‘It is done’

    

Or maybe I should say “Now I’ve done it!”

Last night, The American Lodge of Research convened its Annual Meeting for elections and installation of officers, plus other regular and constitutional business. In addition to officers moving up, we have new faces in the officer line. Bro. Erich, who happens to be the secretary of New Jersey’s research lodge, is our junior deacon. He also is a Ph.D. candidate, specializing in nineteenth century Freemasonry, at Drew, and is a Masonic book dealer. A good guy to have around. Bro. Ziad, who presented a fascinating paper last year on Princess Lamballe, is our “Master Mason without,” observing the approach of you-know-who. RW Michael Chaplin joins our trustees team because serving as DDGM of the First Manhattan isn’t that demanding after all. Who knew?

Yours truly is the new Worshipful Master.

How I’ll always remember it.

I joined the lodge’s officer line so long ago I actually was still Master of New Jersey’s research lodge. Sixteen years ago. Feels like about fifty. Since I had a captive audience, I harangued the brethren with my inaugural paper, “It’s Just Common Sense: Thomas Reid and the Fellow Craft Degree.” This is an explanation of how one of the most important philosophical writings of the Scottish Enlightenment, that concerning the Five Physical Senses, came to be incorporated into what we today call the Middle Chamber Lecture.

It’ll come across better in print—if I ever get the book finished—than in my oral presentation, but for example, here’s a whiff of New York’s Middle Chamber Lecture:

Smelling is that sense by which we distinguish odors, the various kinds of which convey different impressions to the mind. Animal and vegetable bodies, and indeed most other bodies, while exposed to air, continually send forth effluvia of vast subtlety, as well in a state of life and growth, as in the state of fermentation and putrefaction. These effluvia, being drawn into the nostrils along with the air, are the means by which all bodies are distinguished. Hence it is evident that there is a manifest appearance of design in the great Creator’s having planted the organ of smell inside of that canal, through which the air continually passes in respiration.

And here is a puff of Dr. Reid’s thoughts circa 1764:

University of Glasgow

Dr. Thomas Reid

Natural philosophy informs us, that all animal and vegetable bodies, and probably most other bodies, while exposed to the air, are continually sending forth effluvia of vast subtlety, not only in their state of life and growth, but in the states of fermentation and putrefaction. These volatile particles do probably repel each other, and so scatter themselves in the air, until they meet with other bodies to which they have some chemical affinity, and with which they unite, and form new concretes… But that all bodies are smelled by means of effluvia which they emit, and which are drawn into the nostrils along with the air, there is no reason to doubt. So that there is manifest appearance of design in placing the organ of smell in the inside of the canal through which the air is continually passing in inspiration and expiration.

Reid was not a Freemason, as far as I can determine.

Looking ahead, The American Lodge of Research will shift gears for this 2024-25 term. For our Stated Communications, we’ll have meetings organized around themes.

Tuesday, October 29

That’s a fifth Tuesday

“Masonic Hall Monitors” will be our theme. Our keynote speaker, RW Ben Hoff, Past Master of New Jersey Lodge of Masonic Research and Education 1786, will present his new paper on the origins, evolution, and diversity of Masonic ritual ciphers, monitors, and exposures. Also, RW Samuel Lloyd Kinsey, Chairman of the Custodians of the Work, will visit to discuss the research that went into Grand Lodge’s latest ritual book and the upcoming monitor (the first monitor since the 1980s). RW Michael LaRocco, Executive Director of the Chancellor Robert R. Livingston Masonic Library, will exhibit choice samples of such books—the antique, the rare, the odd.

Macoy Masonic Supply Co.

The new Macoy Monitor reprint with bookmark.

And the Worshipful Master will conclude the evening with a very brief explanation of the newly published reprint of the Macoy Monitor of 1867.

Monday, March 31, 2025

That’s a fifth Monday

“A Night for the Marquis and the Count” will be the theme. RW Chris Ruli of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia, and author of the upcoming book Brother Lafayette, will discuss the Masonic aspects of the Marquis de Lafayette’s farewell tour of the United States in 1824-25. Bro. Huhn, Junior Deacon, will discuss Alexis de Toqueville’s thoughts on Freemasonry, as gleaned from his tour of America in 1831-32.

This meeting will be a small part of New York Freemasonry’s commemoration of Lafayette’s tour.

Monday, June 30, 2025

A fifth Monday

Annual Meeting. RW Yves Etienne to become our next Worshipful Master!

In addition, we will hold a meeting on the road, possibly at New Rochelle. Also, a series of Zoom sessions, bringing together our members wherever dispersed about the face of the earth, is conceived. Plus, there’s always time for a Festive Board! (Bro. Chris planted a most intriguing idea in my head last night for the Festive Board.)

My thanks to MW Bill Sardone, who took charge as Installing Officer; to W. Michael, who invested us with our jewels as Installing Marshal; and to W. Conor, who guided us spiritually as Installing Chaplain.

