The Great Flood of 2010

I am sorry for the lack of posts as of late, my Masonic travels have been curtailed by two events.

The first was the great Rhode Island flood which flooded my basement and caused worse harm to some of my brothers. I live a mile from the "worlds first underwater mall", also known as the Warwick Mall, and I have never seen anything like it.

The second event is that we are a single car house and my wife is temporarily working for the US Census after I get home from work which means I am the housebound baby sitter for the next couple of weeks.

I have a lot of lodges to visit in the coming months and I hope to get back to chronicling them soon.

My Visit to T.S. Webb #43

Last Night I had the privilege to visit Thomas Smith Webb #43, which meets in the Scottish Rite Cathedral in Cranston, RI for their visitation for the Most Worshipful Grand Master Richard Ault. Thomas Smith Webb was Grand Master of Rhode Island in 1813-1814 and is most known for authoring The Freemasons Monitor and his contributions to the York Rite.

The building itself is very impressive, there is the Scottish Site Cathedral on one side of the street and a Shriners Center opposite where the brothers retired afterwards for a drink and fraternal bonding.


The foyer to the lodge is filled with artifacts and memorabilia and really brings the history of the lodge to light. Photos, gavels, aprons, pins and much more, you will find items two hundred years old next to items from the last decade.


In fact there is a museum in the building with some of the best Masonic items in the state and is a much see if you visit the lodge. Below is a case of older gavels that really takes ones breathe away.


Because it is used for Scottish Rite, the lodge is laid out differently then other lodges I have visited. All the seats are in the North and are stadium style which gives it a much different feel from the smaller lodges I have been in.


The visit had a great turnout and it was something to see a lot of those seats filled with brothers, I can only imagine how it would have been fifty years ago when every seat was filled.



Additional links:
Thomas Smith Webb Wikipedia article
Scottish Rite - Valley of Providence
Webbs Masonic Monitor

My Visit to Howard Lodge

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.

My Visit to Morning Star Lodge

Last night I had the privilege to visit Morning Star Lodge in Woonsocket, RI and the kick off to their 200th anniversary celebration. The lodge is in the heart of Woonsocket between a number of one way streets and we wound up parking a few streets over and walking to the lodge rather then trying to find a closer spot. The lodge was granted its dispensation on January 22, 1810 so our visit was almost exactly 200 years later which was rather neat.


The first floor of the lodge is the dining hall, the second is comprised of meeting areas, a small library and a small lodge meeting room for the local Eastern Star chapter while the third floor holds the main meeting lodge.


The first impression we all received when we walked into the room was "wow". The room is large and full of interesting decor and artifacts. Note the three lights around the alter, actual candles which is the first time I have seen non-bulb lights in a lodge in Rhode Island. It looked like they were working on some sections of the ceiling in the main lodge room, as well as the rec rooms on the second floor, but it was one of the nicer lodges I have visited.


The lodge has a great history of members, among them is Past Master Sullivan Ballou who would gain fame during the Civil War.

Ballou and 93 of his men were mortally wounded at Bull Run. In an attempt to better direct his men, Ballou took a horse mounted position in front of his regiment, when a 6-pounder solid shot from Confederate artillery tore off his right leg and simultaneously killed his horse. The badly injured Major was then carried off the field and the remainder of his leg was amputated. Ballou died from his wound a week after that Union defeat and was buried in the yard of nearby Sudley Church. After the battle the territory was occupied by Confederate forces. According to witness testimony, it was at this time that Ballou's corpse was exhumed, decapitated, and desecrated by Confederate soldiers possibly belonging to the 21st Georgia regiment. Ballou's body was never recovered.

If that was all to it, he probably would have faded into history but when going through his belongings an unmailed letter to his wife was discovered and delivered to her. This letter would gain fame for its heartfeltness and honesty and was featured prominently in Ken Burns wonderful PBS series The Civil War in the first episode. Two points of interest regarding PM Ballou; his fathers first name was Hiram and his grave site is located in Providence. Hopefully I will be able to do a tour of Masonic tombstones/graves in Rhode Island this summer and post some imagery.


Wikipedia article about Sullivan Ballou
Swan Point Cemetery
The Civil War - PBS

Friend to Friend Masonic Memorial at Gettysburg

One of the things that I always try to do whenever I travel is see some of the Masonic related sights the area has to offer, be it statues, lodges buildings or grave markers. This is the first blog post to share some of the photos I have taken in the past, look for more coming as I dig them out of the iPhoto archives.


The Friend to Friend Memorial in the Gettysburg National Park was dedicated on August 21st 1993 and is located in the corner of the park that is to the direct left of the entrance. When you are in the park it is hard to find as the area is behind a stone wall and there is not, as of my last visit a few years ago, any clear marking or pathway to it while you walk on National Cemetery Drive. There is an entrance and walkway from the street it faces, Steinwehr Avenue, but it is easy to miss you you enter through the parks main entrance. The statue itself is huge and is surrounded by a wall featuring every state that was in the union at the time of the Civil War.



The site used to be an old garage and gravel parking lot before the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania had a statue design approved by the National Park Service and, together with other Grand Lodges, contributed enough for the redesign of the space. Gone were was the run-down garage and in it's place a beautiful monument was erected. Not only that but the Masons involved also raised enough funds to construct a new entrance plaza, hand-capped accessible parking lot as well as providing a $25,000 maintenance endowment. Well done brothers, well done!


