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:

Brother General Lafayette Masonic Marker Dedication May 12th in Jeffersonville, Indiana

by Christopher Hodapp

Alice and I are in Jeffersonville, Indiana this weekend for the arrival Brother General Gilbert Lafayette. (See HERE for my original post in April.)

Major General Gilbert du Motier, the Marquis de LaFayette, was invited as ‘the Nation’s Guest’ in 1824-25 to tour America as part of the Jubilee 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and American Revolution. By that time, Lafayette was the last living member of General George Washington’s Revolutionary War-era generals and personal staff. His American tour took him to all 24 states in existence at that time, traveling 6,000 miles in 13 months. A hero of both the American and French Revolutions, the 67-year-old Lafayette was greeted by enthusiastic crowds everywhere he went, and Freemasons throughout the country invited him to attend lodges, dinners, cornerstone ceremonies and more.

The American Friends of Lafayette have been reenacting the general’s famous national tour for its 200th anniversary. Following the diary made of his trip, they are holding events at every major stop he made, on the same dates he originally made them, with a French actor from Historic Williamsburg playing the part of Lafayette. 

Louisville Procession
At 10:00AM, all participants will gather in Louisville’s Waterfront Park, at 1101 E. River Road to welcome Lafayette, escorted by the U.S. Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, and accompanied by historic re-enactors of Kentucky’s then-Governor Disha, and Colonel Richard Anderson. Lafayette will speak and answer questions for local students. Then everyone will join a Parade of Flags and escort Lafayette across the Big Four walking bridge over the Ohio River to Jeffersonville (about a 40-minute walk).

All Masons are encouraged to dress in suit and tie and wear their aprons for this procession, and for the rest of the day’s festivities.

Masonic Marker Dedication
At approximately 1:15PM, General Lafayette will be officially welcomed to Indiana in Jeffersonville’s Big Four Station Park by a crowd that will include the Grand Lodge of Indiana, Daughters of the American Revolution, the Sons of the American Revolution, plus local dignitaries and descendants Zalmon Burritt, a Revolutionary War Soldier.

I checked out our new Masonic marker last night when we arrived. 

Veteran's Park is right behind our hotel.

Across the street in Veteran’s Park (formerly Colston Park), there will be a dedication by the Grand Master and Grand Lodge officers of a new Masonic historical marker, describing Lafayette’s Indiana visit and his long association with the Freemasons. There will also be a dedication of an Unknown Revolutionary War Patriots Memorial, and the planting of two Liberty Trees to mark the occasion.

The dedications will be followed by food, drink, toasts to George Washington, and more at Big Four Station Park.

Lafayette at Louisville’s Abraham Lodge
At 7:00PM on Monday evening, the Masons of Kentucky will hold their own event at the beautiful Louisville Scottish Rite, and the public is invited. They will present a special theatrical play – a reenactment of Lafayette’s 1825 visit to Louisville’s Abraham Lodge #8. The play will be followed by a reception featuring the Old Guard Fife & Drum Corps.

Abraham #8 is important to Indiana Freemasonry. It was the lodge that authorized a dispensation to establish Vincennes Lodge, the first Masonic lodge chartered in the Indiana Territory, under the Grand Lodge of Kentucky in 1809. It would become Vincennes Lodge #1 of the new Grand Lodge of Indiana when it was officially established in 1818.

The Louisville Scottish Rite is located at 200 East Gray Street. No reservations are required, and the event is free of charge.

Brother General Lafayette In Indiana and Louisville: May 10-12

by Christopher Hodapp

Make plans to join with fellow Freemasons on Monday, May 12th, 2025 in Louisville, Kentucky and Jeffersonville, Indiana for a once in a lifetime event!

Major General Gilbert du Motier, the Marquis de LaFayette, was invited as ‘the Nation’s Guest’ in 1824-25 to tour America as part of the Jubilee 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and American Revolution. Lafayette (as his name was Americanized) was the last living member of General George Washington’s Revolutionary War-era generals and personal staff. His American tour took him to all 24 states in existence at that time, traveling 6,000 miles in 13 months. A hero of both the American and French Revolutions, the 67-year-old Lafayette was greeted by enthusiastic crowds everywhere he went, and Freemasons throughout the country invited him to attend lodges, dinners, cornerstone ceremonies and more.

