I ventured outside of Rhode Island for my latest visit, this time to Howard Lodge in South Yarmouth, MA. Every year my home lodge has a Cape Cod Getaway weekend and I went up a day early so I could attend the Fellowcraft Degree that Howard Lodge was imparting upon two Entered Apprentices.
The lodge room itself was surprisingly spacious and I was grateful for the very comfortable chairs, especially on a degree night. The degree work that the lodge presented was incredibly interesting; the differences between the ritual in Massachusetts and the ritual in Rhode Island were numerous and often times caught me off-guard.
The foyer to the lodge is filled with wonderful artifacts from the lodges history including the trowel used to lay the cornerstone of the lodge, past masters aprons from the late 1880's, and original artwork depicting the building of King Solomons Temple.
Everything added a sense of scope to the lodge, newcomers would be hard pressed not to be impressed by the history presented to them. Special note must be made of the four paintings in the lodge room depicting different sections of the middle chamber. It was the first time that I have seen the lecture done without the use of a floor tarp and I enjoyed the effect of having the decor of the room being used in a secondary manner.
Everything about the visit was memorable, the brothers were very friendly and I was invited to sit at the Worshipful Masters table during dinner where tales of the craft were swapped over a delicious stuffed chicken dinner. The newly passed brothers were interested in a traveling mans thoughts and the night was full of insightful exchanges. All in all I had a wonderful time and I am looking forward to returning to the area for one of the districts masonic themed plays that they will be presenting in the coming months.
