Grand Lodge of Texas 1945 Mural Created...At Last

Image: Sean Starr

by Christopher L. Hodapp

UPDATE: THIS STORY WAS UPDATED 10/2/2025 WITH A NEW COMPOSITE IMAGE PROVIDED BY THE ARTIST.

When the Grand Lodge of Texas built their magnificent art deco/Egyptian-revival grand lodge building in Waco in the 1940s, a mural was designed originally to be installed behind the auditorium's Grand East. It was never completed, for reasons lost in the mists of time. Cheapness, laziness, changes in taste, or never getting around to it. The point is, it was never put in place.

According to PGM and Grand Secretary Brad Billings, it was included in the building committee meeting talks up until 1945. An architectural model was created when the building was proposed by architect Raoul Jossett, and it was built almost exactly as the model specified. But the mural itself was never installed. A look at the immense size of the auditorium stage gives you some idea of just how huge this would have been.

"Speculation is cost or they likely couldn't find a local artist to make that size painting," says Brad.

Fast forward to this past year.

An artistic Texas Brother named Sean Starr got hold of the original proposed artwork and has painted a scaled-down version for the Grand Secretary's office in three 5-foot by 5-foot panels. (Composite image above provided by the artist.)

It appears to depict Hiram Abiff (or perhaps King Solomon?) flanked by art deco depictions of the Holy Sts John, combined with the circle and parallel lines of our symbolism.

GS Billings says the mural will be projected behind the Grand East at the next annual communication of Grand Lodge. He adds, "We plan to make prints to help offset the cost of the artist to make it! I’m happy to answer any questions or give a quote. Such a cool thing to be a part of!"

Britain's Council For Freemasonry Responds To Yesterday's Spectator Editorial

by Christopher L. Hodapp

Great Britain's Council For Freemasonry has responded to yesterday's idiotic editorial in The Spectator, “There’s something vulgar about Freemasons” by Irish 'journalist' Melanie McDonagh.

It reads, in part:

As Freemasons, we have become accustomed to inaccurate and unfair representations of our organisation and members – but this article, sadly, reaches a new and deliberate low.

Particularly surprising was the distasteful focus on Freemasons’ Hall, a war memorial built in 1933 to remember the thousands of Freemasons that so valiantly made the Ultimate Sacrifice for this country in the First World War. This memorial, funded by Freemasons themselves, stands as a reminder of those brave men – with the Art Deco splendour a fitting tribute to their memory. In her article, Ms McDonagh chooses to describe these trappings as “vulgar”. It should be clear, that we will never apologise for the reverence with which we remember them, or for the unique and historic relationship that we enjoy with the Armed Forces.

Sadly, the article also lists several further inaccuracies. According to Ms McDonagh, Catholics aren’t allowed to be Freemasons. This is, of course, a complete falsehood. We are proud to be an organisation with people from all faiths, including Catholics. In fact, Freemasonry remains one of the very few institutions that celebrates this diversity so fervently, as a cornerstone of who we are. It is common to find Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs, and all faiths, sat together in a Freemasons’ Lodge – enjoying each other’s company. This is something that should be celebrated and inaccurate representations such as the one featured in this article, do nothing but encourage unnecessary disharmony and upset.

The rules of Freemasonry are perfectly clear – it is strictly forbidden for any Freemason to have any kind of financial or professional gain from their membership. Such an occurrence would likely see that individual face disciplinary proceedings and expulsion.

The charitable work to which Ms McDonagh alludes, for the awareness of the readers of The Spectator, is indeed tireless, and equated to £26.3 million in 2023/24. Our engagement in our communities is not just restricted to financial support. We have calculated that Freemasons conduct over 18 million hours of volunteering a year. This was particularly prevalent during the pandemic, where Freemasons were key to the national effort by acting as marshals at vaccination centres, as well as in assisting the elderly through the delivery of key provisions.

Our members are actively encouraged to talk openly about their membership of Freemasonry and to talk with pride about it, whilst raising awareness of what we do. To be clear, we are not supportive of mandatory disclosure of membership of ourselves or any other unjustifiable restrictions on our members' right to privacy and to freedom of association. 

Despite the misrepresentations of our organisation and members, Freemasonry, as it has done for the last 300 years, will continue to provide a space for men and women to enjoy the camaraderie, tradition, and togetherness that it offers. Freemasonry continues to evolve, but its guiding principles of integrity, friendship, and service remain unchanged.

The Council for Freemasonry is a cooperative association made up representatives of the United Grand Lodge of England, The Order of Women Freemasons, The Grand Lodge of Scotland, and The Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons. The Council was formed in 2024, in part, to respond publicly whenever the fraternity of Freemasonry is given a black eye in the media or is discriminated against by government bodies.

In a press release at that time, the Council described itself:

Even in 2024 Freemasonry continues to face various unfounded criticisms and inaccurate misconceptions, often stemming from deep-rooted prejudices, or preconceived falsehoods. Contrary to the erroneous claim that Freemasonry is exclusively male, women’s Freemasonry has been an integral part of Freemasonry in the UK for over a century. While Freemasonry is practised in single-sex Lodges, this is no different from many other activities, including most sports as well as many other community groups.

