"To preserve the reputation of the Fraternity unsullied must be your constant care."

BE A FREEMASON

Monday, March 18, 2024

Guthrie, Oklahoma Scottish Rite Spring Reunion April 5-7


by Christopher Hodapp


The Guthrie, Oklahoma Valley of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite - SJ has one of the most magnificent Masonic buildings in the U.S., and they are understandably proud of their architectural treasure. But Guthrie also is renowned for its outstanding presentations of the complete AASR Southern Jurisdiction’s Pike-derived rituals of the 4th-32nd degrees.



Their Spring 2024 Reunion will be held April 5-7th. Registration opens Friday at 7AM, and the opening ceremonies will begin at 8AM. (Click the schedule below to enlarge.)


If you’re an existing Scottish Rite member in either the NMJ or SJ, don’t miss the opportunity to experience these degrees as they were meant to be staged, in person, in this beautiful temple, and in full pageantry. If you’re not a member and you are a recognized Master Mason in Guthrie’s jurisdiction, contact them directly and ask about membership.









Saturday, March 16, 2024

One Score, Five Years and a Couple of Days Ago...


by Christopher Hodapp

On Thursday night, Worshipful Brother Nathan Brindle and I were given our commemorative 25-year pins by the Master, officers and brethren of Broad Ripple Lodge 643 in Indianapolis. I guess the whole city was in on this event—just about the time we got pinned, the Civil Defense klaxon out in the lodge parking lot belted out a one-note fanfare for five solid minutes, followed by a half-hour of spectacular Stürm und Drang-like thunder and lightening. All that was missing was the accompaniment of Thus Sprach Zarathustra on the Wurlitzer.

Why is it I can never find a comb when I need one?
Nathan, on the other hand, NEVER needs one.

So. One score, five years and a couple of days ago... 

It was a Saturday in 1999, and two days short of the 'Ides of March' when Nathan and I were passed to the degree of Fellow Craft, and raised as Master Masons at an 'All Degree Day' at Calvin W. Prather Lodge 717 on Haverstick Road in Indianapolis. 

I remember the day. Vividly. Just as every Freemason remembers his raising.

(This is where the picture suddenly goes all spooky and wavy, accompanied by the sweeping strumming of a harp, heralding the coming of a flashback.)

•   •   •

The surprise cake at my 40th birthday party in 1998 was a bit premature -
my EA degree would come later that week. But friends were already in on it.

Forty is a huge bellwether as life boundaries go. For the first time in my life, I had just bought my first Chrysler (deemed the Official Automaker to the Elderly back in the 80s and 90s), and it had two sets of golf clubs in the trunk, which was spacious enough to conceal several bodies. I had just been prescribed my first high blood pressure pills and found a gray hair in sprouting in my beard. A Midlife Crisis was certain to happen at any second. And so I joined the Masons. I later found out that 40 is almost exactly the average age at which most Masons have historically decided to join. 

Except for Nathan's balding pate, we looked enough 
alike in 1998 that Masons who couldn't remember which was which 
just referred to us interchangeably as Brindapp.

I had originally contacted the Grand Lodge of Indiana seeking membership through its website—one of only five US grand lodges that had such a newfangled thing at the time. The face behind the website answering these early Internet requests turned out to be RW Roger S. Vangorden, who would become Grand Master in 2002-03. He was also a Past Master of Broad Ripple Lodge 643 in Indianapolis. 

(The lodge's odd name comes from a wide hook-shaped bend in the nearby White River that encircles this northside Indianapolis village; hence, 'a broad ripple.' It started life as a weekend holiday area, with an amusement park and boating on the river, but soon became one of the city's first true suburbs in the early 20th century. Today, Broad Ripple Village is loaded with restaurants, shops and nightclubs, and the recent addition of hundreds of new apartments.) 

Broad Ripple Lodge 643 in 1998.

Unbeknownst to us, Roger had a reason to point me and Nathan in Ripple's direction. Quite simply, Broad Ripple Lodge was a mess. They'd lost members and officers, current officers weren't doing their jobs properly (or at all), their 200 members were staying away in droves, their finances were a wreck, and the Grand Master was about to name a special deputy to investigate and find out "What in hell goes on at Broad Ripple??!!" They needed all the help they could get. So he sent us there. 

My initiation as an Entered Apprentice there came just three days after my birthday, and Nathan followed in January. For our Entered Apprentice degrees, Ripple had put out a distress call to other lodges for assistance in filling parts and giving the lectures. By the January meeting, there was a whole new slate of elected officers—many of them young and quite new to the fraternity—but the lodge still never could find enough of its own members to complete our FC and MM degrees. Meanwhile, the Grand Lodge special deputy delivered the news that the Grand Master was within an inch of yanking their charter from the wall. In the coming months, five of the lodge officers resigned, left town, or just disappeared. 

Already by February, Nathan and I were getting nervous about Ripple's future. We began visiting nearby Calvin Prather Lodge 717 for their Saturday breakfasts and got to know their officers, just in case we needed to find a different lodge. They seemed popular, stable, and they were the home lodge of the Grand Master in 2000, Robert E. Hancock. We figured at least THIS lodge wouldn't lose its charter anytime soon.

