themasonicband marchplethora - scottish rite, nmj ·...

Vol. 43 No. 2 MAY 2012

The Masonic BandMarch Plethora page 8

2 May 2012 / The Northern Light

CONTRIBUTORS

Other Contributors:Jeff Croteau is manager of library and archives at the Van Gorden-Williams Library.Robert A.Domingue is historian forSt. Matthew’s Lodge, Andover, MA, and editor of The Philatelic Freemason.ThomasW. Jackson, 33°,was formerly GrandSecretary for the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. He is Executive Secretary for the World Conference of Masonic Grand Lodges.Aimee E.Newell, PhD, is the director of collections at the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library, located at SupremeCouncil headquarters in Lexington, MA. Jerry A.Roach, 32°, is a staff writer for The Northern Light and executive assistantat the Supreme Council.

FEATURED ARTICLES

EDITOR STAFF WRITERAlan E. Foulds, 32° Jerry A. Roach Jr., 32°

GRAPHIC DESIGNER PRODUCTION ASSISTANTBeth E.McSweeney Sonja B. Faiola

MEDIA ADVISORY COMMITTEERichard V.Travis, 33°, chairman Donald G.Duquette, 33°William Fox Jr., 33° Douglas N. Kaylor, 33°Eric Ginette, 33° Donald M.Moran, 33°

SUPREME COUNCIL, 33°Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, U.S.A.

SOVEREIGN GRAND COMMANDERJohnWm.McNaughton, 33°

THENORTHERNLIGHT (ISSN 1088-4416) is published quarterlyin February,May,August, and November by the Supreme Council, 33°,Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite,NorthernMasonic Jurisdiction,U.S.A.,as the official publication.Printed in U.S.A. Periodicals postage paid atBoston,MA, and at additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER:Send address changes toTheNorthern Light,POBox519, Lexington,MA 02420-0519.

Copyright © 2012 by Trustees of the Supreme Council of the AncientAccepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry for the Northern Masonic Ju-risdiction, U.S.A.

Mailing Address:POBox 519,Lexington,MA 02420-0519

Editorial Office:33 Marrett Road (Route 2A), Lexington,MA 02421

781-862-4410 • Fax: 781-863-1833email: [email protected]

Internet:www.ScottishRiteNMJ.org

Volume 43, Number Two

In This Issue

31417

181920212224262728293031

Treasures from IndianaBy Aimee E. Newell, PhD

The Masonic BandMarch PlethoraBy Jeffrey L. Kuntz, 32°

What is the Point?By Robert F. Ogg Jr., 33°

Memorials:Ill. Walter Henry Kropp, 33°

Ill. Gerald Carl Pickard Sr., 33°

8

16

4

13

Message from theSovereign Grand Commander

Children’s Dyslexia Centers

Masonic Word Math

Notes from theScottish Rite Journal

Brothers on the Net

Scottish Rite Charities

The Stamp Act

Book Nook

HealthWise

Views from the Past

Quotables

Today’s Family

More Than Just Books

Readers Respond

Et cetera, et cetera, etc.

The magazine for Scottish Rite Masons of AmericaSM

Robert F.Ogg Jr., 33°, isthe Deputy for the state ofRhode Island.

Leigh E.Morris, 33°,works in corporatecommunications for amajor utility company. Heis a member of the Valleysof Milwaukee andSpringfield, IL.

Jeffrey L.Kuntz, 32°, is amember of the Valley ofWilliamsport. He haspublished several articlesboth nationally andinternationally.

Steven R.Pekock, 32°,is director of developmentfor the Supreme Council,33°, AASR, NMJ, USA.

25The Secret ofFrederick the GreatBy Jerry A. Roach Jr., 32°

OF NOTE

The Northern Light / May 2012 3

John Wm. McNaughton, 33º

V O CThe Valley of Chicago (VOC) conducted an interesting

research project some years back when it hired theGallup Polling Organization in New Jersey to conductresearch on the opinions of Valley members. The pollingwas conducted from 1993-95 and included existingmembers as well as those who had let their membershiplapse. One particular question asked during the pollingstands out in this unique survey, covering 400 Valley ofChicago members.

“What do you think is the greatest strength of theScottish Rite Valley of Chicago?”

What conclusions can be drawn from this survey?You can decide for yourself. What if we spent moremoney today and did the same type of survey on ajurisdiction-wide basis? Would the leaders of thefraternity pay any more attention to a more current studyof its members? It is interesting to note the lack ofpositive responses to some of what traditionally takes upmuch of our time in the fraternity. For example, charitiesand ritual work together polled only 12 percent ofresponses and yet these two segments generally occupythe vast majority of the time and efforts of our officersand members. Would the results of the poll beendifferent if we had selected a number of local symboliclodges in the Chicago area? Again, you can decide foryourself.

Whether we admit to it or not, many of our membersvote with their feet and don’t attend our meetings. Why?Could it be that the leaders of the craft are not listeningto our members? Has the Masonic fraternity evolved intoan organization of top-down management with regard tothe communications with our members?

Perhaps another question that should have beenasked to these 400 Valley members:

“Do the leaders of the fraternity serve the needs ofthe institution or do they serve the needs of themembers?”

Noted management guru Peter Drucker identified oneof the primary responsibilities of management was toeffectively communicate with its customers (members).Early in his career, Drucker made one of his manybrilliant yet simple observations when he noted thatmanagement must understand “the most important thingin communication is to hear what isn’t being said.”

One of our Deputies recently noted that if theMasonic fraternity were to go out of business tomorrow,he wouldn’t miss themeetings andresponsibilities of the office,but he would certainly missmany friendships. ThisBrother truly understoodthe value of these enduringlifelong friendships each ofus made when we knelt atthe altar of Freemasonry.

Understanding that theMasonic fraternity hasexperienced a significant drop in membership over thelast 50 years, perhaps the next Gallup Poll shouldinclude a question about our leadership at every level ofthe craft.

“Are the Masonic leaders of the 21st century listeningto what isn’t being said?”

Sovereign Grand Commander

Response: PercentBrotherhood/camaraderie 20Its members/people 18Charitable work/philanthropy/helping people 8Degree work/programs 4Programs/activities/performances 4Dedication 3Education 2Morals/ethics/values 2Information/communication 2Leadership 2Large membership 2Association with/assistance to Blue Lodge 2Other 8Don’t know 19Nothing 2Everything 1Refused 1


Treasures fromIndiana

By AIMEE E. NEWELL, PhD

ONEHUNDRED YEARS AFTER THE GRANDLodge of England was formed in London,an act often understood to signal the

beginning of speculative Freemasonry, the GrandLodge of Indiana was organized in 1817 (andformally established in 1818). Representativesfrom the nine existing lodges that met in thestate gathered during a session of the legislaturein Corydon, IN, and decided to form a GrandLodge. Previously, some of these nine lodgesprofessed their allegiance to a neighboring GrandLodge, like Ohio or Kentucky, while others wereauthorized by the Grand Lodge of Virginia.The Scottish Rite Masonic Museum &

Library, in Lexington, MA, collects materialrelated to American Freemasonry andfraternalism.We share some of our Indianatreasures here to help trace the history offraternal groups in that state. One of our newestacquisitions began its life, reportedly, in the “oldMasonic hall” in Madison, IN.The cupboard, with three doors across the

front, has painted symbols on the doors – twosquare and compasses emblems and an EasternStar symbol. They suggest that the local EasternStar group organized their papers in one section,while the town’s Masonic lodge used the othertwo. Pencil notations remain inside over some ofthe dividers, which reminded previous users aboutwhich types of papers went where. A newMasonic building was constructed in Madison in1871 and the cupboard may have been made orpurchased around that time.

Order Out of Chaos –The Scottish Rite Comes to IndianaAs of 1863, there was only one Scottish RiteMason in Indianapolis – Caleb B. Smith. Afterpracticing law and serving in both the Indiana

House of Representatives and the U.S. House,Smith was appointed as Secretary of the Interiorby Abraham Lincoln in 1861. However, histenure in Lincoln’s cabinet was short; he resignedin 1862 to become a justice on the IndianaSupreme Court where he served until his deathin 1864. Back in Indianapolis in 1863, Smithencouraged several of his Masonic Brethren topursue the Scottish Rite degrees in nearbyCincinnati, OH.By 1865, enough Indiana men had completed

the degrees in Ohio to establish the Valley ofIndianapolis, and Indiana was added to the titleof the Deputy for Ohio, who became the Deputy

MASONIC and ORDER of the EASTERN STAR CUPBOARD, 1860-1900.

Probably from Indiana. Purchased through the generosity ofHelen G. Deffenbaugh in memory of George S. Deffenbaugh.


for Ohio and Indiana. But, at the sametime, an organizer for the HaysSupreme Council, headquartered inNew York and not recognized by theSupreme Council headquartered inBoston, visited Indiana and established14 Scottish Rite bodies in nine townsin a six-week period. As one Valley ofIndianapolis historian, Charles E.Crawford, described it, “This invasionwas met with determined opposition bythe Indianapolis bodies.” In 1867, theBoston Supreme Council establishedfour bodies in New Albany in directcompetition with the ones alreadymeeting there that were chartered bythe Hays Supreme Council.This “invasion” led the Indiana Scottish Rite

men to ask the Supreme Council to separate theIndiana bodies from Ohio in 1867, creating a newdistrict for Indiana by itself. A draft of thisresolution is now in the VanGorden-WilliamsLibrary and Archives at the Scottish Rite MasonicMuseum.The document sets out the reasons forcreating a new district, explaining that “the mostearnest and active efforts of the Bodies of Indianaare necessary to preserve its State to the legitimateSupreme Council sitting at Boston,Massachusetts.”

The petition waspresented by Edwin A.Davis at the SupremeCouncil’s meeting inBoston on May 15,1867. The next day itwas granted and JohnCaven was appointedDeputy for Indiana,taking over from EnochTerry Carson, whoremained the Deputyfor Ohio. Then, at thesame Supreme Councilmeeting, the Bostonand New York SupremeCouncils were unitedthrough the Union of

1867. Both Councils were dissolved and a newSupreme Council created. Under the terms of theUnion, all existing bodies of both SupremeCouncils were recognized. This meant that therewere 33 Scottish Rite bodies in ten cities inIndiana, although the competing groups in NewAlbany merged and reorganized.Unfortunately, Indiana was unable to maintain

so many Scottish Rite bodies. By 1873, Valleys insix of the cities ceased to exist and two moreValleys went dark by 1880. But, in keeping withthe trend across the jurisdiction, membershiprebounded during the early 1900s as men wereattracted to the elaborate degree presentations andthe values and ideas that Scottish RiteFreemasonry offered.By 1906, Scottish Rite membership in Indiana

was on the rise. A badge in the museum’scollection commemorates the Council ofDeliberation meeting that year, which took placein Indianapolis. A request was made to institute anew Rose Croix chapter in Fort Wayne whichwould be approved at the Supreme Council’sannual meeting in Boston later that year. Also, atthe 1906 annual meeting, the Deputy for Indianareported that “perfect accord and contentmentreign supreme, and our beloved Rite in all itsseveral branches is in a healthy and prosperouscondition.”

Indiana WomenJust as in every other state, women in Indiana alsohad a relationship to Freemasonry, despite beingprohibited from joining a lodge. Some assisted

UNIDENTIFIED MAN andWOMAN, 1860-69,H.R. Cornell, Ligonier, IN.Gift in memory ofJacques Noel Jacobsen.