On May 10th of 1825, Lafayette arrived in Louisville, Kentucky after his steamship ran aground and sank in the Ohio River, near Tell City, Indiana. And on May 12th, he was rowed across the river to visit Jeffersonville, Indiana, where he was met by Governor (and fellow Freemason) James Brown Ray, along with several members of the Indiana General Assembly. That evening, a dinner was held for him at the former residence of the late Territorial Governor Thomas Posey, an early Indiana Mason for whom the local lodge had been named (Posey Lodge #9 in 1819).

The American Friends of Lafayette have been reenacting the general’s famous national tour for its 200th anniversary. Following the diary made of his trip, they are holding events at every major stop he made, on the same dates he originally made them, with a French actor from Historic Williamsburg playing the part of Lafayette.

Lafayette Arrives in Louisville 

On Saturday, May 10th, at 10:00AM, General Lafayette and his entourage will arrive, “dry and unharmed by his shipwreck,” at the Old Portland Wharf, 3500 Rudd Avenue, Louisville, KY. There will be a color guard and the playing of both the American and French National Anthems. An historic marker will be unveiled, marking the occasion. Presentations will take place at the nearby museum following the ceremonies. Admission is free to all activities.

On May 12th, 2025, Grand Master David Morgan and the Grand Lodge F&AM of Indiana will take part in the festivities commemorating Lafayette’s visit, and all Indiana Freemasons and members of the public are invited to take part. 

Louisville Procession
At 10:00AM, all participants will gather in Louisville’s Waterfront Park, at 1101 E. River Road to welcome Lafayette, escorted by the U.S. Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, and accompanied by historic re-enactors of Kentucky’s then-Governor Disha, and Colonel Richard Anderson. Lafayette will speak and answer questions for local students. Then everyone will join a Parade of Flags and escort Lafayette across the Big Four walking bridge over the Ohio River to Jeffersonville (about a 40-minute walk).

All Masons are encouraged to dress in suit and tie and wear their aprons for this procession, and for the rest of the day’s festivities.

Masonic Marker Dedication
At approximately 1:15PM, General Lafayette will be officially welcomed to Indiana in Jeffersonville’s Big Four Station Park by a crowd that will include the Grand Lodge of Indiana, Daughters of the American Revolution, the Sons of the American Revolution, plus local dignitaries and descendants Zalmon Burritt, a Revolutionary War Soldier. 

Across the street in Veteran’s Park (formerly Colston Park), there will be a dedication by the Grand Master and Grand Lodge officers of a new Masonic historical marker, describing Lafayette’s Indiana visit and his long association with the Freemasons. There will also be a dedication of an Unknown Revolutionary War Patriots Memorial, and the planting of two Liberty Trees to mark the occasion.

The dedications will be followed by food, drink, toasts to George Washington, and more at Big Four Station Park.

Lafayette at Louisville’s Abraham Lodge
At 7:00PM on Monday evening, the Masons of Kentucky will hold their own event at the beautiful Louisville Scottish Rite, and the public is invited. They will present a special theatrical play – a reenactment of Lafayette’s 1825 visit to Louisville’s Abraham Lodge #8. The play will be followed by a reception featuring the Old Guard Fife & Drum Corps.

Abraham #8 is important to Indiana Freemasonry. It was the lodge that authorized a dispensation to establish Vincennes Lodge, the first Masonic lodge chartered in the Indiana Territory, under the Grand Lodge of Kentucky in 1809. It would become Vincennes Lodge #1 of the new Grand Lodge of Indiana when it was officially established in 1818.

The Louisville Scottish Rite is located at 200 East Gray Street. No reservations are required, and the event is free of charge.

