Does your Lodge have or maintain some form of written history of its significant events? A book or other record of the who, what, where, when, why and how of the Lodge and the men who have comprised it?
Do you think that compiling such things for ourselves and the men who come after us is important?
If your Lodge doesn’t have such a record, or only has one that is badly incomplete, how best can we work with our Brothers to create or update it?
As with each Thursday, we will have a Live Open Thread today for all those with a paid subscription to Emeth. We can discuss whatever is on anyone’s mind. The email opening the thread will go out at 8:00 AM Pacific Time.
I pray all is well with you and yours. Our Secretary for Silverdale Lodge keeps a record of our meetings, events and special functions in the archives of our Lodge. We also have traditional things we do each year that are handed down from one Master to the next. I’m currently helping my Senior Warden with his calendar of events for 2021-2022, to include some of those traditional things we do each year in preparation for his year in East.
I think it’s important to keep track of the wonderful things we’ve done and our time honored traditions so we can hand them down from one Master to the next keeping the spirit of our Lodge alive and well for generations to come.
Monroe 244 does in Monroe NC. IMHO It is absolutely imperative that the Secretary Binds the minutes at the end of each year and puts them up as physical record. I wrote our history in to booklet. We did it as a tribute to the lodge passing 150 years old. Just a chronological collection of pics, newspaper articles and main activities. Looking back, we determined what we wanted to do going forward. It changed the culture of the Lodge. I met with the brothers in the lodge that had photos, history, etc. Spent time in the library going through news papers. etc. It was a year long and fun project.
The great irony of our Craft is that we have a great history that no one bothers to fully document. History is not a burden on the memory but an illumination of the soul. While there is much said and written about the history of Freemasonry from the sands of time, our modern history is not so forthcoming. A year and a half ago, I sat trying to write something interesting and meaningful of Masonic history as we were entering the Age of the Phage. Unfortunately, my Lodge, like most Lodges today only keeps minutes of meetings. Not very illuminating when all there are to see are business transactions and membership rolls. What did our brothers do to stave off the Pandemic of 1918? Who are our heroes in our midst’s during economic calamity or global conflict. Which brothers excelled in making our communities a better place to live?
At one point in time, anybody who was anybody was a member of a local Lodge. My old home Lodge was home to a Governor John R. Rogers, hosted a visit at one point of then Bro. Franklin D. Roosevelt to the Puyallup Fair and others.
I like to point to one famous brother who no one knows about.
A fellow by the name of Richard Vernon Hill, a member of Corinthian Lodge #38 in Puyallup.
Brother Vern Hill was a very unassuming Mason. He was a musician and in the early days of the 20th Century had his own traveling band. But that’s not why Vern Hill was famous. Brother Vern, during World War II had a very important job. He worked for the Office of Strategic Services, the predecessor to the Central Intelligence Agency. Captain Hill was stationed as a civilian in wartime China. His job was to help downed American pilots make it back to their units and home. He helped numerous downed airmen evade harm’s way to live and fight another day.
Nowhere in the annals of Corinthian Lodge was there any mention of the heroism of Captain Richard Vernon Hill. Not even a photograph.
The only reason I even know about the heroics of Captain Hill is that as a Commissioner with the Boy Scouts of America, I stumbled onto his history as I was helping a local troop prepare for plantings of American flags on Memorial Day weekend years ago at historic Woodbine Cemetery. Captain Hill is interred there, along with hundreds of many other heroes, Masonic or otherwise who find their resting place at Woodbine.
There must be hundreds of more stories like this in Lodges across our jurisdiction. Yet, nothing is recorded in the Lodge annals to recognize heroes such as Captain Hill. And if there are accounts, no one knows about them.
Martin Luther King once said "We are not makers of history. We are made by history." So it is with Masonry.
MW GM Brother Cameron, I trust all is well with you and yours.
I belong to 3 Lodges, I only attend 1 Lodge because of of distance & time, but more importantly, I believe I can only serve one Master. That is my Christian and Martial Science tenet of my personal belief system. I believe it is my responsibility and obligation to Love, Protect and Grow our Centralia Masonic Family. The last few years I have made efforts to get the Brothers to agree to do extend the East Stage and level the North doorway for the sake of safety and better access, with no avail. I have proposed in different aspects to upgrade the technology that can benefit our Lodge and still meet with opposition. It appears to me the very essence of the Brotherly Cement we all talk about is just that, talk. There is no oneness of mind in some areas, yet we profess be of one mind... this is not our strong point. In my observation of our Lodge, it has been dysfunctional in some areas and great in others...I believe, I have had the Vision (ideas) for a few years that can benefit our Lodge. How can I or we bring new Brothers into our Lodge (Masonry) when we do not model (behave) what we talk about? In the very limited experience in visiting Blue Lodges I have seen this. In the many years as a York Rite Mason I have seen this. What I perceive is that the collective mind set of my Brothers, is dominated by the template of fear & scarcity (living in the past). I believe in promoting the template of creative thinking, growth and abundance (creating the Future!) There are several luminaries that promote creativity vs scarcity, I believe if we studied the work of Stephen Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, first published in 1989, it is a business and self-help book written by Stephen Covey, presents an approach to being effective in attaining goals by aligning oneself to what he calls "true north" principles based on a character ethic that he presents as universal and timeless. The Grand Encampment Leadership program uses Stephen Covey's work. I have a rough draft of a curriculum that addresses Interpersonal Communications Methods of Change. Once I setup my Audio & Video Production Studio, I will produce this series first. It is my belief that getting new Brothers is secondary to really knowing and understanding the person in the mirror. In closing, it starts with me, to study and discipline myself how to become a better person, communicator and leader...My sincere gratitude's for your time and kind attendance on the Emeth site.