Then one Saturday morning, Prather's Past Master Cliff Lewis mentioned that GM Hancock was experimenting with the notion of "one day classes," wherein a group of initiates could experience the Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and Master Mason degrees all together. He suggested we ask Broad Ripple to participate in that event so that at least we'd be able to finally complete our FC and MM degrees. He also mentioned that Broad Ripple's WB Donald C. Seeley was one of the finest ritualists in town when it came to the Worshipful Masters' parts. And so, that was our solution.

Former temple of Calvin Prather Lodge 717

It was a very long day for all involved, as Don insisted that his two Broad Ripple candidates (the two of us) would each have our MM work done individually, all the way through, and not as part of the large group of Prather's candidates—that was his pound of flesh, in return for conferring all of the degrees that day. He would sit in the East and go through the entire Master Mason degree separately for me, then for Nathan, and then all over again for a third time for the other candidates in a bunch. The Prather organizers grumpily agreed, because they didn't have anyone at the time nearly as proficient as Don to replace him. So Nathan and I became sort of one-day degree hybrids—we took the FC as a group, but our MM's separately.

I despise the term, but if one day classes make "McMasons," 
then Nathan and I were special grill orders.

A family friend of many years, Richard Finch, who hadn't been inside of a Masonic lodge for a very long time, made it a point to be there for me that day. It was amazing how many of my parents' friends turned out to be Freemasons, something I wasn't aware of until after I joined. So, too, were countless men I had admired as a child and a teenager. I would discover so many of them to be brethren decades after first encountering them. Most Masons will tell you the very same thing.

•   •   •



Prather's old lodge building in the Nora area of Indianapolis (actually their third home) is gone today, but the lodge still thrives on the city's east side. 

Gone, too, is James Lindsey, who had only been a Mason for a few months, but acted as the Senior Deacon for the day. 

So is Dave Bosworth, who cooked breakfast and gave all of us candidates crash courses in Masonic education between the breaks. He was actually the Grand Lodge Special Deputy who investigated Broad Ripple Lodge, and we became good friends for the next few years until his death.

PGM Bob Hancock
So is the gregarious Grand Master Robert E. Hancock (photo), who was promoting this one-day class program at the time, along with a lot of other 'crazy ideas,' to the chagrin of many disgruntled Indiana Masons. Little things like permitting business meetings on the EA degree. Reasonable outreach to invite honorable, worthy men to join instead of just hoping they would ask someday. Encouraging more mutual cooperation with Prince Hall brethren. And once a lodge meeting was closed, reopening the Bible at all times to the passage, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." He was right on so many things, yet the rank and file despised him for it at the time. Every single one of his proposals that year was voted down by the grand lodge membership. And then, ironically, so many of those very same practices came to fruition in our grand lodge, after he was gone. 

"A prophet is without honor in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house..."

Gone, too, is WB David King, Prather's oldest living Past Master at the time. He had been the general contractor back in the 70s who had helped bring Prather's Nora building in for half of its estimated building cost. David gave the Middle Chamber lecture so movingly that day, so perfectly, and with such demonstrable understanding of the words of that long and complex ritual. I was astonished throughout the degree to hear it for the first time that afternoon. 
I was even more shocked to discover afterwards that David had gone almost completely blind at that point in his life, yet he led us through those 'winding stairs' to the Middle Chamber because he had done it with so many Masons before us. 

So is Ripple's then-Secretary Jerry Cowley, the ever cheerful, always optimistic, always outgoing promoter, defender and champion of Broad Ripple Lodge, who greeted every petitioner like a long-lost relative and was a constant fountain of suggestions to keep members coming back to lodge. Nothing ever phased him, and he was always the first to volunteer. Jerry made sure that the rest of us understood that we are all connected to each other, and to never stop inviting and welcoming every Mason we met, to remind ourselves and each other just what this fraternity is supposed to be about. When our lodge was teetering on closing, he always found a way to involve other lodges' members in our activities to shore us up until we could fix ourselves. And as we rebuilt, those very same visitors wound up enjoying our lodge even more than their own, often transferring to us, or becoming dual members. And that wouldn't have happened without Jerry.

So is our then-Treasurer Irv Sacks, the wise old Jewish uncle I never had, and whose warm humor and counsel I valued to the very end. Irv had the unique ability to gently stop arguments, or to encourage brand new members to try new programs and solutions while slipping in just the right amount of advice and caution.

So is Ripple's then-Senior Steward 'Big John' Gillis, whose sonorous, folksy voice the whole city of Indianapolis knew from his many years on radio stations WIBC and WNAP, often giving traffic reports from a helicopter high above the city. How shocked I was when it was him who appeared with his lavish mustache and lamb chop sideburns to "propound three important questions" to me!

Past Master Don Seeley is gone, too. I really never believed that would happen—he will be King Solomon for all eternity in my mind's eyes and ears, and each time I experience the degrees, it's his voice I always hear. During the MM degree, when a particular aspect of our obligation is demonstrated and explained, Don would look into a candidate's eyes, then softly say, as he turned and gestured to every single Mason in the room, "...and I will inform you, my Brother... That every. Single. Master. Mason... Is under a like obligation... To YOU." With such simple inflections and mannerisms, suddenly the weight and import and meaning of the fraternity's core teachings all became so clear, so embodied in that one, simple message.

