‘The smallest lodge room I’ve ever seen’

    

Truly, if I already hadn’t known this was a research lodge meeting, I’d have assumed it was a beauty pageant—with seventeen Masons having to share one crown! April 11 at Mt. Jackson Lodge 103 in Virginia.

Still catching up on reporting recent events, and today it’ll be last month’s meeting(s) of Civil War Lodge of Research 1865 in Virginia. We sort of enjoyed two lodge communications for the price of one on April 11 in that we opened at Magnetic Lodge 184 in Stanley; we went out to lunch; and then resumed labor and closed at Mt. Jackson Lodge 103, about twenty miles away, in Mt. Jackson. Unorthodox, but we had the necessary dispensation.

We transacted the regular and constitutional business at hand, like electing four new members plus awarding Honorary Membership to Grand Master Szramoski. Those of us who noticed it were perplexed by the appearance of one blue ball inside the box amid the usual white and black ballots.

MAGNETIC EAST—The Master’s station in Magnetic Lodge 184 in Stanley.

But that wasn’t the only notable trait at Magnetic Lodge. The room itself is memorable. Well, the building is small, so you have to expect a little lodge room, but it isn’t until you enter that you can appreciate such an intimate sacred retreat. I guesstimated the square footage, but didn’t write it down, and I’ve since forgotten, but the room is about the size of the budget hotel room I booked.

I failed to capture in a photo the smallness of Magnetic Lodge’s meeting space, but that dining room table at right is squeezed into the West of the room! That’s our Junior Warden, Bro. Alan, in the foreground. The tables and chairs are removed for the meetings.

Best address in town!

While at labor, it was asked whence came Magnetic Lodge’s name but, unfortunately, no one knew, even Jeff and Kenny from the lodge. Afterward, I poked around online, but didn’t find anything conclusive. My best guess is the founders were connected to the mining industry. Magnetic 184 was chartered December 15, 1876 to meet in Marksville (Page County) on the Saturday night after the full moon each month. That area was renowned for mining iron and other minerals throughout the nineteenth century. Furthermore, the Virginia Department of Energy says magnetite, the most magnetic mineral on Earth, has been among the major sources of iron in the Commonwealth. Perhaps lends deeper meaning to divesting the candidate of all minerals and metals!

For lunch, we stopped at the Hawksbill Diner which, simultaneously, looks like nothing remarkable, while obviously being the place preferred by local citizens for their morning and midday meals, to wit:

They also serve RC Cola, which I haven’t had since I don’t know when, but have been seeking since that day. (Yes, I remember John’s of Bleecker Street has it on draught, but these were bottles!)

“Being half past high twelve,” as Worshipful Master Bill Hare phrased it, we settled into our “second meeting” at Mt. Jackson 103 for the work of the lodge. We were treated to a trilogy of Civil War tales, little pertaining to Freemasonry, unfortunately, but stories about local wartime events that, while colorful, don’t seem to have made the history books or the movies. The most detailed narration given concerned the fate of Confederate soldiers executed for horse-theft. It actually was on this date—May 22—in 1865 when Capt. George Summers, age 22, and Sgt. Isaac Newton Koontz, age 20, with others, committed the thefts. A month later, the two were executed without trial at New Market (site of my diminutive hotel accommodation), for the crime, despite already having been forgiven. Please read about this here.

We need another Northerner in the East of CWLR 1865 soon for equal time.

Another history was related by one of our Honorary Members, MW Bro. Kenneth S. Wyvill, Jr., Past Grand Master (2015-16) of the Grand Lodge of Maryland. He spoke of his grandfather, Dr. Wyvill, a physician in Maryland who also served as a courier for the Confederacy. 

On the not quite research side of things, we also heard about a legend dating to the Battle of Gettysburg when the Right Worshipful Grand Master of Pennsylvania arrived on the scene and allegedly opened a lodge where soldiers of both armies met on the level. I can’t recall the name of the brother who shared this account, but he said he’s still trying to find evidence of that lodge meeting and is encouraged by proof he found that Grand Master David C. Skerett, a doctor from Philly, in fact was at Gettysburg.

I love these lighting fixtures. I think this was an exterior light on the lodge’s previous building.

The current light. Somehow not the same.