The establishment of the Council for Freemasonry will formally establish an overarching forum for collaboration. In addition, the Council will bring together the community service ambitions of all three bodies, coordinate communication and engagement with other organisations, drive the membership growth ambitions, particularly for women Freemasons, and allocate resources and facilities for the general benefit of both male and female Freemasonry.

The Council will include the heads of each Grand Lodge, and each Grand Lodge will provide the President for a twelve-month period, chairing Council meetings in strict rotation. The President for the first two years will come from the OWF and HFAF, with UGLE covering the third year. 

The formation of the Council for Freemasonry in England and Wales marks a pivotal step towards enhancing cooperation, addressing misconceptions, and promoting the values of Freemasonry. This historic initiative reaffirms Freemasonry’s commitment to integrity, friendship, respect and service, while keeping community service and charitable giving at the absolute forefront of this historic organisation.

Since then, the Grand Lodge of Scotland has also joined the Council. 

With yesterday's development concerning yet another attempt to force police officers in London's Metropolitan Police to declare their private Masonic membership, it's clear the Council's reason for existing continues to be important, I'm sad to say.

Scotland Yard Is Hunting Masons Under The Bed... Again

by Christopher L. Hodapp

THIS STORY HAS BEEN REVISED TO SHOW THAT THE METROPOLITAN POLICE, AND NOT THE POLICE FEDERATION, IS RECOMMENDING THE MASONIC MEMBERSHIP DISCLOSURE POLICY. MY APOLOGIES FOR THE MIXUP.

As a kid, I always hated reruns. Turns out that I still don't like them as an adult.

London's Metropolitan Police (MET) have once again resurrected the snaggletoothed notion that all law enforcement officers be forced to officially declare their membership in the Freemasons. The hazy allegation is that Masonic police officers in the Metropolitan Police (MET) might possibly be engaging in favoritism, underhanded conduct, or downright criminal acts that all get swept under the carpet by fellow Brethren who hold their Masonic obligations higher than proper police conduct. Their reasoning is that, even though there's no proof of any such thing, some people and some officers MIGHT THINK there's something dodgy going on.

Scotland Yard is meeting with the Met's Police Federation and the United Grand Lodge of England, who are both protesting the rule.

According to an article in the BBC:

The Met does not currently record how many officers are Masons, and has never banned them from joining, but said concerns had been raised by officers and staff about the impact that membership of such a group could be having on "investigations, promotions and misconduct".

Existing examples of declarable associations include people with criminal convictions, those dismissed from policing, and lawful professions such as private investigation or journalism.

Officers and staff already have to declare any association with an individual or group that might compromise their integrity or damage the reputation of the force.

The move was recommended by the Daniel Morgan Independent Panel report, which looked at the force's handling of the unsolved murder of private detective Daniel Morgan.

The 37-year-old father of two was killed with an axe in the car park of the Golden Lion pub in Sydenham, south-east London, in 1987.

A string of inquiries over the decades unearthed allegations of corruption.

The 2021 report said police officers' membership of the Freemasons had been "a source of recurring suspicion and mistrust in the investigations".

Right. An investigation of an event from 39 years ago, from which an unknown number of those involved have died of old age.

This moth-eaten nonsense really dates back to 1984 in the wake of Stephen Knight's baseless, witless book of anti-Masonic fantasies, The Brotherhood: The Secret World of the Freemasons, in which he set forth his addled belief in a vast, secret network of secret Freemasons secretly secreted within police forces, courtrooms, law firms, and the prison system who secretly conspire to secretly commit crimes, hide their own transgressions, pardon criminals, and promote each other by giving each other secret signs, dodgy handshakes, and hopping about with rolled up trouser legs.

Or something like that. 

(And no, I'm not linking to it - go find it on your own, if you must, but buy a used copy so his heirs don't receive any royalties.)

Knight's absurd waste of pulp set in motion conspiracy theories alleging everything from a Masonic Jack the Ripper (as dramatized in the movies Murder By Decree and From Hell), to the sinking of the Titanic. There was an alleged police cover-up regarding a 1989 football stadium riot in Hillsborough (it took 27 years of investigating Hillsborough before several commissions finally gave up on finding ANY Masonic connection to the stampede and death of 96 people). There have also been countless unfounded claims over the decades that Masons have only promoted Brother Masons within the ranks of police departments all over the country. Time after time it's found simply that these cases are brought by disgruntled employees over being passed over for advancement. But more than four decades have gone by as these conspiracy theories have been marinated into the public consciousness by whole platoons of the press who keep floating these rumors, regardless of the facts.

Between 1997 and 2009, then-Home Secretary Jack Straw and his commission in the Home Office enacted a national law forcing cops and members of the judiciary to declare their membership in no other group besides the Freemasons, and wasted a fat wad of the taxpayer's cash and twelve years to arrive at the same conclusion across the whole country - there was no there there. No evidence of Masonic influences in police departments. Period. The law was only eliminated in the wake of a successful 2009 suit brought in the European Court of Human Rights by Italian Masons fighting a similar regulation. UGLE threatened a similar suit and the Home Office finally scrapped its registration requirement of Masons in police departments and the judiciary in 2010.

