Older historic buildings are my jam. The architectural historic fabric of places often gives you sturdier structures that are passively self cooling and self warming because they were originally oriented for that purpose and the room dimensions including ceiling height and materials themselves, particularly plaster, provide a condensation surface that helps to warm and cool rooms. Windows that open and close provide ventilation and often central ventilation shafts do as well (in spite of being firefighters worst nightmares). These types of building scan be replastered, repointed, insulated with modern rock wool, rewired replumbed, and re-roofed with steel that looks like the old tiles but provides fire protection. But - that's money that should have been accumulated over the years and often wasn't.
Infrastructure is always an ongoing expense. If you build with the idea that it will still be standing in good order in 500 years and that maintenance will be routine, that's a much different proposition than tossing up tongue depressors and Elmer's glue tract houses mean to generate obscene profits for developers/builders, and to extract wealth, funnel it away from the Middle Class in the form of debt slavery, and be disposable in 15 years.
The good thing is, the older the structure is, the better it was built in the first place. Roman roads still function in many places because of the way they were built.
The downside is that even the old Roman buildings that still self heal because they were built with Roman concrete, which interestingly seems to resist earthquake damage as well, deteriorated from their once splendour.
We have no trade schools anymore. If we did, then maintaining older historically important buildings would be easier because apprecti ce bricklayers, plasterers, stonemasons, etc. would be available for work under supervision of Masters. Also, hotter longer summers and more wildfires, means that materials that once served well, may not anymore. But, some will.
I did not know that about plaster. Very cool! My house was built in the 1930's, and in spite of it being located in Western Washington with our constant wetness, the exterior is stucco. Really cool, because it's easy to fix. The interior is plaster. Now I know that too be cool as well!
I am with you on the houses built today. All wrapped in plastic stuff under the siding so that they will never properly breathe. Ultra processed materials that will deteriorate in the damp. That stuff will never last.
I'm with you on the trade schools too. I have a hunch they'll be coming back though.
In the 1950's, the Masonic Temple I first went to in Clarksburg WV, was a very solid stone building. It was about 3 stories, with a huge basement (where my DeMolay Junior Rifle Club shot .22 rifles each Saturday evening)! The West Virginia Most Worshipful Grand Lodge often held their Annual Convocation in the Second Floor Grand Ballroom (local high schools often held their Annual Prom in that Ballroom). As far as I know, it's still standing?
The town north of mine, Tenino, has a stone building. It's really cool, and I imagine that it'll stand through just about anything but a nuclear strike or Mount Rainier blowing its top.
Folks don't want to hear it, but I imagine that someday my Lodge will move into that building, not as a consolidation, but simply as renters. It's not very far away, and it is a much better size for our needs.
This is another reason why we should never manage our own buildings. And when Trustees change places, they don't have a long-term plan, while the stalwarts just want everything to be how they remember it.
I don't disagree. I've been talking up the idea of hiring professional building management for a long time. The idea isn't popular though, no matter how much I nag! 😎
As I think I've mentioned more that once, I served as Secretary AND Treasurer in my Lodge in Canada (even though that is not permitted in most jurisdictions... including down here in Mexico. The two fellows that had been in those "not so popular" positions had been trying for three years to be replaced but nothing at election time... finally they stood up a Festive Board before elections and announced that if they were not replaced this year... they would Demit!
I was only starting my second year in Masonry at that time but had a good business background as I joined at 51 years of age... I asked the WM of the day what it entailed and he asked which I would like to do... I said "Both"! He said that couldn't be so I said fine... I'll sit back and do neither then... they had no choice and I was elected by acclamation.
The Lodge was in a financial disaster... rent (and Festive Boards) on our Lodge room had not be paid in 6 months... this was thousands. The GL Assessment had not be paid in a year and fines mounted at $5.00 a day! The "40 or 50 thousand dollar" Lodge fund was a mere $5,000... the Lodge should have just "slammed the door".
With the great assistance of a friend who was a long time Secretary in another Lodge and the very knowledgeable man that was the Grand Secretary... we set to saving this Lodge.
