and drink you may order that night. Be aware that you must attend the dinner at The Rathskeller to receive the $20 credit toward your restaurant bill. Seating is limited, and tickets are non-refundable if you fail to attend for any reason.

To purchase tickets and to reserve hotel rooms, CLICK HERE.

GM of Arizona Withdraws Edict Against DeMolay

by Christopher Hodapp

The Grand Lodge of Arizona has apparently resolved its disagreements with Arizona DeMolay. On March 6th, MW Grand Master Michael A. Dale officially rescinded Edict 2025-01, which had briefly forbidden Arizona Masons from sponsoring or participating in any activities involving DeMolay International. The original edict had been issued on February 10th.

According to several brethren there, the Grand Master and others had objected to the makeup of Arizona's DeMolay Foundation board. Of its five directors, three were all members of the same family, which looked and smelled like a serious case of impropriety. 

Oklahoma's Grayhorse Lodge Closes; Appeared in 2023's 'Killers of the Flower Moon'

by Christopher Hodapp

(NOTE: Since I posted this article I was told that T.S.Akers first reported it on his Oklahoma Masonic History Facebook page. I never saw that story until after I posted my own article. Have a look there for additional photos and info. Some casual readers seem to think I’m somehow concerned with getting ‘scoops’ over other sites or that I don’t properly credit other authors and websites. Whenever I rely on someone else’s reporting for information, I always take care to link to that source or cite where it came from, unless someone asks to remain anonymous. Thanks to Mark Wright for sending me his personal experiences with Grayhorse Lodge.)

Lodges in rural and economically depressed areas all too often have a tough time surviving these days. I received word last week that Fairfax, Oklahoma's Grayhorse Lodge No. 124 has lost its charter and closed its doors. That's sad — all lodge closures are — but lodges close every day, so it's scarcely a surprise. Still, you might recall that Grayhorse Lodge had a recent moment in the spotlight when it was featured in Martin Scorcese's 2023 film, Killers of the Flower Moon.

According to a friend familiar with the area, Grayhorse Lodge is located in a remote section of the the Osage Indian Nation, in north-central Oklahoma near the Kansas border. It's almost smack dab between Tulsa, OK and Witchita, Kansas, more than an hour away from either city. There's not a lot of economic prosperity or opportunity in this region. When Scorcese's film crew came to the area to make his movie about an historic incident in the Osage Nation, they used the lodge for a not especially flattering scene that upset lots of Brother Masons. The lodge room looks today much as it looked a hundred years ago when the incident took place, and Scorcese wanted to use as many authentic locations as he could.

The film crew cleaned up the lodge room, gave it a fresh coat of paint, and brought in several antique props for both historical accuracy and visual interest (the pot-bellied stove was a prop). The lodge got a facelift and a little national attention out of the deal, local folks were hired as extras, and Fairfax and a couple of surrounding communities got a brief economic bump from the crew's hotel, dining and retail supply needs. But film crews move fast, like advancing armies, and they leave just as quickly as they came. The paint and attention wasn't enough to save Grayhorse Lodge. And as my friend pointed out, it doesn't help that the majority of Osage Indians are Roman Catholic and are unlikely to violate the prohibition of the Church against Freemasonry.

A Google street-view cruise through downtown Fairfax tells the story quickest. The majority of storefronts along North Main Street are closed and boarded up. There's a banner pleading "Save the Tall Chief Theater" in front of the local movie house that no longer shows films, but advertises a "Killers of the Flower Moon" memorial on its marquee. You can count the number of parked cars on one hand as you roll down the street. The lodge building was built in 1909 as the First National Bank, and the lodge room was added in 1924. The National Register of Historic Places calls it the "best example of Georgian Revival architecture in Osage County," and it's obvious that the Masons were proud of their home town enough to invest in the most impressive building in the county. 

By holding on until this year, Grayhorse Lodge managed to last a full century.

Lodges close every day. No lodge is ever destined to last forever, and Masonry changes and adapts to suit the age, community, and society in which it resides. 