Again in 2016, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, reluctantly squashed a requirement that the city's Met officers had to publicly declare their Masonic membership, pointing out that such a register would be illegal. But I suppose since the Brexit vote occurred, the government has now decided they no longer have to follow the European Court of Human Rights rulings.

See, if only England could ditch those pesky protections of privacy and pass laws to specifically persecute people like Masonic police officers, lawyers, and judges over their private associations, everything would be just fine. Then once the Masons are purged, perhaps they could move on to getting rid of cops who are Manchester United fans, Fabians, bowling league members, cricketeers, and then get to the members of tea cozy collectors' clubs.

The MET's Police Federation acts similar to a police union or professionals' association. Back in 2018, the then-head of the Police Federation, Steve White, resigned from office just before he was about to be handed the biscuit in a no-confidence vote from his members. On his way out the door, he alleged that he had been thwarted from making serious reforms to the Federation over his three-year term by some unspecified cabal of secret Masonic police officers, even though he had no idea how many of his officers were actually members of the fraternity, who they might be, how influential (or ineffectual) they really were, or whether Masons had actually done anything at all to block his plans. Imagine that.

Turns out that his fellow officers just plain didn't like the guy or his proposed changes. That had nothing to do with the Freemasons.

The problem has ALWAYS been that anti-Masonic prejudices and open hatreds are so widespread in the UK and Europe. Once employees of ANY profession are required to openly declare their Masonic membership, they are opening themselves up to retribution and risking their jobs. Anti-Masons will use their membership as an excuse to allege misconduct of all kinds. Criminals will accuse Masonic cops of no end of imaginary conspiracies. Non-Masonic officers will accuse Masonic supervisors of favoritism and prejudice, just like Steve White did when he resigned in 2018.

The ONLY reason the public has this toxic perception in the first place is because certain members of the press and opportunistic politicians have spent more than 40 years beating this same meritless, one-note drum over and over. Look at this one from 2011. Or this one from 2018. 

Today, to accompany this story, The Spectator editorialist Melanie McDonagh posted a piece of offal, There's Something Vulgar About the Freemasons, that's so loaded with falsehoods and her own personal prejudices that a responsible editor should have handed it back to her to try again. It seems Ms. McDonagh just doesn't like the IDEA of the Masons, as a Catholic and a woman (who doesn't even know that there are thousands of female Masons in England). She doesn't like the Masons; she doesn't like the decorum UGLE's Great Queen Street headquarters, Freemasons Hall (!); she thinks it's a given that "half the coppers in London are Freemasons"; and she admits she doesn't even know if her own beliefs are true or not. 

The press contradictorily brands Freemasons, on the one hand, as a doddering, dwindling collection of sad, old white men engaging in silly rituals behind closed doors of crumbling buildings, who have no reason to exist in a modern world. But, in the same breath, they treat Freemasons as an all-powerful secret society that pervades professions like the police departments and the judiciary, exchanging secret semaphore signals with criminals or accomplices to get each other promotions or to escape the strong arm of justice they so richly deserve.

So which is it—stupid dinosaurs on our collective death bed, or all-powerful manipulators who surreptitiously pick the winners and losers? The anti-Masons can't have it both ways, but they sure do huff and puff and keep trying to do just that.

Thankfully, we haven't had to deal with this nonsense in the U.S. ever, really. Our worst anti-Masonic period was 200 years ago, and while we've had occasional bouts with it since then, we haven't been victimized by the press with the wholesale level our English Brethren have dealt with since the 1980s. This is why former Grand Secretary David Staples and the UGLE created the #EnoughIsEnough campaign several years ago to combat anti-Masonic press allegations and prejudices. And why the all-male UGLE teamed up with the two English female grand lodges and the Grand lodge of Scotland to create the Council For Freemasonry last year, a cooperative organization that specifically responds to these kinds of anti-Masonic stories as a rapid-response team.

The United Grand Lodge of England will be meeting with MET officials on Tuesday. Hopefully, this most recent episode will get defused as they have in the past. But given the current political climate in the UK, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour government trying to clamp down on free speech, free association, and other vital tenets of Western governance, nothing is certain.

Today Only! Sale on 'Freemasons For Dummies' Kindle Just $2.99

by Christopher Hodapp

UPDATE 9/29/2025 AT 8:00PM: 

SALE IS OVER WITH AND THE KINDLE IS BACK UP TO IT'S NORMAL $17.99 PRICE.

I just received a last-minute message from my editor at Wiley that Amazon is offering a flash sale RIGHT NOW on the Kindle version of Freemasons For Dummies for an unbelievable $2.99! 

That's a markdown from the usual Kindle price of $17.99 and it's available today only, Thursday, September 25th! 

Strange and myriad are the ways of Amazon. No, I don't know when they'll shut it down, so you need to act fast. He who hesitates pays full retail! And this flash sale applies ONLY to the Kindle edition of the book, and NOT the paperback dead-tree version.

CLICK HERE to be whisked off to the Amazon page.

Vancouver Masonic Hall Arsonist Paroled Again

Ben Kohlman, self-portrait/Facebook

by Christopher Hodapp

The convicted arsonist who set fire to three Masonic halls in Vancouver, Canada back in 2021 is in trouble with the law again, and he still blaming "The Illuminati" for his troubles.