Other Louisville Events for Lafayette’s Bicentennial Weekend
10th May, 10:00 am, Lafayette’s Arrival at Old Portland Wharf in Louisville

Dedication of Lafayette Sign and Benches
Sunday, May 11, 2025, 3PM
400 West Market Building Park

Lafayette and Sons of the American Revolution Benches Dedication. Two benches marking the Lafayette visit and the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution, will be unveiled in downtown Louisville at 3:00 pm. There will be a color guard, the playing of the National Anthem and La Marseillaise, and a speaker describing the purpose of the benches.

Lafayette Bicentennial Dinner and Ball 

Saturday Evening, May 10, 2025, 5:30-10PM
Pendennis Club
218 W. Muhammad Ali Blvd, Louisville, KY

Enjoy an elegant dinner in Louisville’s magnificent Pendennis formal dining room with the Marquis de Lafayette, co-hosted by the Jane Austen Society.

Polish your dance moves at an authentic Federal/Regency period ball. Dance Master Tom Tombusch of Ohio will call and teach the dances, accompanied by the historical stylings of The Lafayette Escadrille musicians. Business formal or formal evening attire requested; 1825-period dress is not required but enthusiastically encouraged.

Tickets must be purchased in advance by April 26th.

Buy tickets HERE (https://friendsoflafayette.wildapricot.org/event-6056542)

Hoosier Brother Speaking on Rubicon Podcast Tonight

by Christopher Hodapp

A young Indiana filmmaker joined the Masons at Broad Ripple Lodge 643 in Indianapolis, where he quickly became very active and was appointed to the Senior Steward's chair. Within a year of his degrees, he also signed on with Lodge Vitruvian 767, one of just a few 'Observant-Style' or 'Best Practices' Masonic lodges in Indiana. And he became Junior Steward at Indiana's Dwight L. Smith Lodge of Research U.D. where he similarly jumped in and began giving Masonic talks. 

He visits far and wide – often, too – frequently attending lodges out of state, and always in search of as much Masonic education as he can manage to scare up. His activities and enthusiasm for the fraternity haven't gone unnoticed by the Grand Lodge and its officers. Last year he received the Grand Lodge of Indiana's Rookie Award, a program designed to help Indiana Lodges recognize new Master Masons who become actively involved in their symbolic Lodge, and Freemasonry in general, during their first year in our fraternity.

No, this is not some self-serving, back-patting, fulsome autobiography chock full o' myself, even though his Masonic trajectory has been remarkably parallel to my own back in the pre-smartphone days of 1998-99. 

I'm speaking of Brother Jeremiah Beaver. And I'm proud to say he'll be presenting a program tonight on the Rubicon Masonic Society webcast, 21st Century Conversations on Freemasonry. Jeremiah's topic will be 'Notes From the Beehive: Doing the Work in an Indiana Best Practice Lodge.' 

I can't praise the Kentucky brethren at Rubicon lavishly enough for their quality programming, their increasingly famous Festive Boards, and the seriousness with which they take their Freemasonry. Rubicon hosts virtual Masonic education programs on the 4th Monday of each month, starting at 7 pm Eastern. These programs are open to Masons of all degrees, as well as non-Masons.

For the complete archived lineup of the 63 previous Rubicon programs, CLICK HERE.

To RSVP for tonight's talk by Brother Beaver, CLICK HERE.

Fire At Masonic Hall In Cave City, Kentucky

by Christopher Hodapp

On Monday morning, fire severely damaged the Masonic hall of Bear Wallow/Cave City Lodge in Cave City, Kentucky. According to several local news sites, the local fire department received an alarm at 7:35 AM and arrived at the scene to find smoke and flames on the lower level. 

Thanks to the quick response, fire was confined to the basement's kitchen and dining room, but there is major smoke and water damage throughout the building. 

The lodge room on the upper floor took on lots of water, but the furniture seems to have survived.

Fire officials have not yet determined the cause, but the source of the fire appears to have been in the kitchen. Fortunately, the exterior of the hall appears to be intact, and there were no injuries.

Unlike the recent spate of fires in Masonic buildings over the last couple of years, there has been no mention of arson in this case, but the investigation continues. No word at this time as to whether any sort of rebuilding fund has been created, but this story will be updated if that happens.

(Photos from Cave City Fire department, various local news sites and lodge members.)