SCOTTISHRITE BADGE,

1906.

The Eli A.HirshfieldCompany,

Indianapolis, IN.Gift of Ursula

Endress.

their fathers, husbands and brothers by stitchingtheir regalia, or helping to raise funds for the locallodge. Others joined the Order of the Eastern Staror made refreshments for a lodge event. Theseactivities are represented in the museum’s collectionthrough many special objects.Long-time readers of The Northern Light may

recognize the Indiana quilt pictured here, especiallygiven its striking colors and patterns. Shortly beforeit was generously donated to the museum by afamily member in 1986, the quilt appeared on theback cover of The Northern Light in November1985. Since that time we have learned a great dealabout its maker, Jane Haight Webster.Webster’squilt, made during the mid-1800s, shows thatwomen had familiarity with the symbols ofFreemasonry.In 1825, Jane Haight married Harry Croswell

Webster in Pittsford, NY.Ten years later, the couplemoved to a small township near South Bend, IN.Together, they had 13 children. Around 1850, JaneWebster converted to Spiritualism, eventuallybecoming a “writing medium.” Spirituality was areligious movement aimed at proving theimmortality of the soul by establishingcommunication with the spirits of the dead.Scholars have suggested that Spiritualism’spopularity was a response to the widespread

economic, socialand culturalchanges takingplace in America inthe mid-1800s.Spiritualismoffered a sense oforder for believersat a time whentheir daily liveswere increasinglyfragmented.At some point in

the 1850s or 1860s,Jane Webster madethis quilt, piecingand appliquéing itby hand. Thedesign of the quilt is linked with her ability as amedium. According to family history, the quilt’sdesign was conceived in trances: she envisioned anarrangement of symbols and then stitched theminto the quilt. Indeed, the quilt is put together withappliqué and embroidery added to the blocks afterthey were joined, supporting the family story of thequilt’s construction. Yet, while family history holdsthat the quilt was a creation aided by Webster’sSpiritualist leanings, visual examination suggests

that she was also influencedby the various depictions ofMasonic symbols that shesaw around her. JaneWebster’s husband, Harry,belonged to St. JosephLodge No. 45, in SouthBend.While we do not know if

Jane Haight Webster was amember of Eastern Star, theopportunity did exist in herlifetime. A few Eastern Stargroups were established inisolated locations around thestate during the 1850s and1860s, but these generallydid not survive for extendedperiods. South BendChapter No. 8 wasorganized in 1871 andbecame part of the nationalnetwork of chapters


ORDER OF THEEASTERN STARSignet Poster,1879-1900,Willis D. Engle,Indianapolis, IN.

Photo byDavid Bohl.

MOOSE LODGENo. 1369

Sign, 1930-50.

Swanson-NunnElectric Company,

Evansville, IN.


established when the General Grand Chapter wasorganized in 1876.Shortly after the founding of the General GrandChapter,Willis D. Engle designed a striking signet,which was published as a lithograph and sized tohang on the wall of the lodge for ready reference. Itshows Eastern Star’s primary symbol – thefive-point star – and has appropriate colors andsymbols. Engle, who was born in Michigan, movedto Indianapolis in 1865 and remained therethroughout his life, creating this signet while livingin the city in 1879. In addition to becoming amember of Mystic Tie Lodge No. 398, Engle wasactive in Eastern Star. He served as the firstSecretary of the General Grand Chapter from1876-89 and wrote two books on the group: TheEastern Star in Indiana (1899) and A General Historyof the Order of the Eastern Star (1901).

Not Just Freemasons . . .While Indiana has a storied Masonic history overthe past 200 years, it was – and still is – home to anumber of non-Masonic fraternities as well. At theScottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, wecollect materials related to all American fraternalgroups because we believe that studying theirhistory, which was often intertwined withFreemasonry, helps us understand Masonic history.A carte-de-visite photograph in the museum’scollection shows a man and woman (presumablyhusband and wife) standing together wearing regalia

from an unidentified fraternity. The woman wears acollar, while her male companion wears a sash andan apron with crossed swords. Unfortunately, we donot know the identity of this couple, but thephotographer’s mark on the back tells us they werephotographed in Ligonier, IN, probably in the1860s.Another non-Masonic object associated withIndiana is one of the most striking in the museum’scollection: the neon sign for Moose Lodge No.1369.While the sign was used by a Moose lodge inneighboring Illinois, it was made by theSwanson-Nunn Electric Company of Evansville, IN,in the 1930s or 1940s. The Loyal Order of Moosewas founded in Louisville, KY, in 1888 by Dr. JohnWilson, but,Wilson became dissatisfied early onand left the group he started. According to theMoose website, “It was just the two remainingIndiana lodges that kept the Moose fromdisappearing altogether.”Then, in 1906, FreemasonJames J. Davis joined and built the fraternity fromthose two Indiana lodges to more than 3,000.Members pursue tenets of purity, aid and progress.Today, there are more than 80 Moose lodges inIndiana.At the museum, we are pleased to be able topreserve and share Indiana’s fraternal heritage.Today, one of the best-known Scottish RiteCathedrals in the United States is the one inIndianapolis, on Meridian and North Streets, withits Gothic tower that rises 212 feet above the street.Designed by architect George F. Schreiber, the

building was dedicated on Sept. 20, 1929.It has been called “an outstandingmonument to fraternal idealismthroughout the world” and continues toremind us of the rich history ofFreemasonry in Indiana, while remindingus to strive towards excellence in thefuture.

Aimee E. Newell, Ph.D., director ofcollections, Scottish Rite Masonic Museum& Library in Lexington, MA. If you havequestions about the collection, or would liketo discuss a donation of objects, contact her [email protected] or 781-457-4144. Formore information about the museum, pleasevisit our website,nationalheritagemuseum.org.

NL

MASONIC QUILT,1850-77.

Jane HaightWebster, SouthBend, IN. Gift ofDonald E. Mohn.

Photo by John M. Miller.

The Masonic BandMarch Plethora

By JEFFREY L. KUNTZ, 32°

hen nine or ten years old, I showedenough interest in music that it was

inevitable that I would learn to play a musical instrumentand be in the high school band. Since our family still had

possession of my late grandfather Kuntz’s oldsilver-colored trombone, it was natural that

would be the chosen instrument. This was especially true,since my older brother took lessons on it and played for a short

while until being distracted by other interests, such as sports.

With anticipation of playing in the high school band, and having alreadyplayed in smaller ensembles for younger players, my interest was soon captured

by the marching band genre. I had acquired a couple of quite old 78 rpmrecords of John Philip Sousa and Edwin Franko Goldman marches performedby the composers and their own bands.Within a couple of years, I had bought, with my allowance money, about a half

dozen 33 rpm recordings of marches, mostly by Sousa. This was all before mymusical interests shifted to the classics, largely due to watching LeonardBernstein’s intriguing Young People’s Concerts on television. Of course, in thosedays, I barely knew what Freemasonry was, let alone the fact that Sousa, HenryFillmore, and Karl King were members of this great fraternity.

When already in my late teens and early twenties, in addition to music, I wasalso studying a good deal about such things as mysticism, theosophy, and esotericfraternal organizations. This, coupled with the fact that I had several oldermusician friends who were Masons, caused the inevitable to strike again. I was tobe a Freemason. Even before joining a blue lodge, I was playing in the ScottishRite Imperial Teteque Band in the Valley of Williamsport, PA, and occasionallysinging in the Williamsport Consistory Choir for performances outside degreework.

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Several years after becoming a Scottish RiteMason in the Valley of Williamsport, I joined

Baldwin II Commandery, No. 22, of KnightsTemplar in Williamsport. The nationallypublished magazine of the Grand Encampmentof Knights Templar occasionally included articlesabout composers of Masonic music. Betweenreading those stories, playing in the Scottish RiteTeteque Band, and occasionally conductingbands, I learned much about Masonic bandmarches and the extent of them.What I found amazing was the fact that

Williamsport Masonry and the Scottish RiteImperial Teteque Band had their own rich historyof band music. Charles C. Sweeley, whose son,H. Carlton Sweeley was manager of the TetequeBand in my early years with the band, was aprolific composer of marches in the early 20thcentury. The elder Sweeley was a member of theValley of Williamsport and the Teteque Band. Iremember the band performing his march, “OurCommander.”Another local but more widely known march

composer during Charles Sweeley’s time wasHarry J. Lincoln, who was both a Knight Templarand Scottish Rite Mason in Williamsport. Hecomposed “Baldwin II Commandery March”(1906), for Commandery No. 22, of which yourstruly is currently Eminent Commander.

Harry J. Lincoln was the composer of theworld famous “Repasz Band March” (1901),written for that “rival” band of the Teteques inWilliamsport. A rather interesting story aboutthat march caused some dispute. One publishededition of the piece had Lincoln’s name printedon it as the composer, another had Charles C.Sweeley’s on it.Another Williamsport Masonic composer was

the well-known trumpeter John Hazel, who hadplayed for Sousa. He also wrote, a good manyyears before Lincoln, a march for Baldwin IICommandery of Knights Templar.

The typical American band marches writtenby these composers are always made up of

two-beat measures, either in 2/4 time, 6/8, or cuttime (2/2) in which the half note gets the beat.They usually begin with an introduction of fourmeasures or sometimes eight. The first twostrains or themes have 16 measures each and arerepeated. Going into the third strain, which is thebeginning of what is called the trio, the keysignature abruptly modulates, that is changes intoa different key, usually a fourth step up to theclosely related key called the subdominant, addingone flat to the key signature. This third and laststrain usually has 32 measures, then goes into anagitated strain called the interlude, which is also

Repasz Band 1900.


called a “dog fight” or “breakup strain,” afterwhich the third strain is repeated. Some marcheshave two strains of 16 measures in the trio, withor without an interlude.One of the most famous Masonic marches is

Sousa’s “Nobles of the Mystic Shrine,” which hepremiered conducting a combined band of 6,000Shriners at Griffith Stadium in Washington, DC,for the National Shrine Convention in 1923.That march has a rather unique mystic Arabianor oriental sound, written in a minor key andemploying a tambourine. Although not a ScottishRite Mason, Sousa was a member of York Ritebodies and Almas Shrine in Washington, DC. Hewas named honorary leader of the Almas ShrineBand.

Another Masonic march by Sousa which isactually more well-known is “The

Thunderer” (1889), composed for theCommandery of Knights Templar. His “CrusaderMarch” (1888), also written for The KnightsTemplar, is a rather catchy piece, but quitedemanding for players and is, unfortunately,seldom performed.Another one of the earliest Masonic composers

was Edward E. Bagley, who composed twomarches for Templar Masonry, “Holy CrossCommandery” (1902), and “KnightTemplar”(1911). Although not much is knownabout Bagley, he is the composer of one of themost popular marches of all, “National Emblem.”It is the familiar piece in which the first 12measures of the first strain are a rather cleverspin-off the “The Star Spangled Banner.”Thesecond strain begins with the phrase that iscomically paired with that nonsensical lyric, “O,the monkey wrapped his tail around the flagpole.”Fred Jewel was a march composer who was

very active in Masonry. He led both the MuratTemple Shrine Band and the Franklin IndianaMasonic Home High School Band andcomposed several marches for appendantMasonic bodies, including “March to Mecca”(1919), “Murat Temple” (1925), and “SaharaGrotto” (1928).R. B. Hall was another leading march

composer of the late 19th century. He wrote agoodly number of them for various fraternities,including the Elks, Odd Fellows, and KnightsTemplar, but was not known to have membership

in any of them oddly enough. He was, however,upon occasion called a “fraternal friend.” Two ofhis most famous marches were “Independentia,”written for the Odd Fellows, and “Officer of theDay.”His two known Masonic marches are“DeMolay Commandery” (1892), and “DunlapCommandery” (1894).