Congratulations to W. Bro. Michael on completing his year in the East. He made sure we revived our tradition of hosting a Festive Board, and he continued our practice of co-hosting an event with another Masonic group. A good year.

And best of luck to my brother officers. We are in for good times.

     

‘The ALR concludes another year’

   

Bill Sardone photo

I hereby wrap up the Magpie month of June with an update from The American Lodge of Research. We met last night for our Installation of Officers and to hear one research work.

RW Bro. Ron, a perennial grand rank guy in New Jersey, who also is a New York Mason, returned to the lectern to tell us the truth, “maybe,” about the Morgan Affair. I don’t mind admitting I wasn’t looking forward to this. The Morgan Affair, despite being a long and complicated story that intersects with a variety of historical threads—including, however improbably, U.S. political history—nonetheless is a well covered topic that everyone knows about. Or so I thought.

Ron surveyed the brethren present to assess their knowledge about it, and I was surprised to see a good portion of the room raise their hands to signify they didn’t know what it was. Therefore, Ron’s presentation was a bigger success. I won’t recount his findings of facts because I still think practically everyone knows the basics of the tale, but his paper delves beyond those basics, and he even got me interested with some of the secondary points he discovered. Nicely done.

Then, it was time for the Installation. W. Bro. Michael, who has been a Worshipful Master so many times that I get chest pains just thinking about it, is our new Master. The Magpie Mason continues to Peter Principle his way upward, so now is found in the West. Bro. Yves (whose name, we just learned, does not have the French grammatical liaison between the first and last names) is in the South. Bro. Michael now is found at the right of the Worshipful Master; Bro. Daniel, who wowed us in March with his philological work, is Junior Deacon. Bro. Dave and Bro. Praveen—God bless ’em—remain at the Treasurer’s and Secretary’s stations. I think that’s everyone. (Our bylaws permit us to seat more officers. We just need more Active Members to seek the mantles.)

MW Bill and Bro. Thomas.

A great surprise was meeting Bro. Thomas, who I found somewhat accidentally via the QCCC website because he serves as the Local Secretary for New York. He also is an experienced lecturer who travels to and from Hungary, speaking on Freemasonry in that nation. It seemed natural to me that he might want to attend our meetings, so I invited him, and now he’s getting involved with us. My marketing background isn’t going to waste!

We saw several new faces, in fact. Bro. Chris was raised to the Sublime Degree a few months ago, and already is seeking out Masonic education. And there were others with whom I didn’t get much chance to chat.

MW Bill congratulates PM Conor.

Arguably, the most memorable moment came when MW Bill Sardone, who I think of pretty much as our godfather, thanks to how mightily he contributed to our relaunch two years ago and for attending our meetings since, invited Past Master Conor to the East for a special presentation. In recognition of his own outstanding leadership during these two years of rebirth, Conor received a special Past Master jewel—One of a kind! Ain’t no other PM of The ALR gonna get one!—crafted by Bro. John Bridegroom himself.

The ALR seal at center.

Despite being put on the spot, Conor rendered a gracious acceptance speech, during which he shared a funny story of how his mother had asked if the lodge wouldn’t present him an award for all his hard work. He explained to her that it’s an honor to serve, but now he can show her he has been presented a nice trophy after all.

In other news, the upcoming book of transactions is still upcoming. It’s my fault. I’m sorry. I’m slowly making progress in the editing. And an altar cloth! I volunteered to have one made, stipulating that I’d rather avoid the thick, plush velvet type, because they are expensive and kind of difficult to fold for storage, and instead will procure a simple blue cotton version. I figured it would be simple to commission something from a local tailor. It’s not that easy, apparently, but I’ll get it done, and will unveil it at our next meeting in October on a date to be announced.

In the meantime, look for us on Zoom, where we will supplement our Stated Communication schedule with periodic online discussions. Magpie readers will be the second to know when these events are announced.

     

‘Haight speech at White Plains Lodge!’

    

At the George Washington Birthday Parade
in Alexandria, Virginia four months ago. That’s Andrew at left.

W. Bro. Andrew Haight was installed in the East of White Plains Lodge 473 on June 7. The installing team was led by none other than MW Bill Sardone (who, I think, will do likewise at The ALR on Tuesday), and the new Master then delivered a wonderful speech to the brethren and Masonic family. Sorry to say I couldn’t be there, but here is the Worshipful Master’s address. Oh, before I forget: Happy St. John’s Day!

Being the will of Divine Providence that I achieve the end of my laborious journey Eastward, I have arrived at this Station standing before this public assembly as Master of Masons. I bow my head in modesty and offer my humblest thanks to the Supreme Being.