MSA Issues Disaster Relief Appeal for GL of Kentucky

by Christopher Hodapp

The devastating tornadoes that tore across Arkansas, Illinois, Tennessee, and especially Kentucky over the weekend caused untold damage and destruction, and the death toll has risen to 88 as of this morning (according to the Associated Press). The state of Kentucky alone is reporting 74 deaths, and 100 people are still missing.

On December 13th, the Masonic Service Association of North America issued an official disaster appeal on behalf of the Grand Lodge of Kentucky, at the request of Grand Master James H. Gibson.

Click the image below to enlarge.

KENTUCKY DISASTER APPEAL

As you are aware, multiple tornadoes ripped through the State of Kentucky destroying everything in their path. These tornadoes may go down as the worst in history. It has been suggested that one tornado was on the ground for 220 miles. Several Lodges have suffered catastrophic damage and have varying degrees of damage. They are several Brethren in these areas that have lost everything due to these storms.

Grand Master James H. Gibson has requested the Masonic Service Association of North America (MSA) to issue this Disaster Relief Appeal.

Please forward any donations you feel appropriate to help our devastated Brothers and their families in this stricken jurisdiction to MSA.

To donate online with a Visa or Mastercard, visit https://msana.com/current-appeals/.

To donate via check or money order, please make payable to MSA Disaster Relief Appeal and send to:

Masonic Service Association

813 1st Avenue SE, Suite 357

Cedar Rapids, IA 52402

When remitting by check, please clearly mark that you wish the funds to go to the Kentucky Disaster Relief Appeal.

---

Remember that donations made through the MSA's official disaster relief appeals are fully tax deductible, and are considered preferable over independent fundraising programs like GoFundMe. Donations through the MSA are sent directly to the grand lodges that request an appeal, and the MSA does not charge any administrative fees - this has been part of the MSA's mission since its beginnings. 

Donations may be made via check or online credit card payment. (VISA and MasterCrd only - no American Express)

UPDATE: According to Kentucky Senator Rand Paul's website, C.D. Ward Lodge 961's Masonic hall at 201 School Street, East Bernstadt in Laurel County is open as an official KYEM/FEMA disaster recovery center. "[The centers will be open] from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m daily to help survivors with property damage and other setbacks from the recent tornadoes."

Speaking Online at Lexington Lodge No. 1 on Monday 5/11

by Christopher Hodapp

Kentucky's Lexington Lodge No. 1 and their Rubicon Masonic Society are not letting the COVID-19 Wuhan virus shutdown deter them from having weekly Masonic gatherings. Each Monday through July, they are hosting Masonic speakers, presentations and discussions via ZOOM as a ten-part Masonic education series. 

I was remiss in posting an announcement that last night's featured speaker was New York's Junior Grand Warden, Dr. Oscar Alleyne discussing the coronavirus, what Masons have been doing doing the shutdown, and what they COULD be doing. 

However, next Monday, May 11th, I will be their featured guest. 

On May 18th, Lexington will be hosting Dr. S. Brent Morris, author of numerous books and editor of the Scottish Rite Journal (SJ) and Heredom, the Scottish Rite Research Society's annual collection of papers. And on May 25th will be WB Andrew Hammer, author of Observing the Craft.

Lexington Lodge's rules for their online gatherings are a little more demanding than most you might have been experiencing during the shutdown. Just because you are in your living room or basement doesn't mean you shouldn't be in the mindset of being in a lodge room. So, their requested on-screen attire is coat and tie, and gentlemanly manners are to be expected during their online meetings. No onscreen drinking, smoking, or foul language will be permitted. Attendees may be removed if not following protocol. 

• These will be virtual education meetings, and are NOT a substitute for lodge or regularly stated Masonic meetings.
• These are NOT Tyled meetings.
• Masons of all degrees anywhere are welcome to attend.
• Men interested in Freemasonry may attend as long as they are being recommended (vouched for) by a fellow Freemason from a lodge they are considing joining. 
• The Master of Lexington Lodge No. 1 and Chairman of the Rubicon Masonic Society, Brian Evans will serve as the meetings host. The Past Master of Lexington Lodge No. 1 and Vice Chairman of the Rubicon Masonic Society, John W. Bizzack will serve as the co-host. 
• There will be live question/answer/discussion period following the presentation in which all may participate.