Speaking of Gettysburg, Civil War Lodge of Research 1865 will meet next on July 18 at Acacia Lodge 586 in Waynesboro—which was constituted on this date—May 22—in 1891. Our Civil War focus that weekend will be the Monterey Pass Battlefield Park and Museum, located only about twenty miles west of Gettysburg.

Everyone stops to photograph the reproduction Gulf station at 6023 Main Street in Mt. Jackson. Read about that here.

Let me again send best wishes to Bro. Bennett Hart, who is both our Secretary and our DDGM, as he recovers from an injury and couldn’t be with us last month. I look forward to shaking his hand soon.

After closing, we dispersed into the late afternoon, not having a group visit to any historic site planned. I headed back to my hotel, where nearby are both the New Market Battlefield State Historical Park and the Virginia Museum of the Civil War. Closing time for both was near, so I had to hustle. Bumped into Bro. Alan inside the museum. Some photos:

Stonewall Jackson greets you outside the museum.

And T.J. inside.

Self-portrait of Julian A. Scott, renowned artist...

…and heroic 16-year-old soldier. Click here.

The Bushong House.

This rustic pile
The simple tale will tell
It marks the spot
Where Woodsons Heroes fell.

The obligatory cannon shot.

     

‘The Low Vale Degree’

    

Click to enlarge.

I have too many Masonic Saturdays next month, so I’m on the fence—a stretch of Virginia Worm, if you will—about attending this outdoor degree, but it sounds like a terrific night.

Good Samaritan 336 is the lodge right on Lincoln Square in Gettysburg I keep telling you about. In addition to regular doings, the brethren host dinners with period menus, attire, and re-enactors to celebrate their famous town’s heritage. I don’t believe their Low Vale Degree is an annual event, but they have hosted these previously.

Historic Daniel Lady Farm is a local attraction, having served as the headquarters of Confederate Major General Edward “Allegheny” Johnson, who commanded a division that failed to take Culp’s Hill from the U.S. Army. (Read his report here.) Inevitably, it became a hospital for the rebels. They say blood stains are still visible.

Historic Daniel Lady Farm

This weekend, Lady Farm is hosting its Civil War Scout Immersion, two days of workshops on military drill, battle formations, and tactics, culminating in a battle re-enactment.

And the Fellow Craft Degree? If you are not aware, the rituals of Pennsylvania Freemasonry are different from whatever yours may be. They’re not bizarre; you will have no difficulty understanding what unfolds because the ritual elements are consistent, but that Grand Lodge’s work is unique in the country. My research over the years caused me to read that Pennsylvania ritual is akin to one found in northern England, but I have no firsthand experience out there to corroborate. Yet.

Obviously, Apprentices would not be admitted to this Second Degree of Freemasonry.

Historic Daniel Lady Farm

The lodge will be opened and closed with cannon fire. I mean artillery, not Vivat! drinking. The meal will be catered by Blue and Gray Bar & Grill, which is another reason to attend. If you choose not to join the group for dinner, the ticket price will be $30.

This May 30 event does not land on Memorial Day Weekend, if that conflict might deter you. The holiday weekend will be the previous week.

     

‘Research lodge to visit Shenandoah Valley’

    

On this date—and at this hour—in 1862, a lesser known, but nevertheless consequential, clash raged in the Shenandoah Valley during the U.S. Civil War—so that’s were the research lodge is headed next month.

Civil War Lodge of Research 1865, chartered by the Grand Lodge of Virginia in 1995, will meet Saturday, April 11. Odd thing: We will open at one location, but close at another. No Mackey Landmark nor Schrödinger theory is a factor.

Mt. Jackson 103

Specifically, we will meet Saturday morning at ten o’clock inside Magnetic Lodge 184’s home in Stanley. I don’t know the meeting agenda, but after it’s tackled we’ll go on refreshment, have lunch there, and then travel a few minutes north to Mount Jackson Lodge 103, in Mount Jackson, to close.

The night before, we will gather for dinner at Southern Kitchen in New Market, but the customary extracurricular activities (visits to historic places, Saturday supper) are not pre-planned this time, which is disappointing, but we’ll think on our feet.

The recommended sites to see include:

➣ Strayer House Museum

➣ New Market Battlefield

➣ Virginia Museum of the Civil War

➣ Bushong Farm and Battlefield

➣ Mount Jackson Museum

➣ Union Church

I doubt I’ll have time for all those, but I’ll see what the brethren prefer and go with them.