And my old family friend Richard Finch is gone, too. He was maybe hardest of all, because Dick and his family have been part of my family for more than 50 years now. Because of our connection as Masonic brothers, I found myself standing in a remote southwest Pennsylvania churchyard five years ago, surrounded by members of his family and my own, beside a group of local Masons, where we laid him to rest beneath the silent clods of the valley.

fully realize that this sounds to outsiders and to younger men like a long, maudlin dirge of the dead—a cut-rate Hamlet despairing over a whole bowling team of deceased Yoricks. It might sound to the uninitiated that Freemasonry is little more than a slow march to the graveyard. Or the tar pit. Or both. But it's quite the contrary. 

Freemasonry teaches us to live and celebrate each day as if it were our very last one, to learn from, give to, and cherish each other, young and old. To build instead of tear down. To put aside whatever petty nonsense divides us as individuals, and instead unite to become something larger and better than ourselves. To learn from each other's differences and similarities, and to celebrate those differences, instead of recoiling from them, or branding each other as enemies. To leave the world a better place than we found it. Apart from houses of worship, there aren't a lot of institutions left in the world trying to keep that mission alive. 

•   •   •

As for the rest of the story? After Broad Ripple continued to hemorrhage officers in 1999, Roger Vangorden would step in at the last second to be Worshipful Master in 2000. In case you're one of those Masons who sneers at 'One-Day McMasons' for being lazy underachievers, I was elected as Roger's Senior Warden, just over a year after my EA degree, and Nathan his Junior Warden. I became Master in 2001, just two years after my initiation, and Nathan followed the year after, during the first half of Roger's term as Grand Master. We were charter members when Lodge Vitruvian 767 opened Under Dispensation in 2001, becoming Indiana's first 'European observant-styled' lodge. Nathan served as Secretary for both lodges, and I'd become Vitruvian's third-serving Master in 2005. Grand Master Richard J. Elman recommended me to the For Dummies people to write a book about the Freemasons in November of 2004, and I'd serve as Master of Vitruvian in 2005. Nathan would eventually serve as Secretary of at least seven Masonic organizations, and became an active officer in the Indianapolis Valley of the Scottish Rite. And we've done a couple of other things here and there since then. 

And Broad Ripple Lodge? It would soon become one of the top lodges in the state when it came to activities, stability, proficiency, and creating lifelong friendships among its members. Less than five years after we almost lost our charter, the state's Grand Lecturer said at our Lodge of Instruction that he'd absolutely place Broad Ripple Lodge among the best he'd ever inspected, and enjoyed visiting more than any other. So maybe joining at its worst made us all stronger, more determined to get it right. 

That's because we had great role models to learn from. 

The lodge room that day back at Prather in 1999 was packed with Masons of all ages. And lots of them went on to remain active and to become leaders in the fraternity in the coming years. But it was a function of the demographics of a fraternity of mature men who overwhelmingly did as I did, and didn't join until their 40s and later. Yes, there were plenty of young men that day, but the wise, older Past Masters who were running the show had more than twenty years of Masonic experience on me then. And it's a full quarter of a century later now. Prather's Past Master Cliff Lewis tells me he will soon receive his 50 year pin, yet he looks to me just as he did at that breakfast so long ago.

My friend, WB Jeff Naylor once lamented, “When you're young, all you ever want to be is older. No one ever explains that the price you pay for that is in the numbers of people you lose who were important in your life.”

And yet, with all of those friends and brothers who were there that day now gone, you would think this is some maudlin, weepy lament over the past. It's not. 
Each of us is the sum total of our experiences and those who shaped our character. Every single one of those men taught me important lessons about Masonry, and people, and life itself. Lessons I never would have learned in a hundred years on my own without men like them, and countless others. 

The central metaphor of Freemasonry is its very premise. Each one of us is capable of being a Temple to God, and we choose to make our ourselves worthy or not. But that Temple isn't built by us alone. It's built, stone by stone, with the help of all those around us, everyone we encounter. Especially Brother Masons, fellow craftsmen engaged in building, not tearing down.

Joining the fraternity of Freemasonry has been the greatest life-changing experience of my 65 years on Earth, and I say that without exaggeration. In 25 years of membership, I have traveled all over the world and met and gotten to know quite literally thousands of men from every walk of life. Every sort of profession. Every economic level. Every race, color, nationality, education, personality, temperament, religion, and every other brand of classification humans beings cook up to categorize and file away strangers we normally don't know or would never otherwise associate with on a bet. Those tribal distinctions that we all arbitrarily use to ignore the people around us are meaningless when it comes to basic human coexistence. That's what being "on the level" is all about, which has been one of the primary principles of Freemasonry from its very beginning.

That 'Undiscovered Country from whose bourn no traveler returns' always seems just out of reach—as Hamlet said, it "puzzles the will." None of us need be in any hurry to actually get there. But such an amazing journey it has all been so far, with the greatest crowd of traveling companions it's ever been my privilege to know. As Cunard used to advertise its shipboard vacations, "Getting there is half the fun!"


I can't wait to see what comes next. Check in with me in 2049, when I get my 50 year pin. I'll only be 90 by then. Perhaps I'll be less inclined to ramble. But don't bet on it.

Sunday, March 10, 2024

My Deepest Apologies: Is Red or White Wine Best with a Plate of Crow?


by Christopher Hodapp

What is the proper bit of cutlery you’re supposed to use when eating crow – a fork, or a crow bar?

