Thanks to Kennebunkport Lodge

My deepest thanks to the members and officers of Arundel Lodge 76 in Kennebunkport, Maine for their kind hospitality on April 25th. Great food, great fellowship - if only that speaker hadn't droned on like a foghorn all night long...

LtoR: Jonathan Rosen, Worshipful Master Ian Smith,
the Dummy, Grand Master Mark Rustin,

My extra special thanks to Brother Jonathan Rosen for his kind invitation. 

It was an honor to have both Grand Master Mark E. Rustin as well as long-time, long-distance friend Ed King (of MasonicInfo.com fame) in attendance. Ed was one of the earliest and most enthusiastic supporters of Freemasons For Dummies and my subsequent books. But much more important, his MasonicInfo.com Anti-Masonry Points of View website was one of the earliest online Masonic resources, and it has grown to more than 350 pages of factual and well-researched material today, touched with Ed's personal asides and wit. He proudly boasts that his website predated Google, and it was one of the first Masonic websites I looked through when I was a very early member of the fraternity. Over the years I have returned to it time and time again when in need of a quick reference. So it was great at last to meet in person.

Arundel Lodge has an absolutely magnificent lodge room, thanks to the talents of an artistic Masons from long ago. In 1930, Kennebunkport's own Brother Lewis Norton painted a continuous mural all the way around the room that depicts the various ages of the Earth in an impressionistic style. The result is positively stunning upon entering the lodge, and becomes endlessly fascinating upon closer inspection.

Whether it was intentional or not, it even has an appropriate detail for the northeast corner, which is often a traditional gathering area in many lodges for their Past Masters: a pair of squabbling dinosaurs...

MSA Expands Nebraska Disaster Appeal

In March, Nebraska experienced catastrophic flooding in the eastern part of the state and crippling blizzards in central and western Nebraska, leading to major destruction of farm and ranch property, and loss of income. Many Nebraska Masons were affected by these catastrophic events and required assistance to get back on their feet. At that time, the Grand Lodge of Nebraska AF&AM issued a statewide disaster appeal for Masons and their families across the state.

Since that time, the Grand Lodge determined that more help was needed than their statewide funding could handle. This month, the Masonic Service Association issued the following statement:

Nebraska Grand Master Robert W. Moninger has asked the Masonic Service Association to issue a Disaster Relief Appeal. Nebraska has experienced historic flooding in the eastern part of the state and devastating blizzards in central and western Nebraska with major loss of farm and ranching assets and income. 

Rivers swollen by rain and dam breaches have left many bridges and roads impassable and triggered the evacuation of thousands of residents. The Nebraska Masonic family have been affected by these catastrophic events and will need assistance to get back on their feet. Please give what you can toward this Disaster Relief Appeal.

MSA deducts no part of your contribution for administrative expenses including charges by PayPal, bookkeeping, and cost of acknowledgment letters. Your entire gross donation is sent to the affected jurisdiction. Make donations online at www.msana.com.

Please forward any donations you feel appropriate to MSA. Checks should be payable to MSA Disaster Relief Fund and sent to 3905 National Drive, STE 280, Burtonsville, MD 20866. When remitting by check, please mark that your donation is intended for the Grand Lodge of Nebraska.

For more information and to donate online via credit card, visit the MSA Disaster Relief web page HERE. 

New Minnesota GM Passes Away

(This story has been updated 4/23/2019 at 11:50AM)

Tragic news from Minnesota this Easter weekend. MW Steven D. Johnson, the newly elected and installed Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota AF&AM for 2019-2020, passed away very suddenly to the Celestial Lodge on Saturday, April 20th.

He had been in office for only a week.

My deepest heartfelt condolences go to his wife Lynette, his family, and to the entire Masonic community of Minnesota. His column is broken, and his brethren mourn.

Requiescat in pace.

---

Grand Master Steven D. Johnson's obituary has been posted this morning:

Age 70, of Eagan, died suddenly Sunday, April 21st 2019.

Steven was born February 17th, 1949 in Rushford, MN, son of Maynard and Marjorie Johnson, and graduated from Bloomington Kennedy High school in 1967. 