Many thanks to WB John Bizzack, Past Master of Lexington Lodge, for inviting me to participate.

To participate in the meeting, you must register using the form on the announcement page HERE.

H/T: Thanks to Dave Hosler for the photo

AMD Presents John Bizzack: 'Sins of Our Masonic Fathers' Friday 5/8

by Christopher Hodapp

On Friday, May 8th, the Allied Masonic Degrees (AMD) of New Jersey and Pennsylvania East will host an online members-only presentation by Dr. John Bizzack, Past Master of Lexington Lodge 1 in Kentucky. 'Sins of Our Masonic Fathers' is an outgrowth of John's ongoing examination of the massive changes that happened in American Freemasonry at around 1800 when it transformed from small, exclusive lodges along the East coast into a rapidly expanding institution for social change throughout the western territories. What was good for America turned out to be not so good for Freemasonry as an institution as it exists today, and the subject of John's presentation is "the lost strength of fewness in American Freemasonry." 

  

John Bizzack is an exceptional historian and has written some fourteen books on Freemasonry. I especially recommend Island Freemasonry and Sins of Our Masonic Fathers. It helps that he is deeply involved with and committed to Kentucky's historic Lexington Lodge 1, which was the first Masonic lodge established west of the Appalachian mountains. More than a few grand lodges can trace their origins to Virginia or Kentucky charters that came out of that one single lodge. If you ever have the opportunity to visit one of their regular lodge meetings or outstanding festive boards, make the effort to do so. Lexington Lodge sets the bar very high for excellence in everything they do, and their lodge experience is always first-rate. John's been a big part of that over the years, and he served several years as their Worshipful Master.

Friday's program begins at 8PM EDT. It is being restricted to members of the Allied Masonic Degrees only, and is NOT open to the public or just Masons in general. For login information to this Zoom program, you must register at: https://tinyurl.com/ydav7x5u 

Including the Masons

It's gratifying to know that Shriner Masons count when touting diversity and inclusiveness in Derby City.

Spotted by attendees at the Conference of Grand Masters at the Louisville airport this week was this signage celebrating the city's 'inclusiveness' as its biggest strength. That's a parade unit from Kosair Shrine on the left of the poster.

It does a community good to remind them every once in a while just how important Freemasons are to our civic life and have been for a long time. It used to be that "everybody knew" who and what the local Masons did in their area, who they were, and why it was worthwhile to actually join a lodge and take an active role in keeping up the good work. As our membership shrinks and fewer extended family relatives or neighbors have that tradition to pass on, too many of our fellow citizens don't know anymore. 

Today, Kosair Charities is the largest charity for children in the history of the region known as Kentuckiana. Louisville's Masons who make up the Shriners, via Kosair Charities, have been improving children's lives in Kentucky and Southern Indiana ever since 1923 when they opened the Kosair Crippled Children Hospital, which later consolidated into Louisville's Children's Hospital in 1982 (since renamed Norton Children's Hospital). 

After the consolidation, Kosair began providing grants to support pediatric programs such as The Kosair Charities Pediatric Convalescent Center at the Home of the Innocents. 

Kosair Charities provides individual help to children outside hospitals through the Kosair Kids program, which arranges for medical referrals, financial assistance and transportation. The former Kosair Crippled Children Hospital property is now the campus for the Sam Swope Kosair Charities Center, and in 2013, they opened the Kids Center for Pediatric Therapy and Bluegrass Center for Autism. Today, through an extensive grant program, Kosair Charities is able to support numerous agencies around the state that provide crucial medical care to children. 

An old friend has always told me "All Freemasonry is local," and our neighbors need occasional reminding that we're still alive and we still want good men to join us. 

Including them.

Tip o' the fez to Mark Tabbert.