There are plenty of times when life would be better if we didn’t express our own badly informed opinions out loud. Well, every once in a while, I’m as guilty as the next guy of shooting off my big mouth, flapping my gums, or furiously pounding on the keys of my tripe-writer, before knowing all sides of an issue.

The difference with me is that I’m NOT the next guy — I’m a Freemason with the unimaginably good fortune of having a website that lots of Masons and non-Masons look to for valuable, truthful news and information. And that’s why I need to apologize to all of you, and especially to the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite - Northern Masonic Jurisdiction; to Sovereign Grand Commander, Illus. Walter Wheeler, 33°, to the Actives of the Supreme Council, and to its membership as a whole.

On Friday, the AASR-NMJ released a public statement concerning the conclusions of investigations regarding the actions of David Glattly, the former Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite-NMJ between 2016-2021. I posted a summary on Friday after its public release (see: Statement of Facts: David A. Glattly; and AASR-NMJ Releases Results of Investigations Over Former SGC David A. Glattly). It turns out that the accusations leveled by a whistleblower at the NMJ's Lexington headquarters against Glattly turned out to have been true and backed up by verified evidence.

Those of you who understand ecclesiastical Latin will know what I mean when I say Mea culpa. Mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa. That’s my brief TLDR explanation for those frightened by long stories.

Back in December, I was contacted by David Glattly, the former Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite-NMJ, who asked me to post a letter publicly that explained his sudden resignation from his position in 2021. I agreed to do that at the time because the rumor mill had been churning for 18 months, and almost all of it seemed to be one-sided, painting Glattly as a profligate-spending office tyrant, firing staff left and right and replacing them with his overpaid buddies, while taking deep bows for programs he had nothing to do with. I felt at the time that he at least deserved to have his version of the story aired, especially since he had been in charge when the unforeseen disasters of the COVID years wreaked havoc on every social and business organization on Earth. Maybe he should have been cut some slack if he did something wrong, I thought. So, with nothing else to go on at that time, I posted the letter. And before the letter itself, I also posted a long preamble of my own (as is my usual habit of writing meandering masterpieces that end 20 or 30-thousand words later in another zip code).

The AASR-NMJ at that time was still undergoing long and detailed independent audits of its finances, and both internal and outside investigations of the many accusations leveled against Glattly. Those initial allegations had been laid out by a whistleblower within the Supreme Council, and because those investigations were still underway, neither the Supreme Council nor the Sovereign Grand Commanders who followed Glattly could, would, or should have answered any questions publicly at the time.

In the wake of that post and his letter going as viral as Masonic scuttlebutt ever goes, he was subsequently expelled from the Scottish Rite for airing the soiled sheets and private business of the Supreme Council. (No one has said so, but I suspect there was a strong sentiment around Lexington for giving me the order of the boot as well, for giving Glattly the chance to post his letter here.) Plenty of Masons (myself included) flew to the understandable conclusion that Glattly’s actions had been unfairly mis-conscrewed as wrongdoing, and that he had been muscled out by Masonic nepotism and the hurt feelings of former employees. That was the reason Glattly wanted me to get his side of the story out first — so that all of us would view his actions sympathetically long before the NMJ ever revealed their findings publicly — if they ever did. Frankly, no corporate attorney in his right mind would let their clients blurt out information that could affect or interfere with these kinds of deep-dive investigations, and the NMJ simply had to wait until they could release their final findings.

That happened Friday.


Since confession is thought to be good for the soul, I will freely admit that I have a personal animus, borne of my own past experiences, concerning Masonic firings, expulsions and suspensions, along with opaque decisions that look, smell and feel like “star chamber” dealings. Very few brethren who ascend to positions of leadership in our fraternity misuse or misapply their superpowers, but it does happen every now and then. Rising generations of younger Masons these days have a generational dislike and distrust of institutions that are not transparent in their dealings with their own members and the outside world. That being said, I allowed my own biases to prevail in this matter, and that hasn’t served anyone well. After almost 20 years of writing thousands of articles here, I have never knowingly posted anything that was deliberately incorrect; and when I’ve posted something that DID turn out to be wrong, I quickly and quite openly have apologized and corrected the record, while emphatically shouldering all blame for errors. But in this case, it’s obvious that a man desiring public opinion to be firmly on his side before the truth was revealed sent me a letter apparently filled with falsehoods and deflections, and I went right for the topwater bait.

Twenty-five years ago last November, I was standing in a darkened hallway, wearing an ill-fitting garment and a blindfold for the first time, while some guy next to me pounded on a door I couldn’t see for myself. The voice of another fellow on the other side of that door gave me the very first nugget of Masonic wisdom we all receive as Entered Apprentices: “Wait with patience.” Unfortunately, I just turned 65, and I occasionally suffer from memory lapses — I obviously forgot that lesson.

I am not going to engage in selective deleting or rewriting the past to assuage my own guilty conscience — all of the original stories and links will remain in place. If you are now just so intrigued that you want to go back and sift through the old antique dirt just to satisfy your own inner gossip-mongering fishwife, these are the stories about this episode:

BUT.

I HAVE added updates and links to all of these old stories pointing to the Supreme Council’s investigation results, just to clearly show future readers that Glattly’s denials have turned out to be lopsided fiction. I hope this posting gets just as widely shared across the Interwebz as Glattly’s original story did.