I must also thank those earthen-bound individuals, to whom I owe the highest honors:

• To Most Worshipful Brother William Sardone for his support on this occasion by serving to install myself and the Officers of White Plains Lodge No. 473, I owe my most heartfelt gratitude.
• To Right Worshipful Brother John G. McAloon and Very Worshipful Brother Raphael S.C. Wong for not only discharging the roles of Installing Chaplain and Installing Marshal, but also for their wisdom and guidance during the years that have led to this point.
• To Worshipful Brother Stephen Mark Petty, Jr. for his leadership of the Lodge which has not only yielded fond memories and new traditions, but has also supported me as a treasured mentor, preparing me for this very moment.
• To all the Past Masters of White Plains Lodge for their invaluable advice, their trust, and for paving the way.
• To the newly installed Officers of the Lodge for their support and effort in faithfully carrying out my designs for the Lodge.
• And to all the family and friends, Brothers, and mothers, who have joined us today for contributing their goodwill and gladness for the occasion at hand.

Thank you!

Especially to Daniela Petty, wife of Past Master Stephen Petty, who so graciously allowed Stephen to build a better future for White Plains Lodge: I thank you.

Understanding is what led me to knock upon the doors of this Lodge. It was the quest to reconcile the yearning within my heart to understand the divine spark within my soul—that impulse that rings true in each and every one of us to build the life that God has laid out for us, to create a legacy of noble deeds for the sake of posterity, to achieve the blessing of immortality that led to my becoming a Mason, in this very room.

But what takes place within this room? What is accomplished for the sake of the Lodge that calls the attention of so many devoted husbands, fathers, students, actors, composers, businessmen, authors, escape artists, prime ministers, kings, astronauts and, until this point, no less than fourteen U.S. presidents? The likes of Voltaire, Henry Ford, George Washington, or Mozart wouldn’t have been swayed by simply a supper club with a proclivity toward pancake fundraisers and hot dog cookouts, right? So, why would they join?

“Good men, by nature, wish to know.”

Leonardo da Vinci

The Lodge is where a Man comes to know himself. He enters apprehensively, trusting that he be in the faithful, capable, hands of men who will endeavor to make him better. Through his experience, over time, the wisdom of his brethren begins to take root; his desire to know Truth unfolds before him as he is guided by his predecessors and learns their thoughts and their ways. When at last the man is made to stand on his own two feet, the work of the evening completed, the Lodge is set to close, dispersing the diverse men of the Lodge back into the world, to mix back into their cultural roles, as if nothing remarkable or out of the ordinary had occurred at all. This is Masonic Love.

The Lodge teaches Love: to Love God, to Love yourself, to Love your family, to Love your neighbors, to Love your country. Masons are taught to Love one another, as only such a pure emotion can call together so many different men, scattered about the lands, to gather themselves for the sake of making another man a better man. While the fruits of that Masonry may, for the time being, go unseen, the Mason knows he has done his portion of labour, and he will never tire of being useful. 

“Zeal is the fire of love, active for duty—burning as it flies.”

W.R. Williams

Now that everyone knows Masonry takes good men and makes them better, I’d like to offer a few of my own reflections, adapted to my own personal interests and inclinations, expressive of a heart truly Masonic, on what it can mean to take a good man and make him better. If you indulge me with attentiveness, I will proceed with candor about Alchemy.

Alchemy may call to mind the manufacture of the Philosopher’s Stone. Its associated activities may seem a bit “Harry Potter” on first thought, however, I assure you that about six hundred years ago the students of medieval Alchemy, were on the cutting edge, searching for immortality as fervently as I had been when I knocked upon the door of this Lodge, and, if they had discovered the substance which turns lead to gold, the need for absolute secrecy would be paramount. So, how can we alchemize?

Solve et Coagula or, separate and join together (or “dissolve and coagulate” in strict Latin) is a line from the practitioners of medieval Alchemy, which is only to say that nothing new can be built if, not before, we make space, breaking the old.

Alchemy is an ancient proto-science tradition, a precursor to modern inorganic chemistry. C.G. Jung saw it as a Western psychology dedicated to the achievement of individuation, as substances, physical states, and molecular material processes could be metaphors for metaphysical matters, spiritual states, and, ultimately, transformations.

Solve et Coagula is the essential alchemical process. “Solve,” or “solutio,” refers to the breaking down of elements; “Coagula” refers to their coming together. In the process of transmuting base metals into gold, this contained both a literal and a metaphorical meaning. “Solve” referred to the dissolving and vanishing of hardened, or calcified, positions and negative states of body and mind. “Coagula” referred to the coagulation of dispersed elements into an integrated whole, representing a new synthesis, of sorts.

We find that this procedure is like the biological process of metamorphosis, where the ability of a physical body to decompose and recompose is highly involved. Many observations have indicated that programmed cell death plays a considerable role during physiological processes of multi-cellular organisms. We find particular interest in Goethe’s phenomenology approach to the subject of plants. Although his ideas of transformation were about the continuous metamorphosis of living things and did not relate our contemporary ideas of transmutation, he did arrive at a sophisticated view on changeability and drew the conclusion that organisms may have within itself the ability to take on the shape which is most suitable for its surrounding conditions.