I'm told that in Oklahoma, if the Grand Master seizes a charter, that lodge cannot ever be revived, but if the members vote to voluntarily surrender their charter, it CAN be revived in the future. The members of Grayhorse Lodge 124 surrendered theirs. 

"For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease..."

California's Newest Lodge: Sonora 887

by Christopher Hodapp

California's newest lodge, Sonora Lodge No. 887, in the historic Sonora Masonic Hall held its grand opening on Saturday, February 22, 2025. According to a press release about the event,  membership interest has been growing statewide, and the new lodge has already welcomed 21 new members to the fraternity. 

From Globe Newswire:

The opening of Sonora Lodge No. 887 is yet another milestone in the Sonora Masonic Hall’s rich history. Built in 1850 during the peak of the California Gold Rush in Tuolumne County, the Sonora Masonic Hall is one of the very first Masonic establishments in the state. Over the past 175 years, it has housed Lodges for numerous notable Masons including California State Senator George S. Evans (1865-1877), California Secretary of State Anson H. Tuttle (1863) and U.S. Senator James Graham Fair (1881-1887).

 

“The Masons of California are proud to renew our values of community, philanthropy and brotherhood in a city that has been so foundational to our shared Masonic history,” said Mark McNee, Sonora Lodge No. 887 Lodge Master and Vice Chair of the California Masonic Foundation. “The grand opening of Sonora Lodge No. 887 marks another chapter in a long legacy of Tuolumne County Masonry, and we look forward to watching the positive impact of our programs and people spread through Sonora and beyond.”

 

The new Sonora Lodge No. 887 was chartered on October 27, 2024, and held its Ceremony of Constitution on November 16, 2024. Sonora Lodge No. 887 officially opened its doors to potential new members and the community at a grand opening celebration on Saturday, February 22, 2025, which included a formal Installation of Officers ceremony, ribbon cutting and remarks from Mark McNee, Masons of California Grand Secretary Allan Casalou and Past Grand Master of George Washington Union Freemasons Nathalie Valkov.

It's a side-issue, I know, but if that last name threw you, George Washington Union Grand Lodge is an American offshoot of the Grand Orient of France and is an independent co-Masonic (men and women) obedience. The GL of California does not recognize them – by the rules of regularity and recognition, GWU is irregular and their members cannot sit in each others lodges. But the GL California acknowledges that other obediences do indeed exist, and if a female enquires about Masonic membership, or if a male seeks a lodge with both men and women as members, they take a pragmatic approach similar to the United Grand Lodge of England: they steer them to the GWU as an alternative. 

Would that more American grand lodges took a similar view. Better to grow Freemasonry throughout the world than to pretend different types of Masonry simply don't exist because 'WIMMIN!' Our obligations say nothing that forbids us from talking to each other, discussing Masonic philosophy, symbolism, or much of anything else. We won't burst into flame. We merely promise not to be present if a lodge decides to confer the degrees of Masonry on a woman, and they can't sit in our open lodge doing business.

UGLE regularly invites England's two female grand lodges to public events, and they all cooperate on outreach programs like their Universities Scheme, which promotes Masonic lodges at colleges and universities. UGLE has even joined forces with the female GLs to create a cooperative 'Council For Freemasonry' to combat anti-Masonry in the U.K.

Likewise, if Masons from an irregular, unrecognized obedience desire an authentic Masonic lodge room to meet in, there should be no reason why a regular male-only lodge can't rent or otherwise make their lodge room available to a Prince Hall, female, or co-Masonic lodge. For that matter, local lodges should have the leeway to rent to Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, even the Knights of Columbus, if they so desire. Better to have our buildings in use as often as possible than to look abandoned for 29 days of every month. 

But I digress.

  PHOTOS: Sonora Lodge 887 Facebook page

Utah Past Grand Master Gerald Everett Expelled

by Christopher Hodapp

The assembled members of the Grand Lodge F&AM of Utah have voted to expel Gerald J. Everett, Past Grand Master, from Freemasonry. 