I almost would need a book to tell all that happened AND had to happen... the dues were less than Boy Scouts (who were boys at the time! lol), the three bank accounts they had (for years) in the same bank... they'd right a check and all the money was coming out of the Bursary Fund as the other accounts had minimal amounts in them... of course there were bank charges levied. On and on it went!
The dues structure was plain stupid and having the members vote on increases over the years obviously was pure folly... same with the Initiation Fees that supposedly paid for the regalia and such given to new members during their Degrees... the "old boys" voted everything down! I had voting on financial affairs removed and that the changes would be made immediately... if you didn't like them... Demit!... only one old Scot did so.
I set a goal at the start of my term in 1995 for the dues (for everybody) to reach $1.00 a day by the year 2025 and for the Lodge to make adjustments (if required at that time). I left Canada and that Lodge in 2012 (I stepped down as Secretary/Treasurer in 2009) and they continued having a Secretary/Treasurer up until last year.
In 2024 I attended the "budget meeting" on Zoom from Mexico all excited to see how it all came out... they had moved to another hall because it was cheaper, they now prepared there own Festive Boards AND bar AND the dues (which should have been almost $365.00 a year) were only $220.00 BECAUSE they brought the voting back in... I left the Zoom meeting!
Because I was awarded an Honorary Life Membership by Grand Lodge in 2010 I did not pay dues so had no idea how badly they had slipped.
Some of the PM's are wise and others (seems the majority) are not and the latter took over and put that Lodge back in the ditch it was in! Sad!
I have visited (as Brother only and on my own dime) about 250 Lodges during my 33 years in Masonry and virtually every one has the same problems AND it is caused by LOW DUES and very poor business thinking.
I was in a discussion with some members of different Lodges about 10 years ago and two young PM's (from the same Lodge) said that they had the above situation handled!... they said they cordoned off seats in the Northeast area of the Lodge for PM's and called it "The Bullpen" and that if they needed anything from them... they would ask!
I am sorry if this is so long but I do hope it arouses interest and action that will bring our Lodges back to where they belong!
Thank you for the rest of the story on the background of the "Bullpen" idea. Most of the time that'd be a bad idea, but in this case, I understand now. Thank you.
We've 'talked' about it before, and I am sorry to know what happened to your Lodge. I know firsthand how very disheartening it is to spend great amounts of one's time and energy, getting a Lodge on a good pathway, and then seeing it go back to the bad old ways. Disheartening, and frustrating.
Ultimately, you are right, low dues and a lack of proper business sense kills Lodges. A great many Lodges unfortunately.
Some things are not done because its logical or feasible, but because it is inspiring and necessary... or an obsession. I remember some of the rustbuckets (classic cars) we used to get, sometimes feeling we payed/traded more than felt prudent at the time, only to convert it into something unrecognizable.
They are definitely a labor of love, but there is nothing quite like them when you finally get everything dialed in. The sound, the feel, and the experience is unlike anything else, and each one is unique.
I get much the same feeling when I walk through these old Temples. The energy a space accumulates over time cannot be conveyed without experiencing it first hand. It also, unfortunately, cannot be transferred to a new space, not in its entirety anyway. Or at least not in my experience.
It would be a shame to lose another piece of Masonic history and the Legacy attached to it. I think if more Lodges considered thinking outside the box they may find the answer is in their communities. I think if Lodges were to partner with their youth groups or local nonprofits they will find mutual benefits exist. For example, if a Lodge offers use of space to support educational workshops and the nonprofit has to improve that space to make it suitable for their programming, in many cases the Lodge gets the added benefit of space improvements. Plus access to the kind of people who are curious, want to learn, or want to teach. They might even make good Masons... I think a situation like this may even revitalize programs like the DeMolay program in Olympia 1 too. Plus the boys get the added benefit of fun programming, and the skills they develop along the way.
I also really like the idea of our communities and Lodges rekindling the symbiotic relationship we once enjoyed.
I have no doubt that you are correct, a Lodge could see vast benefits through partnerships with other organizations in our communities. Including abilities to save buildings, for every organization needs a place to meet.