The idea of survival variability also may describe the tendency of certain chemical classes to combine with certain substances in preference to others. In his novel Elective Affinities, Goethe describes people as chemical beings whose amorous affairs and relationships were like the pairings of Alchemical classes. Alchemists state that there exist in nature two opposing forces. Such energies come from a single source and manifest in all aspects of creation, like mercury and sulphur; sun and moon; feminine and masculine. Two apparently opposite realities that complementary transcend duality.

This eternal binary opposition is a factor of everyday life. In order to make good men better, Masonry teaches men to overcome, and re-integrate in an exalted state. The Philosopher’s Stone, however, is the earthly, not spiritual, treasure of the Alchemists, and is described as a physical substance, which is concentrated, purely divine energy that can be used for performing miracles. If God has made it for us, then it must be possible to achieve.

Alchemy, in this context, can be seen in the simple metaphorical sense of drawing out the divine which is already within us. It is to this end that I dedicate my work, as Master of this Lodge, to reinforce, research, recognize, and achieve. It is my goal, that by endeavoring to manifest the perfection of the Supreme Being, the Brethren of this Lodge may come to understand the beauty of creation promised in a single stanza of William Blake’s poetry:

To see a world in a grain of sand—
and a heaven in a wild-flower.


Hold infinity in the palm of your hand—
and eternity in an hour.

By accepting this Charter, it has become my duty to lead this Lodge and instruct its members that it may prosper and foster the spirit of Masonry, that its good effects may be felt beyond the walls of this Temple. To support our entire jurisdiction, and the community from which we proudly take our name, White Plains Lodge No. 473 will realize its destiny and claim its reputation, as not merely a well-run benevolent institution, but as a model, most faithful to the Great Architect’s design, of what Masonry should be, and, in its course, what Masonry will be. For in my mind, excellence is what my Brethren deserve from me, it is what the Lodge deserves from its Brethren, it is what the community deserves from its Lodge of Freemasons, it is what God deserves for making it possible and bringing us together here tonight. As understanding can elicit the divinity within mankind, so must we call upon the Almighty to set us up, as was intended.

In a specific sense, doing what I see plainly as my charge, I formally announce that White Plains Lodge No. 473 establishes a commission to determine in what capacity the resources and history of this Lodge may be leveraged, that we may attend our Patriotic duty to Country, by participating in the semi-quincentennial of American independence in 2026. It is a natural course for us, being the oldest building in the downtown City of White Plains, and with a Lodge history that stretches back even further, we will reveal ourselves for the historic institution that we are.

With more than three years to research and develop the role we may play, I believe the timing is right to coordinate with neighboring Lodges, municipalities, and our Grand Jurisdiction, to put forth our most excellent effort in organizing the 250th anniversary of rejecting tyranny, proclaiming liberty, and the founding of the Country that God has favored: the United States of America.

I have the firmest confidence that the Officers have paid strict attention to the charges and duties of their stations and places, and will happily labor for the harmony and benefit of the craft. Like the mechanism of a watch, each part of us is essential.

I will always lead us toward the wonderful future that awaits us, and I invite you to follow. Our course to be aligned with a bright star in heaven, there is no storm we cannot navigate. If I were to leave you with a statement or quote that will define this is year, it is simply this: 
“Do good. Have fun.”


Our work can be austere and solemn, requiring our attention and focus; we must do good. However, God wants man to be happy, and life was made to be enjoyed. As a heart free from regret is easily filled with gladness, it opens the mind to cheerfulness and the body to delight. I thank each one of you for making this night so special. Having now attended our duties and accomplishing the ceremonies of the evening, the good has been done. Now, let’s go have fun!

     

‘Before the history disappears’

    

Another great night with The American Lodge of Research is in the books, with a stellar group in attendance too.

New York City’s lodge of Masonic research and education convened for its trimesterly—if that’s a word—stated communication, welcoming to the lectern MW Bill Sardone, who discussed the past fifty-five or so years of the Order of DeMolay in the state. He has written it for publication in our upcoming (early 2023!) book of transactions, making it a kind of sequel to a paper included in, if I’m not mistaken, the lodge’s twenty-fifth anniversary volume of papers from 1956.

Sardone’s autobiographical story in New York DeMolay essentially is the general history of the Order here since the late sixties. And he has the personal collection of regalia (including fezzes!), memorabilia, and artifacts to prove it, some of which he brought for display. Not only was Sardone the first State Master Councilor, but in that capacity he also became the first guest speaker at a Grand Lodge Communication who was not a Mason.

That kind of thing is taken for granted today, but in 1968 it was a singular occurrence. The Grand Master gave the State Master Councilor five minutes: one for his entrance, three for speaking, and one for his exit. To accommodate him, the Grand Lodge had to be closed. The brethren (so numerous that Grand Lodge met in the old Statler Hilton across from Madison Square Garden) were not amused, but the young Sardone was prepared, his written remarks honed to the 180-second specification, and, as they say in comedy, he killed. Attempting to exit within the five-minute constraint, he was intercepted by the Junior Grand Deacon on the order of the Grand Master, returned to the East, and received a thunderous ovation.

