‘Moon lodge’s festive board by lantern light’

    

Warren Lodge 32, New York’s last moon lodge, will host its third annual festive board by lantern light next month. Here are the details:

Click to enlarge.

I enjoyed the first two, but I cannot attend this one. You should go though!

      

‘Table Lodge: Freemasonry in Finland’

    

Finland Embassy

The American Lodge of Research is reviving our tradition of hosting a table lodge annually, so plan to join us Tuesday, March 26 as we begin New York’s hundredth anniversary celebration of the Grand Lodge of Finland.

Richard T. Schulz

Come to Masonic Hall’s French Ionic Room at 7:30 p.m. Right Worshipful Richard T. Schulz, Grand Secretary, will deliver the keynote, discussing Grand Lodge’s role in re-establishing Freemasonry in Finland after that nation secured its independence from Russia following World War I because. . .

March 26 will be the hundredth anniversary of the request by New York’s lodges in Finland for permission to organize their own sovereign grand lodge.

The dining fee is only $60 per person. Click here to book your seats.

Click here.

The Grand Lodge of New York will celebrate the centenary of the Grand Lodge of Finland mightily this year, including with a lengthy trip to The Land of the Thousand Lakes in September. I like to think of this ALR table lodge as the kick-off of New York’s salute to Finland.

I’ll bring the aquavit (and, no, you can’t mix it with anything).

     

‘Festive Board at Lafayette’s Royal Arch chapter’

    

Another Royal Arch “Bring-a-Brother Night” is coming! Jerusalem Amity Chapter 8, where Lafayette was made a Royal Arch Mason, is planning one for later this month. From the publicity:

On Tuesday, February 13, Jerusalem Amity Chapter 8 invites all Master Masons and Royal Arch Companions to join us for our 225th Anniversary “Companion Bring a Friend Night.” This will be a chapter-style festive board at 8:30 p.m. in Masonic Hall’s Jacobean Room on the eighth floor. Dress Code: Masonic.

The night will consist of toasts, talks, feasting, Light, and fellowship. If you are interested in joining us, please RSVP here.

For close to 225 years, JA8 has been actively involved in New York City Masonic, and in the larger, global, community. An example is demonstrated by the Holy Royal Arch ceremony with Revolutionary War hero Marquis de Lafayette almost 200 years ago, an event we intend to celebrate in September.

     

‘A festive season festive board’

    

I need to get out more.

Last night was the occasion of the First Capitular District’s long-awaited Annual Festive Board, which doubled as a Bring-a-Brother introductory dinner to encourage Master Masons to delve into the next four chapters of the mysteries. I forgot how much fun these nights are, and it was great sitting among so many friendly faces I hadn’t seen in a long while: Christopher, Grant, Harold, James, and more. Ted would have been on my left, but he is still on the mend. The ALR was very well represented, with the Master, Wardens, Trustees, a Past Master, and others in attendance.

My place at the table was reserved, otherwise I would have gravitated to where Bro. Edward, the Junior Warden of my lodge, was sitting. I’m not used to the VIP treatment. A great meal, too. Roast beef, fish, different chicken dishes, pasta, and more, and in such abundance I think a lot had to be forcibly sent home.

The wine for the evening was Yellow Tail’s Pinot Noir, which I don’t remember having before, but that definitely felt right. With wine, I’m like a child, preferring juicy, fruity French reds (I was hoping any of the Beaujolais Nouveau releases would be on the table), but this semi dry from Down Under was fine with me.

RE and RW Rubin responds to Happy Birthday wishes.

For sweetness, there was cake! Bro. Steven Rubin, Deputy Grand Master of our Grand Lodge, elected to be with us to celebrate his sixtieth birthday. “You stole my youth!” he thundered in response to the Happy Birthday “singing,” eliciting clamorous laughter from the fifty or so well wishers who too might swear we were thirty years old just a minute ago.

The ritual was a new one on me. I guess because this was Royal Arch, the gesticulating gave shape to a triangle and then a circle, plus some pointing of a sort I’m not used to. But the toasts were those you would expect. And the Magpie Mason was called on to reply to the Toast to the Visitors.