MRF 2019 Symposium in Lexington, KY 8/16-18

The Masonic Restoration Foundation has announced its 10th Annual Symposium will be held this year in Lexington, Kentucky from August 16-18, 2019. This year's event will be hosted by Lexington Lodge No. 1 at the historic Spindletop Mansion. 

Founded in 2001, the Masonic Restoration Foundation is an educational organization that provides news, research, and analysis relating to the rich heritage in Freemasonry and current trends in the North American Masonic experience.

"We believe the focus on a quality fraternal, educational and social experience for each individual Mason determines the uniqueness and effectiveness of the lodge. And its potential power rests in this—such a place does not exist anywhere else in the world.

"To assist in creating such a culture, and to experience it in lodge after lodge, within Grand Jurisdiction after Grand Jurisdiction, is the mission of the Masonic Restoration Foundation." - MRF Statement of Purposes

The MRF was organized to identify and distribute, through its research, the time-tested cultural and fraternal Masonic practices that have proven successful in the historical repertoire of Masonic experience. The focus of the MRF is to promote the characteristics which form the best lodge meetings, fraternal and social practices across the Masonic landscape, while preserving Freemasonry’s landmarks and upholding its identity as a transformative art. 

If you've never visited John Bizzack, Cameron Poe and the other brethren of Lexington Lodge before, aren't aware of their lodge's historic significance in the expansion of American Freemasonry into the West, or just have never seen the sort of programming they consistently provide for their members, this would be an outstanding opportunity to come to this beautiful part of the country for the weekend.

Featured speakers and panelists in August will include:

• John W. Bizzack, author of Island Freemasonry, WM Lexington Lodge 1
• Douglas L. Caudle, PGM Grand Lodge of North Carolina
• John D. Cissell, GJD Grand Lodge of Kentucky
• Patrick Craddock, Craftsman's Apron and current president of the Masonic Society
• Andrew Hammer, author of Observing the Craft and MRF President
• Dan Kemble, WM William O. Ware Lodge of Research, Covington, KY
• Chris Murphy, PM, Fibonacci Lodge No. 112, South Royalton, VT
• Cameron Poe, SW Lexington Lodge 1
• Robert Pollock, JW Harmony Lodge No. 8, Urbana, Ohio
• Mikel Stoops, GSW Grand Lodge of Kansas

The event will begin with a Harmony [Festive Board] held in the Elizabethan Room at Spindletop on Friday evening, conducted by Lexington Lodge, and featuring comments from Keynote Speaker, MW Mikel Stoops, Grand Senior Warden of the Grand Lodge of Kansas. Brothers will have the opportunity to attend a special exemplification of the English Master Mason degree (Emulation ritual) on Saturday afternoon, performed by Fiat Lux Lodge No. 1717, of Washington, DC. Registration for the Symposium is $125.00 USD, and $75.00 USD for the Saturday session only. Brothers who wish to attend only the Friday night Harmony will pay $50 USD.

For the complete program, lodging information, registration and more, visit the MRF Symposium website HERE.

GL of Kentucky Approves Joint Visitation With Prince Hall Lodges

The Grand Lodge of Kentucky F&AM recognized the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Kentucky F&AM in October 2011, however no visitation privileges were granted at that time. The Prince Hall Grand Lodge had asked for recognition without visitation. They were simply recognized as a sovereign jurisdiction only. 

I just received word that the GL of Kentucky has at last approved joint visitation with their Prince Hall counterparts today at their annual communication.

This still leaves Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia as the last nine remaining mainstream grand lodges that do not recognize their Prince Hall counterparts.

UPDATE

Brother John Bizzack has passed along the additional news that the Grand Lodge of Kentucky also approved legislation that will grant lodges the option of opening Stated Meetings and conducting their business on the Entered Apprentice degree. Actually it must lay over until a final vote next year, but this is a major advancement. 

It's taken a couple of years to accomplish this, and it's a welcome change that more and more jurisdictions are adopting. This is the longstanding manner in which the overwhelming majority of lodges around the world conduct their business, and the practice of restricting business meetings to Master Masons only was an unfortunate product of the 1843 Baltimore Convention that introduced many innovations to American lodges.  Glad to see it laid to rest in Kentucky.