The late 1960s. Obviously not DeMolay’s zenith, and a time of ceaseless political violence and cultural revolution for this country. I’m guessing it was a challenge, to put it mildly, for young people then to adhere to traditions. We look at the way pop culture “history” presents those days today, with unanimous veneration of counter-culture Baby Boomers, whereby those who couldn’t know better are caused to believe that Sardone and his peers never could have existed. Of course they were part of American life too. One slide on the screen showed the McCandlish Phillips story in the March 19, 1970 New York Times with the headline “Boys Dedicated to Good Deeds.” Sardone also displayed photos of VIPs visiting DeMolay events, including Gov. Nelson Rockefeller, Defense Secretary Melvin Laird, and broadcast journalists Walter Cronkite and Chet Huntley. Pat Paulson figures somewhere in there as well.

Bill Sardone said he wrote his reflections on DeMolay to get them on paper so that this history doesn’t disappear. Write on, Grand Master!

     

‘The ALR in two weeks’

    

The American Lodge of Research will meet again Tuesday the 25th. We’ll be inside the Colonial Room of Masonic Hall at seven o’clock. Speaking that evening will be MW Bill Sardone, the Grand Lodge of New York’s immediate Past Grand Master and one who gets much of the credit for seeing this lodge revived and returned to labor last year.

He will present his personal history with the Order of DeMolay, a story reaching back more than fifty years, including his stint as New York’s first State Master Councilor and his term more recently as International Grand Master. He will illustrate his talk with DeMolay artifacts, the likes of which you probably haven’t seen before.

All Master Masons are welcome to attend, so please reserve in advance here.

Attire: suit and tie. Aprons are provided. We don’t host a meal, but I bet a post-meeting prandial gathering will be arranged off-site.

Look for us next on Thursday, December 1 at West Point Lodge 877 in Highland Falls for an unprecedented joint meeting with this historic lodge, located just outside the Military Academy.

     

‘The ALR: a new understanding of familiar history’

    

Bill, Conor, and Oscar.

The American Lodge of Research met Tuesday night to hear a brilliant presentation and to tend to necessary business.

It was RW Bro. Oscar Alleyne, President of the Masonic Society, who did us the service of introducing to the lodge one John Batt, a soldier who served on both sides in the American War of Independence and who Oscar reveals to have played a remarkable part in the birth of what today is called Prince Hall Masonry.

Batt was a British soldier in North America in the 1770s, being deployed in Boston, Halifax, and Staten Island, as the fortunes of his regiment fluctuated. Oscar delved into British and American military records to illustrate Batt’s hopscotching from one side to the other and back again (I suspect he returned to the British lines upon realizing he wasn’t gonna get paid squat in the Continental Army), and plumbed the archives of Prince Hall Masonry to reveal how—are you sitting down?—it was Batt who initiated the free men of color in Boston who later would organize African Lodge.

As you know, the commonly understood history of the initiations of Bro. Prince Hall and his fourteen companions involves Lodge 441, a traveling military lodge of 38th British Foot Infantry. But wait, there’s more! Oscar shows it was Batt himself who, in accordance with the contemporary custom of degrees for fees, made those men Masons.

I don’t think it’s necessary to be too much of a Masonic history nerd to get excited over such a discovery. This is precisely the sort of thing that compels us to support Masonic research. The brethren’s applause and thanks followed the Q&A.

Next, it was time to elect new members of The ALR, and five Corresponding Members and two Active Members (including Leif from QC2076) were voted in with appreciation.

Being June, it came time to reorganize the officer line. There were a few excused absences, so we’ll install our secretary and senior warden later, but Conor is continuing for another year in the East. (I don’t want to embarrass him, but the truth is he’s a godsend during this encouraging time of rebuilding the lodge.) Dave remains at the treasurer’s desk. Michael is our new junior deacon; Yves moves on to senior deacon. I am now observing the sun at meridian, just in time for tanning season.

MW Bill Sardone honored us as our installing master, with the assistance of RW Oscar as installing marshal.

The new apron for the senior deacon of the lodge.

Conor procured aprons for us officers. Great stuff from Macoy, and based on the design of ALR regalia from generations ago too.

We will meet again in October.

     

‘You think you know something’

    

Not having been inside the French Doric Room of Masonic Hall in a long time, I had forgotten its subdued colors and classical charms. The ALR will be back in the Colonial Room for its next meetings in 2022, but this space actually might be perfect for us for its cozy decor and size.

(Sorry about the uneven point sizes in this edition of The Magpie Mason, but formatting in Blogger is inexplicably difficult. We can put William Shatner into orbit, but can’t have a blogging platform that doesn’t discombobulate over photos, links, and italics.)

Geez, you think you know something about Freemasonry—but then you attend a research lodge meeting.

Not just any research lodge, but The American Lodge of Research. That’s New York City’s Masonic literary society for historical inquiry, and the country’s oldest currently at labor.

