‘Historians to visit Fredericksburg’

    

Civil War Lodge of Research 1865, one of Virginia’s numerous lodges of Masonic research and education, will meet Saturday, April 1 at one of the Commonwealth’s most historic and cherished lodges. The brethren are headed to Fredericksburg Lodge 4, which already is home to George Washington Lodge of Research 1732, for its next Stated Communication.

As always, the meeting is one event in a busy weekend of sightseeing and fellowship. The lodge will tyle (Virginia spelling) at 10 a.m. Lunch (details TBD) will follow at noon, and at one o’clock everyone will take a tour of the Fredericksburg/Spotsylvania National Military Park and “Mule Shoe,” the site of the craziest hand-to-hand combat of the war.

Magpie file photo

Fredericksburg 4’s lodge room.

Click here to see the entire itinerary and the hotel booking info.

The following meeting will take place July 8 at Gettysburg (timed to avoid the hectic crowds on both the battle’s 160th anniversary and Independence Day), and I believe I’m going to get to that one.

     

‘MOVPER @ the GWMNM’

    

We who attended the Scottish Freemasonry in America Symposium last weekend at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Virginia were given a tour of the museum and other spaces in the building. This edition of The Magpie Mason is a sidebar to the main coverage of that event because I can’t resist sharing some photos of the Grotto exhibit.

What’s the Grotto? Surely you jest! Formally known as the Mystic Order of Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm, it is—as the name infers—the goofy side of Freemasonry in the United States. And elsewhere, actually. They’re establishing Grottoes in Mexico and other points south.

Anyway, here are my shots of the tidily curated MOVPER exhibit.

Nazir Grotto Marching Band uniform on loan from Bernard Mitchell,
Pasts Grand Monarch. Made by Drunkenbrod Tailors of Canton, Ohio, ca. 1940.

Great Mokanna costume, ca. 1960.
If you know, you know.

And, at Fredericksburg Lodge 4 in Fredericksburg:

     
     

‘Scottish Freemasonry Symposium, Part I’

     

New Jersey Lodge of Masonic Research and Education 1786 was very well represented last month at the Scottish Freemasonry in America Symposium hosted at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia. Two of our Past Masters, Bob and me; our incoming Secretary, Erich; one former Tyler (Jersey spelling), Michael; and other New Jersey Masons (Paul, David, Ray) enjoyed the three-day celebration of the historical and cultural significances Scotland and its Freemasons have impressed on the United States.

Things started Friday, November 4, the 270th anniversary of the initiation into Freemasonry of George Washington in The Lodge at Fredericksburg. The lodge then met inside John Jones’ tavern, located around the corner from the current Fredericksburg Lodge 4. The brethren are at home in a charming brick structure dating to 1816. As one would expect, the lodge building could serve as a destination Masonic museum, its walls and square footage displaying all kinds of story-telling treasures, from framed aprons and portraits to furniture and many mementos.

Presented to Fredericksburg 4

by George Washington 285

in NYC on November 4, 1920.

Two lodge rooms are housed inside. The one typically in use is downstairs in an addition to the building dating to the 1950s; the other, used only once annually to keep it legally in Masonic use, is upstairs. Ascending the staircase is like traveling back in time. The Old Lodge Room at the top of the stairs is intimate, creaky, and antique in a way that would make even the most frivolous “knife and fork Mason” pause in appreciation for its atmosphere. In the northwest corner is a wall safe outfitted with a glass facade to allow viewing of artifacts, but they have been removed for preservation. (Nothing precious, really. Just that Gilbert Stuart portrait of Washington reproduced on the dollar bill.) On November 20, 1824, Lafayette visited and was made an honorary member inside this room. The floors are said to be imbued with the blood of Union soldiers from when the building was commandeered for use as a military hospital during the Civil War.

One very notable connection to New Jersey is the lodge’s reverence for Bro. Hugh Mercer, a native of Scotland who served under Washington as a general in the Revolutionary War. He died from wounds suffered during the Battle of Princeton, and the County of Mercer and Mercer Lodge 5 are among his namesakes. He was a Mason of The Lodge at Fredericksburg, and not far from the lodge stands the General Hugh Mercer Monument, a larger-than-life bronze atop a massive stone plinth, erected by the federal government in 1906, memorializing him. We sojourning Masons walked in a procession to this statue where W. Bro. Shelby Chandler, now the lodge Tiler (Virginia spelling), presented a detailed biography of the hero to whom our nation owes so much.

‘You Masons are all goin’ to hell!’ hollered one woman
driving past us, prompting much laughter.

En route to the statue, we stopped at the oldest Masonic cemetery in the Western Hemisphere. Established by the lodge in 1784, it is the final resting place of approximately 270 Masons and their families. It is very much part of Fredericksburg Lodge’s life, and although many of the headstones show their age through worn, illegible inscriptions and broken pieces, the cemetery is not a neglected graveyard, and the grounds are maintained by the brethren themselves.

Presidents Washington and Monroe in miniature portraits.

Back at the lodge, our large party was seated for a sumptuous feast to restore our strength before a special communication of the lodge. 