Now, I’ve gotta go – I’ve got a big, fat, stuffed pan of Crow Almondine sizzling in the oven. I’ll get back to you guys after I’m done eating the damned thing.

I understand the beak and tail are the toughest to chew.

Saturday, March 09, 2024

AASR-NMJ Releases Results of Investigations Over Former SGC David A. Glattly



by Christopher Hodapp

The Supreme Council of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite - Northern Masonic Jurisdiction (NMJ) has just issued a public "Statement of Facts" in the wake of their investigation and ultimate expulsion of Past Sovereign Grand Commander David Glattly last month. The statement was emailed to all members of the NMJ and has been posted on their public website HERE.

According to the statement, Glattly was expelled from membership in the AASR-NMJ for "deliberate breach of fiduciary duty, violation of Supreme Council confidentiality, and endangerment of protected whistleblowers." It states that an overwhelming majority of the Supreme Council's 54 Active Members voted in favor of his expulsion.

Glattly was compelled to resign as Supreme Grand Commander back in August 2021 after an internal whistleblower gave a letter to the Supreme Council outlining a list of allegations and complaints over his behavior after taking office in 2016. Those allegations included Masonic ballot fraud, 
favoritism in hiring and inappropriate employment practices, excessive spending and failure to stick to budget restrictions, and purportedly creating a "toxic workplace environment." Those allegations resulted in an internal investigation by the Active Members of the Supreme Council, as well as an independent, external forensic audit and investigation.

The internal investigation concluded that all of the whistleblower's allegations turned out to be to true, and backed up by the facts.

The allegation of ballot fraud concerned the election of the nominees to receive the 33rd degree in Cleveland, Ohio back in 2021. The alleged ballot fraud was confirmed by video evidence, along with direct testimony that at least four black cubes had been cast as negative votes, that no more black cubes were made available in the ballot box, thereby denying other members the ability to cast any more negative votes, and that Glattly had erroneously declared the ballot "clear" despite the four black cubes cast.

According to the statement, Attorney William J. Lovett of the firm Lovett O’Brien was commissioned by the Supreme Council to conduct an independent forensic investigation and audit concerning the whistleblower's allegations involving financial issues, hiring practices, workplace environment and other corporate governance misconduct. Lovett is both a former federal prosecutor in the US Justice Department and an accountant. The one-year investigation has been concluded (at a not insubstantial expense) and the statement concludes that the allegations were all substantiated by the evidence.


David Glattly's long letter in which he laid out his side of the story just before he was expelled was posted on this website back in December (see AASR NMJ Past Commander David Glattly Speaks Out).
In February, a copy of a letter written to the Supreme Council by the whistleblower (REDACTED) that led to the subsequent investigations was leaked to the Reddit/Freemasonry subreddit. That story was updated on February 20th and the letter was amended to the end of Glattly's story in an effort to bring more transparency to this incident. 

The AASR-NMJ did not issue statements at that time because the investigations were still underway. That's understandable, since no attorney in his right mind would advise a corporate client to shoot its collective mouth off about internal cases of corporate misconduct involving its officers – at least, not until the actual facts of the matter are fully known. Despite the long delay since Glattly's letter first appeared, the NMJ should be applauded for being forthcoming and transparent over this episode, now that it can be substantiated by facts.

Please see my apology on March 10th for taking any side whatsoever in this matter:  My Deepest Apologies: Is Red or White Wine Best with a Plate of Crow?

Wednesday, March 06, 2024

The Story of Ireland's 'Lady Freemason' Coming To Television

Elizabeth St Leger Aldworth, Ireland's Lady Freemason


by Christopher Hodapp

The famous tale of Ireland's first 'Lady Freemason,' Elizabeth St Leger Aldworth, was dramatized in print three years ago by Irish-American author Kathleen Aldworth Foster. Her novel, Doneraile Court: The Story of The Lady Freemason,  was framed as an historical romance/mystery with some Masonic intrigue thrown in. Now, an Irish production company has announced that Foster's novel will soon be made into a television series.

Doneraile Court today (photo: Tuatha)

The story of young Elizabeth's initiation into her father's Masonic lodge has been written about for almost three centuries, and it's been a part of the fabric of the Grand Lodge of Ireland's history from its beginnings in 1725. Her father, Arthur St Leger, the first Viscount Doneraile, would eventually become Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Ireland in 1740. But Elizabeth's tale predates the grand lodge and takes place back between 1710 and 1712. 

At the time, a lodge met regularly in Doneraile Court, the stately home of the St. Legers (the house still stands today and is open to the public for tours). The meeting that night was presided over by her father, Lord Doneraile, and her brother — the 3rd Viscount, father of the 4th Viscount, Grand Master — was also present.

Young Elizabeth was an avid reader, and the home's library was an extensive one. It also happened to be the room next door to the large salon where the Masonic lodge held its meetings. At the time of the story, some interior renovations to the house were being made, and a former passage doorway between the two rooms was being blocked in with bricks in preparation of being plastered over and painted.


A floorplan of the house showing the library, the lodge room, 
and the blocked passage between them. 
From a paper by Edward Conder for Quatuor Coronati Lodge 2076

Lodge members had been arriving all afternoon. Everyone assembled in the lodge room, the doors were closed, and the family butler was stationed outside as Tyler. 