Here is a narrative of the event that inspired the memorial by Sheldon Munn and is located at this web site.

The memorial conceived and sponsored by the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania, centers on a monument of two sculpted bronze figures atop a large granite base. The figures portray the historically verified encounter between Confederate Brigadier General Lewis Addison Armistead and Captain Henry Harrison Bingham. Bingham was an aide to Union Major General Winfield Scott Hancock on Cemetery Ridge during Pickett's charge of July 3rd, 1863. This attack became known throughout the world as the "High Tide of the Confederacy."

Although Armistead and Hancock had been friends and fellow officers for many years, their political differences came between them at the outbreak of the Civil War. Armistead joined the newly formed Confederacy while Hancock chose to stay by the flag of the United States. Both officers served their countries well and were promoted into leadership positions.

After the two men went their separate ways, it was twenty-seven months before they were to meet again. This meeting finally took place on the battlefield remembered forever as "Gettysburg." During Pickett's charge, both officers were wounded. Armistead was mortally wounded and Hancock received a wound from which he would be in hospital care for many months. Armistead's cries for help were heard by several officers nearby, and it was a fellow fraternity brother, Captain Bingham, who arrived and offered aid to his fallen comrade-in-arms.

Armistead spoke of his close relationship with Hancock and he asked Captain Bingham to relay a message to his old friend. He entrusted his personal effects to the captain. Armistead died two days later at the George Spangler farm hospital site.

Read the Gettysburg Times newspaper featuring a cover story about the dedication.
Visit the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania to read an article on the monument.
If you do visit try to stop by the towns lodge, Good Samaritan Lodge #336.

Freemason's Hall in Sherlock Holmes Movie

I saw the new Sherlock Holmes movie last night and was intrigued to see that they used a very famous landmark for the opening scene. If you did not know, a google search for a talk on Sherlock Holmes being held in Rhode Island was the spring-board for my entry into the craft so I was rather excited to see the hall featured in the movie as well as being used for the London celebrity filled premiere.

For those of you who have seen the movie, the opening scene that had Holmes and Watson stopping a sacrifice was filmed in the hall. Here is a photo of the outside of the hall from the VisitLondon.com web site.


Speaking of the premiere, the Examiner talked about the hall during their recap of the world premiere of the movie:

We presume all had a great time since the Brits are still buzzing about the highly anticipated Guy Ritchie film based on the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle classic that happily used many London landmarks as film locations.

One such 'Sherlock Holmes' location is London's landmark Art Deco establishment known as Freemasons' Hall, headquarters for the United Grand Lodge for England, Wales and the Channel Islands as well as a major meeting place for London's Masonic Lodges.

The highly recognizable stone edifice on Great Queen Street between Holborn and Covent Garden has acted as a Masonic meeting place since 1775. In all, three different buildings have been erected on this site, the current version of which opened in 1933 as a tribute to the more than three thousand Masons who lost their lives in World War I.

The most impressive aspect of the imposing structure, which takes up more than two acres, is the Grand Temple, featuring intricate bronze doors -- each weighing more than a ton -- and a mosaic coved ceiling.

For sure, one word describes Freemasons' Hall: Opulent. To find out for sure just how opulent, either look out for the evocative building during your viewing of Guy Ritchie's "Sherlock Holmes", and/or go to London and take an actual tour of the celebrated structure, available weekdays.

Not familiar with the hall? Here are a few quick facts: It was built between 1927-1933 and houses more than 1000 lodges. It is the headquarters of the United Grand Lodge of England and the site has been in use by the Grand Lodge for more than 230 years.


During an interview with the cast and crew of the film, director Guy Ritchie had this to say:

Interviewer: Guy, is there an influence from Caballa in this movie and how was Israel for you?
Ritchie: Israel’s very nice.
Interviewer: If you can shorten that answer a bit…
Ritchie: (Laughs) Israel. No, if you come through the door of this building above the door it says Kaddish, Kaddish, Kaddish. So we actually derived most of our influence from esoteric schools from the Masons, loosely based on the Masons. But the Masons themselves are heavily steeped in Hebraic scripture so that’s really where we drew our inspiration.

There you go, some fun masonic information to drop on your friends when you are leaving the theater!

*** Updated on March 16, 2010 ***
The following screen shot was submitted by a commentor, notice the influence?

My Visit to Franklin Lodge

My visit to Franklin Lodge in Westerly RI for their annual communication was a great success, the lodge is amazing and the job done by all the brothers was very impressive.

A few notes of interest from the evening (and all are from the public portion of the night). Franklin lodge was named after Ben Franklin and the annual was held the day before his birthday. Their secretary was stepping down after 40 years in the position and received certificates from the RI Senate as well as one from Senator Whitehouse. The Gavel used by the Right Worshipful McGuire District Deputy Grand Master for the Centrsl District was made in 1929. And finally, the outgoing Worshipful Master of the lodge wore his father-in-laws Past Master pin which was a nice gesture of his part.

It was much too dark by the time we arrived at the Lodge for any quality photos but here is a photo of the lodge from the RIMasons.org web site, what a beautiful house!



The lodge room, very impressive and well maintained.



The acoustics in this room were amazing!



Here I am in one of the first floor rooms, one of four such rooms.



Another of the rooms, the lodge makes quite the impression!