‘From the Attic of the Grand Lodge’

     

From the Attic

of the Grand Lodge

No, that’s not a horror movie about the “grand lodge” in New Jersey. It’s the theme of the 2023 International Conference on Freemasonry!

That’s next April in California. From the publicity:

We’ve all had the experience—or at least dreamed of it—of crawling through the attic or the basement and discovering a hidden treasure. For many California Masons, whose lodges have histories going back to the founding of the state, that Antiques Roadshow fantasy isn’t a fantasy at all. From centuries-old aprons and officers’ jewels, to paintings, ornaments, and documents, Masonic lodges can be a treasure trove of curiosities. But what are we supposed to do with this stuff?

That’s the question at the heart of the 11th International Conference on Freemasonry, taking place April 8, 2023 at the University of California-Los Angeles. The annual event, presented by the Grand Lodge of California, is an exploration of the vast collection of material culture—the technical term for that “stuff.” What should lodges do with it? How do we know what’s valuable and what isn’t? And how do these items, from Bibles to regalia to aides de memoire, help tell the larger story of Freemasonry?

The presenters:

Dr. Mark Dennis on “The Material Culture of Freemasonry: Not a Thing Apart from the World.”

Leigh Ann Gardner on “Obeyed the Last Summons and Entered the Grand Lodge Above: Fraternal Cemeteries as Material Culture.”

Adam Kendall on “Listening to the Secret and Silent.”

Dr. Aimee Newell on “Expressing Brotherhood and Nationhood Through Symbols: Masonic Material Culture in the United States.”

Read all about it here.

     

‘Manhattan displays of Masonic material culture’

     
Eve M. Kahn’s antiques column in today’s New York Times discusses “Art from Fraternal Societies” (wasting no space before plugging Aimee Newell’s recent book), and reveals how two art venues in New York City will feature Masonic and other fraternal material culture in January.

From January 20 through May 8, 2016, Masonic and Odd Fellows pieces—gifts from collectors Allan and Kendra Daniel—will be shown at American Folk Art Museum.

Courtesy Folk Art Museum

Courtesy Folk Art Museum

Courtesy Folk Art Museum

Bruce Lee Webb, author of As Above, So Below: Art of the American Fraternal Society, 1850-1930, will bring certain pieces to sell at Outsider Art Fair, January 21-24 at Metropolitan Pavilion, just around the corner from Masonic Hall.

Courtesy Webb Gallery

     

‘Boston University Lodge AF&AM’

     
The marriage of colleges and universities to Freemasonry is a subject dear to me, not for the penchant for making more Masons, but for the proximity to education and culture. It’s a natural partnership that we do not see nearly enough. My own dream is to found Perstare et Praestare Lodge (to perservere and to excel) No. 1831 to meet in one of those beautiful townhouses along Washington Square North, but I digress.

Meanwhile in Massachusetts, Boston University Lodge has two events upcoming that you should know about, one this month, and the latter next spring. From the publicity:

Tales from the Vault:

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Masonic Aprons

Thursday, September 24 at 6 p.m.

Open to the public

Boston University Lodge AF&AM

186 Tremont Street

Boston, Massachusetts

As part of the Alumni Weekend events, we have asked Aimee Newell, Director of Collections at the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library, to give a presentation. The event is open to the public. A social period will follow the presentation.

Called “the badge of a Freemason” in Masonic ritual, the fraternity’s apron was adapted from the protective aprons worn by working stonemasons during the 1600s and 1700s. Still worn by members today, the apron remains one of the iconic symbols of Freemasonry. The Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library has more than 400 aprons in its collection, dating from the mid-1700s to the present; and made in the United States, England, China, and other countries. Aimee Newell will share examples of aprons from the Museum’s collection, telling stories about their manufacture and use and highlighting new discoveries uncovered in her research for The Badge of a Freemason: Masonic Aprons from the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library (published in 2015). A book-signing will follow the talk. Books will be available for $42.45 (tax included).