The Battle of Kernstown? The lodge trestleboard informs us:

Intelligence Failures

and the Road to Kernstown

Nathaniel P. Banks

By March 1862, Maj. Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson’s command in the Valley had dwindled to fewer than 4,000 effective soldiers due to illness and reassignments. Facing a Union force of nearly 20,000 under Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks, Jackson was forced to retreat forty miles south of Winchester to Mount Jackson. Believing the Confederates were no longer a threat, the U.S. War Department ordered Banks to move most of his command east to support Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign.

James Shields

On March 21, Confederate sympathizers observed Union troops leaving Winchester but failed to notice that Brig. Gen. James Shields’ division remained nearby. This faulty intelligence led Jackson to believe he faced only a small rear guard. Eager to prevent Union reinforcements from reaching McClellan, Jackson marched his exhausted division northward to strike.

The Battle for Pritchard’s Hill

On March 22, a skirmish broke out south of Winchester. During the fight, General Shields was wounded by shrapnel, leaving Col. Nathan Kimball in operational command. Despite Shields’ orders to chase the Confederates, Kimball held the high ground at Pritchard’s Hill.

The main battle began at nine the following morning. Jackson, still operating under the belief that he held the numerical advantage, conducted a brief reconnaissance and decided to attack. In reality, Kimball had roughly 7–9,000 troops available, significantly outnumbering Jackson’s 4,000 men.

 

The Fight for Sandy Ridge

Finding the Union center at Pritchard’s Hill too strong, Jackson moved his infantry and artillery westward toward Sandy Ridge to attempt a flanking maneuver. By 3 p.m., Confederate artillery on the ridge had successfully suppressed the Union guns on the hill.

The tide turned when Union Col. Erastus B. Tyler’s brigade counterattacked. The fighting centered around a shoulder-high stone wall, where Confederate infantry under Brig. Gen. Richard B. Garnett held their ground with desperate tenacity. For more than an hour, the two sides engaged in a blistering musketry duel at close range. By late afternoon, the Confederate line began to buckle. Jackson’s troops were running dangerously low on ammunition, and Kimball had funneled fresh Union reinforcements into the fight. Seeing his flank being turned and his men exhausted, Garnett ordered a retreat near sunset to save his command.

Kernstown Battlefield Association

Kernstown Battlefield will be open today from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for tours, etc. to mark the 164th anniversary of the first Battle of Kernstown.

Aftermath and Strategic Impact

The Battle of Kernstown ended after ten hours of combat. The casualties were heavy relative to the size of the forces:

• Confederate: 733 killed, wounded, or captured (22 percent of the force).

• Union: 575 casualties.

Though Jackson lost the battle—his only defeat as an independent commander—he achieved his primary goal. The intensity of the attack convinced Washington that Jackson had a much larger army. Fearing for the safety of the capital, the War Department pulled 20,000 Union troops away from the Peninsula Campaign and sent them back to the Shenandoah Valley. This diversion weakened McClellan’s advance on Richmond and allowed Jackson to begin the series of victories that would make him a legend.

Is there a Masonic link to all this? I guess we’ll find out when a paper is presented in lodge.

Our next meeting will be July 18 at Monterey Pass, Pennsylvania, not far from Gettysburg. On October 10 we’ll be back in Virginia at Fort Monroe.

Get well wishes to Bro. Bennett Hart, our Secretary and our District Deputy Grand Master. I hope we’ll see him there in three weeks.

     

‘Good Samaritan’s Thanksgiving’

    

Good Samaritan Lodge 336 in Gettysburg will host another of its famous Civil War Dinners in three weeks. If it wasn’t hundreds of miles away, I’d be there every time, but if you are nearer, you should go. Here is the publicity:

Click to enlarge.

As you know, November 22 is the anniversary of the death of C.S. Lewis in 1963. The scholar-author (and Inkling!) was inspired by the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10) to exhort Christians to convert the moral instruction of that Scripture into personal action. As the C.S. Lewis Institute puts it:

C.S. Lewis Institute

Click to enlarge.

     

‘Lodge to mark Civil War’s start’

    

Virginia-based Civil War Lodge of Research 1865 will travel outside the Commonwealth for its meeting next month to mark the start of the U.S. Civil War where the shooting started. From Worshipful Master Creig Lee Lovelace:

We will convene our meeting in historic Charleston, South Carolina on April 12, where the War Between the States began 164 years ago on that very date in that very place. I hope you can make it down.