While we had met in June for a quick installation of officers, which was necessary to make last night’s meeting possible, we gathered in the French Doric Room of Masonic Hall twenty-four hours ago for what technically was The ALR’s first fully functional regular communication in a number of years.

Of the three presentations scheduled, I went first because I required no projection equipment and it was easy to get me “out of the way,” so to speak. I delivered my “How to Research a Masonic Subject” talk. When I volunteered for this months ago, I pictured a room full of younger Masons who might have profited from a clear explanation of what kind of papers are needed in a research lodge (as opposed to the speculative papers that ought to be read in Craft lodges), plus some tips on how to get started and where to look for reputable source materials. It didn’t turn out that way. The brethren in lodge assembled numbered about twenty-five, and almost all have been around the quarries for some time. Standing at the lectern and relating how to craft a baccalaureate level paper on Masonic history to Piers Vaughan, Angel Millar, and the others reminds you how infinitesimal you are in this universe! But everyone was patient and kind, and kudos to Worshipful Master Conor for deftly opening the Q&A.

(But that wasn’t as bad as my not remembering the simple floorwork of attending at the altar. I’m in the Senior Deacon’s place, where I left off in 2013 and, while I thought I knew something about Freemasonry, I zigged where I should have zagged.)

Next up was Piers, who did need the PowerPoint gear, to reveal his fascinating art history review titled “The Story Behind the Most Famous Image of King Solomon’s Temple.”

Piers took us from the Hebrew Bible’s various descriptions of KST, with Ezekiel’s vision being most relevant to this discussion, forward in time to a number of other renderings culminating in the Georgian Era depiction that coincided with the birth of our trigradal degree system.

A most informative explanation of how understandings of key icons evolve and vary.  Gerhard Schott, John Field, Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, and, especially, Juan Bautista Villalpando go where 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles do not.

Next was W. Bro. Michael from Hellenic Plato Lodge 1129 (I withhold his surname because he appears not to be known on the web as a Freemason), who told us about “Filiki Etaireia: A Secret Society Among Secret Societies.” You know Freemasons have been central to fights for national independence around the world, and Greece was no different.

Feliki Etaireia was not a Masonic group, but it featured certain Masonic characteristics because its membership did include Freemasons. For a cover, it purported to be a society for classical studies. Two hundred years ago, this faction risked everything to cleave its homeland from the Ottoman Empire. And they won.

The murals on the walls of the French Doric Room are ideal for Piers’ talk of art and architecture, and Michael’s discussion of Greek history.

It was wonderful being in the Masonic company of these brethren again. Marty, Joel, Gil, MW Sardone, and many more. RW Yves is back in the officer line. Plus it was great meeting Francois, Conrad, Rene, and a couple of brethren I noticed jotting notes during my talk.

Bill Sardone, who safely exited office as our Grand Master on Saturday after a term elongated by a year and a half because of the pandemic, truly deserves the credit for returning The ALR to labor. I am enjoined from ever telling the tale, but holy guacamole. (In journalism, there’s the custom of reporters often saving the best stories for themselves.) His labors on the lodge’s behalf continued through the meeting, even leaving the room in search of a ballot box, because…

We elected three Active Members, including Piers and Michael, and also elected seventeen Corresponding Members. And I’ve been hounding some friends from around the country whose memberships lapsed during our years of “refreshment.” This lodge is on the move once again.

Worshipful Master Conor (whose last name I likewise redact) is working hard. He brought us membership certificates. Elegant and suitable for matting and framing.

They look better with the foil seal and embossed stamp—and without the shadow of my hands and camera!

At The ALR’s first Under Dispensation meeting on April 18, 1931, the brethren were able to borrow from Oxford University Press a 1613 Barker Bible. (Robert Barker was King James I’s printer.) For our revival, Conor procured for us, also from OUP, a reproduction 1611 Barker KJV Bible. (The original 1611 is free of certain errors that sneaked into the 1613.) He also had the officers’ names added inside the cover. In doing so, he accidentally promoted me to Right Worshipful rank! Hey, I’ll take it!

The American Lodge of Research will meet again Tuesday, March 29, 2022 inside the Colonial Room on the tenth floor.

French Doric’s Inner Door.

Until then.

     

‘GLNY honors Scott Wolter’

    

Grand Master Bill Sardone presents Grand Lodge’s Medal for Distinguished Achievement to Bro. Scott Wolter. (Hiram’s Highlights photo)

Another singular occurrence amid Grand Lodge’s Annual Communication yesterday was an award presentation.

Travel Channel

Scott Wolter

Bro. Scott Wolter, who is known for hosting and appearing in several television productions focusing on geology and archaeology, received Grand Lodge’s Medal for Distinguished Achievement.

Wolter’s TV work includes the recent Secrets of the Viking Stone, but he probably is better known for America Unearthed, which ran for twenty-eight episodes across seven years on the History channel. He also authored a few books on his specialty field: the geology of the Lake Superior area. (He is based in Minnesota.)

There’s also Pirate Treasure of the Knights Templar. And his blog is here. Maybe you sat in during one of Grand Master Sardone’s Zoom conferences last year during the pandemic when Wolter was guest speaker.