Perhaps the most prolific composer of fraternalmarches was Frank Losey who is known

especially for his “March Gloria.” APennsylvanian almost all his life, Losey had anassociation with Harry Lincoln, Charles Sweeley,and the Scottish Rite Teteque Band inWilliamsport. He was editor-in-chief of theVandersloot Publishing Company, which startedin that city and published some of Lincoln andSweeley’s marches. Losey composed a number ofmarches for various bodies and fraternities,including one for Eastern Star.Henry Fillmore approached the genius of

Sousa, and was a very prolific composer of variousgenres of band music, but wrote no known marchspecifically for any Masonic body. He was,however, a Scottish Rite Mason in Cincinnati,OH, and a Shriner. He led the Syrian TempleShrine band there and with them helped raise agood deal of money for Shrine charities. That

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R. B. Hall,ca. 1900.

band became what was considered at that time,the finest fraternal band in the world. Fillmore’smusicians thought so much of him that when heresigned as band leader after having a seriousdispute with Shrine officers, all the bandmembers resigned along with him.A study of Masonic march music would

certainly not be complete without Karl King, thecomposer of that famous and stirring circusmarch “Barnum and Bailey’s Favorite.”He was amember of all major bodies of Freemasonry; bluelodge in Canton, OH; York Rite in Fort Dodgeand, Eagle Grove, IA, and Scottish Rite andShrine in Des Moines. As a composer, he sharedthe status of Sousa and Fillmore. In fact, Fillmorewrote a march in honor of him and entitled it“King Karl King.”His compositional output wastremendous, having written over 300 works invarious genres, about 200 of which are marches,which is at least 50 more than Sousa wrote. Kingcomposed at least two marches for the Grotto,one for Knights Templar called “Forest CityCommandery” (1915) and “Mystic Call” (1913).

The band marches mentioned here are not halfthose composed for use by or in honor of

Masonic fraternities. There are many more

written mostly by somewhat lesser knowncomposers. In our present computer age, I fullyrealized this considerable output of Masonic bandmarches when performing online searches andchecking out masonmusic.org/marchwrite.html.I found it amazing.

Playing in the Teteque Band in the Valley ofWilliamsport, I remember when, in more

recent decades, even a couple of the local bandmembers tried their hands at composing a marchand having it performed. Those pieces were neverpublished and would not have been, at least notby any established publishing firm.This is notnecessarily out of mediocrity, but is due to thefact that the 40-year cycle of the band marchstyle examined here met its end in the 1930’s.Fortunately, this is not to say that the great

marches of Sousa, Fillmore, King, and others,whether or not Masonic, will, in the near ordistant future, no longer be performed.Whetherthey inspire patriotism, bring honor to our greatand beloved Freemasonry, or simply give uswholesome musical entertainment, as long asthere are marching bands and concert bands, wecan be thankful that these pieces of music will beplayed for a long time to come.


NL

PHOTOS COURTESY: JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY,LEVY SHEET MUSIC COLLECTION.

200 YEARS OF

BROTHERHOOD

Scottish Rite FreemasonryCome Into the Light

FFiinndd oouutt mmoorree iinnffoorrmmaattiioonnaatt yyoouurr llooccaall VVaalllleeyy oorr aatt

SSccoottttiisshhRRiitteeNNMMJJ..oorrgg

On Aug. 5, 1813, the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction wasborn, as Daniel D. Tompkins was installed as the first Sovereign Grand Commander.

The 200th anniversary of that event will be reached August 2013. Starting this August and running through 2013, we will celebrate “200 Years of Brotherhood.”


As our jurisdiction begins its bicentennial celebrationand members reflect upon the history of our

institution, the world also celebrates the 300th anniversaryof the birth of Frederick II of Prussia; a man, king andBrother whose personal legacy is intertwined with thechronicles of the Scottish Rite.There is no doubt among scholars regarding Frederick’s

initiation into the Masonic fraternity.While attending astate dinner at The Hague in July 1738, Frederick listenedas one of the guests, Count van der Lippe-Bückenburg,extolled the virtues of Freemasonry, much to the chagrinof Frederick’s father, King Frederick William I. Followingthe dinner, Frederick secretly approached Count Lippeand requested to be initiated into the mysteries ofFreemasonry. The initiation took place at the Kron’s Hotelin Brunswick at midnight of the evening of Aug. 14,1738. Lippe arranged the proper regalia to be smuggledthrough customs by the Masonic luminary, Dr. Bielfeld,from a nearby lodge in Hamburg. Frederick was admitted,along with his friend, Capt.Wartensleben, with therequest that he be given no preferential treatment and beinitiated according to all ancient usages of the craft. Thewhole affair took nearly four hours. For the next twoyears, Frederick was moderately active in the fraternity.He founded a lodge in Reinsberg in 1739, and sat asMaster of a lodge in Charlottenburg for the initiation ofhis brother, Prince William, in 1740. Soon, however,history would have its way with the life of Frederick.

Upon the death of his father, Frederick ascended to thethrone of Prussia in 1740, and the responsibilities of

the crown would demand Frederick’s full attention. Hedid not dismiss the fraternity entirely, however. In 1744,he approved a treaty with the Grand Lodge of Englandestablishing the National Grand Lodge of Germany towhich he further granted his protection. On Feb. 14,1777, Frederick composed a declaration of support to theRoyal York of Friendship in Berlin for the Masonic

celebration it held in honor of his birthday. Nevertheless,this is when the tapestry begins to conceal the truth.

Nearly all Masonic scholars concur that Frederick’sinvolvement in the fraternity waned near the end of

the War of Austrian Succession in 1748, and that heceased to be a member by 1756. Schlosser’s History of theEighteenth Century goes so far as to state: “He alsocommanded such of his Ministers of State as belonged tothe Order to desist from visiting their lodges.”What is most curious for us as Scottish Rite Masons is

the assertion that Frederick himself promulgated orratified the Constitutions of 1786 which established thevery existence of the rite. Scholarly debate has concluded,though some still claim validity, that Frederick, at the ageof 74 and ailing, neither authored nor signed theConstitutions of 1786. Nonetheless, Albert Pike, whoafter years of doubting Frederick’s involvement, concludesin his Historical Inquiry: “But we now believe that theywere made at Berlin, under the auspices of Frederick, inMay, 1786, and that he was the Patron and Protector ofthe high degrees, and did approve these GrandConstitutions.We have not endeavored to be convinced,nor have we had any opinion which we felt a pride insustaining; and now we propose to place the reader inpossession of the facts that have changed our opinion, andleave each to decide for himself.”The controversy is ultimately of little consequence.

All recognized Supreme Councils in the world haveadopted the Constitutions of 1786 as the basis ofgovernance in their respective jurisdictions. Neitherconclusion regarding Frederick’s involvement has beenproven to the satisfaction of the contending side, andthus further embellishes the interwoven veil that obscuresour true history. As Ill. George A. Newbury, 33°, wrote inhis history of the Northern Masonic Jurisdictionregarding Frederick: “Another secret that will neverbe unraveled.”

The Secret of Frederick the GreatBy JERRY A. ROACH JR., 32°

Friderich Grosse als Freymauer[Frederick the Great as Freemason], 1740.

Johann Weiss. Berlin, Germany. Engraving on paper.


Children’sDyslexiaCenters, Inc.

A Scottish Rite Charity

Supporting children with dyslexia is animportant charitable endeavor for members of theAncient Accepted Scottish Rite, with many Valleysraising funds and donating time to help their localdyslexia centers succeed and to help children in need oftheir services.While some Valleys turn to traditional fundraising

efforts to raise money to support their centers, oneBrother has dedicated himself to a great singular effort toensure that the dyslexia center in State College, PA,continues to provide its essential tutoring services. Ill.Larry R. Emigh, 33°, will be riding his bicycle across theUnited States, from the West Coast to the East Coast,beginning in May 2012 as a fundraiser for the Children’sDyslexia Center.Not only will this challenging bicycle trip raise

awareness that children with dyslexia desperately needassistance, but also raise funds to help support thechildren’s dyslexia center in State College. Fundraising forthe center is essential because it provides free tutoring tochildren with dyslexia between six and 18 years of age.

Starting May 13, Bro. Emigh will bike 3,415 milesacross the United States in just seven weeks, running

his 70-year old “motor” on top of his trusty bike, all forthe hard-working students who receive tutoring at thecenter. In his quest to complete this arduous journey, hehas been working out six days a week for the last twoyears.While he has been training hard for this bike ridefor months, Bro. Emigh has also remained dedicated topublicizing this unique fundraiser. His journey will endon June 29 at Revere Beach, near Boston.As he enters the final month of preparation, he

continues to reach out to his supporters – both emotionaland financial – through his website, blog, Twitter feed,and Facebook page. As he rides to reach his goals for

both the cross-country journey and fundraising for thecenter, he hopes you will “ride along” on this importanttrip.Do you want to know more about his days of training?

You’d like to know about the challenges of dyslexia?Would you like to donate to the important cause behindthis ride, or help publicize this amazing fundraiser?Follow Larry at:

• tourfordyslexia.org for information about theroute; the Children’s Dyslexia Center, and updateson his blog;

• facebook.com/tourfordyslexia for Larry’s personalconnections and status updates;

• twitter.com/tourfordyslexia for training info andthe latest news

All of these outlets have helped Larry shareinformation about fundraising, publicize his cause, andreach out to his local supporters.

Bicycle Trip for AwarenessOne man’s journey across theUnited States

Just 3,415 miles to go.


I’ve been doing art since I couldpick up a marker. If I wasn’t

drawing a person or something Iwas drawing blueprints, or buildingthings, which is a lot like sculpture.Now, the type of art I do isanything that has to do with peaceor war. I like to make art that has avery deep meaning to go with it. Ilike to do sculptures mainly. Irecently made a cardboard peacesign that I covered with pictures ofthe Holocaust, of war, or ofanything to do with hate. I putthese pictures on a peace signbecause I think that there should bemore peace than hate.

Besides sculpture, I draw too. Iprefer to do black and whitedrawings with shading and no colorwhatsoever. Sometimes I drawcouples because that’s the one thingthat’s true happiness in the world. Ialso like anime, which is a Japanesecartoon form, because it has arealistic look, but at the same time,it’s a cartoon. I appreciate that youcan see every detail: giant eyes,spiky hair, and facial expressions.

I haven’t always wanted to be avisual artist.When I was a kid,from first to eighth grade, I wantedto be a chef. But then I starteddrawing more and more anime, andthat was when I decided I wantedto be an artist – a cartoon designer.I enjoy working with computers,and that makes me think aboutbeing a graphic designer, which isalso another form of art.

If I’m honest, I’d have to say thatbeing dyslexic affects my artsomewhat. I have a couple ofdrawings about kids who areoutcasts.When I first found outthat I was dyslexic, I kind of feltlike an outcast because I feltdifferent from everyone else. For afew months, I drew a lot of picturesof a kid in the corner in the dark, ora kid who was shaded out from thepicture. When I first startedcoming to the center, I started toput the things I was learning intomy artwork. Learning was cool, andI would take something that Ilearned at the center and Iportrayed it in a drawing. I even putthe schwa [ə] into some of my artsomehow.