Many of you requested we ‘get out of Virginia,’ and I told you we indeed would stretch our legs a little. We will head to Tennessee this summer and in the fall we’ll head back to Richmond, Virginia. But on April 11, we will tour the Hunley museum and see the Confederacy’s secret weapon that authorities hoped would break the blockade. After two failed tests, Gen. Beauregard was ready to shelve the thing as it was more dangerous than the enemy. After some arm twisting by Lt. George Dixon (a Brother from Alabama), Beauregard agreed to one more chance. The attack on February 17, 1864 made history, and yet the Hunley was lost again until 1995. In 2000, it was raised and the final crew was buried in 2004. Come see the technological marvel that was the Hunley.

Saturday we will meet at Solomon’s Lodge 1. Come see an amazing complex, the Charleston County Masonic Association Center, and see the history of the various lodges. Afterward, we will see Fort Sumter and Fort Johnson. Come see where the war began.

Itinerary

Lodging:

La Quinta Inn & Suites

11 Ashley Pointe Drive

Friday, April 11

2-3:30 – tour Hunley Museum

1250 Supply Street

4-5 – Hunley Grave Site

St. Lawrence Cemetery

60 Huguenin Avenue

6:30 – dinner at Home Team BBQ

1205 Ashley River Road

Saturday, April 12

Solomon’s Lodge 1

Charleston County Masonic

Association Center

Solomon Lodge 1

1285 Orange Grove Road

8-10 – coffee & donuts

10-12:30 – meeting

12:30-1:15 – lunch at S&S Cafeterias

1104 Sam Rittenberg Blvd.

2:45-5 – tour

Fort Sumter Ferry Terminal

340 Concord Street

5:30-6:15 – tour

Fort Johnson

Fort Johnson Road

Dinner at seven

King Claw Juicy Seafood and Bar

1734 Sam Rittenberg Blvd.

     

‘Civil War Dinner at Gettysburg’

    

Rest assured peace and harmony will prevail at the Civil War Dinner next month in Gettysburg.

The brethren at Good Samaritan Lodge 336 will host their fourth such occasion—and the second this year. I think this would make a fine start to a great weekend for visiting the historic battleground town. From the publicity:

Good Samaritan Lodge will host our fourth Civil War Dinner on Friday, November 15.

These events continue to grow in popularity with excellent presentations and delicious dinners. You don’t want to miss out!

Dinner choices will be Union or Confederate.

Come hear the stories of Nick, an Adams Express agent; Liberty Hollinger Clutz, a young girl who witnessed the Battle of Gettysburg; and two others.

Proceeds to benefit the clothes-for-kids program and other charities. Buy tickets here. $50 per person or a $250 for a table of six.

I don’t know exactly what the menu will offer, but click here to get a possible idea.

     

‘NOLA: Freemasonry at the Civil War museum’

    

First in a series recapping my recent trip to New Orleans.

Speaking of the Civil War (see post below)…

While it is among the smaller museums in a historic city that offers countless places to visit, Louisiana’s Civil War Museum at Confederate Memorial Hall in New Orleans houses the second largest collection of Confederate items in the world. Established in 1891, it is Louisiana’s oldest museum and it is filled with artifacts donated by men who fought in the War Between the States, and the families who survived them.

And there are several items of Masonic interest.

One enters the cathedral-like Romanesque entrance of the sandstone structure and beholds a gorgeous space crafted of Louisiana cypress with meticulously arranged exhibits. Not a cubic inch is fallow, as the walls display battle-torn flags, and numerous display cases exhibit uniforms, an arsenal of firearms and bladed weapons, and personal items of legendary leaders and regular soldiers alike.

There is a helpful staff who can field most questions, but a visitor is free to enjoy a self-guided walk around. It is recommended that one begin with an introductory video that is screened in a small room off the main hall. It was there where I encountered the first Masonic reference.

The short video tells the story of the museum’s origins, including how some of the first artifacts came into its possession. Part of the narrative involves a letter and a box of personal effects sent in 1867 to the mother of a slain Confederate officer. 