Congratulations, Bro. Wolter!

     

‘Thousands await initiation in NY lodges’

     

In a Zoom conference that concluded just minutes ago, Grand Master Bill Sardone brought the brethren up to speed on upcoming key events, including Grand Lodge’s full session Annual Communication at Utica in just nine weeks.

On Saturday, October 23, Grand Lodge will resume labor at 9 a.m., using a newly cleared out and renovated space for the meeting. Regular business, constitutional amendments, elections, etc. will be transacted. The installation of officers will be conducted elsewhere, possibly the chapel.

For 2022, we can anticipate the return of St. John’s Weekend at Utica, the Grand Master also said, June 23-25.

With our fraternity derailed by the pandemic and resulting bans on meetings, the matter of membership has been a vexing concern for lodges. My own, Publicity 1000, has had a queue of more than a dozen petitioners awaiting initiation for months, and we’re a smaller lodge. We are preparing to admit them to the Worshipful Lodge soon, but the statewide situation?

Are you sitting down?

The Grand Lodge of New York has 3,346 men engaged in our NorthStar quality control program. They’ve been vetted. “You know how people talk about membership going down?” Sardone asked. “Well, our numbers are going up.” More than 500 candidates currently are in the progress of the three degrees. (As a refugee from another jurisdiction myself, I make a point here to mention 17 Masons from outside the state have affiliated with New York lodges recently.) Another 146 lapsed brethren have been brought back to Masonic labor.

No one-day mass initiations nor goofy gimmicks or accounting tricks. Just hard work by Master Masons who know what they’re doing. Let those who have ears, hear.

There were several more items our Grand Master addressed, and I will cover those in future editions of The Magpie Mason. This conference call was not interactive—no chat, no Q&A—just a quick informational update. Anyone with questions or ideas is welcome to email MW Sardone directly. I can tell you from personal experience that he welcomes and answers communications.

     

‘The ALR and YOU, Part II’

     

I’ll close out a pretty inactive month of April with the encouraging news coming from The American Lodge of Research.

Twenty-four hours ago, a Zoom meeting was co-hosted by Grand Master Bill Sardone, Junior Grand Warden Oscar Alleyne, and ALR WM Henry Abel to announce plans and to listen to ideas concerning returning the lodge to its urgent and prestigious labors.

1. There will be elections and installations of officers on June 29 at Masonic Hall. If I understand correctly, there will be an infusion of new leadership. I do not know any names of who may become involved in moving the lodge forward. Henry did state he doesn’t want to be Master for the rest of his life, and he will step aside.

2. Improving communications with the lodge’s brethren and with the fraternity at large is a vital goal. For years there has been no website, no social media presence, and, to my knowledge, contact only with a limited number of ALR members. Fair enough, perhaps, since there haven’t been any meetings either.

3. It wasn’t defined in detail, but there is to be a kind of working relationship with the Chancellor Robert R. Livingston Masonic Library. As you know, the library has maintained a longstanding monthly schedule of popular lectures. There is a lot of logic in the two institutions collaborating on projects of mutual interest. If I’m not mistaken, the library and the lodge were created by many of the same Masons way back when, so we’re close family.

Surely other things to do will arise as progress develops. For my part, I volunteered to assist with reigniting The ALR’s social media activity. (I do that for other lodges and Masonic groups, including New Jersey Lodge of Masonic Research and Education’s Faceypage.) I also made myself available to the fledgling officer line. I had served in the Deacons’ chairs for a total of three years long ago, and with 19 years of experience in New Jersey’s research lodge, and as president of the Masonic Society, maybe I can help there. I definitely would want to discuss making a few logistical changes to The ALR.

We’ll know more in two months.

     

‘Grand Lodge looks to October’

     

The Grand Lodge of New York is aiming for an October date for its next annual communication, Grand Master Bill Sardone announced minutes ago in a Zoom discussion.

After much time invested in exploring potential alternatives, from online conferencing to relocating the full agenda physical meeting to the Catskills, the GLNY leadership team determined that October at Masonic Hall in Manhattan is the optimal contingency. (A brief business meeting will be held May 3.)

“The planets have to line up to do this,” Sardone said, explaining the logistics of arranging hotel accommodations, bus transportation, meals, and other planning that demand much lead time—all potentially vexed by the unknowable vicissitudes of the pandemic itself.

And some form of amendment to Grand Lodge’s Constitution is being drafted in anticipation of future similar emergencies that would prevent Grand Lodge from convening.

No date was mentioned.

Grand Lodge has been busy steering the fraternity through the months of lockdowns and other restrictions. Sardone listed adaptations varying from degree rituals modified for physical distancing to grant money to lodges of up to $2,000 to improve building security as successes in managing this uncertain time.

At the local level, the ten-attendee maximum at meetings is lifted, with the decision of how best to proceed left to the Worshipful Master in accordance with the State of New York’s Micro-Cluster Strategy. Physical distancing and masks remain required. These apply to all concordant bodies also.