Older historic buildings are my jam. The architectural historic fabric of places often gives you sturdier structures that are passively self cooling and self warming because they were originally oriented for that purpose and the room dimensions including ceiling height and materials themselves, particularly plaster, provide a condensation surface that helps to warm and cool rooms. Windows that open and close provide ventilation and often central ventilation shafts do as well (in spite of being firefighters worst nightmares). These types of building scan be replastered, repointed, insulated with modern rock wool, rewired replumbed, and re-roofed with steel that looks like the old tiles but provides fire protection. But - that's money that should have been accumulated over the years and often wasn't.
Infrastructure is always an ongoing expense. If you build with the idea that it will still be standing in good order in 500 years and that maintenance will be routine, that's a much different proposition than tossing up tongue depressors and Elmer's glue tract houses mean to generate obscene profits for developers/builders, and to extract wealth, funnel it away from the Middle Class in the form of debt slavery, and be disposable in 15 years.
The good thing is, the older the structure is, the better it was built in the first place. Roman roads still function in many places because of the way they were built.
The downside is that even the old Roman buildings that still self heal because they were built with Roman concrete, which interestingly seems to resist earthquake damage as well, deteriorated from their once splendour.
We have no trade schools anymore. If we did, then maintaining older historically important buildings would be easier because apprecti ce bricklayers, plasterers, stonemasons, etc. would be available for work under supervision of Masters. Also, hotter longer summers and more wildfires, means that materials that once served well, may not anymore. But, some will.
I did not know that about plaster. Very cool! My house was built in the 1930's, and in spite of it being located in Western Washington with our constant wetness, the exterior is stucco. Really cool, because it's easy to fix. The interior is plaster. Now I know that too be cool as well!
I am with you on the houses built today. All wrapped in plastic stuff under the siding so that they will never properly breathe. Ultra processed materials that will deteriorate in the damp. That stuff will never last.
I'm with you on the trade schools too. I have a hunch they'll be coming back though.
In the 1950's, the Masonic Temple I first went to in Clarksburg WV, was a very solid stone building. It was about 3 stories, with a huge basement (where my DeMolay Junior Rifle Club shot .22 rifles each Saturday evening)! The West Virginia Most Worshipful Grand Lodge often held their Annual Convocation in the Second Floor Grand Ballroom (local high schools often held their Annual Prom in that Ballroom). As far as I know, it's still standing?
The town north of mine, Tenino, has a stone building. It's really cool, and I imagine that it'll stand through just about anything but a nuclear strike or Mount Rainier blowing its top.
Folks don't want to hear it, but I imagine that someday my Lodge will move into that building, not as a consolidation, but simply as renters. It's not very far away, and it is a much better size for our needs.
This is another reason why we should never manage our own buildings. And when Trustees change places, they don't have a long-term plan, while the stalwarts just want everything to be how they remember it.
I don't disagree. I've been talking up the idea of hiring professional building management for a long time. The idea isn't popular though, no matter how much I nag! 😎
There is of course, the route of getting the building designated as a historical building.
Ours is rather unique in that way, maybe.
It is not individually designated as a historic building. But it and the buildings that surround it are collectively designated as such.
As I think I've mentioned more that once, I served as Secretary AND Treasurer in my Lodge in Canada (even though that is not permitted in most jurisdictions... including down here in Mexico. The two fellows that had been in those "not so popular" positions had been trying for three years to be replaced but nothing at election time... finally they stood up a Festive Board before elections and announced that if they were not replaced this year... they would Demit!
I was only starting my second year in Masonry at that time but had a good business background as I joined at 51 years of age... I asked the WM of the day what it entailed and he asked which I would like to do... I said "Both"! He said that couldn't be so I said fine... I'll sit back and do neither then... they had no choice and I was elected by acclamation.
The Lodge was in a financial disaster... rent (and Festive Boards) on our Lodge room had not be paid in 6 months... this was thousands. The GL Assessment had not be paid in a year and fines mounted at $5.00 a day! The "40 or 50 thousand dollar" Lodge fund was a mere $5,000... the Lodge should have just "slammed the door".
With the great assistance of a friend who was a long time Secretary in another Lodge and the very knowledgeable man that was the Grand Secretary... we set to saving this Lodge.