Aimee E. Newell previously worked as the Curator of Collections at the Nantucket Historical Association and as the Curator of Textiles and Fine Arts at Old Sturbridge Village. She holds a B.A. in American Studies from Amherst College, a M.A. in History from Northeastern University, and a Ph.D. in History from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. She is the lead author of Curiosities of the Craft: Treasures from the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts Collection (2013), and the author of The Badge of a Freemason: Masonic Aprons from the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library (2015). Newell writes and lectures frequently on American Masonic and fraternal history.

It’s a no-brainer. If you are in or near Boston, get there.

Next year, the lodge will endeavor something novel and massive: the academic conference. Details will be forthcoming, but save the dates March 31 through April 3, 2016 at the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts for the North American Masonic Academic Convocation. (Yeah, let that phrase sink in for a minute: North American Masonic Academic Convocation.)

Thursday, March 31—Kick-off lecture on Boston University campus.

Friday, April 1—Social outing.

Saturday, April 2—Convocation, break-out sessions, and dinner.

Sunday, April 3—To be determined.

Details are promised to come soon.

The lodge’s 90th anniversary will arrive October 8. Many happy returns, brethren! Many happy returns!
     

‘Repetitive tasks in dusty conditions’

  
Repetitive tasks in dusty conditions?! There was a time when that meant lodge night, but this concerns the unglamorous side of Masonic library and museum function. Oh sure, we look at Aimee and Jeff, and so many others, like Glenys, Tom, Bill, and more as near mythical beings who keep and preserve the archives of Masonry for posterity, and look damn good doing it too, but inevitably there are times when hands get dirty. To wit: The Scottish Rite Masonic Library & Museum at the Supreme Council campus in Lexington could use a few helping hands.

The Wallace M. Gage Masonic Collection at the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library at Lexington. Ill. Gage was a big wheel in New Jersey Freemasonry who bequeathed his Masonic books to the Library. He died in 2004.

The announcement:

Volunteer at the Museum & Library for our Masonic Work Day

Do you like history? Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a curator or a librarian? Come join the staff of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library and find out!

Masonic Work Day
Saturday, June 22, 2013
9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library
Lexington, Massachusetts

We are looking for ten volunteers to spend the day helping us with collections-related projects. Projects may include: inventory of objects and library collections; housing and numbering objects and archival collections; computer data entry. No experience needed! Training and lunch will be provided.

Please note that most projects will require prolonged periods of standing and that exposure to dust and/or mold is possible. Most projects will consist of repetitive tasks.

We are accepting registrations on a first-come, first-served basis. Please e-mail Aimee E. Newell, Director of Collections, at anewell(at)monh.org with your name and contact information to sign up, or with questions.

If you can’t make it on June 22, but would like to learn more about volunteering on a regular basis, please let us know.
  

‘A physical representation’

     

I feel like I’m the last one to have seen it, but just in case, let me bring to your attention the Grand Lodge of California’s excellent short film that was posted to YouTube two months ago. Titled Emblems of Innocence and Honor: The Masonic Apron, it runs just about ten minutes and does an excellent, credible job of explaining the evolution of the Masonic apron, thanks to interviews with Dr. Aimee Newell of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library in Lexington, Massachusetts; Bro. Adam Kendall, of the Henry Wilson Coil Library and Museum of Freemasonry in San Francisco; and Bro. Patrick Craddock, proprietor of The Craftsman’s Apron.

The title of this edition of The Magpie Mason quotes Craddock. In the final minute of the video, he explains his role as a craftsman of bespoke Masonic regalia. “I want to create aprons that a brother says ‘This is me. This is a physical representation of my commitment to the Craft.’ ”

I guess there’s no sense reading about it when you can watch it–and I’ll spare you my obligatory rant about New Jersey Masonry, where no lodge or brother has the freedom to commission aprons that speak to individuality. Enjoy.
     

Opportunities for scholars

     
Here are two opportunities for Masonic scholars to present their work and maybe earn a little praise as well.