In a letter dated Monday, it was reported that Everett appealed a conviction by his lodge to the Grand Master, and Utah's Grievances & Appeals Committee reviewed his case. At the 153rd Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge of Utah, the Chairman of the Grievance and Appeals Committee presented the charges, the verdict, and the results of their own investigation. The Grand Lodge subsequently voted overwhelmingly to uphold the decision of the Lodge Trial Commission. Effective immediately, he is expelled from the fraternity and is no longer entitled to the rights and privileges of the fraternity. (CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE)

Gerald Everett served as Grand Master of Utah in 2015. No details of the case were made available, which is not uncommon in Masonic trial proceedings.

Grand Master Cuts Off DeMolay From Arizona Freemasons

by Christopher Hodapp

In an edict issued on Monday, MW Michael Dale, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Arizona, cut off the Masonic-related youth group DeMolay International from Arizona Freemasonry. (Click the image above to enlarge)

In his edict, GM Dale (photo at left) - a 27-year veteran of the Marine Corps -  gives no explanation apart from it being due to "the Grand Master's and the Arizona DeMolay State Association's loss of faith and trust in DeMolay International and the Arizona DeMolay Foundation."

The edict reads as follows:

Due to the Grand Master's and the Arizona DeMolay State Association's loss of faith and trust in DeMolay International and the Arizona DeMolay Foundation, effective as of this date, no Mason under the jurisdiction of The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Arizona will be a part of, participate in or sponsor any part of DeMolay International, the Arizona DeMolay Foundation or the Arizona DeMolay State Association or any other DeMolay associated organization.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available. (Note the August 15, 2024 date is incorrect and was probably left in error from a previously used letter. The edict really was issued Monday.)

Masonic Week 2025: Ric Berman Named As Newest Blue Friar, and Philalethes Names Four New Fellows

Friar No. 113 Ric Berman

by Christopher Hodapp

At quite literally the very last minute on Thursday, I flew to Washington D.C. to catch a couple of events at Masonic Week: the Consistory of the Society of Blue Friars, and the Friday night banquet for the Philalethes Society.

The Society of Blue Friars was founded in 1932 for the express purpose of recognizing outstanding Masonic authors throughout the world. Traditionally, the Society convenes each year during Masonic Week in the Washington, D.C. vicinity to induct a new Friar, and its gatherings are open to the public, unless the presenter specifies otherwise. 

Authors like Arthur E. Waite, Harold V.B. Voorhis, Dwight L. Smith, Brent Morris, Allen Roberts, Thomas Jackson, Yasha Beresiner, Alain Bernheim, Robert G. Davis, Alton Roundtree, Mark Tabbert, Shawn Eyer, Michael R. Poll, Robert D. B. Cooper, Josef Wäges, Piers Vaughan and Adam Kendall are just a few prior Blue Friar honorees. In a rare moment of weakness, they even let a Dummy in. (After all - their prior Abbott is an Idiot, so I was in good company.) I was very sorry to have missed last year's Masonic Week festivities, when my friend John Bizzack was named as Friar No. 112.

This year's newest Blue Friar is the extremely prolific Richard ('Ric') Berman, author of numerous historical works about both English and American Freemasonry. Ric concentrates his studies and writings on 18th and 19th century Freemasonry in both the British Isles and America, and if you've never read any of his books, he always brings unique insights as to the social forces going on around the changes in the fraternity at key moments in history.

Some of Friar Berman's books include Schism - the Battle That Forged Freemasonry; Inventing the Future - the 1723 Constitutions; Loyalists & Malcontents - Freemasonry & Revolution in South Carolina and Georgia; and The Grand Lodge of England & Colonial America - America’s Grand Masters, to name just a few.