Elizabeth had been in the library that afternoon, but she had dozed off once the sun went down outside. The sounds of the lodge meeting opening in the room next door awakened her. Once she realized what she was hearing, curiosity overcame the young woman, and she crept over to where the workmen had temporarily stacked bricks over the old doorway in order to hear what was being said.

From a book based on her memoirs published in 1811, comes the account of what happened next:
The sound of voices in the next room restored her to consciousness and from her position behind the loosely placed bricks of the dividing wall she easily realised that something unusual was taking place in the next room. The light shining through the unfilled spaces in the temporary wall attracted her attention and, prompted by a not unnatural curiosity, Miss St. Leger appears to have removed one or more of the loose bricks, and thus was easily enabled to watch the proceedings of the Lodge.

For some time her interest in what was transpiring was sufficiently powerful to hold her spell-bound; the quietness of her mind remained undisturbed for a considerable period and it was not until she realised the solemnity of the responsibilities undertaken by the candidate that she understood the terrible consequences of her action.

The wish to hide her secret by making good her retreat took full possession of her thoughts, for it must be fully understood that although she was perfectly aware that her father's Lodge was held at the house, she had no idea on entering the library that on that evening a meeting was about to be held in the adjoining room. Her only means of exit was through the Lodge Room and we can well understand what must have been the feeling of the young girl when she realised that the only way to escape was through the very room where the concluding part of the Second Degree was being given. The door being at the far end of the room, she had sufficient resolution to attempt her escape that way. With light and trembling step, and almost suspended breath, she glided along, unobserved by the Lodge, laid her hand on the handle and, softly opening the door, before her stood her father's butler, the grim and faithful Tyler, with drawn sword in his hand, guarding the entrance. Her shriek alarmed the Lodge and the Brethren, having carried the young girl back into the library, learned what had occurred.
The Freemasons at the time took Masonic secrecy VERY seriously, and the members were horrified that their meeting had been gate-crashed by this nosey girl — or, at least they sure SOUNDED like they were taking it seriously. A discussion immediately ensued as to what sort of fate awaited poor Elizabeth. Even Lord Doneraile pronounced that they had just two choices left to them: either Elizabeth would have to be - regretfully - executed, lest she blab their secrets to the profane world; or they would just have to break down and initiate her into the lodge, thereby requiring her to properly take the obligations of the degrees in order and ensuring her silence. The vote was taken, the ayes prevailed, and Elizabeth was immediately initiated as an Entered Apprentice, and passed to be a Fellow of the Craft (there were only the two degrees at this time — the Master Mason degree wouldn't come along in England until the late 1720s, and it took a bit for it to spread to other jurisdictions).

Foster's novelized version embroiders the story with some local spookiness, gypsies, witchcraft, and, of course, some dreamy romantic passages between Elizabeth and a dashing young lodge member named Richard Aldworth. In reality, Elizabeth did indeed participate in the lodge for many years, marching with her lodge brethren in public ceremonies and parades while proudly wearing her Masonic apron. Just five months after the incident at the lodge, Elizabeth really did marry Richard Aldworth.

Plaque erected at St. Finbarre's Cathedral by the Freemasons of Cork. 
From the Irish Masonic History website.

According to her obituary published in the Leinster Journal upon her death in 1780, Elizabeth was ‘The only woman in the world who had the honour of being made a Freemason', and today the Grand Lodge of Ireland proudly displays her painting in their Dublin headquarters. She's still referred to as "Ireland's ONLY Female Freemason," which isn't exactly true, since there are female Masonic lodges and mixed-gender Co-Masons at work in that country. But she IS historically the only recognized female member of the Grand Lodge of Ireland's otherwise all-male fraternity.

Now comes the announcement that Kathleen Foster's novel will soon become a limited TV series produced by Great Island Productions, which is based in Cork. From the Irish Star website, "Ireland's only female Freemason was a 'courageous woman' who blazed a trail" by Martha Brennan:
Mark Kenny, CEO of Great Island Productions, said: "This is not just another story we're bringing to life. This is a captivating narrative about a trailblazing Irish woman that’s a thriller, mystery, and love story set against the backdrop of Doneraile Court in County Cork.
"Great Island's CFO Jim Robinson added: “Our partnership with Kathleen underscores our shared passion for engaging storytelling and historical intrigue. As plans unfold for adapting The Story of The Lady Freemason into a TV series, audiences can look forward to experiencing a unique blend of drama and history that also addresses issues of gender and inequality still relatable today.”

No information yet as to what network, station or service will actually air the series, biu it's still early in the development phase. 

For more about the real story of Elizabeth St Leger Aldworth, have a look at the Irish Masonic History website HERE. 

And for more about Kathleen Foster's novel and how this New Jersey author became fascinated by Elizabeth;s story, have a look at this article on the Irish Star website HERE.

Friday, February 23, 2024

Intruder Fatally Shot After Breaking Into a St. Louis Masonic Hall


by Christopher Hodapp

An intruder was shot and killed in the pre-dawn hours of Wednesday morning after breaking into a St. Louis-area Masonic lodge building. Police pronounced the suspect dead at the scene. The lodge's resident called police as soon as the suspect was shot, and is cooperating with investigators. 

