[Magdalen] History of Masonry in the United States

[James Oppenheimer-Crawford]

Ah, the memories! We would often have the anniversary of a Mason's raising,
and more often than not the fiftieth would find the person in Florida and
in poor health, but usually a local lodge would get a committee together
and go visit on behalf of our lodge and give the person the pin. They would
report back to our secretary, who in turn would tell us all about it. For
those guys, it meant a great deal.  At the time I was active, these guys
would have been raised in the time after The Great War. No doubt they went
through a lot as Masons. It really could mean a great deal back in those
days. If you were not in need, you were quietly taking care of people who
were, because there just wasn't anybody else a lot of the time.

James W. Oppenheimer-Crawford
*“A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved,
except in memory. LLAP**”  -- *Leonard Nimoy

On Sun, Jan 17, 2016 at 2:20 AM, Jay Weigel <jay.weigel at gmail.com> wrote:

> One of my home health patients had been very active in Eastern Star, and
> when her 50th anniversary came around, the ladies all came to her house and
> had a little ceremony and presented her with a pin which she proudly wore
> on her nightgown every day for the rest of her life. She was well into her
> 90s and pretty much bedfast but still sharp, and that pin meant a great
> deal to her.
>
> On Sunday, January 17, 2016, James Oppenheimer-Crawford <
> oppenheimerjw at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > As I described earlier, Masonry sprang from a need to make honorable men
> > better able to identify one another.
> >
> > Masons were quite influential in the past. For instance, most of those
> > involved in the Declaration or the Constitution were Masons. A very large
> > number of presidents were Masons. Masons apparently were involved in the
> > Boston Tea Party.
> >
> > http://www.hbmasons.com/2011/06/22/masons-at-the-boston-tea-party/
> >
> > I was once visiting a lady who was a bit older than my parents, and had
> > seen and knew about events from an earlier time. I had just been
> initiated
> > int Masonry, and she said that her father was a member of the local
> lodge,
> > and many things were decided in Masonic Hall. One day, she said, her
> father
> > came home to announce that at the lodge they had decided that evening "to
> > pave Main Street." She affirmed that my great-grandfather had been one of
> > those present. Today, oh how I wish I could sit with her and ask more
> > questions.
> >
> > It would be unfair not to mention other organizations that have had an
> > enormous beneficial effect on the USA. These would include the
> Oddfellows,
> > Kights of Pythias, the Grange, and, of course, the Knights of Columbus.
> >
> > So what happened?  I believe several things lead to the decline of all
> > these organizations.
> >
> > The simplest thing is that the need for the organization is pretty much
> > gone.
> >
> > Women got the vote, and demands for equality have curtailed men's night
> > out.
> >
> > The concept of a club that only admits one gender is going by the boards.
> >
> > Television was a major factor. One could stay home and be entertained.
> >
> > Masons and similar organizations started many charitable organizations;
> now
> > we take it for granted that the Government bears responsibility for the
> > health and welfare of the population, so these organizations are no
> longer
> > as needed as was the case.  Almost all of these organizations had
> > orphanages dedicated to sheltering children of deceased Masons, and they
> > also had homes for the older destitute Mason. In New York the orphans'
> home
> > was closing at the time I was Master of my lodge. the care of children
> was
> > better done in foster care, supervised by the Craft. It was felt that
> this
> > was a better way to deal with this. Of course, in both cases, these
> people
> > very seldom have to put themselves at the mercy of strangers, but just a
> > fairly short time ago, welfare was a local patchwork of unreliable
> efforts
> > of varying degrees of success.
> >
> > Then, there is also the race issue.  At the time I was active, Masons in
> > New York were under two (at least two) grand lodges: the one my lodge
> > worked under was for Whites only, and then there was the Prince Hall
> Grand
> > Lodge for Masons of Color. More recently, our lodges have integrated.
> This
> > was one of the reasons I decided not to continue to be active, and I have
> > little doubt that others felt as I did.
> >
> > When Masonry was started in London in 1717, its basic ideas were that all
> > men could meet on the level, and there was no distinction among them.
> This
> > was radical then, but is reactionary now. An organization which excludes
> > women is not going to do well, to say the least. In conservative areas,
> > Masonry still functions. In other areas, not so much. Poughkeepsie used
> to
> > have five lodges (white) when I was active. I know of one today. I have
> no
> > information on the Prince Hall lodges. One friend told me that they too