Ric Berman addresses the Society of Blue Friars 

(Photo: Billy Hamilton)

When a Friar is named each year, he is expected to present a paper at the Consistory, and Ric spoke on the political and religious background in England in the years leading up to the formation of the Premiere Grand Lodge of England. There had been a great influx of Huguenots (French Anglicans) fleeing severe persecution from France into London just prior to the founding of grand lodge Freemasonry in 1717, and they had been welcomed into the English lodges with open arms. If things had gone just slightly differently, we Masons would have had to learn how to spell John Theophilus Desaguliers instead of James Anderson when referring to the Constitutions. Thank your stars our rituals aren't in French.

Ric holds a Masters in Economics from the University of Cambridge and a Doctorate in History from the University of Exeter. His post-doctoral research was carried out at the University of Oxford's Modern European History Research Centre and as a Visiting Research Fellow at Oxford Brookes. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, he is the author of numerous journal articles and books, and has presented keynote papers globally. A Freemason for more than forty years and twice a Prestonian Lecturer, Ric holds Grand Rank in the United Grand Lodge of England and is a Past Master of three English Lodges, including Quatuor Coronati Lodge # 2076, the premier lodge of Masonic research. He is also an American Freemason, a member and honorary member of lodges in California, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas and Washington D.C., and a Fellow of the Philalethes Society.

Masonic and Odd Fellows Folk Art at Cincinnati's Taft Museum

by Christopher Hodapp

From now until May 11th, 2025, downtown Cincinnati's Taft Museum of Art is displaying an exhibit of fraternal folk art featuring some 80 pieces from the Freemasons and the Odd Fellows.

From the museum's website description:

Mystery & Benevolence: Masonic and Odd Fellows Folk Art

Through compelling and cryptic works of art, Mystery & Benevolence brings to light the histories, symbolism, and beliefs of the Freemasons and the Independent Order of the Odd Fellows (IOOF)—two fraternal organizations with deep roots in American history.

 

For decades, members across the country have come together to socialize, help others, and improve themselves and their communities. The exhibition features more than eighty works of art, including items once owned by the Daughters of Rebekah—the first lodge to include women—and the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows, founded as the African American counterpart to the IOOF. Sculptures, textiles, regalia, prints, and works of decorative art explore the main principles of the organizations: fellowship, charity, labor, passage, and wisdom. Elaborately stitched costumes, gilded regalia and jewelry, and richly embellished ceremonial objects provide a glimpse into the enigmatic world of these secret societies.

 

Mystery and Benevolence is organized by the American Folk Art Museum, New York, NY, from the Kendra and Allan Daniel Collection and toured by International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC.

The Taft Museum is open Wednesdays through Mondays from 10AM to 5PM. Admission is free for Taft members, guests of members with guest pass, military, and youth (17 and under); $15 for adults; $12 for seniors. Includes admission to special exhibitions and the museum’s collection galleries. Sundays and Mondays are free of charge.

The Taft Museum of Art is located at 316 Pike Street, at the east end of Fourth Street, across from historic Lytle Park in downtown Cincinnati.

Paris Trial Begins For 8 Accused of Plotting Masonic Lodge Attack

by Christopher Hodapp

A trial opened this week in France against 8 defendants accused of a neo-Nazi terrorist plot to attack a Masonic lodge back in 2020-21.

Translated from the French website Notretemps.com:

The trial of eight people, suspected of a violent action project against a Masonic lodge between 2020 and 2021 and some of whom were linked to the conspiracy theorist Rémy Daillet, opened on Tuesday before the Paris Criminal Court.

Seven men and one woman, aged 28 to 69, are on trial for terrorist criminal association. One of them is in the United States, and is represented by his lawyer and will therefore not appear in court.

All appear free.

They are suspected of having wanted to commit a violent action against a Masonic lodge. While investigators have updated virtual discussions, meetings, or weapons searches as part of what has been called the "Alsace project", no specific scenario has been established.

The investigations began in February 2021, around the neo-Nazi group Honneur and Nation, whose members were linked to Rémy Daillet, a conspiracy figure, a one-time expatriate in Malaysia.