As of Friday evening, the dead man, believed to be in his mid-40s, still has not been publicly identified. 

According to local NBC affiliate KSDK-5the suspect broke into the hall of Tuscan Lodge No. 360  at 5015 Westminster Place – in the city's Central West End – shortly before 4 a.m., setting off the building's alarm system. The lodge is unusual in that it has a private apartment inside on the third floor, originally built for the hall's caretaker. Awakened by the alarm, the apartment's resident armed himself and began conducting a search of the building. He confronted the intruder on the second floor and subsequently shot him.

According to the news account, the apartment's resident is a Mason and a member of the lodge. Police are not releasing his name publicly, and for a very good reason. Over the last two years, Masonic halls all over the world have seen increases in break-ins, vandalism, robberies, arson fires and other attacks, and anti-Masonic zealots have attacked individual brethren in increasing numbers. A Texas Mason was shot and killed last year by an anti-Mason who posted a video of himself shooting the Brother in the lodge parking lot. So, it's not a bit surprising that the lodge's resident would arm himself before searching the building.

According to its website, about 160 Masons belong to Tuscan Lodge. Past members include four Missouri governors, two St. Louis mayors, and three U.S. senators. Former President Harry S. Truman was a frequent visitor.

The Homicide Division of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police are conducting the ongoing investigation. 
Police Sergeant Charles Wall was quoted in the press as saying, "No matter what the facts in this investigation will be presented to the Circuit Attorney, whether or not they ultimately decide to issue any charges, that's in their purview." The Channel 5 news report interviewed a local law professor on camera, talking about Missouri's "Castle Doctrine" laws:
"The Castle Doctrine protects homeowners from intruders if someone breaks into (their) home and (they) have a reasonable fear that (they) are going to get hurt, (they) can use lethal force. Whether the burglar is armed or not it doesn't matter. If someone's in (their) house and it's dark, (they) are going to be scared."

He said Missouri has one of the most expansive Castle Doctrines in the country.

"In some states, you have to have a fear of being seriously injured or killed -- not in Missouri -- just fear of any injury and that seems to be the case here," Walker said. 
Police have not said whether the burglar was armed or not. But any time a person shoots and kills an intruder inside their home, there's always a chance that an overzealous prosecutor will attempt to turn the victim of the break-in into the bad guy for defending his 'castle' and his own life. 

Consequently, ALL Freemasons are strongly discouraged by the Grand Master of Missouri from discussing or commenting about the case on social media. The Brother in question doesn't need a bunch of keyboard warriors mouthing off about the incident online while police are still investigating. 

However, anyone with real firsthand information about the case is urged to call the Homicide Division directly at 314-444-5371. Anyone with a tip who wants to remain anonymous and is interested in a reward can contact CrimeStoppers at 866-371-TIPS (8477).


(UPDATE 2/24/2024: Police have subsequently identified the deceased intruder as Geanard Howard, 48, of St. Louis. See HERE. Photo from his Facebook page.)

Saturday, February 17, 2024

2024 Conference of Grand Master Masons of North America Opens in Seattle




by Christopher Hodapp

The Conference of Grand Master Masons of North America (more affectionately known as COGMNA) officially kicks off its annual meeting in Seattle, Washington today. It's an opportunity for regular, recognized grand masters in our end of the Masonic world to meet each other and learn from each others' successes, failures, programs, catastrophes, and more.

The Conference is being held at the Seattle Westin Hotel and will continue through Wednesday.

Membership in the Conference currently consists of the 52 state or "mainstream" grand lodges of  the United States of America, including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico; the 10 Provinces of Canada; the State of York, Mexico; and the American-Canadian Grand Lodge of Germany, representing some 2 million Freemasons in North America. It's the largest such confederation of regular Masons in the world.

If you're new to the fraternity, you may not have heard of this gathering, but it's not really designed for the edification of rank and file Masons. Grand masters, deputy grands and grand secretaries all have responsibilities and situational issues that can really only be understood and intelligently discussed with other grands and past grands. In addition, COGMNA is also where programs from other jurisdictions get talked about, and often spread throughout the Masonic world. And I'd be less than candid if I didn't mention that it's also where fads occasionally get started in Masonry. One-day classes, CHIPS programs, bikes-for-books projects, the adoption of grand lodge computer services like Grandview and Amity, the founding of the Masonic Service Association, even the beginnings of Prince Hall recognition and the national support to build and maintain the George Washington National Masonic Memorial – they all came out of presentations made at COGMNAs of the past. 

One of the highlights of the Conference each year is the report of the Commission for Information on Recognition. The Commission is charged with investigating questions of regularity between grand lodges and issuing their own findings in a summary. Individual grand lodges often receive requests for recognition from different grand lodges all over the world. More often than not, it's difficult for every single grand lodge to have the resources or ability to investigate the history, practices and regularity of faraway jurisdictions, especially if they don't provide sufficient background documentation in English to make a judgement. It's also quite common for there to have been a schism in a foreign country that results in rival grand lodges, both claiming proper regular origin. The Commission has no enforcement powers, it doesn't settle disputes, and it doesn't tell your grand lodge who they can or can't recognize as regular. They merely investigate and make a determination as to the regularity of a grand lodge in question (or the lack of regularity, as the case may be). But most grand lodges in the Conference respect their findings.

You'll find the Commission's previous annual reports since 2004 online HERE.