Coming to the center is achallenge for me. I like

coming, and I like learning things,and sometimes I even like toone-up the people who are good atEnglish. At the same time, I have tosacrifice other things to be able tocome to the center. I can’t go out fortrack – my favorite sport – becausethe practices would interfere withtutoring. And sometimes, when Ihave a big test or a project due, Iworry that I won’t be able to passbecause I won’t have time to studybecause I’m coming for tutoring.Sometimes kids at school aren’t coolabout it if they find out. But myfriends know, and I know I’mlearning things that other people

don’t know. One of my good friendsfrom second grade has struggled inschool too, and now his mom islooking into the center.

I know other kids who havetrouble with reading, and I’m gladthat I have a way to approach it. Itused to be if I had these big longwords, I could not read them.That’sgetting easier. Math is more mystrong suit – math and art. I like tovisualize things, like thinking abouthow different parts go together tomake a pen, or imagining how asprinkler system is configured andhow it all works together. I guessthat’s part of my dyslexia, and alsopart of my art.

This year, I’ll be attending asummer arts program at the

School of Visual Arts, an art schoolin NYC.The school started in the1940’s, as a school to train cartoonartists. Now, it’s an art college witha lot of variety. The program is forhigh school students from freshmanyear to senior year. I’ll be going fora whole month, and I can choose a“major.” If students don’t know whatthey want to do, then the schoolwill offer a few different courses tosee what they like. I think it will bea great experience because you don’tjust bring your form of art; you alsoget thrown into other kinds of artand learn techniques from otherpeople. I’ll bring back knowledgethat I didn’t have before and lifelessons.

My mom helped me find theprogram for the summer.We

were searching the web for potentialart schools for college, and wefound this opportunity for highschool students. One of my bestfriends from my school is alsogoing to go. I’m pretty excited aboutit. I love big cities. Being there bymyself seems like an adventure.When I get back at the end of thesummer, I’ll write another article tolet everyone know how it went.

Shane Lucas, 16, is a freshman in high school and atalented artist. He has been attending the Children’s

Dyslexia Centerin Peoria since

September2011. We askedhim to tell us alittle bit about

his art; hisexperiences at the center, and a collegiate art program he

plans to participate in this summer in New York city.

one child’sSuccess


By ROBERT F. OGG JR., 33°

Ashort while ago I received an email sent by Ill. GailN. Kemp, 33°, Deputy for Indiana. In the email he

commented on something he had watched on one of thetelevision channels devoted to history. He described theeffort during the closing days of World War II to find theproduction and launch facilities for the V1 and V2 rocketsthat were hammering London and the surrounding areas,killing hundreds of people. The search involved reviewingthousands of aerial reconnaissance photographs.With somany men off fighting the war, the search largely fell towomen. It required endless hours of tedious work – thekind of work that drives people to distraction. It was,however, done with zeal and passion.Why would that bethe case? One of those involved, when interviewed,commented that there was a “point to the work,” and theyunderstood exactly what the point was.What they weredoing would save the lives of their country men. Becausethey “got the point,” they were willing to give an oneroustask their absolute best effort.Let’s now talk about our fraternity. “What is the point

of the Scottish Rite?” For that matter, what is the point ofour fraternity as a whole?Is it our purpose to erect magnificent edifices which are

the wonder of the community? Our fraternity has done alot of that, and to what end? Many of our beautifulbuildings have gone the way of the statue of“Ozymandias, King of Kings” as described in Percy ByssheShelley’s poem.They, like the statue, lay in ruins in thedesert sands. I put this question to you. Is a beautifulbuilding that cannot be maintained worth its cost to themembers? Some Valleys are more fortunate than others.They do have the financial strength to both care for theirbuilding and care for their members. If your Valley cannotdo both, perhaps it is time to think about which of thetwo is more important. I think that you already know theright answer to that question.Does our fraternity exist to create fancy titles and to

design glittering adornments for our leaders to wear? Let’sput it another way. Does our fraternity exist so that the

members may serve its leaders, or do we have ourpositions so that we might serve our members? At ameeting of my Valley some time ago, I asked those presentthe following rhetorical question.Who is the mostimportant person in our Valley? I am sure that they werebusily trying to figure out who had the highest rank andtitle. They were more than a little surprised when I gavethem my own answer to that question. The mostimportant person in our Valley is the Brother in the seatnext to you, no matter who that might be. The fraternityexists to serve him, to meet his fraternal needs. It is ourjob as leaders to understand what those needs are and tofigure out ways to meet them. As I have said in the past,our fraternity must be a valuable and rewardingexperience for those for whom participation is an option.The collars are worn for a purpose. It is to designate toour members, those whose job it is to lead our fraternitytoward fulfilling our vision and mission.

Does our fraternity exist to require men to commitritual to memory so that it can be parroted back in a

letter-perfect way? Does the fraternity exist to serve itsceremonies, or do the ceremonies exist to serve themembers? I have always enjoyed being in degrees. I guessthat I am a bit of a “ham” at heart. My enjoyment did not

A strong and growing

fraternity can do much good

in the world, but first it must

be strong and growing.

POINT?isthewhat


flow from getting the words letter perfect; I seldom did.My enjoyment came from the spirited kidding and fun weall had in getting ready to present the work. It was qualitytime with my Brothers. My enjoyment also came from thetimes something went wrong, leaving us all in stitches,trying our very best not to crack a smile. It stemmed fromthe good feeling you get when you look at the candidates’faces and knew that they did not just hear the words, theyclearly understood them. None of this has much to dowith letter-perfect recitation for its own sake. That is thefraternity serving the ritual. It is far better to know thatyour audience got the message and that you enjoyed yourpart in bringing that message to the audience.

Is the point of our fraternity to give away our resourcesto people who do not care much about Freemasonry,

but who are more than willing to accept our charity? Iwould like to repeat something I once said. “A strong andgrowing fraternity can do much good in the world, butfirst it must be strong and growing.”I go back to my earlier statement. The most important

people in our fraternity are the average members – thosewho do not seek rank and title. They just want to attendmeetings and have an enjoyable and inspirationalexperience. Yes – you guessed it – it isthe ICE thing again. Of equalimportance are the members who nolonger bother to attend.Why arethey important? They are importantbecause we somehow failed to meettheir fraternal needs. I once said thata fraternity that fails its members is afailure, no matter what else it is goodat.Having said all that I have said, I

guess that is fair for you to ask, “GeeBob, what do you think the point is?”I believe that the “point” of ourfraternity is simple, we exist to be amutual benefit society. No, not likethe insurance company, we are a verydifferent kind of mutual benefitsociety.• We exist to help our members to bettertheir lives.

• We exist to defend and protect eachother in times of peril.

• We exist to provide sustenance and ahelping hand to our members andtheir loved ones in dire times.

• We exist to provide comradeship, and to be good friends andcompany for each other.

• We exist because we were an organization a man could beproud of belonging to.

• We exist because we encourage our members to live inconsonance with our core values.

Perhaps you noticed that nowhere in my list do you seemention of buildings, medals, or perfect ritual. None

of those things have anything to do with why we exist.We exist to do those things that we obligated ourselves todo when we knelt at the altar and took an oath. Let’s alldo our fraternity a favor. Let’s concentrate on what isreally important.To that end, I am making a pledge to myself. The night

before our next Valley meeting, I am going to callsomeone who hasn’t been attending meetings, and tell himthat I miss seeing him. I wonder what kind of things Imight find out. How about you giving that a try too?Why, we could start a whole new thing.What a nice wayto let one of our Brothers know that we do care, and allfor the small price of a phone call.Well Brother, I hope to see you at our next Valley

meeting. If you are not there, you will be missed.

Start with the first word. Add to it the letters of the second word.Then add or subtract the letters of the following words. Total theremaining letters and unscramble them to find a word associatedwith Masonry.

M A S O N I CWORD MATH

(NONSENSE) + (VARIETY) – (NOISES) +

(CONGRATULATE) – (VAGUE) + (INSIST)

– (TRY) – (SENSE) + (OPPOSE) –

(CARTOONS) – (PLAN)

=

Clue for this puzzle appears on page 5.Answer from previous issue: ALLEGORICAL

NL

18 May 2012 / The Northern Light

N O T E S F R O M T H E

Celebrating the Craft Web Event

The Supreme Council of the Southern Jurisdiction is plan-

ning to host the first-ever Web Event: Celebrating the Craft. The event, to be held on May 19, 2012, will be live-streamed through the Supreme Council website at Scot-tishRite.org, from 6:00 pm until midnight ET. The goal is to raise $1 million for our Rebuilding the Temple Campaign. Money raised will also benefit local Orients of the Southern Jurisdiction, half will go

to support the Rebuilding the Tem-ple Campaign to restore the House of the Temple in Washington, DC, and the other half will go back to local Orient charities.

The Celebrating the Craft Web Event is designed to provide mem-bers with an opportunity to learn more about the Scottish Rite and the importance of the House of the Temple. The Web Event is like a telethon, but it’s broadcast over the Internet. It will feature well-known

entertainers, such as Ernest Borg-nine and Brad Paisley, Masonic scholars, such as Arturo de Hoyos and Dr. S. Brent Morris, and many others. Comedian Norm Crosby will host the event.

We are encouraging our Valleys to host a Celebrating the Craft Party for members and their families.

For more information about the Web Event, contact the Develop-ment Office at (866) 448-3773 or [email protected].

A curious enciphered manuscript was discovered in an East Ger-

man library in 1970 and eluded all attempts at decipherment. The docu-ment was forgotten until it fell into the hands of a private collector and recently came to the knowledge of an international team of academics from the U.S. and Sweden. In April 2011

the “Copiale Cipher” was broken, studied, and released to the public six months later. It contained rituals that caused a great deal of excitement in the mainstream press. Due to trans-lation errors, the press missed an op-

portunity to arouse public interest with another mysterious topic that often grabs headlines: the Cipher protected an 18th-century German Masonic ritual.

It is amusing that the purpose of this “secret society” has been reported as ophthalmology, a sort of vocation-al fraternity of eye specialists. While a few news sources did report on the symbolism of the eye in the western esoteric tradition, most seem to echo the belief that “the rituals detailed in the document indicate the secret so-ciety had a fascination with eye sur-

gery and ophthalmology, though it seems members of the secret society were not themselves eye doctors.”

The first sign that this was a Ma-sonic document was when Ill. Arturo de Hoyos, 33°, Grand Archivist and

Grand Historian, saw the German word mopseN [sic] and noted that it was mistranslated as “thieves” on the second page of the cipher. Bro. de Hoyos noted that the “Mopses” were a pseudo-Masonic Catholic coed fraternity founded in 1740.

The interpretation of the manu-script as the ritual of an ophthal-mology society is due to the misin-terpretation of one commonly used logogram (a symbol used in place of a word). The logogram , which the code breakers called “lip,” was inter-preted to mean “oculist” or “eye doc-tor.” The full article on the Copiale Cipher can be found at ScottishRite.org/journal/march-april-2012.

LOGOGRAMSThe

Cipher

If you are like most people, you spend fartoo much on electricity. The good news is you have thepower to do something about it.No doubt, part of your problem is due to what are

known as phantom or vampire loads. These occur whena device continues to draw power after you turn it off,allow it to go into sleep mode or assume it is off becauseit no longer is in use.