At the end of the investigation, the National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor's Office put him ouey had planned a t of the question, considering that his "role" in this project seemed "indirect and residual". On the other hand, he is indicted in two other parts of this file still under investigation, that of the "Azur project", presented as a project to "overthrow the government" in the fall of 2020...

First to be questioned, Sébastien Dudognon, former head of the National Youth Front in Corrèze who had founded the Revolutionary Nationalist Division (DNR), a neo-Nazi group that then gave way to the Honor and Nation group.

Details of the alleged plot are not revealed in the article, but a story on the Marianne website from 2021 concerning the arrest of co-defendant Thibaut Rufra revealed that the lodge was located in the town of Moselle, and they had planned an attack on France's health minister, as well (this was during the Covid year). 

According to a source close to the investigation, quoted by Agence France Presse back in 2021, they also cited other non-specific targets such as vaccination centers, high-profile celebrities, and journalists. Several in the group were allegedly attempting to manufacture explosives for their planned attacks. The arrests occurred before any of the attacks could be carried out.

London's Freemasons Hall Forms Promotional Organization to Market Its Unique Venue

by Christopher Hodapp

If you've watched British television shows over the last 40 years or so that are set anywhere from the 1930s to modern day, I'll guarantee you've seen scenes shot in and around the United Grand Lodge of England's London headquarters, Freemasons Hall, at 60 Great Queen Street, just up the street from Covent Garden. This magnificent art deco masterpiece was completed in 1933 and has a seemingly endless number of interior rooms for the grand lodge, individual Masonic lodges, private meetings and other gathering places like their museum and the Lechworth's Masonic supply shop. Every room has its own distinct style, and it's been used in hundreds of TV episodes and feature films, to say nothing of weddings, fashion, industrial, and art shows, concerts, and all kinds of other specialty events.

The building's trustees have now gone into partnership with a local promotions company and formed a special organization specifically to market the building's unique features for more of these kinds of uses. From the Travel and Tour World website:

London’s historic Freemasons’ Hall has unveiled 60 Great Queen Street as the vibrant new identity for its commercial event offerings. This transformation coincides with Smart Group, the parent company of Moving Venue, expanding its role at the venue. Having secured exclusive catering rights in July 2024, Smart Group now assumes full responsibility for event sales and marketing at this prestigious Covent Garden landmark.

With the launch of 60 Great Queen Street, Smart Group is introducing an array of newly available spaces within the Grade II listed* building, offering an exclusive opportunity for corporate and private events in an iconic setting.

 

Designed to accommodate a diverse range of gatherings, from corporate conferences and product launches to high-end weddings and fashion showcases, 60 Great Queen Street blends architectural grandeur with cutting-edge event design. Collaborating with top-tier industry suppliers, the venue delivers bespoke, immersive experiences tailored to the needs of meetings, weddings, and private celebrations.

Greg Lawson, CEO of Smart Group, said: “Having delivered Christmas parties at Freemasons’ Hall since 2017 and holding the exclusive catering contract since July 2024, we are delighted to embark on the latest phase of our partnership with the United Grand Lodge of England. This is an exciting time of commercial growth for us, as we work with Freemasons’ Hall to enhance the market position for 60 Great Queen Street with our experience of leading sales and marketing activity across our various brands...

Admittedly, London's Freemasons Hall is one of the top 10 greatest Masonic buildings in the world, and they've got plenty to promote. But nearly every grand lodge in the U.S. has one or more incredible buildings with unique spaces that should be promoted to the general public for events. We have lodge rooms, theaters, dining halls, libraries, and other spaces not found anywhere else. Our forebears who built these incredible temples were proud of them and intended them to be part of our communities from the very start. For the most part, Masons aren't very good at building management or promoting our temples as venues. Partnerships with a local promotions company can be a winning strategy for us.

Prince Hall Grand Master of South Carolina Makes Joe Biden Freemason "At Sight"

Photo: MWPHGL of South Carolina

by Christopher Hodapp

UPDATED MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 2025, 4:15PM: A previous version of this story erroneously stated this ceremony took place in Washington D.C. It was, in fact, in South Carolina.

