Freemasons For Dummies: November 2022

Wednesday, November 09, 2022

Suspect Sought in Connection with North Carolina Masonic Hall Fire

by Christopher Hodapp

A former lodge officer is being sought in connection with a possible arson fire at North Carolina's Oak Island Lodge 758 in Long Beach on the afternoon of Sunday, November 6th. The fire caused major exterior damage around its main entrance, and possible structural damage as well. Investigators believe the blaze may have been deliberately set.

Police are now hunting Wesley Heckendorn, 34, of Bolivia, NC – the lodge's former Senior Deacon in 2020 – as a suspect in connection with the case.

From the State Port Pilot website today:

Oak Island Police Department is investigating the fire, which appeared intentionally set, and is looking for 34-year-old Wesley Heckendorn as a person of interest in the case. Brunswick County Sheriff’s office is also looking for Heckendorn as part of a missing person investigation.

A press release from Oak Island specifies Heckendorn is only a person of interest and no suspect has been named in the case yet.

Heckendorn was last seen driving a white 2017 Kia Forta with a black front bumper and the license plate number CDN-7528. Anyone with information on his location is advised to call 911.

The Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office is also searching for Heckendorn as part of an ongoing missing persons investigation.

And no, in case you're wondering, it's NOT the same Oak Island that's the ongoing subject of a seemingly endless History Channel TV show about a deep, mysterious pit in Nova Scotia.

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Legendary brotherhood
With a mythic past
And a visionary future.

Freemasonry is the largest, oldest and best-known gentleman's fraternity in the world. Historically, it is based on the Medieval stonemason guilds who built the great castles and cathedrals of Europe. Mythologically it is founded upon the building of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem, as told in the Old Testament of the Bible.

Modern Freemasons likewise use the tools, traditions and terminology of those Biblical stonemasons as allegories for building Temples in the hearts of men, using Solomon as our ideal example of wisdom, justice and faith.

At its core, Freemasonry is simply an attempt to make the world a better place, one man at a time. For each man, it can become as simple or as complicated as he himself desires.

It's said that we are a secret society. We do indeed have secrets—secrets that each individual man has to discover for and about himself.

It's not for everybody. It never has been, and was never meant to be. That's the point.

Maybe it's for you.

Christopher L. Hodapp is the author of Freemasons For Dummies, the international, best-selling introduction to the Masonic fraternity; and Solomon's Builders: Freemasons, Founding Fathers and the Secrets of Washington D.C..

Prior to joining the Masons and becoming an author, Chris spent 23 years as a commercial filmmaker with Dean Crow Productions in Indianapolis.

Since 2009 he has been on the Board of the Masonic Library & Museum of Indiana, and serves as its Associate Director and Treasurer. In 2021, Chris was named as Public Relations and Marketing Director for the Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons of the State of Indiana.

As a Freemason, Chris is a Past Master of Broad Ripple Lodge No. 643 and of Lodge Vitruvian No. 767 under the Grand Lodge F&AM of Indiana; he is a member of Indiana's Schofield Lodge 1818 U.D.; and of Internet Lodge No. 9659 in the Province of East Lancashire of the United Grand Lodge of England. Most recently, he served as the Worshipful Master of the Dwight L. Smith Lodge of Research U.D. in Indiana for 2019-21.

In 2018 he was awarded the Caleb B. Smith Medal of Honor by the Grand Lodge F&AM of Indiana for his "distinguished service to Freemasonry in Indiana and worldwide."

Chris is a 33° Mason in the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite (NMJ), Indianapolis Valley. He is a Past Sovereign Master of Imhotep Council No. 434 of the Allied Masonic Degrees. He is a founding member of Levant Preceptory, a medieval Knights Templar period recreation degree team in the York Rite, and he is an officer of the Indiana College of the Societas Rosicruciana in Civitatibus Foederatis. He belongs to numerous other Masonic appendant organizations.

As a Masonic author, in 2012 he was named as Friar No. 101 in the Society of Blue Friars. Chris was a Founding Fellow of The Masonic Society, and was the founding Editor in Chief of The Journal of The Masonic Society. He was the editor and a contributor in 2004-5 to "Laudable Pursuit: A 21st Century Response to Dwight Smith" by the Knights of the North, a Masonic leadership think-tank focusing on modern lodge solutions. He has written for Indianapolis Monthly, Heredom, Masonic Magazine, Templar History, the Scottish Rite Journal, the Knight Templar Magazine, the Indiana Freemason , the Phylaxis, and numerous other publications.

His most recent Masonic book, Heritage Endures, was published in January 2018 as part of the 200th anniversary of Indiana's Grand Lodge.

Chris is also the co-author with his wife Alice VonKannon of The Templar Code For Dummies and Conspiracy Theories And Secret Societies For Dummies. Together they developed scripts for the History Channel program, Brad Meltzer's Decoded in 2010, and contributed material on conspiracies and secret societies for TruTV and the American Heroes Channel. They have both appeared on National Public Radio, the History Channel, Discovery, National Geographic, Smithsonian, and the American Heroes Channel - most recently in the 2024 episode of America's Book of Secrets - The Freemason Factor for History and Prometheus Productions.

Chris and Alice reside in Indianapolis with their canine companions , Sophie the Flying Poodle and Maxwell, the Idiot Circus Doodle, who have them both answering to basic commands. They can frequently be found alarming the wildlife and dazzling the rustiks in their Airstream trailer as they crisscross the country. Appropriately, their newest books together are RVs and Campers For Dummies, released in June 2021; and RV Vacations For Dummies - 7th Edition, released in June 2023.

APPEARANCES

Contact Chris directly to enquire about speaking at your event.

2025

January 11, 2025
Grand Lodge of Indiana 'Founders' Day'
Indianapolis, Indiana

March 22, 2025
AASR Valley of Rochester
College of Freemasonry
Rochester, NY

April 11-13, 2025
Wisconsin Masonic Con
Eau Claire, Wisconsin

April 25-27, 2025
Big Sky Masonic Con,
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May 12, 2025
200th Anniversary of General Lafayette's American Tour
Parade and Grand Lodge Plaque Dedication
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May 20, 2025
Grand Lodge of Indiana
Annual Communication
Indianapolis, Indiana

June 2025
Denver Scottish Rite, Denver, CO

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