On March 8, 2021, Benjamin Orion Carlson Kohlman went on an arson spree across northern Vancouver, setting fires that completely destroyed or severely damaged three different Masonic halls. At that time, he claimed to hear voices in his head telling him to burn down the Masonic halls because the Masons and the Illuminati were engaging in mind control of other people. Kohlman was subsequently sentenced to federal prison and eventually released. 

Now he's been sentenced to 18 months’ probation after being arrested over a year ago for dangerous driving, fleeing from police, and subsequently attempting to take the gun of the arresting police officer. He was jailed for almost a year and a half for that crime. Now, amazingly, despite his prior issues with drug-induced psychosis, paranoia and history as a firebug, the court has granted him probation in this case.

From an article on the North Shore News website dated September 8 by Nick Laba:

Kohlman spent 168 days in custody after being arrested last August and released in February on bail. In addition to probation, he was also sentenced to a one-year driving prohibition and a 10-year weapons ban.

On the evening of Aug. 23, 2024, police responded to several calls about a red Dodge Caravan driving very erratically on Highway 1 westbound near Mountain Highway in North Vancouver.

[snip] 

During the arrest, Kohlman struck an officer in the face and cut his lip. Kohlman also reached for that officer’s firearm but wasn’t successful in grabbing it, Brown said. He also punched another officer in the chest, before being handcuffed.

Police reported that Kohlman was ranting about the Illuminati, a common subject of conspiracy theories.

[snip]

Noting his record, Brown said that Kohlman had been convicted of driving while prohibited in 2008, and served time in federal prison for a string of Masonic Hall arsons in 2021. Two of the three buildings set on fire were on the North Shore – the Freemasons’ Lynn Valley Lodge and the Capilano Lodge on Lonsdale Avenue – while the third, Park Lodge Hall, was located on Rupert Street in East Vancouver.

While in custody, Kohlman was assessed by a psychiatrist, who diagnosed him with drug-induced psychosis associated with the use of MDMA. Kohlman’s defence lawyer Andrew Nelson explained that his client has vivid psychotic delusions while on that drug.

“At times, maybe when he’s depressed, he deliberately does this because he hears the voice of what he thinks of as his guardian angel, and then as he gets deeper into his psychosis he tends to have these very bizarre behaviours,” Nelson said.

Originally, the Crown had sought three years of probation, but downgraded the term to one year based on Kohlman’s progress in recovery since being released from custody earlier this year.

Back when he was destroying Masonic lodges, Kohlman believed the buildings were used by “dark souls and evil.” Social media posts that appeared during his escapades described the lodge halls as "satanic club houses."

Four years later, it's clear Kohlman's stint in prison had little positive effect on his emotional and mental well-being, and his drug use continued on the outside. Now he's out again. Regardless of his "progress in recovery," Vancouver Masons should remain vigilant. The voices in his head may just be napping.

Indiana Grand Master: 9/11 Message To Masons

by Christopher Hodapp

The following message was circulated to Indiana Freemasons today on the 24th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 9/11/2001, and in the wake of the assassination of TurningPointUSA speaker Charlie Kirk at a university campus in Utah. Upon news of the death, social media erupted with messages praising or excoriating Kirk's political views, his supporters, and the actions of the assassin. Freemasons clearly identified as such online engaged in these heated exchanges, many of which were shocking in their language and intent. Subsequently, Grand Master Randy Seipel issued the following letter. All Masons should take heed to his thoughtful message:

September 11, 2025 

My Brothers, 

Freemasonry is an organization of men of every background, sect, religion, and political thought. We join together in the union of Brotherly Love despite those differences of faith, thought, and conviction. We build brotherly relationships based on the acceptance of each other and our shared desire to put our ntual into action by supporting each in the journey of taking good men and making them better. We do this through our tenets of Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth. 

Recently, a high-profile political figure was murdered at a public event sparking not only shock and sorrow but controversy and political hate speech from both sides of the aisle. As Freemasons we are charged to rise above the fray. Abhorrent speech, vulgar language, and hateful conduct is foreign to us, yet at times our emotions, thoughts, and actions override our Masonic values. When this happens, it is incumbent upon every brother Mason to reflect on their actions, arm themselves with their working tools and break off the corners of their rough ashlars to prepare their living stone for that sacred building, that house not made with hands eternal in the heavens. 

As I often am, I am reminded of the valuable, in disposable lessons we learn as Masons. Silence and circumspection are truly masonic virtues. We are all children of the same parent. Masonry joins men of every sect and creed who might well have maintained at a perpetual distance. 

My Brothers, as we reflect today on the thousands of lives lost 24 years ago during the 9/11 attacks, let us remember those tragic events brought to us by hate-filled extremists whose cause was not strengthened by those attacks. Rather, they were weakened as our great country rose together to support each other, renewing our pride in our country, and reenergizing our patriotism and unity. Let us then use the tragic events of yesterday to grow in understanding and compassion, to reclaim the charge of Brotherly Love and understanding and to stand firm on the moral dictates of our great Fraternity. Let us build and grow, and
love, and pray together, and show that Masons can, do, and will make the world a better place. 