I almost would need a book to tell all that happened AND had to happen... the dues were less than Boy Scouts (who were boys at the time! lol), the three bank accounts they had (for years) in the same bank... they'd right a check and all the money was coming out of the Bursary Fund as the other accounts had minimal amounts in them... of course there were bank charges levied. On and on it went!
The dues structure was plain stupid and having the members vote on increases over the years obviously was pure folly... same with the Initiation Fees that supposedly paid for the regalia and such given to new members during their Degrees... the "old boys" voted everything down! I had voting on financial affairs removed and that the changes would be made immediately... if you didn't like them... Demit!... only one old Scot did so.
I set a goal at the start of my term in 1995 for the dues (for everybody) to reach $1.00 a day by the year 2025 and for the Lodge to make adjustments (if required at that time). I left Canada and that Lodge in 2012 (I stepped down as Secretary/Treasurer in 2009) and they continued having a Secretary/Treasurer up until last year.
In 2024 I attended the "budget meeting" on Zoom from Mexico all excited to see how it all came out... they had moved to another hall because it was cheaper, they now prepared there own Festive Boards AND bar AND the dues (which should have been almost $365.00 a year) were only $220.00 BECAUSE they brought the voting back in... I left the Zoom meeting!
Because I was awarded an Honorary Life Membership by Grand Lodge in 2010 I did not pay dues so had no idea how badly they had slipped.
Some of the PM's are wise and others (seems the majority) are not and the latter took over and put that Lodge back in the ditch it was in! Sad!
I have visited (as Brother only and on my own dime) about 250 Lodges during my 33 years in Masonry and virtually every one has the same problems AND it is caused by LOW DUES and very poor business thinking.
I was in a discussion with some members of different Lodges about 10 years ago and two young PM's (from the same Lodge) said that they had the above situation handled!... they said they cordoned off seats in the Northeast area of the Lodge for PM's and called it "The Bullpen" and that if they needed anything from them... they would ask!
I am sorry if this is so long but I do hope it arouses interest and action that will bring our Lodges back to where they belong!
Thank you for the rest of the story on the background of the "Bullpen" idea. Most of the time that'd be a bad idea, but in this case, I understand now. Thank you.
We've 'talked' about it before, and I am sorry to know what happened to your Lodge. I know firsthand how very disheartening it is to spend great amounts of one's time and energy, getting a Lodge on a good pathway, and then seeing it go back to the bad old ways. Disheartening, and frustrating.
Ultimately, you are right, low dues and a lack of proper business sense kills Lodges. A great many Lodges unfortunately.
Some things are not done because its logical or feasible, but because it is inspiring and necessary... or an obsession. I remember some of the rustbuckets (classic cars) we used to get, sometimes feeling we payed/traded more than felt prudent at the time, only to convert it into something unrecognizable.
They are definitely a labor of love, but there is nothing quite like them when you finally get everything dialed in. The sound, the feel, and the experience is unlike anything else, and each one is unique.
I get much the same feeling when I walk through these old Temples. The energy a space accumulates over time cannot be conveyed without experiencing it first hand. It also, unfortunately, cannot be transferred to a new space, not in its entirety anyway. Or at least not in my experience.
It would be a shame to lose another piece of Masonic history and the Legacy attached to it. I think if more Lodges considered thinking outside the box they may find the answer is in their communities. I think if Lodges were to partner with their youth groups or local nonprofits they will find mutual benefits exist. For example, if a Lodge offers use of space to support educational workshops and the nonprofit has to improve that space to make it suitable for their programming, in many cases the Lodge gets the added benefit of space improvements. Plus access to the kind of people who are curious, want to learn, or want to teach. They might even make good Masons... I think a situation like this may even revitalize programs like the DeMolay program in Olympia 1 too. Plus the boys get the added benefit of fun programming, and the skills they develop along the way.
I also really like the idea of our communities and Lodges rekindling the symbiotic relationship we once enjoyed.
I have no doubt that you are correct, a Lodge could see vast benefits through partnerships with other organizations in our communities. Including abilities to save buildings, for every organization needs a place to meet.
Exactly my sentiments MWB Bailey! I am really excited for the foundations we are laying for the coming year in Centralia.