Pythagoras Lodge of Research in Washington, DC invites the brethren to participate in its Masonic Research Awards Program, intended to encourage research and education work.

From the official announcement:

The following criteria will be used to evaluate all submissions:

Originality: The topic introduces new ideas, innovative concepts, unfamiliar resources, and/or creative methods. Topic is the writer’s choice.

Masonic connections: Interesting, informative, and innovative references to Masonic symbolism, ritual, practices, history, etc. are included.

Style: The author displays a thorough knowledge of the content. Alternative viewpoints are legitimately presented. The content is characterized by clear, unmistakable evidence, and focused on the central statement (thesis) or research topic with effective transitions between points.

Content: All information is well arranged with compelling presentation of the issue, question or problem. The research is supported by an investigation of facts and a development of the ideas. The paper is closed with strong supporting points that underline or expand the central postulate.

Persuasion: The concluding position provides coherent argument illustrative of critical analysis and a thoughtful level of inquiry, supported by well-founded, fact-based solutions and/or cause and effect relationships.

Format: The presentation is neat, correct and consistent in appearance, including margins, font size, indentations, titles, quotations, etc.

Grammar: The research paper is free of errors in terms of sentence structure, punctuation, spelling, and mechanics.

Person: The research paper is presented in perspective of Third Person focusing attention on the work, not on the author. Personal essays are not encouraged.

Citations: The bibliography demonstrates sufficient synthesis of relevant literature and practices. Citations are embedded, footnoted, and quoted correctly. A minimum of three external sources should be included.

Summary: An abstract briefly provides the key elements, main findings, and overall conclusions of the research.

Entries are to be submitted as Word documents by e-mail to W. Bro. Ted Berry at eab_dc(at)yahoo.com no later than October 31.

By submitting a paper, the author recognizes that such entries might be included in Pythagoras Lodge publications and/or forwarded to other Masonic research bodies for inclusion in their publications, with appropriate attributions.

Three medals will be awarded.

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In addition, the National Heritage Museum, located at the headquarters of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, is planning for its first symposium in what is hoped will become a bi-annual tradition.

“New Perspectives on American Freemasonry and Fraternalism” will take place April 9, 2010 at the museum in Lexington, Massachusetts.



From the official announcement:

Recently, a call for papers was issued, and we are pleased to announce that response has been brisk.

The symposium seeks to present the newest research on American fraternal groups from the past through the present day. By 1900, over 250 American fraternal groups existed, numbering six million members. The study of their activities and influence in the United States, past and present, offers the potential for new interpretations of American society and culture. Diverse perspectives on this topic are sought; proposals are invited from a broad range of research areas, including history, material and visual culture, anthropology, sociology, literary studies and criticism, gender studies, political science, African American studies, art history, economics, or any combination of disciplines. Perspectives on and interpretations of all time periods are welcome.

Possible topics include:

• Comparative studies of American fraternalism and other international forms
• Prince Hall Freemasonry and other African-American fraternal groups
• Ethnically- and religiously-based fraternal groups
• Fraternal groups for women or teens
• Role of fraternal groups in social movements
• The material culture of Freemasonry and fraternalism
• Anti-Masonry and anti-fraternal movements, issues and groups
• Fraternal symbolism and ritual
• The expression of Freemasonry and fraternalism through art, music, and literature
• Approaches to Freemasonry from disciplinary, interdisciplinary, or transnational perspectives; the historiography and methodology of the study of American fraternalism

If you know anyone interested in submitting a proposal, these are the details: Submit an abstract of 400 words or less with a resume or c.v. that is no more than two pages. Be sure to include full contact information (name, address, e-mail, phone, affiliation).

Send proposals to: Aimee E. Newell, Director of Collections, National Heritage Museum, by e-mail at anewell(at)monh.org or by mail to 33 Marrett Road, Lexington, MA 02421.

Deadline for proposals to be received is August 15. For questions, contact Aimee E. Newell as above, or call 781-457-4144.