RE Anthony Klimathianos accepts an award from RE Michael, president of the First Capitular District Association. Anthony is a Past Grand Lecturer, and he exhorted the Master Masons present to explore the whole York Rite.

It seems like I’m in the Jacobean Room ten times a month, so it felt unnatural pretending to be a visitor but, in truth, my Royal Arch chapter is more than fifty miles away, down in central New Jersey. I just never got around to affiliating here in the city.

Most Excellent, Right Excellent, Excellent Sirs; Companions, Brethren, Masons all:

It is an honor to tender a reply to this, the Toast to the Visitors. You know, in lodge we are brethren/brothers, and in chapter we are companions.

The word derives from Latin: “com,” meaning “together with;” and “pan” being bread. Thank you for your welcome; for the opportunity to break bread together with you; and for your attention.

My neighbors and others signaled their appreciation for the brevity.

A raffle prize I wouldn’t mind claiming! A copy of one of Angel’s books and a bottle of the Water of Life.

A great night that I hope encourages the Master Masons present to continue the Masonic journey into the Capitular Rite for all the obvious reasons.

     

‘A rainbow over the moon lodge’

    

Michael LaRocco

Another fine festive board tonight at New York’s last remaining moon lodge.

Warren Lodge 32 did it again: the annual outdoor affair with catered barbecue, the seven toasts, approximately 80 guests, and a rainbow to cap it off. I mean the rainbow isn’t planned.

Rainbows follow rainfalls, and did we get rain! “Extreme Weather” is what my weather app forewarned as I got to within twenty miles of Rhinebeck, and it wasn’t joking. The inundation mostly tapered off by the time I got there, but then the wind picked up. Literally picked up everything on our table—and even one of the tents, which took a flight further than the Wright Brothers’ inaugural foray. It really was a mess: You have your “sword” in one hand, your “cannon” in the other, and somehow you had to hold down your place setting before a gust violently threw it all at the next table over. No injuries reported.

I didn’t shoot a single photo consequently. On the plus side, though, the tempest caused the temperature to drop a good ten or so degrees.

I sat with the contingent from Joseph Warren-Gothic Lodge 934 (the other Warren lodge), and had a good time despite their having consumed all the wine by the time I arrived. Kind brethren at nearby tables made sure we were able to charge our cannons, fortunately.

The lodge’s souvenir poker chip.

Also bumped into W. Bro. Steve, immediate Past Master of White Plains 473. And Deputy Grand Master Steven Rubin, of course.

I’m not usually one who discusses weather, but after the seventh toast (absent brethren) was proposed by W. Mark, Master of Joseph Warren-Gothic—and I mean at the second he stopped speaking—the rainbow appeared.

     

‘Warren Lodge’s festive board in July’

    

Magpie file photo

As promised, Warren Lodge 32 will host its Second Annual Festive Board on the last Saturday of July. This is the one I told you about last summer: an outdoor convivial meal, with all the toasts, and by lantern light too.

The lanterns are a nod to Warren 32 being New York’s last “moon lodge,” meaning the brethren meet monthly on or about the full moon. This time, the full moon—a Sturgeon Moon supermoon, like last time—won’t come until August 1, but Warren Lodge will host this feast on July 29.

Click to enlarge.

The flier above has all the details, and the flier below gives you the option of purchasing your own lantern to use during the festivities and to take home.

Click to enlarge.

It’s a great time. Get’s the Magpie Seal of Approval and all that. I plan to be there, but there’s a chance my own lodge might seize that day to host its annual summer cook-out. Although there’s no reason why I couldn’t attend both, I guess.

4Noggins

Warren is a historic lodge with a beautiful ancestral home that is worth visiting in its own right. I’m bringing a pipe or three, with some Harvest Moon mixture (unless someone markets a Sturgeon Moon tobacco in the meantime!).