Jesters Sentenced in Prostitution Case

Not to unduly drag this story back out into the light, but the Associated Press and several New York papers are reporting it today.

From today's Niagara Gazette:

Ronald H. Tills, 74, of Hamburg, was sentenced Friday in federal court to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty last year to transporting prostitutes across state lines.

Tills is the third man to be sentenced in connection with a federal prostitution sting involving local massage parlors.

Two other defendants — retired Lockport Police Captain John Trowbridge, 62, and Tills' former law clerk, Michael Stebick, 61 — had previously been sentenced.

Trowbridge received two years’ probation, and Stebick was given four months home confinement.

The men were all members of the Royal Order of Jesters, an international fraternal society.

Tills admitted last September to violating the Mann Act by transporting prostitutes across state lines. Trowbridge pleaded guilty to transporting the woman, an illegal alien identified in court papers as “Jane Doe No. 1,” to Kentucky, to engage in prostitution with members of the Royal Order of Jesters.

As part of his plea, Tills admitted to five additional occasions of transporting a woman across state lines for prostitution.

Allegations of prostitution led the Western District’s Human Trafficking Task Force and Alliance to conduct raids on four massage parlors in Lockport, Niagara Falls, Wheatfield and Tonawanda in December 2007.

The women working at the massage parlors were illegal aliens from Asia. Nine women were rescued from the parlors, where investigators said they were being held as virtual captives.

The Buffalo News goes on to report:

So far, no charges have been filed against anyone outside the Buffalo chapter.

In May, a national spokesman for the Jesters told The Buffalo News that the presence of prostitutes at Jesters gatherings is something that only the Buffalo chapter engaged in, adding that such conduct is never condoned by the national leadership.

The all-male organization — which is a division of the Freemasons — has 191 chapters with 22,000 members, mostly in the United States. The fraternal group's members have included two U.S. presidents, politicians, entertainment figures and prominent businessmen.

Some former Jesters told The News that many Jesters chapters have engaged in wild parties with prostitutes for decades.

Tills, who previously served as a member of the State Assembly, was known by colleagues and defense attorneys as one of the region's toughest sentencing judges before he retired from his job as a state judge in 2005.

Federal Probe of Jesters Expands

The Royal Order of Jesters just can't seem to get out of hot water. Former State Supreme Court Justice Ronald Tills and two other members of the ROJ have plead guilty in Buffalo, New York in connection with organizing prostitution parties for Jesters meetings, and are awaiting sentencing. Another chapter in Big Sandy, Kentucky has been placed on probation by the national organization, and is being looked into by the feds.

A lengthy article appeared today in the Buffalo News, after reporter Dan Herbeck spent weeks seeking interviews. Many of those interviewed (myself included) echo similar sentiments—that the Jesters need to clean up their act. Officials, including Jesters' president Gary N. Martin, say that gatherings with hookers and other illegal activities are, to his knowledge, "extremely isolated," and is engaged in by "a small fraction" of their 22,000 members.

From the article:

But sources close to the investigation and former Jesters from other parts of the country tell a different story, one of bizarre activities — including routinely hiring prostitutes for gatherings, sex competitions and degrading initiation rites for new members — at many Jesters outings, with off-duty police hired to keep nonmembers away.

“I quit the Jesters more than 20 years ago, and this kind of thing has been going on at least 40 or 50 years,” said Malcolm “Mutt” Herring, 90, of Montgomery, Ala. “I quit because I don’t drink, and I don’t mess around with other women, other than my wife. Going to one of their events was like going to a whorehouse.”

None of this would be notable as far as Masonry is concerned if the Jesters were not connected to the Shrine, and the Shrine to Freemasonry. Face it. For over a hundred years, the Shrine has been the playground of Masonry, and has reveled in, and encouraged, its public image as a bunch of big-drinking, stripper-slapping, fez-wearing party animals, who engage in such behavior for the good cause of the hospitals. AND THAT'S FINE. The Shrine is what it is. But to tell a man, on the one hand, that the Shrine is one more logical step for a Freemason to take, and then, on the other hand, to bring on the hookers, absolutely flies in the face of Masonic obligations. To fill the Blue Lodge with lofty lectures of morality and virtue, then to guard the door of the Shrine with off-duty cops and tell new candidates, "What happens here stays here," is the worst kind of hypocrisy. It throws mud on Freemasonry.