He is survived by his loving wife Lynette; his three children, Ben (Jennifer) Johnson of Minneapolis, Tia (Jeff) Marks of Owatonna, and Michelle (Sean) Ronsen of Minnetonka; his five grandchildren, Josiah, Lydia, Maggie, Emelia, and Fletcher; his sister Linda (Bob) Stankovich; his sister-in-law MaryAnn Johnson; his niece, nephews and their families; and his first wife, Tammy (Rob) Olsen.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother Jerry Johnson.

Steve had a curiosity and passion for life. He loved his hobbies and toys; racing cars, motorbikes, and sailboats. He and Lynette loved spending time together on their boat and motorcycle. Always with their dog Schooner along for the ride!

Steve was blessed with amazing creative talents from his writing original stories and characters, songs, jingles, and the many instruments he played. Steve was a dreamer with vision and he loved to share it with others. Steve combined these talents with his passion for people in his work at the University of Minnesota Medical Foundation where he helped raise millions of dollars. This drive and charisma also led him to his position of leadership on the Board of Directors for the Minnesota Masonic Charities.

Steve joined the Masons of Minnesota in June of 2005. He respected their honored traditions and philanthropic mission, but above all, he valued their friendship and guidance toward becoming his best self. Steve was installed as the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota on April 13th, 2019. This was a tremendous honor for him.

His family will remember his laughter and humor, his zest for adventure, and his desire to imagine new ways to do things. Steve was incredibly proud of his children and grandchildren; their skills, gifts, and individuality. His face would light up whenever he could teach them something new or spend time witnessing what brought them joy. He cherished his life with Lynette – his perfect match, his partner, his love, his best friend. 

He left us too soon and he will be missed. But we will never grow tired of telling stories of who he was and the mark he left on our lives.

According to the website, there will be a gathering on Saturday, April 27th from 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM at:

Klecatsky & Sons Eagan Chapel
1580 Century Point
Eagan, MN, 55121

The Masonic Memorial Service will begin at 3:00PM

Florida's Prince Hall Masons Vote For Joint Recognition

Joint recognition between the mainstream and Prince Hall grand lodges in Florida may have finally been achieved this Easter weekend.

Back at the May 2018 annual communication of the mainstream Grand Lodge of F&AM of Florida, the Craft voted overwhelmingly to empower their Grand Master to sign an acceptable agreement extending recognition to the Most Worshipful Union Grand Lodge Free and Accepted Masons, Florida, Belize, Central America & Jurisdiction, Incorporated, Prince Hall Affiliated (established in 1870).

I'm now receiving reports this evening that Florida's Prince Hall Masons of the MW Union Grand Lodge F&AM have just held their 149th annual session this weekend in Jacksonville, and they have voted to reciprocate with the GL of Florida, thereby achieving joint recognition between the two grand lodges.

This comes more than a decade after Florida's PHA grand lodge first reached out to their mainstream brethren by requesting recognition. However, recognition issues in Florida were complicated by the existence of a second Prince Hall grand lodge, in addition to the usual intricacies and stumbling blocks.

I have seen no written notices, letters or announcements yet, so I hope this isn't premature. I will update this post when such documents become available. My understanding is that the last step is for the Grand Lodge F&AM of Florida to officially vote on the final agreement in December.

If all of this diplomatic foreplay is at last consummated, there will remain just seven mainstream, predominantly white grand lodges in the U.S. and Canada that have not recognized their predominantly black Prince Hall Affiliated (PHA) grand lodge counterparts, and/or vice versa: Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, and West Virginia.

It’s been 30 years since Connecticut first adopted joint recognition, setting off the process nationwide. Three long decades. And there are still seven states that don’t. 

The space program got to the Moon in a third of the time.

2019 World Conference on Fraternalism, Freemasonry & History in Paris: 6/13-15

The 3rd World Conference on Fraternalism, Freemasonry, and History will be held in Paris on June 13-15, 2019 at the Bibliothèque Nationale - Paris. This year's theme is "1,000 Degrees: Constructing Fraternal Rites."

Convened by the journal, Ritual, Secrecy, and Civil Society, in cooperation with the Bibliothèque Nationale, this now event focuses on the study of the lasting influence of the Enlightenment, ritual, secrecy, and civil society vis-à-vis the dynamics of scholarship around the world. The conference explores how civil society, social capital, secrecy, and ritual have been important elements during different episodes of local and world histories, and indeed still are. It is a part of the Policy Studies Organization's support of research into associations, civility, and the role of non governmental organizations in democracy.