UPDATED FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2025, 6:00AM: Added information regarding conflict over Biden’s Catholicism and Masonic membership; and information regarding a vacation property in South Carolina used by Biden.

On Sunday, January 19, 2025, MW Victor C. Major, Grand Master of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of South Carolina, made then-President Joe Biden a Master Mason in a private ceremony "in recognition of his outstanding service to the United States of America."

It would seem that this extraordinary action makes Joe Biden officially the 15th American President who has received the degrees of Freemasonry, as well as the first Prince Hall Affiliated U.S. President.

Photo: MWPHGL of South Carolina

Photo: MWPHGL of South Carolina

According to subsequent reporting, this private meeting took place backstage at the Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, South Carolina while Mr. Biden was visiting on his last full day in office. He spoke for about 13 minutes at the church on the day before the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

Online discussions among Masons have been heated all week over this story, and unfortunately, most have improperly revolved around diametrically opposed political opinions concerning Mr. Biden himself, rather than any possible Masonic jurisprudence discussions. 

Making a Mason "at sight" (or "on sight" as it is sometimes expressed) is a right of grand masters dating to at least as early as the 1730s and was defended by Laurence Dermott when the so-called 'Antients' grand lodge was formed in England in the 1770s. The details even then were undefined, but it is generally interpreted as a method of conferring the degrees of Freemasonry in an accelerated manner. In most cases, that means the candidate witnesses each of the three degrees, performed in full in a temporary or 'occasional' lodge, without having to demonstrate his proficiency before continuing on to the next. 

However, none of the information released by the MWPHGL of South Carolina indicates that this particular incident was conducted in this manner.

According to Chris Ruli, author of The White House and the Freemasons, "This 'private meeting' to confer honors occurred during a 3-4 minute public photo opportunity. No resolutions of membership were exchanged, no formal acknowledgement received." It would seem that Grand Master Major did little more than shake hands with Mr. Biden and inform him that he was now a Master Mason. There simply wasn't more time. 

Some have speculated that this event may have been arranged by U.S. Representative James E. Clyburn, who is a Prince Hall Freemason in South Carolina, but there is no evidence of that at this time. He and Biden have known each other for many years. But because there have been no details given, the question lingers: did Biden actually express a desire to be a Mason, or even formally give his consent? Or did he merely regard it as just one more honorary award given to Presidents in the course of their time in office, like a key to the city or an honorary Boy Scout, after which he shook hands, said thank you, and moved on to the next dignitary that day? Was this just sprung on him that day, or did he know in advance? So far, neither Biden himself nor Grand Master Major have provided any further information.

Interestingly, when Albert Mackey first baked up his list of so-called 'landmarks' that were never widely adopted in or outside of the U.S., he made 'making a Mason at sight' his 8th landmark. But because the actual practice itself has never been widely accepted, nor uniformly defined, there is obviously great leeway in what a grand master can and cannot do, based on the limitations of the laws within his own jurisdiction. The practice has been hotly debated in Masonic jurisprudence for almost three centuries, and is, at the very least, controversial.

Another question that arises is whether Joe Biden could even remotely be considered under the jurisdiction of South Carolina - mainstream, Prince Hall, or otherwise. He's never lived there in his life, and certainly isn't currently a resident. During his presidency he has sometimes stayed at a $20+ million vacation home on Kiawah Island, South Carolina, but neither he nor anyone in his family actually own that property. It belongs to Maria Allwin, widow of the late Aetos real estate hedge fund founder, James Allwin.

And finally, of course, is a topic I hesitate to mention because of the highly charged partisan fights going on in the country right now. But as more and more episodes occur that seem to show Mr. Biden to be having periods of serious lapses of memory and physical infirmity, and given his advanced age in the first place, it must be asked: is he "an old man in dotage" (the dictionary definition being "the period of life in which a person is old and weak; synonymous with elderliness, senescence, and senility")? If this is, in fact, the case, the vast majority of obligations taken by Freemasons the world over forbid us from taking part in conferring Masonry on such persons. So did Grand Master Major violate his own obligation by doing this?