For example, you plug your cellphone charger into the outlet and

then connect it to the phone. As longas the charger remains plugged in, itwill continue to draw power – evenafter the phone’s battery is fullycharged or has been disconnectedfrom the charger.The charger basically is a

transformer (that’s the boxy unit thatplugs into the outlet) that steps downthe voltage from 120 volts to tenvolts. As long as it is plugged into alive outlet, it will draw power. This istrue of other devices that utilize thistype of transformer, such as printers,modems, routers and scanners.Computers continue to draw powereven when in a sleep mode. Manyother devices draw power after beingturned off.There is an easy and inexpensive

phantom load solution – smart powerstrips. Smart power strips are designedto turn on or off every device that is plugged into it. Inaddition, most smart power strips provide excellent surgeprotection,Plug your computer into a smart power strip and then

turn it on. The smart power strip energizes every otherdevice plugged into the strip. Turn the computer off andthe strip turns everything else off, such as the modem,router, scanner and printer. Naturally, you can do thesame with your TV and stereo system.How much can you save with smart power strips? That

depends on the number of phantom loads you choose toeliminate, but it is estimated phantom loads represent tenpercent or more of a typical residential electric bill. Frommy perspective, that’s a lot of money for a small amountof convenience.

Expect to pay $20 to $30 for a quality smart powerstrip that provides surge protection. You can recover

that investment in a few months.Of course, there are more ways to tame the energy

hog. If you are in the market for a new computer,consider buying one that is Energy Star qualified. Apple,Dell, HP, Acer and Gateway are among the brands withmodels that have earned the Energy Star qualification.Look for the Energy Star qualification label when

shopping for televisions, DVD and Blue-ray players,

amplifiers, and home-theater-in-a-box systems. For moreinformation, check out the Energy Star website(energystar.gov).If you want to save more money and increase your

personal comfort, consider improving your lighting bydumping those obsolete and inefficient incandescent andT12 fluorescent bulbs.If you haven’t tried a compact fluorescent light (CFL) in

the past couple of years, you may bein for a surprise. In my view, CFLsprovide superior lighting compared toincandescents. Furthermore, CFLs arenow available in three-way, dimmable,decorative and outdoor models.Equally important, a CFL will save a

typical residential customer $5 or moreper year in electricity costs.You likely have light fixtures that use

tube-type fluorescent lamps. Unlessthe fixture is new, or you have recentlyupgraded, it undoubtedly has T12fluorescent lamps. A T8 lamp usesabout 33 percent less electricity than aT12. Besides, T8 lamps provide abetter light, making it easier to read,prepare a meal or work at thecomputer. T8 lamps will fit in the T12fixture, but you will need to replace themagnetic ballast with an electronicballast.If you install new fluorescent fixtures

or want to replace existing fixtures, Irecommend T5 fluorescent lamps for the best economyand light.Should you want to have some fun while learning how

to cut energy spending, buy a Kill A Watt meter. Mosthardware stores carry this meter. If not do a Googlesearch to find it.

You simply plug any electric device into the nifty Kill AWatt meter to learn how much electricity the device

uses. You can calculate usage and cost by the day,week, month or year. It can help you decide what youshould keep, what should be retired and even how muchyou’ll save by using the smart power strip.Now, would you like to save even more? You need to

buy and install a programmable thermostat. When youuse it for both the heating and cooling season, it can trimyour total energy bill by about $200 or more. Dependingon features, you can buy a quality unit for $20 to $45.Enjoy your savings. You might even share some of it

with a Scottish Rite Masonic Charity.

drop me a line.As always, I welcome your questions and comments:[email protected]. If you prefer, youcan write to me at PO Box 42, Virginia IL 62691.


By LEIGH E. MORRIS, 33°

Let’s Save aLittle Money

May marks the start of the 2012 blue envelope appeal. For 47 years, the blue envelope has represented ourcommitment as Brothers to the tenet of charity – a value we cherish among our highest principles. This year,

we once again will support four projects. Two of these have proven to be the most highly cherished and respectedby our members – the Children’s Dyslexia Centers and the Almoner’s Fund. As you receive your invitation to giveto the blue envelope, please consider these stories…

Two entirely different stories that share one important principle – your support of the blue envelope appealmakes a transformational difference in the lives of people all over, from Brothers overwhelmed by disaster to

children struggling to succeed. Additionally, the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library and the Leon M.Abbott Scholarships also rely on donations to the blue envelope.

When you are asked to do your part, please be generous. Great things arise from your support.


2012 Blue Envelope Appeal

By STEVE PEKOCK, 32°Director of Development

MARCH 3 – Tornadoes wreaked havoc throughout theSouth and Midwest. Towns in Indiana and Illinois wereparticularly hard hit.

At times like these we often ask how we might helpthose whose suffering is the result of a cruel act offate. As Masons, we affirm by our obligations to aidour Brothers and their loved ones as we become awareof their hailing sign.

In 2010, the blue envelope appeal included theAlmoner’s Fund as one of its beneficiaries.Since then, the blue envelopehas provided thousandsof dollars to help Brothers(not just Scottish Ritemembers) surmount theirobstacles and get back ontheir feet.

This is part of a letter from anactual Almoner’s Fund recipient:

“2011 was the hardest year of my life. If it weren't forthe help of others like you I would be homeless rightnow. During Hurricane Irene, I watched as herfloodwaters consumed my truck and tools which aremy livelihood, after which I was rescued by a swiftwater rescue team in a boat.

“I cannot begin to express to you how much this gifthas touched my heart. This is what Masonry is allabout. Until now I have never truly known the powerof charity. You gave me more than a check.You gave me hope and love, and you made a goodman better.”

THE CHILDREN’S DYSLEXIA CENTERS, a ScottishRite Masonic partnership, became a charity ofthis fraternity in 1994. Today there are 53centers that span the geography of ourfraternity.

Unless you are dyslexic, or live with a personwho is, it is hard to entirely comprehend thestruggles that come with this disorder. Throughthe perceptions of a child, it is particularlyfrustrating and demoralizing. Often schools donot want to identify a child as dyslexic. As aresult, access to help is often impossible.

Since the Scottish Rite established the Children’sDyslexia Centers, more than 7,000 boys andgirls have come to the centers for help. More

than 98 percent have received the assistancethey needed to overcome this disorder.

The stories of success are many. Here is one:

“I can remember the days when my son wouldcry because he struggled to read.

“I am so thankful for the dyslexia center. I seesuch a difference in my son’s reading, writingand comprehension.

“But what means far more to me is the look inhis eyes when he knows that he is doing well.”

Nearly 2,000 times every week, a child in acenter supported by Scottish Rite Masons getsone step closer to success. And just as often athankful parent looks on in gratitude.

Vasiliji M. Golovninwas a member of the Lodge“Trois Flambeaux” (ThreeLights) located in St.Petersburg from 1816-22.He also served in variouspositions in the Lodge“Sphinx” and the Lodge“Alexandre du Lion d’Or”both of St. Petersburg. Hewas a member of theChapter “Du Phenix.”Heand the Kurile IslandExpedition are pictured on astamp issued by Russia onNov. 22, 1994, to honor the300th anniversary of theRussian Fleet.Born April 19, 1776, in

the province of Ryazan,Russia, Vasilij M. Golovninbecame a Russian NavyOfficer, Vice admiral andsailor who, in 1807, exploredand mapped the coasts ofthe Russian part of Alaska,including the Kuril Islandsand Kamchatka, for TsarAlexander I. His adventurestook him around the worldtwice. In 1811, he wascaptured with part of hiscrew on Kunashir wherethey were conductingresearch. They were heldcaptive for two years andwere interrogated butreceived fair treatment.

He was appointedassistant director of theMarine College in 1821 andQuartermaster General ofthe Fleet in 1823. He diedof cholera on July 11, 1831,in St. Petersburg.

��

Oliver N. Hardy ispictured on a U.S. stampissued Aug. 29, 1991, as partof a booklet honoringfamous comedians. Hejoined Solomon Lodge No.20, Jacksonville, FL, in1916.Born Jan. 18, 1892, in

Harlem, GA, he acquired anearly interest in music andtheater. He joined Coburn’sMinstrels in 1900 and ranaway from a boarding schoolto sing with them. By 1910he became the projectionistat a local movie theater andin 1913, he moved toJacksonville where he wasable to enter the filmindustry while working as acabaret singer and a filmmanufacturing employee. Hemade his first movie in1914, and between 1918-23he made more than 40films. By 1927 he teamedwith Stan Laurel and theybecame a classic double act

that lasted nearly 30 years.Oliver had a heart attackand stroke in late 1955 anddied on Aug. 7, 1957, in No.Hollywood, CA.

��

José Bonifácio was bornon June 13, 1763, in Santos,Sao Paulo, Brazil. Hebecame one of the mostimportant individuals inBrazilian intellectual circleswho actively participated inthe movement toward theindependence of Brazil. Heserved as Dom Pedro’scounselor and was appointedhead of the Ministry forKingdom and OverseasAffairs. His relationshipwith the prince deteriorated,and he joined theopposition. He was exiled in1823 and went to live inBordeaux. He died on April6, 1838, in Niteroi.

José Bonifácio was amember of the Lodge“Commercio e Artes” in Riode Janiero. This lodgeevolved into a GrandLodge, and he served as thefirst Grand Master of thatbody from 1821-22 andagain from 1831-38. He ispictured on a stamp releasedby Brazil on April 21, 2008.

��

Duke Ellington washonored on a stamp issuedby the USPS on April 29,1986, as part of itsPerforming Arts series. Hispetition to join Masonrywas received by Social

Lodge No. 1, of the Districtof Columbia Prince HallGrand Lodge on Oct. 20,1931. He received hisMaster Mason degree onMay 5, 1932, and laterbecame a member of MeccaTemple No. 10.Born in Washington,

DC, on April 29, 1899, hisprofessional debut was as apianist in 1916. Shortlythereafter he formed his firstsmall jazz band. He movedto New York in 1922 wherejazz was becoming hot andgot his big break in 1927 atHarlem’s famed CottonClub. He made severalworld tours and appeared inmany famed locations;during his career he wrotemore than 1,000compositions. He receivedthe Medal of Freedom fromPresident Nixon and died onMay 24, 1974 in New Yorkcity.

��

The newest pure Masonicstamp was issued on Nov.25, 2011, by India Post. Ithonors the Grand Lodge ofIndia and pictures theentrance to the GrandLodge building.


By ROBERT A. DOMINGUE

The Key to Modern Freemasonry:The Hidden Mysteries of Nature and Science

by Charles C. Lawrence, Published in 2011 byHamilton House Publishing Ltd., distributed by LewisMasonic, Riverdene Business Park, Molesey Road,

Hersham, Surrey, England KT12 4RG.

