"To preserve the reputation of the Fraternity unsullied must be your constant care."
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Saturday, July 08, 2017

VIDEO: 'The Masonic Pub Crawl' by Robert Johnson


Many years ago when the Grand Lodge of Indiana was debating a resolution (which failed) to permit our lodges to allow alcohol in our buildings, accompanied by a raft of restrictions, limitations, qualifiers and requirements, all of the usual anti-hooch bromides poured forth from the floor of agitated delegates. One elderly brother angrily rose to his feet, wagged his finger in the air, and burst out, "If the founders of this fraternity ever discovered that this grand lodge is actually considering permitting alcohol anywhere near the inside of our Masonic lodges, they'd roll over in their graves!"

You know, the fraternity that started in taverns.

At the 2017 Masonic Con in April, RW Robert Johnson of the 'Whence Came you?' and the 'Masonic Roundtable' podcasts presented a talk that is a sort of introductory thumbnail sketch about three early, notable Colonial taverns in New England connected to American Freemasonry: the Tun Tavern, the Bunch of Grapes, and the Green Dragon. He was kind enough to permit it to be videotaped, so I share it here for the benefit of that elderly brother if he is still out there somewhere.

 Charge your cannons.
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2 comments:

  1. JSCrociataSat Jul 08, 08:02:00 PM 2017

    In 2012, the Grand Lodge of Washington, DC removed a 1988 Decision that prohibited alcohol in or about Masonic Lodges. It was replaced by a simple Code Section that admonishes the brethren to utilize their good Masonic judgment in the use of intoxicants. The total instances of reported DUI's, drunken assaults and the like in the ensuing five years number ZERO. I have never detected greater maturity in DC Masons than in their brothers of other Grand Jurisdictions, and presume that a similar admonition would engender equal maturity and responsibility in those who love their Lodges just as much as we do. I've always heard (but have yet to confirm) that American Freemasonry's infatuation with the WCTU was one of its PR-directed responses to the Morgan affair. Perhaps its time to trust ourselves to be adults again.

    ReplyDelete
  2. ExtroitiveMon Jul 10, 02:15:00 AM 2017

    We never done it that way, Except their memory is not that long,, Ha!

    ReplyDelete

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