(Getty/Realtor.com)

With all of those qualifiers out of the way (and disregarding any possible partisan political objections to Mr. Biden by Masons among the rank and file members of the MWPHGL of South Carolina), this development presents a curious problem for Masonic chroniclers. Namely, the MWPHGL of South Carolina is not recognized by any so-called mainstream U.S. grand lodge, the United Grand Lodge of England, or any other major regular, recognized Masonic jurisdiction. So, the semantic (and arguably technical) question is, does this really count as legitimate? (See the national joint recognition map below.) It's been several years since I've heard any South Carolina mainstream Masons weigh in on the possibility of Prince Hall recognition in the near future, and I've never heard any PHA Masons in that state raise the possibility (not that either side has any reason to alert me for any reason). Could happen, but let's just say it doesn't seem imminent.

The Conference of Grand Masters Prince Hall Masons (which does count the MWPHGL of South Carolina as a recognized member of their conference) posted this story and photos on their website shortly after the event. So as far as the Prince Hall Affiliated world is concerned, Mr. Biden is legitimately a Prince Hall Mason. But outside of their Conference, it's doubtful any regular Masons would accept this action and confidently list him as the 15th Masonic President of the United States. At the very least, it will likely require an explanatory footnote.

There is also a religious issue that exists. Biden has long been known to be a practicing Roman Catholic, and the Church has forbidden its global flock to join the Freemasons, a prohibition that has been in place since 1738. Despite removal of the word ‘Freemason’ from Canon Law under the Vatican II revisions, subsequent rulings have reaffirmed the prohibition, stating that Catholics who DO become Masons are in a ‘state of grave sin.’ Catholic Masons are to be denied sacraments such as holy communion. (The most detailed exploration of this issue with Biden I’ve seen is on The Pillar website: see ‘Did Joe Biden join the Freemasons? by Ed. Condon). 

It should be noted that, despite the Church’s longstanding position on Masonic membership, it is estimated that almost 25% of all American Freemasons today are Roman Catholics, based on several non-scientific polls taken in the last decade. So, if Biden voluntarily sought Masonic membership in spite of the Church’s prohibition (which is not clear at this time), he’d certainly be in good company. But his archbishop may be less than happy about it. 

If the PHA Grand Master or any other Mason connected with this event didn’t mention this well-known religious conflict to Biden ahead of time, they did a serious disservice to him that would be extremely irresponsible.

All of this notwithstanding, below is the official wording of the Resolution of Membership issued by MW Victor C. Major, Grand Master of the MWPHGL of South Carolina:

It is with great pleasure that I, Victor C. Major, 27th The Most Worshipful Grand Master, welcome our newest member to the Prince Hall Family. On Sunday, January 19, 2025 at a private event, Master Mason membership with full honors were conferred upon President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. in recognition of his outstanding service to the United States of America.

RESOLUTION OF MEMBERSHIP

To be a Freemason is to be part of a brotherhood dedicated to personal growth, service to others, and the pursuit of knowledge and truth. It is an honor to belong to an organization that promotes these timeless values:

WHEREAS, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. has demonstrated exceptional dedication and service to the United States of America.

WHEREAS, his service reflects the core values of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of South Carolina, including brotherly love, relief, and truth.

WHEREAS, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. contributions have significantly benefited the citizens of the United States of America;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that I, 27th Most Worshipful Grand Master, Victor C. Major, on behalf of the members of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of South Carolina, hereby confer membership upon President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. in recognition of his outstanding service to the United States of America.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this resolution of Membership be recorded in the archives of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of South Carolina.

GIVEN THIS 19th DAY OF January A.D. 2025

Victor C. Major
27th Most Worshipful Grand Master
Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons of the State of South Carolina

One final note. At the beginning of February, the story and photographs disappeared from the Conference of Prince Hall Grand Masters website and were moved to the website of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of South Carolina HERE.