Professor Charles Lawrence is a British scholar whohas studied Freemasonry for the past 40 years. He isalso an internationally recognized engineer and scientist.Based upon the writings within this text, these paralleldisciplines have influenced his Masonic historiographywith a profound analysis that willquestion most reader’spreconceptions about our ancientcraft.Apart from being awell-researched historicalnarrative, the author does anextensive study of the conceptsand allegory in Masonic rituals,while citing the basic principlesof nature and science, in the 200years prior to the formation of the GrandLodge in England (1717) and formation of the RoyalArch (circa 1720).Lawrence readily asserts that “his study will show thatmodern Masonry is a particular derivative of that 1717initiative and that all allusion to such antiquity isessentially contrived. It will be shown that modernMasonry is the product of a quite modest notion: thatthe senior members of four, otherwise autonomous,London-based lodges should meet on a quarterly basis to

discuss matters of mutual benefit. Further, that theselodges were typical of lodges that were the legacy ofchanges that had occurred over the preceding 200 years;namely the metamorphosis of the erstwhile powerfulgroup of operative masons’ lodges into small socialgatherings of the most influential members of aparticular community.” In part, his assertions clearlychallenge the noted belief, held by some contemporaryMasonic scholars and past historians as well, thatFreemasonry has existed since time immemorial.This book has more than 500 pages, divided into sixparts. It’s a time-consuming study that includes 40chapters, author’s conclusions, and three appendices.Part I provides the fundamental basis of the Masonic

(symbolical) science from the early 1700s with duereference to modern concepts.Part II examines the sociological factors behind thefoundation of the Grand Lodge and Royal Arch.Part III includes detailed biographies of the first threeGrand Masters, reference tables of principal GrandOfficers and Wardens, and the author’s commentaryabout the need for a formalized ceremony ritual that seta strong tradition, shared objectives and obedience tocodes that add to Freemasonry’s appeal and strengthenits members’ loyalty toward a new institution.Part IV presents the lineage of the aristocratic familiesof the Grand Masters.Part V looks at the favorable conditions of the timeperiod that allowed peripheral activities, such asFreemasonry, to flourish; specifically, a buoyant economycombined with social, religious and political stability.Here, the author makes note of public perseverance ofknowledge: notably in the form of public and privatelectures and publications of scientific discovery.Part VI discusses the seven liberal arts and sciences,the hidden mysteries of nature and science and thefounders’ belief of the absolute perfection of the deity asa moral imperative within the Masonic ritual.This book is written in an academic writing style that

reads analogous to a thesis or dissertation. Many of thebook’s chapter could easily merit a separate book reviewdue to the overwhelming amount of technicalinformation. In this regard, I found myself having toreread some of the material just to comprehend what wasbeing stated by the author.I highly recommend this book to Brothers who want adetailed analysis of the foundation of the early days ofthe Grand Lodge and the formalized ritual that resultedthereafter; especially when you consider its impact inEurope, and British colonies, of which America wasprobably the most significant.

Reviewed byMichael S. Franck, 32°

Valley of Detroit


An Illustrated Historyof the Knights Hospitaller

by Stephen DaFoe. Published in 2010 by Ian AllanPublishing, 800 Guillat Avenue, Kent Science Park,

Sittingbourne, ME9 8GU.

Noted Masonic researcher andauthor Stephen Dafoe’s An

Illustrated History of the KnightsHospitaller is, as promised, richlyillustrated. The first thing thatdraws the reader’s attention uponexamining the volume is that nearlyevery page has a full-colorphotograph, drawing or map, usedto assist the text in making clearthe complex and interestinghistory of this order which spans slightly more thanseven centuries in this work.The Hospitallers have suffered, perhaps, from a less

romantic history than the Knights Templar.Without thedramatic betrayal and destruction of the Templars, theHospitallers have had less opportunity to weave theirway into popular folklore and have played a lesser role inMasonic chivalric development. However, Dafoe’s historyprovides ample evidence that their history is ascompelling as that of the Templars.Dafoe begins by pointing out that the Hospitallers

were not formed by the Crusades, but rather transformedby them. Originally providing shelter and food topilgrims, the Hospitallers emerged in a period whenJerusalem was under Muslim control, and the area wasreasonably peaceful. Dafoe presents an interestingexploration of the Crusades, focusing on the ways inwhich the Hospitallers adapted to the changing climate.Perhaps because Dafoe has previously written

extensively about the Templars, he often compares andcontrasts the two orders, allowing the reader to begin tosee how the two came to such different ends. He pointsout, for example, that while the Templars had extensiverules concerning the proper arms for a knight as opposedto a sergeant, the Hospitallers had no such rules and onemay assume that the weapons and armor of the twoclasses differed only in quality, if at all. In general, itwould appear that Dafoe sees the Hospitallers asincidentally militaristic, rather than intrinsically so, aswere the Templars. The Hospitallers were also far moreadaptable in their mission. As the Crusades came to theircatastrophic end for the military orders, the Hospitallershad the advantage of being able to return to theiroriginal cares: providing food, shelter, and medical care,such as it may have been, to pilgrims and others in need.The Templars, persisting in seeking another crusade, mettheir bloody end.

Especially interesting are the explorations of thevarious fortifications and buildings raised by the militaryorders in pursuit of securing the Holy Land and theirown ends.Whenever possible, photos are included,giving the reader the opportunity to become familiarwith the various structures that have survived to this dayas a testimony to the determination of the Knights tohold the Holy Land.There is, perhaps, one minor fault in this volume in

that the entire history of the order after about 1798appears in just a few paragraphs.While it is true that therecent history of the Hospitallers may lack the dramaand scale of the bloodshed and warfare that once wastheir trade, many readers might be surprised to learn thatthe order has continued into the modern day; and theymay wish to know more about their efforts to care forthe sick and poor in 120 countries.Dafoe, however, probably assumes correctly that

focusing on the most famous periods of the militaryorders will best satisfy the majority of readers. Heskillfully blends excellent scholarship with goodstorytelling so that the reader feels caught up in thesweep of events, and is eager to follow the story to itsconclusion. If Dafoe is successful in anything, it is inclearly transmitting his own enthusiasm for the topic tothe reader. And that, alone, makes the book worth theprice.

Reviewed byDavid L. Riley, 32°Valley of Boston


Get Well, Bro. Jackson

Since November 1990, Ill. Thomas W. Jackson,33°, has been volunteering his time reviewingMasonic books for The Northern Light.Since thenhe has read and written opinions on 248 booksfor this publication. Bro. Jackson is Past GrandSecretary for the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania,and he is Executive Secretary for the WorldConference of Masonic Grand Lodges.Currentlyhe is recovering from serious medical issues. Wewish him a speedy recovery and hope to see himback on the pages of The Northern Light as soonas possible.

We thank Bro. Michael S. Franck, 32°, of theValley of Detroit and Bro. David L. Riley, 32°, ofthe Valley of Boston for doing a tremendous jobwith this issue’s “Book Nook.”


Children's cholesteroltestingThe National Heart, Lung and BloodInstitute now recommends thatchildren ages nine and eleven shouldhave their first cholesterol check. Thetest should be repeated between ages17 and 21.The recommendations come as

growing biological evidence showsconditions that result in heart attacks,diabetes, high blood pressure andother diseases begin in childhood,though they might not be evidentuntil middle age.The American Academy of Pediatrics

endorses the recommendations.In most cases, high cholesterol is

addressed with improving diets andincreasing daily exercise. Less thanone percent of children diagnosedwith high cholesterol would take astatin.

Malaria vaccineThe first ever malaria vaccine is in itssecond testing phase. The first testingwas on 15,460 children. It was foundto be 50 percent effective in childrenfive to 17 months old.The project was developed among

GlaxoSmithKline, the PATH MalariaVaccine Initiative and the Bill andMelinda Gates Foundation, whosechair, Bill Gates, announced theresults.Malaria is one of the most

devastating diseases in the world,causing 225 million cases per year andmore than 780,000 deaths. Mostdeaths are among African children,according to the World HealthOrganization.Vaccine developers say it will be

available in Africa by 2015.

People who can't cookSome nutritionists are discouraged bythe results of a survey done for theTufts University HNRC Cardiovascularand Nutrition Laboratory. They worrythat all their healthy cooking advice iswasted on more than a quarter ofAmericans.The survey conducted by Impulse

Research revealed that more than 28percent of the participants say theydon't cook because they don't knowhow.About half of the survey subjects

said it is because a spouse or partnerdoes it, and 25 percent said they hatecleaning up afterward.More than 21 percent said they

don't have the time, and 66 percentsay they hate to visit the supermarket,which they say takes more time thanany other household task.At Tufts, the nutrition laboratory

director says the results show theimportance of incorporating foodpreparation and purchasing skills intoschool curriculums.Preparing food at home is one of

the best ways to get healthier meals.

Preserve verbalmemoryFrench researchers showed thatindividuals with the highest intake offruits and vegetables did better onverbal memory tests than those whoconsumed the least. Verbal memory isthe ability to recall words and theirmeanings.The study involved 2,500 men and

women aged 45-60. They werefollowed for 13 years.Study leaders, quoted in the

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,found a high intake of fruits andvegetables was strongly associatedwith better verbal memory.One part of the study found the

greatest benefits were to those whoate more fruits. High intake of fruitswas eight servings per day. Doctors atDuke University suggest thatconsumers aim for ten servings offruits and vegetables.

Live longer - eat fiberThe National Institutes of Health-AARPDiet and Health Study shows that fiberfrom grains has the strongestassociation with reduced mortality. Thefiber in vegetables and beans was farless effective, and the fiber from fruithad no life lengthening qualities.This was just one of the studies in

35 to 40 years of research on grainfibers. The largest study, by TheNational Cancer Institute, comparedthe fiber intake of 219,123 men and168,999 women ages 50 to 71.Over a nine-year period, those in the

highest grain fiber group were 22percent less likely to die of any cause.All of this simply means that eating

whole-grain bread, cereals andcrackers will help you avoid conditionsthat could shorten your life.

“American Idle.”


Ill. Gerald Carl Pickard Sr., 33°1926 - 2012

Bro. Pickard was an an Active Emeritus Member of thisSupreme Council for the state of Maine. He was elected anActive Member in 1992, and he served as Deputy for Mainefrom 1994-2001. He assumed Active Emeritus status in 2001.

He was raised a Master Mason in Lynde Lodge No. 174, A.F. &A.M., in 1950, where he was Master in 1972-73.

He was united in marriage to Gloria Estelle McGinley, whosurvives along with three sons, Brian, Neal and G. Carl Jr.; adaughter, Sherrill; seven grandchildren; and one greatgrandchild.

For the complete balustre on the life ofIll. Gerald C. Pickard Sr., 33˚, visit the “Member’s Center”

at ScottishRiteNMJ.org.

Ill. Walter Henry Kropp, 33°1923 - 2012

Bro. Kropp was an Active Emeritus Member of this SupremeCouncil for the state of Ohio. He was elected an ActiveMember in 1976, and served as Deputy for Ohio from1978-81. He assumed Active Emeritus status in 1989.

He was raised a Master Mason in Humboldt Lodge No. 476,F. & A.M., Columbus, OH, October 31, 1949.

On October 10, 1952, he was united in marriage to LucilleAnne Thornburgh, who survives with two sons, Walter B. andKarl V.; and six grandchildren.

For the complete balustre on the life ofIll. Walter H. Kropp, 33˚, visit the “Member’s Center”

at ScottishRiteNMJ.org.

GENUINE MASONRY


Q u o t a t i o n s s e l e c t e d f r o m t h e p a s t m a y n o t n e c e s s a r i l y r e p r e s e n t

Genuine Masonry can only exist wherea sufficient number of whole-souled,

generous and intelligent men can be foundwho are willing to band themselvestogether for the purpose of mutualimprovement in all that is required tomake a good citizen.

Masonry does not depend upon anyparticular system for its perpetuation, butrather upon the necessity for something tocontrol the passions of men who desire tolive pure and upright lives, and to assistthose who within themselves are unable towithstand the temptations with which theyare much too frequently surrounded.