This year's event is particularly centering around the creation of various degrees and rites. The workshop on the Thursday before the opening will specifically examine rare documents related to the generation of Masonic degrees in the 17th and 18th centuries.

The inaugural conference on Friday morning will be presented by Andrew Prescott about the debates, assumptions, and controversy over the creation of the Premiere Grand Lodge in London in 1717. or 1721. Andrew Prescott was one of the key players in the innovative work carried out in 2017 for the presumed tercentenary of modern speculative Freemasonry.

There is also a round table hosted on Saturday afternoon about Eccosais/High Degree Masonry in the U.S. before the foundation of the Scottish Rite. S.Brent Morris, Josef Wages, and Reinhard Markner. will be part of this event.

For a list of presenters and sessions, CLICK HERE.

Simultaneous translation French-English, English-French, is offered for all sessions.

These ongoing international conferences have been spearheaded and supported by Brother Paul Rich for over a decade now, and he has been a champion of promoting and pursuing Masonic scholarship on a worldwide basis. A shocking number of U.S. Masons are unaware of his role in this pursuit, as well as his own scholarship, and that is a downright shame. On top of his many accomplishments and honors in the academic world, he is the publisher of numerous books about Freemasonry (among others) through Westphalia Press. These conferences are organized, in part through his organization, the Policy Studies Organization.

In conjunction with Paul, Brother Pierre Mollier in France is one of the top Masonic historians in the world. Among his many accomplishments, he is the director of the Grand Orient de France's incredible Museum of Freemasonry in Paris (Musée dé Franc-Maçonnerie). If you don't know his name or reputation, you need to.

The World Conferences on Fraternalism, Social Capital, and Civil Society, explores how associationalism and volunteerism have shaped democracy, politics, and history. The conferences are held alternatively in Paris (2019, 2021) in odd numbered years and in Washington in even numbered years (2018, 2020). The Paris conferences are held at the French national library, the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, and the Washington conferences at the historic Quaker Meetinghouse. 

No charge is made for registration for the Conference, but registration is IMMEDIATELY requested to plan for catering, headsets, and other conference needs. For information and registration CLICK HERE, or contact PSO Executive Director, Daniel Gutierrez, at dgutierrezs@ipsonet.org

Historic Cincinnati Masonic Hall To Be Repurposed

The city of Cincinnati, Ohio has kicked off a $10 million renovation of a historic Masonic temple in the East Price Hill area's Incline neighborhood. Price Hill Lodge 524 was chartered in 1882. 

The 21,000-square-foot temple, built in 1911, was the home of the Price Hill Lodge until 1989, when they merged with the nearby North Bend Lodge 346. That lodge still flourishes today.

According to the Cincinnati Enquirer website:

Mayor John Cranley and other city officials will be on site at 11 a.m. to help launch the project at 3301 Price Ave., which is being funded in part with a $3 million grant from the city.

The project also received historic tax credits.

Plans call for the 21,000-square-foot historic lodge in the growing Incline District to be converted into an arts and event venue called the Incline Arts and Event Center.

The neoclassical building was designed by renowned Cincinnati architect Samuel Hannaford, who also designed some of the city's best known landmarks, including Music Hall and City Hall.

MYCincinnati Youth Orchestra, which will be the main tenant in the building, will perform Thursday at the kickoff ceremony for redevelopment of the building, which has been vacant for decades.

The lodge closed in 1989. The building is four stories tall and features two two-story auditoriums. Plans are to have concerts featuring Price Hill Will's 110-member youth orchestra, as well as other attractions.

An under-used Masonic hall that's currently occupied by Masons can still be an important part of a city or town by opening its doors and making itself available as community space. Doing so serves the public and puts Freemasons back in front of the the community's awareness. This one was abandoned 30 years ago, so it's very different. But it's interesting that the neighborhood long believed the Masonic building was too historic and important to tear down and fought for its preservation and reuse - something our own members all too rarely do themselves.

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Reno, Nevada's Historic Masonic Cornerstone

The oldest purpose built Masonic temple in Reno, Nevada at 98 Commercial Row managed to survive from 1872 until 2019, but local efforts to save the empty, beleaguered structure ended in January. 

The Reno Masonic Lodge was built when Ulysses S. Grant was president shortly after the Comstock Lode of gold and silver was struck in Virginia City.