Fraternal greetings, MW and Brethren.
I pray all is well with you and yours. Our Secretary for Silverdale Lodge keeps a record of our meetings, events and special functions in the archives of our Lodge. We also have traditional things we do each year that are handed down from one Master to the next. I’m currently helping my Senior Warden with his calendar of events for 2021-2022, to include some of those traditional things we do each year in preparation for his year in East.
I think it’s important to keep track of the wonderful things we’ve done and our time honored traditions so we can hand them down from one Master to the next keeping the spirit of our Lodge alive and well for generations to come.
Have a blessed day.
Longview city and Lodge both turn 100 in 2024 (February and June, respectively).
We have 2.5 years to plan our celebrations.
How can we best help the city celebrate?
How can the city best help us celebrate?
Monroe 244 does in Monroe NC. IMHO It is absolutely imperative that the Secretary Binds the minutes at the end of each year and puts them up as physical record. I wrote our history in to booklet. We did it as a tribute to the lodge passing 150 years old. Just a chronological collection of pics, newspaper articles and main activities. Looking back, we determined what we wanted to do going forward. It changed the culture of the Lodge. I met with the brothers in the lodge that had photos, history, etc. Spent time in the library going through news papers. etc. It was a year long and fun project.
The great irony of our Craft is that we have a great history that no one bothers to fully document. History is not a burden on the memory but an illumination of the soul. While there is much said and written about the history of Freemasonry from the sands of time, our modern history is not so forthcoming. A year and a half ago, I sat trying to write something interesting and meaningful of Masonic history as we were entering the Age of the Phage. Unfortunately, my Lodge, like most Lodges today only keeps minutes of meetings. Not very illuminating when all there are to see are business transactions and membership rolls. What did our brothers do to stave off the Pandemic of 1918? Who are our heroes in our midst’s during economic calamity or global conflict. Which brothers excelled in making our communities a better place to live?
At one point in time, anybody who was anybody was a member of a local Lodge. My old home Lodge was home to a Governor John R. Rogers, hosted a visit at one point of then Bro. Franklin D. Roosevelt to the Puyallup Fair and others.
I like to point to one famous brother who no one knows about.
A fellow by the name of Richard Vernon Hill, a member of Corinthian Lodge #38 in Puyallup.
Brother Vern Hill was a very unassuming Mason. He was a musician and in the early days of the 20th Century had his own traveling band. But that’s not why Vern Hill was famous. Brother Vern, during World War II had a very important job. He worked for the Office of Strategic Services, the predecessor to the Central Intelligence Agency. Captain Hill was stationed as a civilian in wartime China. His job was to help downed American pilots make it back to their units and home. He helped numerous downed airmen evade harm’s way to live and fight another day.
Nowhere in the annals of Corinthian Lodge was there any mention of the heroism of Captain Richard Vernon Hill. Not even a photograph.
The only reason I even know about the heroics of Captain Hill is that as a Commissioner with the Boy Scouts of America, I stumbled onto his history as I was helping a local troop prepare for plantings of American flags on Memorial Day weekend years ago at historic Woodbine Cemetery. Captain Hill is interred there, along with hundreds of many other heroes, Masonic or otherwise who find their resting place at Woodbine.
There must be hundreds of more stories like this in Lodges across our jurisdiction. Yet, nothing is recorded in the Lodge annals to recognize heroes such as Captain Hill. And if there are accounts, no one knows about them.
Martin Luther King once said "We are not makers of history. We are made by history." So it is with Masonry.
MW GM Brother Cameron, I trust all is well with you and yours.
I belong to 3 Lodges, I only attend 1 Lodge because of of distance & time, but more importantly, I believe I can only serve one Master. That is my Christian and Martial Science tenet of my personal belief system. I believe it is my responsibility and obligation to Love, Protect and Grow our Centralia Masonic Family. The last few years I have made efforts to get the Brothers to agree to do extend the East Stage and level the North doorway for the sake of safety and better access, with no avail. I have proposed in different aspects to upgrade the technology that can benefit our Lodge and still meet with opposition. It appears to me the very essence of the Brotherly Cement we all talk about is just that, talk. There is no oneness of mind in some areas, yet we profess be of one mind... this is not our strong point. In my observation of our Lodge, it has been dysfunctional in some areas and great in others...I believe, I have had the Vision (ideas) for a few years that can benefit our Lodge. How can I or we bring new Brothers into our Lodge (Masonry) when we do not model (behave) what we talk about? In the very limited experience in visiting Blue Lodges I have seen this. In the many years as a York Rite Mason I have seen this. What I perceive is that the collective mind set of my Brothers, is dominated by the template of fear & scarcity (living in the past). I believe in promoting the template of creative thinking, growth and abundance (creating the Future!) There are several luminaries that promote creativity vs scarcity, I believe if we studied the work of Stephen Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, first published in 1989, it is a business and self-help book written by Stephen Covey, presents an approach to being effective in attaining goals by aligning oneself to what he calls "true north" principles based on a character ethic that he presents as universal and timeless. The Grand Encampment Leadership program uses Stephen Covey's work. I have a rough draft of a curriculum that addresses Interpersonal Communications Methods of Change. Once I setup my Audio & Video Production Studio, I will produce this series first. It is my belief that getting new Brothers is secondary to really knowing and understanding the person in the mirror. In closing, it starts with me, to study and discipline myself how to become a better person, communicator and leader...My sincere gratitude's for your time and kind attendance on the Emeth site.