Fraternally,
Randolph L. Seipel
Grand Master

 

TempleLive Abruptly Closes; Operated Former Masonic Temples in Four Cities

by Christopher Hodapp

A bold vision to try and save historic Masonic temples has tragically failed, apparently. Or at least struck a sizeable reef. News sources in Cleveland, Ohio reported last week that TempleLive, the company operating the Cleveland Masonic Temple and several other landmark Masonic theater venues, seems to have folded. Shows have been canceled, performers have been unable to get responses, and the company isn't answering phone calls. The company website is also down. 

If they really have folded, it's a sad setback for the historic Masonic temples in Cleveland, and Columbus, Ohio, along with Wichita in Kansas, and Ft. Smith in Arkansas, all recently renovated by TempleLive to the tune of tens of millions of dollars. But TempleLive wasn't owned or affiliated with the two or three mega-promotion companies that monopolize the concert business in the U.S. Squeezed out of the most lucrative acts in show business, they have fallen into the economic reality of trying to do things independently.

Cleveland Masonic Temple

The company was started several years ago by Lance Beaty's Beaty Capital Group and Rob Thomas, who had two goals for their venture. One was to preserve, renovate and operate theaters, specifically in endangered Masonic halls. Like so many of us, they realized these incredible, one of a kind temples built by our brethren a century or more ago needed to find new life in order to be saved from the wrecking ball. Their secondary notion was to serve smaller towns outside of the usual lineup of big cities for touring music, theater, comedy and other entertainment acts. Their first purchase was the 1928 Fort Smith Masonic Temple, and all of the venues they took over had large stages and auditoriums built originally for fraternal productions. Our forefathers also intended for these beautiful theaters to be used by their communities, not just a couple of annual events for Masons only.

Fort Smith Masonic Temple

An extended story in Crain's Cleveland Business on Monday quoted an Arkansas interview with the company's founder, Lance Beaty, who placed a lot of blame on being in independent concert promotor in a world dominated by a few massive, monopolistic corporations who control the business:

BCG CEO Lance Beaty told Arkansas news outlet Talk Business & Politics (TB&P) over the weekend that TempleLive operations are being shuttered in short order. This follows Beaty previously indicating just a few days prior that owners were looking at ways to keep the concert promoter going.

“We determined it was best to be definitive so the decision was made to pull down the remaining shows,” Beaty told the outlet.
Beaty cast blame on a mix of factors for TempleLive’s apparent struggles, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and a ticketing system that can put independent promoters at a disadvantage. 

“We are simply an outsider in an insider’s business,” Beaty told TB&P. “No matter how much money you throw at it or how creative you think you are, if you’re not on the inside, you’re not in.”

The Columbus Athenaeum was built in 1899 as a Masonic temple. 

After an expansion in 1913, it was claimed to be the largest specifically-Masonic building in America (a mantle that was soon surpassed in the fraternal building craze of the 1920s).

Wichita Scottish Rite

The article continued:

According to the 2025 State of Live report from the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), 64% of indie venues did not turn a profit in 2024.
“Their survival is threatened by inflation, monopolistic pressures, and predatory ticket resale practices,” NIVA writes. “Yet their economic footprint is vast, their community impact is undeniable, and their importance to the national economy is backed by hard data.”

A debt collection complaint has been filed against BCG by Arkansas’ Partners Bank for an alleged default on a $1.5 million line of credit, according to Phillips County Circuit Court records. That related promissory note was signed in October 2023 and matured on May 2, 2025.

BCG established its TempleLive subsidiary upon acquiring and renovating a Masonic temple in Fort Smith, Arkansas, in 2017. This set a blueprint for TempleLive for purchasing similar Masonic auditoriums in other markets, improving them and opening them as concert and event venues.

As it expanded, TempleLive’s footprint grew to include additional venues in Cleveland and Columbus as well as Peoria, Illinois and Wichita, Kansas.
The Masonic Auditorium at 3669 Euclid Ave. in Cleveland was purchased by TempleLive in March 2017 for $725,000, according to county property records. In the years since, upwards of $14 million has been pumped into renovating the space over at least a couple of phases of redevelopment. Plans at the site also at one time included a vision for a massive adjacent hotel, the project for which was estimated to be around at least $60 million.

Conference in Lexington, KY Sep. 19-20: "Exploring the Role of Masonic Research Lodges in the 21st Century"

by Christopher Hodapp

UPDATE: A previous version of this story mistakenly announced the wrong month! The conference is NEXT WEEKEND, September 19-20.

What is the modern day purpose of Masonic lodges of research, in an age of podcasts, YouTubes, e-books, video streaming on demand, and the onslaught of self-publishing that has diminished the role of editors and fact-checkers? 

Next Friday and Saturday, September 19th and 20th, 2025, Kentucky's William O. Ware Lodge of Research with their co-hosts, Lexington Lodge No. 1, The Rubicon Masonic Society, and The Philalethes Society will hold their 13th Annual Festive Board and Conference at historic Spindletop Hall in Lexington, Kentucky. This year's theme will be "Exploring the Role of Masonic Research Lodges in the 21st Century."