Judge Tills, who faces prison time now at the age of 75, once prided himself as being one of the toughest sentencing judges in western New York state. I'd be curious how many prostitution cases came before him on the bench, and how he sentenced them. His actions—hauling hookers across state lines, and even into Canada, not once, but at least on six occasions—belies the claim that such practices within the Jesters are not widespread. The FBI has been involved since last year. And this is in addition to the story from last May about Jesters' "fishing trips" to Brazil that involved at least 19 members and hookers as young as 13.

So why haven't the Shrine's national leadership thrown the Jesters under the bus and severed ties with them? Why haven't state grand masters put the Jesters on notice, or yanked dues cards of the most offensive individuals?

No, I do not believe that 22,000 members of the Jesters condone this behavior. It may very well be that the overwhelming majority of them don't. I have known many brethren who are Jesters who would never in a million years engage in this type of behavior. But to claim that the ROJ doesn't know about this stuff on a widespread basis is sheer nonsense. They certainly look the other way. And if they didn't care about anything else, just from a mercenary point of view, they are risking their non-profit status.

I once had a friend who asked the question, "What good is it being a member of a secret society if you can't get out of traffic tickets or get serviced by a hooker with a cop watching the door for you?" If that's what a man is looking for, then the Jesters need to split from the Shrine and just go be a sex club. And if the Shrine condones it, perhaps the Shrine needs to split from Freemasonry, as well. I say that as a member of the Shrine, an organization I joined because of the work they do with their hospitals. I have noticed in the last year, my dues card no longer says I'm a member of the Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (the initials of which were rearranged to spell A MASON), but now of Shrine International. There have been calls for years to split from the Masonic fraternity. The Jesters are one more reason to head that direction.

A few months back, I purchased a collection of Jesters' pins off of Ebay. I didn't do it because I particularly wanted them in my home. I did it because these pins, which were created each year for the annual Jesters' national meetings, depicted the grinning Jesters' cartoon mascot, Billiken, engaged in a variety of unsavory activities—sexual, and worse, racially violent. Activities that would land Billiken into a cartoon jail. I bought the pins because I didn't want the pictures of them to show up all over the internet. I care passionately about the fraternity of Freemasonry, and when individuals throw dirt on it with their actions, they throw dirt on me too. The website of the Royal Order of Jesters proudly proclaims its connection to Masonry (In fact, the page's title says "Royal Order of Jesters - Masons, Shriners, Freemasons, Masonic Lodges, Grand Lodges"). The reporter from Buffalo called me, because he wanted to know how I felt about my brother Masons engaging in this activity. 22,000 out of 1.5 million US Masons is a small percentage, and of those 22,000 Jesters, I suspect a much smaller number of them are taking part in the "mirth." But it only takes one or two to make the national news.

I'm no prude, and I have no desire to be played by Margaret Hamilton in the movie. Frankly, I am a big proponent of making the Masonic lodge and its activities more fun, including relaxing Indiana's tintype prohibition of alcohol in Masonic buildings. A Mason shouldn't be made to feel that his lodge is some monastic cloister and that the only place he can behave like an adult and enjoy himself is the Shrine. But the Jesters are the image of the worst kind of excess, and their members either need to clean it up, or go their own way and sever the Masonic connection.

The New York case is connected to an FBI probe in human trafficking—in particular, a Chinese massage parlor that has young women kept as sex slaves. Such establishments are notorious for asking, "You want happy ending?"

Yes, I do. I want a happy ending to this whole sordid episode.

(BTW, I am quoted in the article as saying "The Masons are about family, community and faith-oriented activities that make good men better.” Mr. Herback paraphrased me. I've never in my life used the term "faith-oriented activities," and I loathe the catch phrase "we make good men better." But being misquoted goes with the territory, I suppose. And since when did I become a "co-author" of Freemasons For Dummies? Feh.)