A word about lapel pins: We guests were presented with two by our hosts at Fredericksburg Lodge. Big ones. On the left is the lodge’s 270th anniversary (1752-2022) pin. The design is half the Scottish flag on the left with half the Fredericksburg flag on the right. The pin at right is—well, I guess I know what I’ll be wearing on Washington’s birthday! It unquestionably is the largest lapel pin I’ve ever owned; in length and width it exceeds a U.S. dollar coin. Not the lame Sacagawea coin, but, like a Morgan silver dollar! It’s hard to get a good photo of them.

It was the Official Visit of Most Worshipful James Winfield Golladay, Jr., Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Virginia. As such, it was a long meeting thanks to numerous introductions and greetings of many individuals and groups of eminent Masons. When the Left-Handed Past Grand Pursuivants were asked to present themselves west of the altar, I attempted to sneak out the Outer Door. Alas, the lodge was closely tiled (New York spelling).

Printed in 1668 in Cambridge, this KJV is the Bible
in use when Washington took his obligations.

In case you were wondering, yes, the King James Bible on which Washington placed his hands for his Masonic obligations was present. Printed in 1668 in Cambridge, England, it is safeguarded by the lodge and is displayed, open to Ecclesiastes 12, inside a translucent case. No flash photography is permitted; fortunately our smart phones feature cameras that can capture images almost regardless of lighting conditions.

All of that would have sufficed for a full Masonic weekend, but the conference that drew us to Virginia began the following morning. More on that to come in an upcoming edition of The Magpie Mason.

     

‘Scottish Masonry registration is open’

    

Registration is open for the Scottish Freemasonry in America Symposium. That’ll be at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia from November 4 through 6. Click here.

From the itinerary, this obviously will be an unforgettable weekend. The organizers should be proud. In short, a roster of impressive Masonic and academic speakers will present historical details of the varied roles Scottish Freemasonry played in the early years of Freemasonry in America. Plus, there will be a reception, banquet, day trip to Fredericksburg Lodge 4, golf, and more. Read it all here.

To compensate for the period of pandemic lockdown, I’ve been treating myself to more than the usual Masonic travel this year, and this gathering will be the perfect capstone to 2022. Hope to see you there.

     

‘Bricks for Fredericksburg’

    

Speaking of brick (see post below), Fredericksburg Lodge 4 could use your help. The legendary lodge in Virginia that made Masons out of George Washington and other notables seeks to raise money for the maintenance of its building. It is 206 years old and has been in Masonic use the whole time.

I don’t know about you, but two centuries in Freemasonry would leave me the worse for wear.

So, the brethren are giving the ashlar-crafting metaphor a break in order to employ bricks as a means to preserve their landmark lodge building while extending to you the opportunity to attain philanthropic immortality in the form of bespoke tiles.

I’m sure you know how it works: Bricks of varying dimensions are for sale, with proceeds to benefit the lodge, that you may personalize with your name, symbol, or slogan engraved thereon—esoteric passwords excluded. The bricks are installed on site into the ground or in walls.

There are other options too, but you can read all about them here. If it’s unaffordable for you particularly, try to rally your lodge or other Masonic groups to assist what truly is one of the most historic Masonic lodges in the United States.

     

‘An apron that says just enough’

   

“Superfluous compliments and all affectation of ceremony are to be avoided, yet where due they are not to be neglected.”

Number 25

Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior

Buzz on Masonic social media today doesn’t fail to remind us that George Washington was initiated into the fraternity at the lodge in Fredericksburg, Virginia on this date in 1752. Vivat! (I’m looking forward to Mark Tabbert’s book on this historical giant’s Masonic life, which is due to be published in 2022.)

And tomorrow will be the 24th anniversary of the night I was raised to the Sublime Degree in the former Menorah Lodge 249, an event not quite as consequential.

But I just wanted to post this well known image. Washington as a Freemason is a lithograph from Strobridge & Gerlach circa 1866. It was posted on Facebook today by Mount Vernon with a link to a summary of what the historic site has to say about Masonry.

I like the apron he is shown wearing. Simple, but says everything. It doesn’t resemble any of the aprons Washington is known to have owned.

For a long while I have wanted to have something very similar made for my travels, but it’ll show a subtle difference or three. I’ll get it in time for the silver anniversary of my initiation next June.

     

‘Research lodge to meet at George Washington’s lodge’

     

The lodge that made George Washington a Mason will be the meeting place of the next “stated conclave” of Civil War Lodge of Research 1865.

That’s Saturday, April 4 at Fredericksburg Lodge 4, located at 803 Princess Anne Street in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

The brethren and their ladies will dine informally the night before at Deutschland Downtown at 6 p.m. Kindly RSVP to Worshipful Master G. Andrew Martinez here.

On Saturday the fourth, the research lodge will gather at 8 a.m. for coffee before setting up the lodge room. The meeting will open at ten o’clock and will be followed by lunch at noon. At 1:30 the group will visit the Fredericksburg Battlefield (half-mile walk) for a tour led by Bro. Smith.

At 5:30, everyone is welcome to gather at Paradise Diner for supper.

Hotel accommodations are planned (approximately $100/night) at the Hampton Inn & Suites Fredericksburg. Breakfast, wifi, etc. are included.