The Reno Mercantile/Masonic Lodge No. 13 building, at 98 W. Commercial Row, was the oldest standing commercial structure in Reno when it was razed three months ago to make way for a new downtown hotel. But the demolition crews at the site worked with preservation experts to remove what important relics and details that could be saved.

This past week, the lodge's original 1872 cornerstone was opened and its contents displayed for the public. There were 40 items packed inside of the cornerstone's cavity. 

Reno mayor Hillary Schieve presided over a public unveiling ceremony  at Cargo Concert Hall at Whitney Peak Hotel, along with members of the Nevada Historical Society and Historic Reno Preservation Society. Nevada's Grand Master and members of Reno Lodge 13 were on hand for the occasion. 

Items placed in the lead box included silver dollars minted in Carson City and San Francisco, and a piece of wood from Sutter's Mill where the discovery of gold sparked the California Gold Rush. There was a quartz specimen from the drill at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California, a harmonica, a business card from the Young Men's Christian Association offering "Spirited Refreshments" for 25 cents, and a copy of the Virginia Enterprise in nearby Virginia City where Brother Samuel Clemens began his newspaper career during the 1860s before adopting his pen name of Mark Twain.

According to an article in the Herald Extra on Tuesday:

Some papers in the box were waterlogged, but once restored Magee said they'll be able to read pages from the Nevada State Journal, Reno Crescent, Carson Appeal, Sacramento Union, San Francisco Chronicle and Examiner.

In addition to the 1872 silver dollars, the capsule included a Mexican dollar, an English quarter shilling and two American 3-cent pieces. There's a silver specimen from a mine in White Pine County near the Utah line, the Constitution of the Masonic Grand Lodge and the names of all the officers of the state of Nevada and Washoe County, as well as members of the California Legislature, 1871-72.

From the KTVN.com website on April 16th:

"We knew we were searching for this cornerstone and we hoped we might find a time capsule but when we actually did, we were all so excited that we didn't even know what our first move should be," Niki Gross, Managing Director of Whitney Peak Hotel said. "Who do we call? Who do we tell?" 

The Whitney Peak Hotel owners also own the property where the Masonic Lodge once stood. They got help from historians and archaeologists to carefully pick through the time capsule. It included nearly a dozen newspapers from northern Nevada and California and a variety of 19th century coins. 

"English sovereigns, coins from Mexico, silver dollars from Carson City and San Francisco," Catherine Magee, Director of the Nevada Historical Society said.
Other items included a harmonica, tuxedo studs, an arrowhead, a Masonic manual and many other artifacts. Most of the items are in one piece but some of the papers did get wet and muddy. 

"A lot of that material has disappeared, so it's always fabulous to see the original pieces," Magee said. 

[snip]

"It's been a source of pride for northern Nevada masonry to have the oldest purpose building lodge in town and oldest commercial building," Steve Robison, Grand Master of Mason's of Nevada said. 

People from around northern Nevada attended the event, to see what the Masons left in the time capsule. 

"It's like they sent us a note of what was important to them at the time, what the culture was like at the time," Nathan Digangi, Worshipful Master of Reno Lodge #13 said. 

"It shows us that people really wanted to share with us, here in the future, not knowing when that future was and also things that were really important to the Masons at the time," Magee said. 

Magee hopes most of the items will go to the Nevada Historical Society but that some could be loaned to a Masonic museum or stay on the Whitney Peak property. Gross says the plan is to build a five-story Extended Stay on the vacant property, using some of the original materials from the Masonic Lodge. It would also include the Masons, who would place the building's cornerstone, possibly with another time capsule. 

"We might get a community process going to see how we might approach something like that," Gross said. "It would be a really fun idea to incorporate that into the next phase." 

"The fact that they're preserving all that and making use of it, it's going to speak for generations," Digangi said. 

The Reno Mercantile/Masonic Lodge No. 13 building survived two major fires in the 1870s, and the growth and expansion of the city's downtown.

As Reno grew in size and prominence, Reno Lodge 13 played a larger role in Nevada Freemasonry. Outgrowing their original home, the lodge vacated their old lodge 1872 building, and erected a new building in 1905 on the northwest corner of Virginia Street next to the newly completed Virginia Street Bridge, along the Truckee River. However, Reno Mercantile continued in business in the old building until 1970, after which it was occupied by a succession of commercial businesses including a pawn shop. Most recently, the original building served as storage for Fitzgerald’s Casino (now renovated into the Whitney Peak Hotel).