Friday's Festive Board will kick off the night before the Conference at Lexington's beautiful Spindletop Hall, with a Reception from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Call to Tables at 7:00 p.m., Introductions then dinner at 7:15 p.m. The evening will include the seven traditional toasts with songs throughout. The Keynote Speaker will be PGM John L. Cooper III (California) on the topic of Delivering the Message of Freemasonry. Following discussion, the evening will conclude with a Chain of Union and Closing Charge.

The Conference proper will open Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m. at Spindletop Hall in the renowned Oak Room, with a welcome and introductions by W.B. John W. Bizzack, who will frame the program for the day and the issues faced by Research Lodges and Societies.

For more details, read on:

Upstate New York Masonic Temple For Sale

by Christopher Hodapp

If you ever wanted to own your own impressive Masonic hall, head for upstate New York. It’s not every day a nearly-110-year-old, castle-like Masonic Temple with bowling lanes, a ballroom, an organ, and movie-ready tech hits the market for under half-a-million smackers.

The massive former Masonic Temple in Little Falls, NY has just gone on the market for just $499,900. (If it looks familiar, I also wrote about it in 2017, the last time it went on the market: 'When The Profane World Protects Treasures We Toss') It’s not just one lot, either—it comes with four parcels bundled together. That definitely seems like a steal for what you’re getting, as long as you're ready to relocate to Little Falls, which definitely has its charm. After all, it's the home of the Yogi Berra Museum.

Built in 1914, this imposing building perches majestically at the corner of Prospect and School Streets, offering killer views of the Mohawk River and valley hills. Designed by architect William Neil Smith in the French-Medieval style, the building is brick, stone, half-timber, and cement stucco, all rolled into one. The lodge room is intact along with a Templar Commandery drill hall/banquet room (we served "banquets" then, not cold spaghetti on paper plates with plastic sporks).

The current owners have clearly treated this gem like their playground. On the main level, they installed a slick bar just begging for soirees. They plopped a $150K full-motion projection system (yes, movie nights in the castle!), draped it with custom ballroom curtains from France, and added a partial but gorgeous custom kitchen. There’s even living quarters with soaring ceilings, two bedrooms, and killer views. Bonus: they’re leaving behind stacks of building materials for whoever's next to bring the vision home. 

Even the former Commandery's glass-front uniform lockers are still there in the Armory. All still preserved, but now with a new living space, bedroom, and modern kitchen on one floor. It is artistically beautiful, and architecturally unique. 

And it all used to belong to us. 

It doesn't anymore.

The New York Masons were building for the Ages. William Moore thought this Temple noteworthy enough to mention it in his book, Masonic Temples: Freemasonry, Ritual Architecture, and Masculine Archetypes. Out here in the Midwest where we make our human sacrifices to the Corn Gods, the modern-day choice of Masonic hall construction is pre-fab steel pole barns that might as well be a swine barn, soybean warehouse or veterinarian's office. 

In 1995 as the lodge suffered from declining membership, they sold the building to a prominent local couple who turned it into their own private home and pottery business. They allowed the Masons to continue meeting in their original lodge room for several years. The local Little Falls lodge moved out in 2004 when they consolidated with a lodge in Dolesville. At its height, this was home to 350 Masons and 173 Order of Eastern Star members. Over the years it’s been a nursery school, pottery and art studio, a dance and music venue.

This place is enormous—16,960 square feet (about 12,000+ square feet inside). Think cathedral ceilings, epic entertaining spaces, and enough room to get wildly creative. The lower level once had its own bowling alley with two huge lanes—accessed from School Street. The first floor social and club rooms are accessed through the main entrance through a charming tower at the street corner. The second floor features a kitchen, a ballroom complete with a bar and stage, plus a foyer leading to mezzanine dressing rooms, coat rooms, and lockers. 

For this much updated epicness, the price is pretty amazing at $499,900, which breaks down to roughly $29 per square foot, and I'll make a bet you couldn't build a new steel pole barn architectural eyesore in a corn field for that today.

Texas PGM Reese Harrison Passes Away

by Christopher Hodapp

UPDATED: Texas Past Grand Master Reese L. Harrison has passed to the Celestial Lodge Above. A post on the Grand Lodge of Texas Facebook page from Grand Master Reader this afternoon says he actually passed on August 29th, and was laid to rest at a private ceremony today, September 4th.

It would be nearly impossible to accurately recount the vast Masonic resumé of PGM Harrison. His longstanding devotion to the fraternity and its many appendant bodies over the decades is unmatched.

It can often be thought that Freemasonry is the be-all and end-all for someone whose private and professional life is somehow empty or unfulfilling. Reese Harrison was not one of those men. His obituary appeared today after the private service, and I reprint it here. What we see as Masons is but a tiny portion of a man's life, and many may not have known Reese's complete background. (Details and other information may be seen on his obituary page HERE.)

Reese Lenwood Harrison, Jr. quietly passed away at his home on August 29, 2025, at the age of 87 following a short illness. Reese was born on January 5, 1938, in San Antonio, Texas, to Ruth Fischer Harrison and Reese L. Harrison, Sr.