     

‘Lodge by lantern light’

   

Warren Lodge 32’s Masonic Hall was built in 1865 in the Italianate style.
It was relocated to its present site in 2011.

I’ll conclude September with my scattered recollections of a terrific night seven weeks ago at Warren Lodge 32 way up in Schulztville for the occasion of a most enjoyable festive board by lantern light.

I’ll tell ya: If you ever want to hold a meeting or meal outside at night by lantern light, go for it.

Warren 32 is New York’s last remaining “moon lodge,” meaning a lodge that meets on or about the night of the full moon. This special festive board was hosted on Saturday the thirteenth, which actually was two nights after August’s full moon (a Sturgeon Moon), so the convenience of the guests was accommodated by waiting for the weekend. And we guests turned out in force. I think I counted about sixty seated around the U-shaped “lodge” outdoors under the tent, and the travelers greatly outnumbered our hosts. A caravan of Grand Lodge officers, headed by Grand Master Kessler and Deputy Grand Master Rubin, arrived, obviously having come from a previous event somewhere.

Other brethren visited from around New York, New England, and elsewhere. I was invited to sit between Masons from New Hampshire and Massachusetts. There’s clearly a special energy present when meeting traveling Masons and being able to talk about things in common, however small. I told the brother from New Hampshire that I had been to the Manchester Temple two months prior for Masonic Con, and told the Massachusetts brother about my visits to two lodges on Cape Cod last year. Conversely, I was told about a tour of Masonic Hall in Manhattan.

Portrait of Augustus Schultz hangs in the East.

The Warren Lodge brethren made this a history nerd-friendly event. They had a brother appear in the character of Bro. Augustus Schultz, the benefactor of the lodge who died too young at 26 in the 1860s, and bequeathed to Warren Lodge the funds that enabled it to purchase the land and construct the meeting hall where Warren was at labor until 2011. (Bro. Schultz did likewise for a local church.) That’s Schultz, as in Schultzville, the lodge’s original hometown until the building was picked up and relocated half a mile north to stand next to the Clinton town hall.

You may have guessed the lodge was named for Revolutionary War hero Joseph Warren, and an additional attraction of the night was the attendance of a descendant of Warren. I think his name is Keith, but don’t quote me. Grand Master DeWitt Clinton issued its warrant.

A small altar, as was furnished centuries ago.

The U.S. flag featured fifteen stars from 1795 to 1818.

The festive board was great. Unlimited quantities of good food plus red wine for the usual toasts. The vino was Cribari, a label unknown to me. I’ll have to ask Bro. Cupschalk if he knows it, because we were drinking from shot glasses, for the obvious reason, and tasting was not a priority.

The weather was perfect: sunny blue skies during the day; cool and dry after sundown. Great company. A satiating meal amid a mellow ambiance thanks to the scores of small lambent flames in the lanterns. I failed to bring a briar and a sweet Virginia mixture, thinking it would have been forbidden, but evidently I could have joined RW Rubin, who was savoring his vanilla cavendish. I hope Warren does it again next August—and I’m bringing a pipe if they do. Harry says they’re looking at July 29, 2023.

Masonic Hall from the rear at dusk.
The octagonal cupola is a hallmark of Italianate architecture.

     

‘Moonlighting for 215 years’

    

Happy 215th anniversary to Warren Lodge 32!

On this date in 1807, Grand Lodge granted the petition of local Masons to charter the lodge at Pine Plains. Warren not only remains at labor, but it in fact is New York Freemasonry’s last “full moon lodge,” meaning the brethren convene their meetings by the light of the full moon. Give or take.

Warren Lodge 32

I know what you’re thinking: “There’s a lodge that doesn’t talk about the electric bill!” It’s just that instead of meeting on specific weeknights, Warren awaits maximum moonlight. Or thereabouts. It was the necessary custom for safe traveling generations ago for lodges to meet when the moon granted the most light. In modern times, they gather on the Thursday before the full moon.

Things will be a little different in August. That month, the full moon (called the Sturgeon Moon) will arrive on a Thursday night, but the lodge will meet during the weekend, on Saturday the 13th, when the brethren will host an outdoor Festive Board by lantern light. The flier has all the details, but to book your seats, email the Secretary here.