The great high road of all humanwelfare lies along the old highway ofsteadfast well doing; and they who are themost persistent, and work in the finestspirit, will invariably be the mostsuccessful; success treads on the heels ofevery right effort.

Many become Masons in name andnever comprehend the emptiness of theirtitle. Masonry is of the heart and in thelife. A man said, “I have been a Mason formany years; what good has it done me?”He never was a Mason. What he put intoMasonry is exactly what he got out of it.

Every Mason should live up to thehighest expectations of our Masonicbrothers. When the time comes that allcraftsmen recognize this and try to live upto it, then we will have a world safe foranything that is good.

Masonry is worth to one just what heputs into it. If a member fails to attend alodge, and takes no interest in the work, itis worth nothing to him further thangiving the privilege of wearing a button ora Masonic emblem of some kind.

— Frank G. Higgins, Brotherhood,February 1921

Would it not be wonderful if themajority, if not all, of the people of thisnation could share the bland optimismof that prominent educator whorecently gave expression to his viewswhile on a visit to Denver. Thegentleman averred that modern youth issetting a higher moral standard thantheir parents knew, but permit us toquote him:

“The youngsters are building a newmorality based on human conduct andits attendant results . . . Sophisticated?Surely, but knowledge can't hurt. Theyare accomplished, informed andfearless.”Thus (as the newspaper states)the doctor disposes of the fourarguments of the modern pessimist. Butdoes he?

If cold, hard facts to the contrarycould be so lightly dismissed with aperfunctory wave of the hand, what anEl Dorado this land would be. Thegentleman may be correct in a sense,however, when he states that the“youngsters are informed and fearless.”As to the “new morality,” there are stillsome “pessimists” who are inclined to

feel that it fails to measure up to the oldtried and true standards ofconventionality that the parents oftoday recognized and practiced during ,their adolescent years.

It seems that the manifoldadvantages offered the modern boy andgirl, such as the latest type of school,wherein are to be found all features thatshould appeal to the youth, the manyamusements and attractions that theirmothers and fathers never enjoyed, alltend to take the edge from individualendeavor.

Youth has progressed; the educatortells us so. He bases his contention onthe premise that red flannels have beendiscarded along with other archaichabiliments. The new “moral code” isworking finely – everybody issophisticated and happy – and there youare.

How much more sober, if critical, arethe words of Dr. Thomas H. Briggs ofColumbia University. Speaking ofschools he is quoted in the press asstating that “the social prestige resultingfrom the passing of courses that contain

no vital interest and later manifest nomaterial influence on action or oncharacter is mischievous and deceiving...It deludes youth into a false sense ofpossession which the world assuredly, ifgradually, corrects.” As to the aptitudeof the modern student he remarked that“after a year’s study of American history,half the students are unable to definethe Monroe Doctrine, and only half cantranslate a simple French sentence afterstudying that language a year.”

How easy it is to “wink the othereye” and deceive oneself into believingthat all is well with the youth of theland when the physical vision is assailedby evidence that would refute suchirrational idealism.

There is such a thing as making abid for juvenile favor, and it is fearedthat the educator first quoted was doingjust that. The gentleman may not bequite accurate in his approximation ofmodern youth, but his potentialities as ahumorist should merit earlyrecognition.

— Leslie D. Waudry,The New Age, March 1930

FACT OR FICTION

t o d a y ’ s v i e w p o i n t .

As an instrument used by operativemasons to break off the corners of

rough stone, it is a tool with one sharpedge and a hammer edge opposite. It can,therefore, be used as a hammer or achisel. The results obtained in fitting andpreparing stone from the quarry aremarvelous when in the hands of skilledworkmen. Many years of diligent, studyand practice as an apprentice and fellowcraft were required before one was able tobecome a master mason, that is one whocould do or superintend all parts ofbuilding operations. Only a few becameso adept in the profession as to be soclassed.The Monitorial explanation, “but we

as free and accepted Masons are taughtto make use of it for the more noble andglorious purpose of divesting our mindsand consciences of all the vices andsuperfluities of life, thereby fitting ourbodies, as living stones, for that spiritualbuilding, that house not made withhands, eternal in the heavens,” is a mostbeautiful piece of literature, admonishingevery Mason to so cleanse and purify his

heart from every vice and imperfection,that would render it unfit for a place inthe spiritual temple of the body.This, the most common of the

symbols, therefore, has a very importantplace in Masonry. The common gavel isprimarily an entered apprentice tool, fortheoretically, at least, he has not beenfully prepared for that celestial building.Hours and years of diligent study andpractice will be required to at last win theapprobation of the Supreme GrandMaster of the Universe. The lessonstaught by this symbolic tool will have tobe repeated again and again. Masons cannever feel that this symbol can bediscarded at the passing to the fellowcraftdegree, for in life, we must be constantlyguarding against vices and superfluities.They come in on us, and frequently weare unaware of them until they havegained a stronghold on us and we needso strong an implement as the commongavel to divest ourselves of them.

— M. F. Hofstetter, Square andCompasses, February 1940

THE COMMON GAVEL


QUOTABLES

Gratitude makes sense of our past, bringspeace for today, and creates a vision fortomorrow.

— Melody Beattie

No matter where you are in life rightnow, no matter who or how old you are –it is never too late to be who you aremeant to be.

— Esther and Jerry Hicks

There's always an opportunity to make adifference.

— Michael Dell

High expectations are the key toeverything.

— Sam Walton

You can never be comfortable with yoursuccess. You've got to be paranoid you'regoing to lose it.

— Lew Gerstner

Intellectual property has the shelf life of abanana.

— Bill Gates

Act as if what you do makes a difference.It does.

—William James

The strength of a nation derives from theintegrity of the home.

— Confucius

There is more to life than increasing itsspeed.

— Mahatma Gandhi

Believe in yourself, and there will come aday when others will have no choice butto believe with you.

— Cynthia Kersey

A pleasure is not full grown until it isremembered.

— C.S. Lewis

The price of excellence is discipline.—William Arthur Ward

Perhaps the requirement that to beeligible for elevation to the position

of Master, a Mason must have served asWarden, introduces the idea ofpromotional advancement. It may bethat the “official line” scheme ofsuccession, the advancing of all electedofficers, even to the lowest in rank, stepby step annually, grew out of this singleregulation. Be that as it may, the plan ismost generally in use in this land ofours. That it is ideal in operation isclaimed by no one.Undoubtedly the most genuinelydemocratic and unrestrained plan ofelection would be to present to theBrethren at the annual meeting no slatewhatever, and leave them free to namewhomever they please to each officialposition. That devoted service would berewarded, competency brought out andthe best results secured by this plan isdoubtful. The crowd present at theannual meeting is not always composedof those who are best informed as to themerits of the Brethren who might be

expected to become good officers. Merepopularity would be very likely to winover proved ability. The glad hand andwinning smile might prove triumphantover real devotion and willingness tolabor and serve. Such a wide-open planwould scarcely do.After much experimentation the “officialline” system of regular promotion hasproven to be the most satisfactory in useat present. It has, however, itsdrawbacks. Very few lodges elect theentire roster of officers and thus give toeach the stamp of general approval.Some elect only the Master,Wardens,Treasurer and Secretary, leaving theremainder to be chosen by the newMaster. Almost always the Master willchoose wisely, but it is undeniable thatby this method the power is placed inhis hands to determine who shall beMaster eight or ten years after he haspassed out of the picture, thus makingthe line self-perpetuating.

—William C. Rapp,Masonic Craftsman, November 1935

Promotion Only When Merited


For a betterhomecomingWell-known author Jim Fannin saysfamilies are under great stress rightnow, but relationships can becomemore rewarding in just a minute and ahalf.

If you've been away from someoneyou love for two hours or more, thefirst 90 seconds you see the personhave more impact on the relationshipthan spending hours with him or herlater.

As you drive home, finish thinkingabout work and get your mind readyto go inside to the people you loveand care about.

Maybe you have to go and findthem when you get there. Don't takeoff your coat or put your briefcasedown, find your family. If you havechildren, let them run to you. Hugthem and hold them up. Then tellthem to let go so you can hug yourspouse.

The first 90 seconds can say, "Imissed you. I care about you. I needyou and I value you in my life."

Fannin recommends "mirroring" themood at hand. If kids are excited, beexcited. If your spouse is sad, speaksadly and ask if it's been a bad day.Then you have a chance to change toa more positive level.

Avoid paint can messWhen you dip your paintbrush, youusually wipe the excess against theside of the can. Before you know it,paint is dripping down the side of thecan. The little groove around the rimgets so full of paint that it splatterseverywhere when you hammer the lidback on.

Avoiding the mess is easy. Just wrapone or two rubber bands around thecan from top to bottom, going acrossthe middle of the can opening.

When you fill your paint brush, justtap it against the rubber bands andthe excess paint will fall back into thecan, according to the Readers' Digestbook, Extraordinary Uses For OrdinaryThings.

Voice-controlled TVTelevision set manufacturers are racingto develop voice recognition systemsfor TV sets, set-top boxes and relatedproducts. They want to do away withremotes.

At Nuance Communications, theworld's largest supplier of voicerecognition technology, they predictthat many device makers will shipproducts that understand voicecommands either this year or next.

More than three million Comcastsubscribers have downloaded an appthat turns their smartphone into aremote control for the company'sXfinity broadband service. Comcast islooking at adding voice-controlfeatures to the app, according toBloomberg Businessweek.

How to say goodbye orcongratulationsThere are all kinds of ways to bidfarewell to a longtime colleague at agoing-away party. You could shakehands, hug, fist bump, high-five,single-cheek or double-cheek kiss. Itall depends on the workplace culture.

The handshake is still thecongratulatory move in finance,banking and law, that is, unless you'recelebrating somebody's new job,when a hug or back pat is OK, saysSue Shellenbarger of The Wall StreetJournal.

Kisses and hugs are welcomed byentertainers and restauranteurs.

In manufacturing, the handshakeand hug are popular; in technology,the handshake and high-five are oftenused. In sales and public relations, thehandshake and back pat are theaccepted gestures.

Hugs and kisses are usually reservedfor a person leaving the company.

Big money problems?Whether you need a stack of cash topay college tuition for two studentsthis year, or to pay it for two or threeyears to come, you are among manypeople who have big expenseslooming.

Fortunately, you can take moneyfrom your IRA penalty-free at any age,and for any purpose, if you followcertain rules.

Early-out payments are known as72(t) distributions, named for thesection of the tax code that authorizesthem. The provisions allow you to take"substantially equal" distributions forat least five years or until age 59 1/2,whichever is longer.

Try the free calculator atwww.72t.net to estimate how muchyou can withdraw under threedifferent distribution methods.

The site also lets you calculate inreverse. Start with how much youwould like to withdraw each year andyou can see how much you need in anIRA to satisfy the withdrawal schedule.

You have to follow the plan onceyou're into it. Advisors at KiplingerPersonal Finance remind you that ifyou do deviate from the schedule,you'll owe the ten percent withdrawalpenalty retroactively on all your planwithdrawals.

“Your policy does cover winddamage, but not fromhuffing and puffing.”

When I came across a small book in our collectionentitled Hindoo Theology for the Use of Missionaries, I

knew that I couldn’t take the title page at face value.

