Oklahoma's Grayhorse Lodge Closes; Appeared in 2023's 'Killers of the Flower Moon'

by Christopher Hodapp

(NOTE: Since I posted this article I was told that T.S.Akers first reported it on his Oklahoma Masonic History Facebook page. I never saw that story until after I posted my own article. Have a look there for additional photos and info. Some casual readers seem to think I’m somehow concerned with getting ‘scoops’ over other sites or that I don’t properly credit other authors and websites. Whenever I rely on someone else’s reporting for information, I always take care to link to that source or cite where it came from, unless someone asks to remain anonymous. Thanks to Mark Wright for sending me his personal experiences with Grayhorse Lodge.)

Lodges in rural and economically depressed areas all too often have a tough time surviving these days. I received word last week that Fairfax, Oklahoma's Grayhorse Lodge No. 124 has lost its charter and closed its doors. That's sad — all lodge closures are — but lodges close every day, so it's scarcely a surprise. Still, you might recall that Grayhorse Lodge had a recent moment in the spotlight when it was featured in Martin Scorcese's 2023 film, Killers of the Flower Moon.

According to a friend familiar with the area, Grayhorse Lodge is located in a remote section of the the Osage Indian Nation, in north-central Oklahoma near the Kansas border. It's almost smack dab between Tulsa, OK and Witchita, Kansas, more than an hour away from either city. There's not a lot of economic prosperity or opportunity in this region. When Scorcese's film crew came to the area to make his movie about an historic incident in the Osage Nation, they used the lodge for a not especially flattering scene that upset lots of Brother Masons. The lodge room looks today much as it looked a hundred years ago when the incident took place, and Scorcese wanted to use as many authentic locations as he could.

The film crew cleaned up the lodge room, gave it a fresh coat of paint, and brought in several antique props for both historical accuracy and visual interest (the pot-bellied stove was a prop). The lodge got a facelift and a little national attention out of the deal, local folks were hired as extras, and Fairfax and a couple of surrounding communities got a brief economic bump from the crew's hotel, dining and retail supply needs. But film crews move fast, like advancing armies, and they leave just as quickly as they came. The paint and attention wasn't enough to save Grayhorse Lodge. And as my friend pointed out, it doesn't help that the majority of Osage Indians are Roman Catholic and are unlikely to violate the prohibition of the Church against Freemasonry.

A Google street-view cruise through downtown Fairfax tells the story quickest. The majority of storefronts along North Main Street are closed and boarded up. There's a banner pleading "Save the Tall Chief Theater" in front of the local movie house that no longer shows films, but advertises a "Killers of the Flower Moon" memorial on its marquee. You can count the number of parked cars on one hand as you roll down the street. The lodge building was built in 1909 as the First National Bank, and the lodge room was added in 1924. The National Register of Historic Places calls it the "best example of Georgian Revival architecture in Osage County," and it's obvious that the Masons were proud of their home town enough to invest in the most impressive building in the county. 

By holding on until this year, Grayhorse Lodge managed to last a full century.

Lodges close every day. No lodge is ever destined to last forever, and Masonry changes and adapts to suit the age, community, and society in which it resides. 

I'm told that in Oklahoma, if the Grand Master seizes a charter, that lodge cannot ever be revived, but if the members vote to voluntarily surrender their charter, it CAN be revived in the future. The members of Grayhorse Lodge 124 surrendered theirs. 

"For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease..."

Slate: 'What if the Solution to Men’s Loneliness Is… Freemasonry?'

Illustration by Logan Guo for Slate

by Christopher Hodapp

There's been no dearth of reports over the last few years about what many sociologists and psychologists are calling an 'epidemic of loneliness' among men under 40 or so. Several emails this weekend alerted me to an article on Slate – 'What if the Solution to Men’s Loneliness Is … Freemasonry? What makes a guy decide to join a really old fraternal order in 2024', by Allegra Rosenberg. It's a refreshingly evenhanded exploration by a non-Mason of what Freemasonry has to offer to men in today's society. 

Instead of talking to a grand master, or one or two of us regulars in the go-to lineup of high-visibility usual suspects who often get interviewed for these kinds of stories, Rosenberg put out an appeal for responses in the very active Reddit r/freemasonry community. She was especially interested in hearing from men under 40, and this article is the result. 

Apart from flubbing the date of the English grand lodge's founding as 1710 instead of 1717, I daresay that this would be a decent article for grand lodges to link to in their social media as information from a dispassionate third party as to why young men would be interested in our fraternity. If your membership committee is hunting contemporary motivations for joining, give this a read.

It features responses from many brethren as to their personal reasons for joining the fraternity, and one thing glaringly missing from previous generations is mention of dad, grandad or other relative who had been a Mason. This may be the first cohort of men since 1717 that is seeking out a lodge independent of a family tradition. Nor will you find a single reference to George Washington, or any other famous Freemasons. 

Whether you regard that as sad or not, it's the reality we have to deal with today.

Grand Master Renders Official Decision on Transgenders and Masonry in Texas

by Christopher Hodapp

The Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Texas AF&AM, MW G. Clay Smith, has just rendered an official decision (Grand Master's Decision No. 1) concerning transgenderism within his jurisdiction. 

He was asked if the Constitution and Laws of the Grand Lodge of Texas allow biological women whose gender identity or gender expression is now male to become Masons. The short answer is no. The Constitution of the Grand Lodge of Texas is silent on the subject, and so he falls back on the Ancient Charges to render a decision.