Click to enlarge.

     

‘Esoteric Festive Board’

     

I definitely would attend this promising evening if not for already planning to be here the very next morning, but there’s no reason why you can’t go. From the publicity:

The Grand Lodge of Connecticut’s Committee on Masonic Education and Meridian Lodge 77 will cohost this Esoteric Festive Board. If you never had a deeper discussion into the esoteric side of Freemasonry, this is a great opportunity for you to learn more. A series of starter topics will lead to group discussions where you and other esoterically aligned brethren will share perspectives on each topic.

We will have a wonderful dinner. Tickets are available here to secure your spot at this great event.

     

‘A Masonic menu for our return to lodge’

     

     

These are grim days on social media, but one cry of pain I saw on Farcebook yesterday tugs at the Naked Heart. A brother in England said he was dying for a Festive Board.

Perfectly normal. Perfectly understandable. Who knows how much longer it will be?

Something else I stumbled across a day or so ago in a Masonic Standard from 1903 is a humorous item about a recent dinner, to wit:

Masonic Menu

The Quarterly Bulletin of Cedar Rapids publishes the following bill of fare of a banquet given by Emulation Lodge 255 at Clinton, Iowa:

Oysters

(Silence and Circumspection)

Celery, Olives, Pickles,

Sliced Chicken

(The Faithful Breast)

Sliced Tongue

(The Instructive Tongue)

Potato Salad

(Oil of Joy)

Ham Sandwiches

(The Hidden Mysteries)

White and Brown Bread

(Corn of Nourishment)

Ice Cream

(Here Cold and Mute)

Cake, Fruit, Nuts, Coffee

(Wine of Refreshment)

Cigars

(Brought to Light)

I’ll have to remember that cigar line and work it into conversation.

That P-J ad at the top comes from an English Masonic periodical from the same era. Piper-Heidsieck is my own favorite label, but I wouldn’t decline a flute of Perrier-Jouet at table. It’s been so long, I would effuse joy and gladness for a cup of cold duck. Vivat!

     

‘Way haul away, ye Mariners haul!’

     
It’s Robbie Burns’ birthday, but don’t look for haggis at this Masonic feast. We—more than 250 of us—are seated fairly comfortably inside the Grand Lodge Room of Masonic Hall in New York City, enjoying the camaraderie, conviviality, and near gluttony that is the Mariners Lodge Beefsteak Banquet.

This annual affair is sold out tonight at $150 a plate.

Everything we needed to know was spelled out in our program.

Tonight’s tobacco is chosen! Masonic Hall is smoke-free (must be some bureaucratic snafu), so no pipes at the beefsteak, but no matter. A pinch of Mr. Gawith’s Original every so often will aid digestion, stimulate conversation, and improve posture!

Getting ready to set sail.

Michael, Sal, and Josh.

At a Mariners Lodge festive board, Masons are on port and starboard sides. We were seated amidships.

How many Masons does it take to change a lightbulb? One, when it’s Moore. Actually, Isaac is up that ladder to shoot photographs, which were all over Facebook before long.

Don’t your festive boards have drones keeping an eye on things?

RW Bro. Sam conducted us through the festive board ritual and served as emcee. Grand Master Sardone, in purple, at his right.

If you ever wondered what 250+ Freemasons gorging on beef, lamb, beef, shrimp, salmon, beef, ale, potatoes, and beef looks like.

My mistake for relying on a phone as a camera. Here is our Junior Warden for the night.

The purpose of the aprons is defined clearly and humorously in that New Yorker piece by Joseph Mitchell I mentioned in the first Magpie post on this event, but it was lost on some of the brethren whom I observed eating their ribs and lamb lollipops with the cutlery. They went home with aprons as unsullied as any symbol of purity and innocence. From left: Oscar, Josh, Augustine, Michael, and Sal Corelli.