Reese graduated from San Antonio’s Breckridge High School in 1956. He attended Baylor University and graduated in three years with a Bachelor of Business Administration in 1959 and later with a Master of Science degree in Economics in 1965. He attended law school at Southern Methodist University where he received a Juris Doctorate degree in 1962.

Reese married Judith Karen Scott on October 9, 1964. They made their home in San Antonio where their two daughters, Judith Karen Scott Harrison, Jr. and Tiffany Farrah Lynn Harrison, were born. While being an attorney, Reese, with his sister Janice, operated the Bar H Ranches Partnership, Ltd., a cattle ranch in Bexar, Wilson, and Caldwell Counties, Texas. Active in the community, Reese was selected Outstanding Young Man in San Antonio for 1973, receiving the Distinguished Service Award from the San Antonio Junior Chamber of Commerce of which he was not a member. He was a Life Director of the San Antonio Livestock Exposition and Rodeo, a former Vice-President of the San Antonio Charity Horse Show, and a Director of the Miss Rodeo Texas Pageant among many other civic activities too numerous to mention. Over the years, Reese held a number of leadership positions in the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce and the Alamo Area Council of Governments. He was active in the Democratic Party at the County, State and National levels.

Reese was admitted to the practice of law in September 1962 and would spend his career practicing law. Reese was appointed an Assistant US Attorney in the Western District of Texas and served from 1964 through 1972. He entered private practice in 1972 as a partner in the firm of Oppenheimer, Blend, Harrison, and Tate. Reese continued to practice law as senior counsel when the firm merged with Clark Hill and its predecessor firms in 2011 until his passing.

Initially admitted to the bar in Texas, Reese was also admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the four US District Courts of Texas, several US Courts of Appeals, and other US Courts including Armed Forces, Federal Claims, International Trade, and Tax Court. He was an active member of numerous professional organizations including the San Antonio Bar Association, Texas Bar Association, American Bar Association, International Bar Association, Federal Bar Association, and Judge Advocates Association. He was an Adjunct Professor of Law at St. Mary’s University School of Law and was a frequent lecturer in continuing legal education courses and seminars on topics related to litigation matters. Over the years, Reese has been recognized by various legal organizations in recognition of his valuable and meritorious service to the community, state, and nation.

Reese enlisted into the Texas Air National Guard in June 1963 and received his basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base. He would serve as what was then known as an “Air Policeman” with what is now the 149th Fighter Wing in San Antonio, Texas. In 1966, he was granted a direct commission into the US Air Force and received an appointment as a Second Lieutenant in the Texas Air National Guard where he became the commander of his Air Police unit. As a licensed attorney in 1968, then Second Lieutenant Harrison, was appointed as a Captain in the Texas Air National Guard and began twenty-five years of service as the Staff Judge Advocate for the 149th Fighter Wing. He was promoted to Colonel in 1994 and served as the Staff Judge

Advocate for Headquarters Texas Air National Guard and was assigned to the Judge Advocate General’s Department Reserve with the US Air Force until his retirement on January 3, 1998. The governor of Texas promoted Colonel Harrison to Brigadier General (Brevet) in 2005.

Reese served on active duty during Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and was assigned as the Deputy Staff Judge Advocate for the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, at Bergstrom Air Force Base in Austin, Texas. He received the Major General Paul D. Straw Trophy in 1991 as the Airman who best exemplified overall unit excellence and outstanding civic participation and in recognition of superior contribution to the community and to the nation. Reese’s distinguished military career is embellished by numerous awards including the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, Air Force Achievement Medal, the Lone Star Distinguished Service Medal, Texas Outstanding Service Medal, Texas Medal of Merit, the Adjutant General's Individual Award, and the Texas Faithful Service Medal.

At the age of 16, Reese joined San Antonio’s Albert Pike DeMolay Chapter in January 1954, where he served as an officer. His service to DeMolay continued as an adult on the local, state, and national level. Active in Freemasonry, Reese petitioned Albert Pike Masonic Lodge No. 1169 at the age of 21 where he received the degrees of Freemasonry and served as Worshipful Master in 1969-1970. He affiliated with several other Masonic Lodges where he served as an officer. He served on several committees of the Masonic Grand Lodge of Texas. He was elected to serve as the Grand Master of Masons in Texas during 2004.

Reese was active in the appendant Masonic Bodies on the local, state, and national levels including the Scottish Rite, York Rite, and Shrine and the invitational or honorary bodies of each. He has served as the presiding officer of most of his local Masonic bodies plus the presiding officer of at least four major state and eleven national organizations. In the York Rite, he was a Past Grand High Priest of the Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Texas and a Past Grand Master of the Grand Council of Royal and Select Masters of Texas. In the Scottish Rite, Reese was coroneted a 33rd Degree Inspector General Honorary in 1979 and was invested with the Grand Cross of the Court of Honour in 2013.

Reese was preceded in death by his parents and his sister Janice Lee Harrison Tipton. He is survived by his wife, Judith Karen Scott Harrison, and his two daughters Judith Karen Scott Harrison Brown (Scottie) and husband Dr. Jared Brown of Aurora, Colorado, and Tiffany Farrah Lynn Harrison of Houston. He is also survived by his grandson Hadyn Brown, granddaughter Poppy Brown, and nephew Neal Tipton.