The 1905 Reno Lodge 13 temple burned down in 1955

In October 3, 1953, Reno No. 13 built a large addition immediately west of their existing 1905 structure. A devastating fire destroyed the oldest part of the original Virginia Street structure August 15, 1955. The burned out structure was razed and replaced by the now existing three story building in 1967.

In the photo above, three buildings shown form the Lodge's property. The tall, pinkish- white four-story building on the left is the older 1953 portion, the green building on the right is the portion rebuilt after the fire in 1967, and they are connected by the narrow vertical gray section in the center.

Today the combined structures serve the needs of several Masonic lodges and appendant bodies: Reno Lodge 13, Mount Rose 40, Pyramid 43, along with the York Rite bodies, the Scottish Rite Orient of Nevada, and the Grand Lodge all call it home.

The buildings include three separate lodge rooms, a banquet hall, the Grand Lodge offices and Grand Lodge Library/Museum, Scottish and York Rite offices, along with several administration and storage areas. The fourth floor is a 400-seat theatre. All of the first floor and most of the second are available for commercial rental.

Traveling: Rhode Island and Massachusetts

Many thanks to everyone who came out to the Providence, Rhode Island Scottish Rite Center on April 17th for the meeting of St. John's Lodge No. 1 in honor of the Deputy Grand Master,  RW Robert Palazzo and his final visitation through the District. I deeply appreciated the warm welcome, the great food, and the wonderful fellowship. It was great to see old, familiar faces from the last time I was here almost ten years ago, along with meeting new friends. 

LtoR: Grand Master Glen Carlson; WB Richard Gonzalez, Master of St. John's Lodge 1;
the Dummy;  Deputy GM Robert Palazzo

And of course, congratulations to MW Grand Master Glenn Carlson for his outstanding year in the Grand East.

Most of all, my deepest appreciation to Brother Richard Lynch for his very kind invitation and hospitality.

The great thing about being in this part if the country is how close by everything is. While we were staying outside of Providence in Middleborogh, Massachusetts, just south of Boston, it gave me the opportunity to drive around and spot other lodges throughout the area.

Driving out into Cape Cod we found Dewitt Clinton Lodge in Sandwich, and a pretty piece of work it is, too.

DeWitt Clinton Lodge, Sandwich, MA

In the middle of Cape Cod, I came across Fraternal Lodge in Centerville.

Fraternal Lodge in Centreville.

And swinging back up to Plymouth, home of Plymouth Rock and the first Pilgrim settlement, I found Plymouth Lodge.

Plymouth Lodge

May Flower Lodge AF&AM, Middleborogh, MA

I also stopped in at Middleborough's May Flower Lodge last week and was lucky enough to find Brother Bill Allison working there (God love and protect all lodge Secretaries). He gave me a tour of their beautiful 19th century historic home. The lodge moved into the historic 1800 Horatio Barrows house back in 1977, and they have preserved much of the house's original furnishings and feel. 

Even in 1977, Freemasons were still doing crazy things like bequeathing their houses or property to their Masonic lodges because the brethren and the lodge meant so much to them when they were alive. You don't hear much about that these days, I'm afraid. Maybe we need to start asking...

MW Glenn Carlson, Grand Master of Rhode Island provided the following background about some of the treasures of the lodge:

May Flower Lodge has had many noted visitors, but none better known than Charles S. Stratton, of St. Johns Lodge No. 3, Bridgeport, Conn., better known to the world as General Tom Thumb, husband of one of Middleboro's famous Lilliputians, Lavinia Warren Bump. 

Among the cherished possessions of the Lodge is a Masonic apron 206 years old that was presented to Bro. Charles S. Stratton in Canada in 1863. He was a frequent visitor to May Flower Lodge and first recorded as such August 16, 1864. Another cherished memento is the traveling card of our late Bro. John N. Holmes, Master of Whaling Bark Sea Fox, New Bedford, who was killed by an explosion of gun powder on the West Coast of Africa, where it was found in the possession of a native by Mr. Crapo, another whaler who knew Bro. Holmes and returned it to the Lodge.

Next week: Maine and Masonic Con