Close-up shot of the apron. This unforgettable event was described by some present as a Bucket List item. The maritime-themed festive board is something every cheerful Mason ought to experience, but I would hope everyone would be able to take part more than once.

  

‘All You Can Hold for 150 Bucks.’

     
They’re back in business! Historic Mariners Lodge 67 will host its legendary Beefsteak Banquet again next month after an interminable absence of, I think, a year. Don’t disappoint yourself by missing out. Tickets are on sale now.

Courtesy Mariners 67

This is not a colorized photo from the 19th century.
This is the real deal: the Mariners Beefsteak Banquet.

(The title of this edition of The Magpie Mason is borrowed from the great Joseph Mitchell’s piece in The New Yorker from 80 years ago in which he traces the history and describes the heavenly joys of the New York beefsteak dinner. Click here, but do as I did decades ago as an optimistic journalism student (ha!) and get a copy of his anthology Up in the Old Hotel, which also includes his “McSorley’s” story. “All You Can Hold for Five Bucks” and others even mention a few Freemasons. Buy yours today!)


From the publicity:

Mariners Lodge 67

Maritime Festive Board

and Beefsteak Banquet

Saturday, January 25, 2020

Masonic Hall, Grand Lodge Room

71 West 23rd Street, Manhattan

Tickets here

A Uniquely New York,

Old-School Masonic Event

Seating Begins at 6:30

Opening Gavel at 7:30

Dress is Tuxedo (preferred)

or Business Formal

All Attendees Receive

a Butcher's Apron

to Wear and Take Home

Prepaid Reservations

Are Required to Attend

Reserve and pay online here

Five Course Menu

First Course

Iced Shrimp

The Ancient Mariner’s Cured Salmon

House Pickles

Second Course

House-Smoked Brisket Pastrami with Rye Toast

Roast Pork with Rolls

Tomato-Braised Lamb Meatballs

Third Course

Memphis-Style Dry-Rubbed Pork Ribs

72-Hour Braised Beef Short Ribs

Wedge Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing

Fourth Course

Strip Steak

Lamb Chops

Roasted Potato Wedges

Fifth Course

Assorted Dessert Platters

Beer from The Bronx Beer Hall

The Festive Board is a feature of the Masonry that extends back to our very beginnings. Operative stonemasons’ lodges would gather upon important occasions around tables laden with food and drink to celebrate in fellowship with the tangible fruits of their labor. Most common were feasts on St. John the Baptist’s Day and St. John the Evangelist’s Day, which were not coincidentally right around the time of the Summer and Winter solstices. These traditions have been part of our Craft ever since. Indeed, one of the reasons given for forming the first Grand Lodge in 1717 was to hold an annual feast.

In the days before Masons had their beautiful purpose-built Masonic temples and lodge rooms, members of the Craft often convened their lodges in taverns and restaurants. The tables were pushed back and Square and Compasses might be scratched out in the sawdust covering the floor while the brethren performed their Masonic work. Before too long the idea arose of taking advantage of what the tavern had to offer, and a practice was born whereby the brethren would take food and drink on a Masonic form and while conducting the work of the lodge.

Over time, various ritual practices of the Festive Board evolved, especially among military officers, who incorporated various elements from their formal dining traditions. These historic rituals and traditions have been resurrected in the modern day, and the Masonic Festive Board with its multiple courses of food, toasts, responses, and giving of “Masonic Fire” has become one of the most popular special events among Masons.

The Mariners Lodge Maritime Festive Board is a unique form of these table ceremonies, which invokes certain early Masonic legends and incorporates elements of historical naval practice and seafaring tradition.

About the Beefsteak Banquet

The Mariners Lodge Maritime Festive Board and Beefsteak Banquet incorporates elements from the rich New York tradition of the Beefsteak Banquet – those famous celebrations of gluttony where men gathered to eat massive amounts of aged steak, lamb chops, shrimp cocktail, pork belly and mini-burgers washed down with bottomless schooners of beer. Forks and knives are strictly prohibited, but you will be provided with a butcher’s apron and plenty of napkins!