In accordance with his wishes, Reese was laid to rest in a private graveside service at Mission Burial Park South in San Antonio on September 4, 2025. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to the Grand Lodge Library and Museum of Texas, P.O. Box 2366, Waco, TX 76703.

His column is broken and his Brethren mourn. RIP

Philippines: Catholic Priest Suspended For Blessing Masonic Marker

Photo: Yeng Abinales for Daily Tribune

by Christopher Hodapp

A Catholic priest on the island of Leyte in the Philippines has been temporarily suspended from performing his duties after blessing a Masonic marker at a dedication ceremony in August.

Rev. Fr. Libby Daños has been suspended from performing his priestly activities, pending an investigation by the appropriate ecclesiastical authorities.

On August 9th, Fr. Daños was part of the dedication ceremony and unveiling of the large brick marker. It was erected on the outskirts of town by the local lodge to welcome visitors to Ormoc City. According to the Ormoc Lodge Facebook page, this is the first of a total of three such markers that will be placed at the three main roads into the city.

Photo: ELITE/Ormoc Lodge 234

According to an article by Elmer Recuerdo on the Daily Tribune website ("Catholic priest suspended for blessing Masonic marker,") published Monday, September 1st:

Rev. Fr. Luigi Kerschbamer, OAD, Prior Provincial of the religious order, stated that the Catholic Church has maintained for centuries that Freemasonry is fundamentally incompatible with Catholic doctrine.

Fr. Kerschbamer said that in November 2023, with the approval of Pope Francis, the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith reaffirmed that Catholics are strictly forbidden from joining Masonic associations because their principles remain “irreconcilable with the doctrine of the Church.”

“The Order of the Discalced Augustinians categorically upholds this teaching and rejects any association with or endorsement of Freemasonic activities,” Fr. Kerschbamer said.

Fr. Daños (photo above), recognized as one of the pioneers of OAD’s mission in Asia with nearly 30 years of service, clarified that while he joined the blessing of the Masonic marker, he was not fully aware of the ceremony’s nature.

The religious order, however, said that the action, regardless of intent, “contradicts the clear and consistent teaching of the Catholic Church regarding Freemasonry and has caused scandal among the faithful.”

The full official statement from Fr. Kirschbamer is posted below. Click the image to enlarge.

Freemasonry has been incredibly popular there for a very long time, in spite of the fact that the country's citizens are predominantly Roman Catholic. At least from a casual observation, ecclesiastical smackdowns between the Catholic Church and Freemasonry seem to erupt in the Philippines more than anywhere else in the world. There have been recent stories about deceased Catholic Masons being refused burial rites by the Church over their membership.

The Masonic fraternity first came to the island in the 1760s when the largest Western navies and traders began playing in the Asian countries. The island nation of the Philippines became a Spanish possession, and their colonial government absolutely enforced the various papal decrees and orders that excommunicated Catholics from the Church for membership in Masonic lodges. The Spanish government just outright banned the fraternity from the vast chain of the Philippine islands in 1812. 

After Spain began losing its iron grip on their Pacific island colonies, the first officially chartered lodge there was established in 1856 with a warrant from the Grand Lodge of Portugal, followed by a German lodge. Masonry back home in Spain was chaotic at best while hiding out from the dreaded Spanish Inquisition, and when it did organize enough to establish grand bodies, bickering resulted in at least four Spanish grand orients simultaneously duking it out by the late 1870s; in another ten years, there would be two more! 

In the 1880s, four Filipino lodges were established with charters from one of the six grand orients back home. As in so many other colonial regions, their 'founding father,' José Rizal, became a Mason and led the rebellion against Spanish rule, which came to a close with the Spanish-American War in 1898. After that, Masonry grew in the islands by leaps and bounds. The Grand Lodge of California issued charters for Filipino lodges, as did the Grand Orient de France, the Grand Lodge of Portugal, and the Grand Lodge of Scotland.

The Grand Lodge of the Philippines was finally formed in 1917 with the consent and cooperation of many of these foreign lodges, and today there are almost 300 lodges at work in the country. 

It seems that clashes between the fraternity and the Catholic Church in the Philippines will continue to occur. In my personal experiences (yes, I know... anecdotal observations are not facts), I have found that Filipino Masons are unquestionably the most openly enthusiastic and joyful brethren you will encounter anywhere in the world. And almost every one of them I've questioned about it say they are also enthusiastic Catholics, and that they believe there is absolutely no conflict between the two institutions. As far as they are concerned, the Vatican and Canon Law are just plain wrong, and that the Church bases its condemnation of the fraternity on misinformation, innuendo and error. That's heady stuff for a faith that insists on the doctrine of papal infallibility when the pontiff is ruling on ecclesiastical matters.

Given what happened, the most ironic statement I've seen all week came at the end of the dedication address, which concluded with the following plea: "May this marker be sanctified by the Great Architect of the Universe, under whose guidance we labor. May it stand the test of time - enduring sun and storm - as a symbol of peace, fraternity, and truth. We dedicate it not only in the name of Freemasonry, but in the name of unity - among all people of goodwill."

It's a damn shame the Augustinians somehow missed that message.