Eliza Crosby Field, of Mansfield, Louisiana, wrote to the late Lt. Charles Horton’s mother in New Orleans. Excerpted:

Dear Mrs. Horton,

Charles Horton

I send by my Uncle, Mr. E.H. Crosby, a box Lt. Horton used during the war. I thought you would like it simply because it belonged to your dear son, and also as a relic of Confederate times. I think such things are heirlooms in a family that should be transmitted from one generation to another through all coming time. There were so few things I had to pack, put straw in with them. In a little book, the Masonic Manual, you will find a lock of his hair which I know from experience you will prize above all things.

That parcel contained insignia off Horton’s uniform, remnants of the Confederate flag and regimental colors he was believed to have held aloft when he was cut down in the Battle of Mansfield on April 8, 1864, and other militaria and personal items. Many of these pieces are displayed inside a glass case, with his uniforms, sword, and the above photo of Horton, in the screening room.

The Masonic Manual is not among them, unfortunately, so we cannot see any possible inscription therein that may have identified Horton’s lodge or other clues. I believe the Masonic Manual most likely was that published by Robert Macoy, a pocket-sized monitorial book of exoteric parts of our degrees and other useful literature. There were several editions of that during the 1850s and ’60s, the first, I think, in 1852.

hanna1172

1861 edition available now on eBay.

Earlier this year, Macoy Masonic Supply Co. in Virginia published a painstaking reprint of the 1867 edition. Not merely a facsimile reproduction, but an actual reprinting in a limited edition, handmade on their 1850s letterpress, employing the original hand-carved wooden dies for the illustrations. (A Magpie review is forthcoming.)

There were other Masonic monitors in that period, but Macoy’s showed the title Masonic Manual boldly across the front cover.

Among the items of more prominent Confederate warriors is a collection that had belonged to Gen. Braxton Bragg. The namesake of Fort Bragg (now Fort Liberty) is not remembered kindly by history, as he is blamed for repeated defeats during the Civil War and had earned a reputation for disharmony among the officer corps throughout his career in the American and Confederate armies. He was even court-martialed in 1844, but received easy punishment.

Gen. Braxton Bragg display.

This museum exhibits an assortment of Bragg’s belongings, all attractively presented behind glass: a dress uniform frock coat; his sword, scabbard, and sword belt; a telescope; his Bible; a toothpick; and more. That sword and, oddly enough, the toothpick are the Masonic pieces.

Click here to see Winfield S. Hancock’s sword.

Within the decorative metalwork that fills the weapon’s guard, the Square and Compasses are visible. I wouldn’t say prominently—you really have to look at it—but the initiated eye can discern it easily enough.

Gen. Braxton Bragg’s toothpick.

The toothpick may be made of ivory and is in the shape of a pistol. Plainly seen on the “grip” of the pistol is the Square and Compasses in red. (Maybe there’s a bone box joke somewhere in there!)

The potential for more Masonic content in Louisiana’s Civil War Museum at Confederate Memorial Hall is great, especially when considering Freemasonry’s history and diversity in the Pelican State, but the truth is this museum originated as a meeting place for Civil War veterans, so it is not a large place. (The nearby National WWII Museum spans 33,000 square feet in comparison.) But Freemasons who cherish the study of the Civil War, especially from the Southern point of view, will love this museum regardless of any alleged paucity of Masonic memorabilia.

It is located at 929 Camp Street in New Orleans. Click here for more information and beautiful photos.

     

‘Mystic Tie unites lodge, Army fort, and prison’

    

Masons from many states attended our meeting July 13 in Delaware.

It’s been two weeks already, so time for a recap of Civil War Lodge of Research 1865’s trip to Delaware.

The lodge is chartered by the Grand Lodge of Virginia, but it receives dispensations to travel outside the state, and this July 13 Stated Communication featured a visit to a significant historic site and an unusual Official Visit of the District Deputy Grand Master.

Our Master’s hat.

Jackson Lodge 19 in Delaware City hosted us with the assistance of several Grand Lodge of Delaware officers, one of whom, RW Michael Rodgers, also serves as Worshipful Master of Delaware Lodge of Research. He presented a talk on Fort Delaware’s origins and historical significance. I’ll summarize:

The fort stands on Pea Patch Island, which spans about a mile in length in the Delaware River. It was given its name during the late eighteenth century when, according to legend, a ship ran aground and its cargo of peas either spilled or was jettisoned to make the ship lighter to free it from the mud. Either way, those peas sprouted and grew, resulting in sand and silt accumulating and forming the land mass. I have to say, when you’re standing on this island, in and around the stone and brick fort, it is hard to believe this origin story, but that’s the local color of it.