Masonic Grand Secretaries have their own unique sets of problems, concerns, solutions and success stories, so they hold their own conference-within-a-conference at COGMNA – in case you're wondering why your state's grand lodge office seems so empty next week. Everybody's in Seattle.

(And in case you were thinking of asking, grand masters of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Affiliated (PHA) grand lodges have their own Conference of Grand Masters that's been held each year since 1909.)

Just to trumpet our Indiana team's presence, our longtime grand secretary, MW Richard Elman, PGM (2004-05) has been the president of the Conference of Grand Secretaries for many, many years. Our current grand master, MW Gary Brinley will also be speaking at one of the sessions.  And MW Roger VanGorden PGM (2002-003) is heavily involved with the Masonic Renewal Committee and will be giving their presentation on Sunday afternoon. (Last year, Roger was also named as the Scottish Rite NMJ's "Active" Deputy representing Indiana on the Supreme Council.) 

And just to round out the list of influential Indiana grand masters in leadership positions within their various Conferences, MW Eugene Anderson, Jr., Past Grand Master of the MW Prince Hall Grand Lodge F&AM of Indiana, is the president this year of the Conference of Prince Hall Grand Masters, which will be held May 15-19 in Charlotte, North Carolina.


Friday, February 16, 2024

Past Sovereign Grand Commander Glattly Responds To His Expulsion From NMJ


by Christopher Hodapp

UPDATE: SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 2024, 8:00PM: Several weeks after this story first appeared here on February 15th, the AASR-NMJ Supreme Council publicly released the findings of an independent financial audit, multiple independent investigations of the allegations made against David Glattly which led to his resignation back in 2022. The results of all of these inquiries refute Glattly's version of events that he posted here at the end of December, and corroborate the accusations against him made by the internal whistleblower in the Lexington office.

Please see: 

Also, please see my apology on March 10th for taking any side whatsoever in this matter:  My Deepest Apologies: Is Red or White Wine Best with a Plate of Crow?



This afternoon, David Glattly, Past Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite NMJ, posted a message on his Facebook page, reacting to the news yesterday that he'd been expelled from the Scottish Rite NMJ.

It reads:
Hi All!

Last night I was informed of my expulsion as a member of the Scottish Rite NMJ. I was informed second hand from a few friends that received the email. I did not receive anything directly from Supreme Council. Imagine, 60 thousand members received my expulsion notice before me. That’s rather embarrassing. Perhaps that’s how the leadership wanted it.

I understand that this was precipitated by repercussion for my letter that was sent through the Freemasonry for Dummies blog. That letter was my truthful version of what happened behind the scenes with the two year inquisition that plagued Monica and I.

A few weeks ago, I submitted my resignation as an Active Member of the Supreme Council, as I no longer had any interest in participating with the Supreme Council. So this expulsion has really no affect on my Supreme Council status. It does however, affect my membership in my beloved home valley, where I have many friends and fond memories. This part is hurtful.

I became an Active Member of the Supreme Council 21 years ago and had the pleasure of serving as the chairman or a member of many committees and projects throughout that time. I truly enjoyed my nine years of service as the Deputy for New Jersey. As the Sovereign Grand Commander for four years, we built a very successful team that brought the NMJ to new heights. I’m very proud of this.

Scottish Rite is an excellent organization with strong values and significant core values. I encourage members to be active in your local valleys and enjoy the activities, as that is where the fun is. You may find as you rise in the ranks, the fun goes away and you may become disillusioned.

As for me, I’m fine. I hope that my path crosses paths with many friends over the coming years, both within and without the Masonic Fraternity.

Thank you all for your messages of concern and support! Cheers!

Thursday, February 15, 2024

Past Sovereign Grand Commander David Glattly 33° Expelled from the Scottish Rite NMJ



by Christopher L. Hodapp

UPDATE: SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 2024, 8:00PM: Several weeks after this story first appeared here on February 15th, the AASR-NMJ Supreme Council publicly released the findings of an independent financial audit, plus multiple independent investigations of the allegations made against David Glattly which led to his resignation back in 2022. The results of all of these inquiries refute Glattly's version of events that he posted here at the end of December, and corroborate the accusations against him made by the internal whistleblower in the Lexington office.


Also, please see my apology on March 10th for taking any side whatsoever in this matter:  My Deepest Apologies: Is Red or White Wine Best with a Plate of Crow?




The Supreme Council of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite NMJ has announced on its website this evening that it has voted to expel Past Sovereign Grand Commander David A. Glattly, 33° from its rolls. (Click the image below to enlarge.) 


No reasons for his expulsion were stated in the post or the letter, but it comes about a month after Glattly’s long and detailed letter was published on this site at his request, explaining his side of events that led to his abrupt resignation from the SGC position in 2022.

For those who are confused by Masonic bureaucracy, appendant bodies, or jurisprudence details, it should be understood that David is a member and former Grand Marshall from the Grand Lodge of New Jersey, and he remains a member of the fraternity – he's only been expelled by the Scottish Rite NMJ.

See the original post HERE: AASR NMJ Past Commander David Glattly Speaks Out

NOTE 2/16/24,11:00AM: An earlier version of this story mistakenly said David Glattly was a Past Grand Master of New Jersey. He is a former Grand Marshall. My apologies for the error.