Look for official word from the Grand Master shortly.

     

‘Livingston Library closes’

      

The Chancellor Robert R. Livingston Masonic Library of the Grand Lodge of New York is closed, according to a message today from the institution.

“Due to the increasing numbers of COVID-19 cases in New York State, the Livingston Masonic Library & Museum will be closed temporarily until further notice,” reads its website.

The civil authorities here in New York boasted today of lower transmission rates and fewer hospitalizations, while announcing lifting socialization restrictions and promising more liberalization is soon to come.

Library staff will be on duty in limited hours, but no visitations are possible.

A memo disseminated yesterday by Grand Master William M. Sardone, addressing the subject of the belated Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge now scheduled for May, says plans are being made to proceed with that meeting, and reminds “the COVID danger is real.”

“The safety of our members, their families and friends, as well as the future of our fraternity, are always part of every discussion,” Sardone adds.

The Grand Master himself was hospitalized recently to be treated for both COVID-19 and pneumonia.

He closed his letter to the fraternity with details of a Zoom conference for tomorrow night when the brethren may discuss and ask questions about the upcoming Grand Lodge session. The May 2020 annual meeting was canceled, keeping the grand staff in place an additional year.

(My own lodge has not convened since last March, instead employing Zoom for substitute meetings, plus educational lectures and planning sessions.)

     

'Grand Masters' joint statement'

     
The two grand masters of the two Masonic grand lodges in New York State have released a statement concerning current events:


Dear Brethren and Friends of Freemasonry in New York:

Masonry in New York is comprised of men of every race, creed and color. We respect and greet each other as Brothers. As such, any adverse treatment of anyone due to their color is anathema to our very tenets.

We have all watched with apprehension and concern the recent events unfolding on the streets of our City, State and Nation. While Freemasons may not all think alike, we accept and respect one another.

The core values of Masonry are basic and simple. We believe our ideals that all Masons meet as equals.

Each Brother will determine within themselves how they grieve the death of George Floyd. As Freemasons we do not approve of the destructive actions we are seeing, but we do approve of emulating the Brotherhood Masonry is built upon.

As Masonic Leaders we affirm our belief in brotherly love, relief and truth. We ask the Grand Architect of the Universe to heal the divisions within today’s society.

With kindest Fraternal regards,

MW Walter C. King
MW William M. Sardone

     

‘Does Masonry stop? Not at all.’

     

UPDATE: March 16, 6:30 p.m.

D'oh! Everything is postponed!

It is being said on social media this morning that Freemasonry is closing down everywhere due to concerns of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 outbreak, but this is not true. While grand masters throughout the United States are ordering postponements, of varying severities, of all manner of Masonic activities within their jurisdictions, the Grand Lodge of New York is governed by reason and it stands above the panic—which is really saying something considering how both the City and State are run by corrupt incompetents who could provoke hysteria in the streets with a single public utterance.

Dr. E. Oscar Alleyne

We have a secret weapon: The Right Worshipful Junior Grand Warden is an epidemiologist who serves as chief program officer for the National Association of County and City Health Officials. Bro. Oscar Alleyne earned a Doctor of Public Health Degree at New York Medical College, and he has years of experience with far more serious outbreaks (H1N1, Smallpox, MERS, and West Nile, to name a few). Maybe you saw him on television last night reassuring the public.

A few days ago, at the Congressional City Conference in Washington, Oscar delivered this presentation. It runs less than seven minutes, but watch and learn.

Neither I nor anyone else is saying there’s nothing to worry about. I’m just saying remain calm. I’m a simple-minded man; I think about other past and present outbreaks that did not spark nationwide panic. The flu, Types A and B, are expected to kill 20,000 or more this season, but for reasons I won’t get into here, we’re not hearing about any of it. In recent years, we have had those MERS and H1N1 viruses, but there wasn’t—shall we say?—the same “news” media coverage.

And social media? Our problem is the avalanche of emotionally hastened decisions they inspire. Grand Master A sees how Grand Master B has ordered the local lodges closed through April 1, and so A does the same thing. Twenty minutes later, Grand Master K, not wanting to squander a chance to sound significant, orders the local lodges in his area closed through May 1.

Well, my grand master says we’re going to carry on, and we’ll just modify some behavior with common sense precautions. For example, the March 19 launch of the Horticultural Center at Utica will proceed, but without ceremony. On the home page of the grand lodge’s website, there is a letter from MW Bro. Sardone—and it’s not even the first button to click; the scholarship application deadline comes first—which provides the headline of this edition of The Magpie Mason.

So, go easy, fellas. Subdue the passions, and “Follow Reason,” as we used to say 300 years ago.

Somehow, Oscar has time to visit our lodges to share what he knows. He will take to the lectern at Copernicus Lodge 545 in Whitestone on March 24 at 8 p.m. for a discussion open to Masons, our families, and friends. I’m sure he will speak at many more lodges to help us through this.