Past Master Gary, our Tyler, noticed this artifact displayed on the wall outside the lodge room: this proclamation from the Virginia Craftsmen degree team commemorating the MM° it conferred October 23, 1976 at Fort Delaware on behalf of Jackson 19. This degree team was the precursor of Civil War Lodge of Research. That top signature is Allen Roberts, our first Worshipful Master.

What is historically factual is how the island first appears on a map in 1794, the year Bro. Pierre Charles L’Enfant chose it to be a key installation in the area’s fortifications. Of course L’Enfant is best remembered as the military engineer who designed Washington, DC.

The fort as seen from our approach via jitney…

…and from the walk to the entrance.

Development of Pea Patch Island for military use began in 1814. Perhaps a lesson learned from the War of 1812. “A five-pointed star fort was built between 1815 and 1824,” Rodgers explained, “but it was destroyed by fire in 1831.” A larger fort was started in 1836, but the current fort dates to 1848. It was completed in 1860, and was used during the Civil War as a prison for Confederate soldiers. By the end of the war, Fort Delaware warehoused nearly 33,000 prisoners.

“Conditions were relatively decent,” Rodgers said, “but about 2,500 prisoners died.” Smallpox was a main killer, but there also were typhoid, malaria, pneumonia, and scurvy, among other hazards. One of those deaths gave rise to the Mystic Tie intwining Jackson Lodge, the prison, and Virginia Freemasonry.

On April 11, 1862, the lodge opened to give a Masonic funeral to Bro. Lewis P. Halloway, a captain of the Twenty-Seventh Regiment of Virginia Volunteers, who died of typhoid while in custody. The care given to the deceased by the lodge inspired Capt. Augustus A. Gibson, commanding officer of the fort, to petition for the degrees of Freemasonry. He was initiated, passed, and raised in a single communication, by dispensation, later that year in Jackson Lodge.

RW Shelby Chandler, DDGM of the Masonic Research District, had the unique opportunity of traveling outside the Grand Lodge Jurisdiction for an Official Visit. “Today was a very special day, especially as a District Deputy Grand Master,” he told The Magpie Mason. “Right Worshipful John Butler, Worshipful Master of Civil War Lodge of Research, was gracious enough to receive me for the Official Visit at Jackson Lodge 19 in Delaware City. Not only were their Grand Lodge officers present from our host jurisdiction, but brethren from various other states, as far as Illinois, were present as well, and they watched, both the reception ceremony and the closing lecture, for the very first time.”

RW Carmine, with tobacco stick,
flanked by WM John Butler
and RW Shelby Chandler.

(A word about the receptions: Virginia likes them. To my mind, these formal intros, escorts to the East, remarks, etc. take too much time. In my more than twenty years of hanging around research lodges, I’ve noticed how we like to get to the point, leaving ceremonial filler to our Craft lodges. Still, aspects of these rites can be enjoyable, as when an honoree’s comments are on point or something else memorable arises. This was the case when Worshipful Master Butler received RW Robert Carmine, Assistant Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Delaware, in the East and presented him the gift of a tobacco stick—a hardwood pole known in tobacco barns for hanging tobacco leaves to dry. A more practical and modern use these days is as a walking stick.)

After our meeting, we enjoyed a quick lunch together downstairs before driving down the street to catch the ferry to the island and its fort.

Since 1951, it is a Delaware State Park and it also has become home to the Pea Patch Island Nature Preserve with a famous heronry.

The Columbiad Cannon. They fire this sumbitch!

The fort is staffed by re-enactors in period wardrobe who tell you what is was like to have lived at the fort during its stint as a prisoner of war installation. Among them is Bro. Ed from Jackson Lodge, who gave his visiting brethren some additional insights gleaned from his fifteen years there.

Bro. Ed from Jackson Lodge with our WM.

CWLR 1865’s next Stated Communication will be Saturday, October 12 at Lee Lodge 209 in Waynesboro, Virginia, to be followed by a visit to the site of the Battle of Waynesboro, where the Union finally took the Shenandoah Valley in 1865. Click here for more information.

Finally a place to sit down on the hot day.
I hope those are ash trays in the back.

RW Shelby inspects an osprey nest on the island.
The island hosts the largest bird habitat outside of Florida.