Grand Master G. Clay Smith

His complete ruling can be seen below, but to paraphrase the meat of his answer: 

1. A biological woman ("an individual who was assigned female at birth") cannot be a Texas Mason.
2. A transgender man ("an individual who was assigned female at birth whose gender identity or gender expression is now male") cannot be a Texas Mason.
3. A transgender woman ("an individual who was assigned male at birth whose gender identity or gender expression is now female") cannot be a Texas Mason.

Citing the male-only origins of the fraternity as found in Article III, Section 3 of the Ancient Charges as published by Dr. James Anderson in his 1723 Constitutions, he says:

"[T]he Old Charges must be understood in the context in which they were written and at the time they were incorporated into our Constitution adopted in 1920, not given new meaning based on current  attitudes and practices among some concerning gender and or other matters. Anyone who desires to become a Mason, and any Mason who wishes to remain in our fraternity, must be a man, as Dr. Anderson understood men to be in 1722, and as our Texas forbearers understood them to be at the time of adoption of our current Constitution."

The Decision goes on:

"It is important to understand that this decision does not constitute a judgement of this Grand Lodge, moral or otherwise, on the issues of gender identity, gender expression, or transgender issues. As in the case of spiritual and political matters, every Mason is free to form a private opinion on the subject. The Grand Lodge of Texas is forever committed to individual freedom of conscience and personal liberty in every lawful pursuit. However, not every such pursuit qualifies an individual to become a Mason."

The entire Decision can be seen below. Click image to enlarge.

Many suppose that dealing with transgenderism is a relatively new topic to be confronted by the fraternity, but it's not. Several decades ago, a midwestern grand lodge went through a lawsuit brought by an existing member who underwent gender reassignment surgery to become a woman, and then fought ferociously to remain a Mason in "her" lodge. The suit failed, as the judge fell back on a common practice in lawsuits involving voluntary membership associations: because the Grand Lodge's rules and by-laws stipulated that all members must be men, and that members agree in their initiation to abide by the rules of the fraternity, the plaintiff had no grounds to sue. But that was more than 30 years ago, and society has changed dramatically.

England's Answer

In 2018, the United Grand Lodge of England issued an official "Gender Reassignment Policy". It reads, in part:

3. APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSION

A candidate for admission to Freemasonry under UGLE must be a man. Should a person who has undergone gender reassignment and has become a man apply to become a Freemason then his application must be processed in the same way as for any other male candidate.

Any qualified candidate for admission may be proposed for membership of a private lodge in accordance with the provisions in the Rules contained in the Book of Constitutions. No candidate should be subjected to questions about their gender which could make them feel uncomfortable.

 4. CONTINUED MEMBERSHIP

A Freemason who after initiation ceases to be a man does not cease to be a Freemason. We expect that Freemasons will act with compassion and sensitivity towards their fellow Freemasons.

We hope that no Freemason would engage in unwanted conduct relating to another Freemason’s actual or perceived gender reassignment or gender transition. Such conduct would not only be unmasonic but is also unlawful if it has the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of, or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for, the victim. 

5. RESIGNATION FROM THE CRAFT

A Freemason who becomes a woman is not required to resign from the Craft.

If a person resigns from the Craft then they and their dependants might no longer be eligible for some of the benefits provided by the Masonic charities now or in the future.

6. EXCLUSION FROM A LODGE

A Lodge may vote to exclude any member for sufficient cause. The following grounds would constitute unlawful discrimination and so could never constitute sufficient cause:

a. The fact that a member has legally become a woman;

b. A mistaken belief that a member has legally become a woman;

c. The fact that a member is in the process of transition from male to female; or

d. A mistaken belief that a member is in the process of transitioning from male to female. 

Similarly, a Lodge must not attempt to persuade a member to resign from the Lodge or discriminate against a member based on any of these grounds. A Lodge must not at any time require a member to prove that they are legally a man.

The situation in England is more complex because English discrimination laws are different from the U.S. Back in 2018, the Brexit vote hadn't taken place yet, and the U.K. was subject to European Union rulings by their Court of Human Rights, as well. Freemasonry is protected under English laws, along with European Union laws from legal accusations of gender discrimination because of the fraternity's long-established, male-only admissions criteria. UGLE is officially recognized in England and Wales under the law as a single-sex association.

The problem arose, however, when existing UGLE Masons chose to undergo gender reassignment, which is when English law kicked in. The UGLE's male-only status does not protect them from accusations of discrimination against their existing members. According to a Huffington Post article published at the time, under the Gender Recognition Act 2004 and the Equality Act 2010 a biological man who has joined the Freemasons cannot be excluded after transitioning because gender reassignment is a protected right under the law.

One interesting side observation is that the UGLE has an extraordinarily pragmatic view concerning female Freemasons. Bring up "wimmin in the lodge" as a Redditt/Twitbook/Facetwit discussion topic, and stand back: the incoming barrage of anger from just mentioning the subject is like being condemned by the Portuguese Inquisition for heresy. 

Not so in England. When a woman asks about joining at the Great Queen Street headquarters of the Grand Lodge, they cheerfully direct her to the two different female Masonic grand lodges in London that represent a combined membership of more than 50,000 lady Masons (the Order of Women Freemasons with about 4,000 members; and the Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons (HFAF for Women) with In fact, when UGLE celebrated its 300th anniversary in 2017, the two female grand masters were invited to the ceremonies. It's common to find English Masonic halls with female Masonic lodges, and all three of these grand lodges cooperate on the Universities Scheme to promote the fraternity colleges and universities around the country.