> are
> > having difficulty attracting new members.
> >
> > One thing I noticed, which I have never heard mentioned elsewhere, is the
> > basic failure to adhere to the idea of all men meeting on the level.
> Higher
> > Masonic organizations were set up in order that the more affluent would
> be
> > able to meet among their "peers," and not have to socialize with the
> lower
> > classes.  Watching the displays of groups such as the Shriners, this is
> > very apparent. However, within the Blue Lodges (the basic lodges of the
> > first three degrees), the trappings of elitism were everywhere. Some
> lodges
> > in New York meet in formal wear.
> >
> > Combined with the fact that women are excluded, many folks just have no
> > interest in this organization.
> >
> > It served a very important purpose, but its time has gone. I suspect that
> > most of the organizations would say the same.
> >
> > Masonry has given us some figures of speech.
> >
> > Asking if someone is truthful, one may well ask, "Is he on the level?"
> > "His story doesn't square with what I have been told."
> > "They suspected his motives. They asked a lot of penetrating questions,
> > really gave him the third degree about so-and-so."
> > Eavesdroppers were folks who secretly stood right by a building, hoping
> to
> > hear what was being said inside; it's from our ritual.
> >
> > Masonry is certainly declining in numbers, although in some areas it
> > continues to flourish after a fashion.
> > Things do not generally change suddenly, but gradually over a period of
> > decades. Like the Church, many folks seem to have gradually moved on to
> > other things, decided that they have more important things to do with
> their
> > time.
> >
> > One must avoid thinking about what used to be, or what "ought to be," and
> > focus on making the best of what IS.
> >
> > James W. Oppenheimer-Crawford
> > *“A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved,
> > except in memory. LLAP**”  -- *Leonard Nimoy
> >
> > On Wed, Jan 13, 2016 at 9:40 PM, James Oppenheimer-Crawford <
> > oppenheimerjw at gmail.com <javascript:;>> wrote:
> >
> > > It's intriguing how involved Masonry has been in this country.  British
> > > military brought their traveling lodges with them, of course, and they
> > > welcomed others into those lodges.  Much of the early history stems
> from
> > > military lodges which spun off Masonic activity which eventually would
> > > solidify into some of the early Grand lodges.
> > >
> > > While it is certainly true that the military has been a springboard for
> > > much of Masonry (much is made of Washington being raised in a military
> > > lodge) there was another compelling purpose for Masonry.  In a time
> when
> > we
> > > could not do a background search on a new person in town, we wanted
> some
> > > means of showing the person of honorable.  Masonry (and other secret
> > > societies as well) provided a sort of reference for a person travelling
> > > from town to town.
> > >
> > > Coming to a town, one could seek out other "brothers of Hiram" in the
> > > town, using a series of secret signs and references.  When he found
> these
> > > folks, he could demonstrate to them that he was in fact a Mason.
> > >
> > > Nobody is ever asked to be a Mason; one must ask a Mason to recommend
> > him.
> > > If such happens, a committee forms to investigate the man, and they
> make
> > a
> > > report: They state that they are able to report favorably, or that they
> > are
> > > not able to.  The local lodge to which the man petitions must vote
> > > (secretly) on the candidate. The vote has to be unanimous; One vote
> > against
> > > defeats the petition. This assures that if a person becomes a Mason at
> > all,
> > > there was not one person in the lodge who objected.
> > >
> > > Obviously this is not the character attestation one can imagine in this
> > > day, but back in that time, when there was not even a central police
> > force,
> > > and no identity database at all, for the person travelling, being able
> to
> > > show you were a Mason opened doors. If businessmen all knew each of
> them
> > > were masons, they could make deals with confidence even when they
> didn't
> > > know each other at all.
> > >
> > > My great grandfather was an oil man in the early days, and also a
> Mason.
> > I
> > > found a document in a leather wallet obviously designed to keep it
> intact
> > > while travelling. It was a masonic document (beautifully engraved)
> > > attesting to the fact that the bearer was a member of a particular
> > Masonic
> > > rite (been a while, so I'm not sure which one). It had a picture of my
> > > great grandfather embossed into it. In those days, oil men were
> > travelling
> > > all over, and had to be able to make deals quickly, on the run.
> > >
> > > Nowadays, there is not a need for this sort of thing, but then, it was
> > the
> > > best they could do.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > James W. Oppenheimer-Crawford
> > > *“A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not
> preserved,
> > > except in memory. LLAP**”  -- *Leonard Nimoy
> > >
> >
>