The title page indicates that it was printed in Rome in1814. Having seen a lot of books printed in the early 19thcentury, I was sure that this book, based on the paper andprinting, was not printed that early. It also struck me asunlikely that a book aimed at English-speakingmissionaries headed for countries largely populated bypeople of the Hindu faith would have been published inRome in 1814. The book was more likely to have beenprinted in the late 19th or early 20th century and probablyhad nothing at all to do with missionaries or Hindutheology. A quick glance beyond the title page made itobvious that the book was some kind of fraternal ritualcipher book.We have many cipher books in our collectionand some of them have deliberately misleading titles. Isuspected that Hindoo Theology was another case ofMasons having some fun at disguising ritual books.

While speaking with Arturo de Hoyos, Grand Archivistof the Scottish Rite's Southern Jurisdiction, he mentionedHindoo Theology for the Use of Missionaries in passing. Hestated that it was a cipher for the rituals of the Royal ArchChapter for the state of New Jersey. And yet I wanted toknow more about this book – and about its odd title.

After sleuthing around, I was able to find a definitiveprinted source that addressed this little book. In the

1950 Proceedings of the Grand Royal Arch Chapter of theState of New Jersey, there’s a report of the GrandHistorian, Harold V.B. Voorhis, entitled “The ‘Manual’ andThe ‘Hindoo.’” Voorhis was a respected Masonic scholar,so I knew that I had found a good resource. Voorhiswrites:

“Let us now look into the advent and adventure of thatMasonic oddity known as the “Hindoo.”We have noauthentic data concerning the author or authors of the“Hindoo” or when it first saw the light of day. However, itis substantially certain that it appeared shortly after the1864 Gould “Guide to the Chapter” and was published byJames L. Gould in Connecticut. Consequently, it is notwithout normal surmise that Gould was responsible for its

production. It is doubtful if thename has any significance. It musthave been that he compiled it at theinstigation of Companion JohnSheville, with whom he collaboratedin producing the manual, because,so far as is known, the “Hindoo” wasonly used in New Jersey, where

Companion Sheville had been Grand High Priest.”

Although Voorhis concluded that “Hindoo” was onlyused in New Jersey, there are clear indications that it

was used in Iowa, as well. The 1896 Proceedings of theGrand Royal Arch Chapter for the District of Columbia,for example, state that “We observe that in Iowa theGrand Chapter issues and uses the ‘Hindoo ritual.’”Looking at various Iowa Proceedings in the 1890s indeedturns up numerous uses of the phrases “Hindoo Theology”and “Hindoo ritual.” In the 1893 Proceedings it is alsonoted that the Grand Chapter of Nevada used the ritualand that “some few years ago we supplied the GrandChapter of Kansas with copies of our Hindoo Theology.”

As to why “Hindoo” (i.e. Hindu) theology, rather thansome other religion, I'm still not sure. It is possible thatthis is simply a case of the West exoticizing an unfamiliarEastern religion - the same kind of Orientalism that gaverise to the Shriners and other Masonic and fraternalgroups and degrees that present Eastern cultures andreligions through the prism of 19th-century Westernviewpoints. If you have any thoughts on what might havemade “Hindoo Theology” an unsurprising choice for thetitle, please get in touch.

If you are interested in learning more, the VanGorden-Williams Library & Archives is located just off themain lobby of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Libraryand is open to the public 10-4:30, Wednesday-Saturday.Reference assistance is provided in person, by phone, or bye-mail.You may contact us at 781-457-4109 or [email protected].


More than Just Books . . .Van Gorden-Williams Library & Archives at the National Heritage Museum

Hindoo Theology for the Use of Missionaries(A Masonic Cipher)

Hindoo Theology for the Use ofMissionaries. Rome [i.e. Paterson, NewJersey] : [Printed by Mackay PrintingCompany,] 1814 [i.e. ca. 1890-1902].


Window Dressing

Your Window Dressing story (TNL,Nov. 2011) has been read with muchdelight. The paragraph describing theWanamaker store on page 17 recalledsome of my early life. My mother andher sister would meet at the bronzeeagle on the main floor in sight of thatgreat organ, then ascend to the fourthfloor to eat in their tea room. Ourchurch, Huntingdon ValleyPresbyterian, was the recipient of acommunion table given by Bro. JohnWanamaker who was also a greatevangelist in our area, having personallyestablished many churches, Christian camps and Sundayschools in the Philadelphia area.

John Davis, 32°Valley of Philadelphia

Cornerstones of Society

I want to thank and commend Wayne Adams for hiswonderful article on the cornerstone of the community (TNL,Feb. 2012). It helped me focus on what are truly importantgoals for every Master Mason. I believe it should bemandatory reading for every Scottish Rite Mason, and weshould strive to conduct meetings as Wayne dreamed of in hislast paragraph.

John J. Millner, 32°Valley of Chicago

I read with great interest, "Cornerstone of the Community"(TNL, Feb. 2012). I am part of a group of Masons who are inthe process of forming a new Masonic lodge in the oldesttown in Connecticut, and some of the principles we arecentering our new lodge around are the very principles that Ill.Brother Adams talks about in his articles – our ownfoundational principles which many blue lodges seem to havelost track of these days. As we're located in the very heart ofwhat was colonial Connecticut, there is a strong feelingamongst the Brethren that we are returning to our roots, bothin location and in Masonry.

Francis G. Way, 33°Valley of Hartford

Magical Scoundrel

I read the review by Thomas W. Jackson of The MasonicMagician (TNL, Feb. 2012) and was surprised to think wecould still be taken in by the greatest scoundrel of all time,Comte de Cagliostro. As a Past Master Alchemist of the

Omicron Chapter of Alpha Chi Sigma,chemical fraternity at Harvard, we knew of thereal and the false early alchemists.Real alchemists laid the foundation of thescience since they actually found, identified andpurified many of the basic chemicals.Cagliostro, born Giuseppe Maldetto, learnedapothecary at the Convent of Cartegirone nearPalermo, Sicily and used it along with a bag oftricks and sleight of hand to extract theplaudits and the gold from the ignorant andsuperstitious while appearing as most honestand truthful. He joined the Masons in Londonand perceived the chance for a grand coup bysetting out to perfect Egyptian Freemasonry.He had a flow of language and an air of

mystery that propelled him to acclaim all over Europe. Hecould defraud and rob while turning his eyes to Heaven.

Thomas Raphael, 32°Valley of Boston

Southern Connections

I belong to the Southern Jurisdiction and I wish to thank youfor the Internet-archived copies of The Northern Light. I findthem to be very useful. Since the younger generation is so intotexting, I have downloaded and printed many of your“Quotables.” Every morning for more than two years mychildren and grandchildren receive one of these quotes. Mostare now looking for the message every morning.

Russ BreinichOhio

Please submit yourown Masonic photosto The NorthernLight. We areacceptingsubmissions of allthings Masonic — people, places or occurrences, to share with ourreadership.You may send your photo to [email protected], or mail yoursubmission to: The Northern Light, PO Box 519, Lexington, MA 02420-0519. Include your name, address and Masonic affiliation. Photos willnot be returned.

masonicmomentsWhile on vacation inFlorida, one of ouremployees snapped

this photo ofMount Dora Lodge,No. 238, F. & A.M.


et cetera, et cetera,etc.NFL Alumni Playerof the Year AwardsThe Valley of Indianapolis Cathedralwas chosen to host a piece of thehoopla surrounding this year’s SuperBowl, held in that city. The NFLPlayers of the Year award show wastelevised the day after the big gamefrom the cathedral. The show wasbroadcast live on Feb. 6 with AlecBaldwin serving as host for theawards. Other celebrities includedVivica Fox, Stephen Baldwin, PatrickWarburton, and Keith David. FormerNFL players taking part were fivehall-of-famers: Dan Fouts, KellenWinslow, Andre Tippett, Marv Levy,and Jim Taylor.

T. W. Rogers StockIn the November issue, we publisheda holiday article that related the storyof a fading tradition – that ofdecorating department store windowsfor the holidays. The article told, notjust of the large urban stores, but alsoabout the local stores in medium andsmall towns across America. It evokedmemories from our readers whoremembered their own childhoodvisions. In a letter to the editor, areader says he remembers hearing thegreat organ at Wanamaker’s inPhiladelphia. Another was remindedof his youth in Toledo. As arepresentative of those smaller cities,a store called T. W. Rogers, in Lynn,MA, was described in the article. Thatprompted a member - a collector ofold stock certificates - to look throughhis files, find a certificate representing100 shares of stock for thelong-defunct Rogers store and send itto the author. The collector, Bro.Wayne R. Gebhardt, says he also has acollection of what he calls “Masonicstock,” – certificates representingcompanies owned by Masons – andhe says that some day he may writean article about them. We lookforward to it.

Fifty Years anHonorary MemberThe Valley of Columbus Chroniclesreports that a member of the Valleyreached a milestone in the fall. Ill.Robert A. Hinshaw, 33°, has been anHonorary Member of the SupremeCouncil for half a century. Bro.Hinshaw received the 33°, on Sept.27, 1961, in Chicago. As one wouldexpect from a person who has servedthe fraternity so long, he hasaccomplished much since becoming aMason in 1949. He was Most WiseMaster on three occasions. He wasGrand Master of the Grand Lodge ofOhio, and he later became its firstfull-time Secretary. When he retiredand moved to North Carolina hejoined a lodge there and becameSecretary, remaining in the positionfor a decade. In October SovereignGrand Commander John Wm.McNaughton bestowed upon Bro.Hinshaw the SGC Medal ofDistinguished Service.

Active Member HonoredThe Pennsylvania DeMolay honoredIll. Brother Russell W. Baker, 33°, anActive Member of the SupremeCouncil and Deputy for Pennsylvania,at its Eastern Regional InductionCeremony on February 11. Fifteenyoung men were inducted in theOrder of DeMolay that day at theevent hosted by the Valley of Reading.Bro. Baker was recognized as a retiredU.S. Navy master chief.

More MasonicMoments NeededSince February 2008 The NorthernLight has published photographsfrom our members that contain a

particular Masonic twist to them. Wecall them “Masonic Moments.” Theymight depict a unique building, or,maybe, a monument to a famousMason. In some cases, the square andcompasses image is in an exotic orunusual place. In all cases they havebeen a little out of the ordinary.Unfortunately we are running dry, soit’s time to look through yourphotographic collections or get outyour camera as you head off onvacation this summer. Remember, weare looking for something uniqueand different. Here’s your chance toget your photography published.Send photographs with a shortdescription to:[email protected]

A Mason at SightIllinois Freemasonry reports in itsWinter 2012 edition that CliftonTruman Daniel was made a Mason atSight at the Masonic Temple in Joliet,IL, on Dec. 3. Daniel is the grandsonof Ill. Harry Truman, 33°, Past GrandMaster of the Grand Lodge ofMissouri and also President of theUnited States. Clifton Truman Daniel,was a speaker at the Supreme CouncilAnnual Meeting of 2011. He relatedinteresting stories of his grandfather'spolitical and Masonic life. Welcometo the fraternity, Bro. Daniel.

Alan E. Foulds, 32°editor

The Northern LightP.O. Box 519Lexington, MA 02420-0519

looking forthe next step?

Come join in the fellowship at your local Valley.

Make new friends andreconnect with your Brothers.

If you can’t make it to a meetingand would like a fraternal visit,let us know. Call yourValley Secretary.

Now is the time to getinvolved, enjoy yourself,and make a difference.

Call your local Valley for details or visit us at ScottishRiteNMJ.org.

BrotherhoodMaking the world a better place — one man at a time.

Supreme Council, 33°Ancient Accepted Scottish RiteNorthern Masonic Jurisdiction, U.S.A.

ScottishRiteNMJ.org

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