The Cross Keys The Monthly Newsletter of Lodge Houstoun St. Johnstone
April 2015
Walking the Road / Seeking the Light
In this issue: Some Thoughts from 242 PMs The Battle of Cross Keys Daily Advancement in Masonic Knowledge Installation of Johnstone Boy Traditional Observance Lodges Little Known Architect
Cross Keys April 2015
Number 184
Some Thoughts from 242 PMs PM 1: Up to and including the 1960s craft lodges supported themselves. When a bill came in, the lodge paid it and the brethren gave accordingly when the collection plate was passed around. Admittedly the pre social club era bills (fuel, electricity, rates etc.) would have been more affordable. Sure, we liked a drink, but within reason as the working man didn’t have quite as much disposable income as was going to become available to him in later decades. Also, top tables and Master’s room hospitality required to be regaled by the RWM who would have been laying aside money on his way up through the offices. This had the effect of dampening the party down a bit and maintaining an air of respectability, commensurate with the aims and the nature of the craft. In the 1970s, changes to the Licensing Laws allowed the formation of registered social clubs. At the same time someone thought up the idea of a fund, supported by raffles etc. which would pay for top tables and associated hospitality and allow the RWM to throw it about like a drunken sailor. I don’t doubt that it seemed like a good idea at the time and in many respects it was. The lodge would have no more worries about bills or maintenance as the social club would care for it. Like a masonic NHS, rent from the club would look after the lodge from the cradle to the grave. Also, in the opinion of some people, the more you drank the more you supported your mother lodge. Party on! Freemasonry was now a system of morality, veiled in allegory, illustrated by symbols and underpinned by the sale and consumption of alcohol. No one could have foreseen the social changes which would come and would decimate the licensed trade, particularly at ‘spit and sawdust’ level. (it’s worthy of note that there was a small pressure group in the 1970s who reckoned that alcohol consumption could be reduced to near prohibition era levels simply by utilising existing drink driving legislation and reducing the limit to 20 instead of 80. They’re getting there!!) The unfortunate side effect, as we now know, was that lodges became financially dependant on their social clubs. Brethren only needed to throw some shrapnel into the collection plate as they would be supporting the lodge during the harmony. The vast majority of masonic meetings are held in in big, old, high maintenance buildings just like 242. The failure of the social club system could have catastrophic effects on the entire range of masonic bodies. However, what I see happening is not the death throes of Freemasonry but simply that we are evolving. The times they are a changing and the brethren have to get used to the idea that the drink fuelled and funded era is passing. In 50 years time there will still be freemasons and there will still be lodges, just much fewer than there are at the moment. If we want to continue then we have to pay for it in a different manner. To improve the lodge? I’m not a huge fan of the Intender programme. People who are interested will stay anyway. If you join a masonic body that is populated by people who are genuinely interested, it rubs off on you. There are several such bodies out there as we all know. So let the guys who are only here for the beer fade away. Educate your remaining brethren with the notion that you only get what you pay for and that something you enjoy is worth digging deep for.
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Some Thoughts from 242 PMs (ctd) The 242 social club is shrinking year after year. Bar takings are reducing by about ÂŁ6,000 per annum on average. We should be okay for another 3 to 5 years but after that? I had a compliance visit from the Licensing Standards Officer of Renfrewshire Council Licensing Board. He was happy with everything but reminded me that we are a members club. Everyone who enters our premises should be a member or a visitor signed in by a member who should remain with them during their visit. Many clubs are hiring out their premises to members of the public who have either no link or a very tenuous link to the club, usually for 18ths or 21sts and this is outwith their Licence provisions. I was shocked that such evil wrongdoing goes on. I mentioned that this weekend we have one of our members sponsoring a 60th birthday for his old aunt and the RWM was having a Christening celebration on Sunday.
PM 2: There is not enough (sorry any) social events I don't mean dances . We do nothing together apart from meet twice a month. A lodge dinner dance off site where brethren and wife's can mingle, day at the races something that gets us interacting away from the routine of lodge meetings. . In the work environment, there are many events to bring everyone together and create some camaraderie. Many struggle to stay behind after a meeting today. The Craft is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Move forward and change some traditions or keep them all and go backwards!! The youth of today have a different outlook than my age group and beyond. What attracted us to the craft may not be enough for others. Having sat on the Enquiry Committee of the lodge for several years, I feel many join it for what the perceive to be a social benefit. When they join their expectations are not met and we lose them. We need to offer more than three degrees delivered in a language that is almost prehistoric!!! The language o f the ritual is a po int fo r ano ther d ay and an article in itself (Ed )
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The Battle of Cross Keys Another battle during the US Civil War, this time a more common name! Moving up the Shenandoah Valley in pursuit of Jackson’s army, Maj. Gen. John C. Frémont’s (bottom left) army encountered Maj. Gen. Richard S. Ewell’s (bottom centre) division at Cross Keys in Virginia on June 8. Brig. Gen. Julius Stahel’s brigade, attacking on the Union left, was stunned by a surprise volley from Trimble’s command and driven back in confusion. After feeling out other parts of the Confederate line, Frémont withdrew to the Keezletown Road under protection of his batteries. The next day, Trimble’s and Patton’s brigades held Frémont at bay, while the rest of Ewell’s force crossed the river to assist in the defeat of Brig. Gen. E. Tyler's command at Port Republic. Cross Keys and Port Republic marked the dramatic finale of Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's (bottom right) famed Shenandoah Valley Campaign. The campaign not only sealed Jackson's reputation as an exceptional battlefield commander, but also helped prevent Union reinforcements from descending on the Confederate capital at Richmond.
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Daily Advancement in Masonic Knowledge The ritual mentions a daily advancement of Masonic knowledge should be practiced by every freemason. How many really do? The following is a shortened version from the Masonic Record, October 1969. It is still relevant today. “I suppose there are more masons who are ignorant of all the principles of Freemasonry than there are men of any other class who are chargeable with the like ignorance of their profession.� This written by Bro. Albert Mackey, a Masonic author of the 19 th century. We are unlikely to meet a senior lawyer or judge ignorant of Scots Law, a physician who has never read current procedures and yet we have senior masons who are utter darkness as to everything that related to Freemasonry. They are ignorant of its history, have no comprehension of the esoteric meanings of its symbols and yet nothing is more common than to find such sciolists (pretending to have a knowledge of) in the possession of high degrees. Often they have been honoured with elevated affairs of the order and yet pertinaciously maintaining unorthodox opinions in opposition to the judgements of the brethren of far greater knowledge. Why should this be? Watchmakers unable to repair a watch send it to someone who does or an artist will admit if he cannot do such an picture, but do some masons pretend they know so much? Many assume that as soon as they have been installed as a master then during the ceremony, all knowledge is handed to them so there is no need to expand their (full) knowledge by reading a book. The honorary ranks and the numbers of jewels do not make a mason; they often exemplify an inept man hiding his lack of knowledge. The mason who reads, be it only the pages of a magazine (such as The Ashlar, Ed ) will entertain higher views of the institution and enjoy new delights in the possession of these views. The masons who do not read will know nothing of the beauties of speculative masonry. The ultimate success of masonry depends on the intelligence of her disciples. Obviously, today it is much easier with the internet and free magazines such as The Cross Keys or A Different Level. Renfrewshire East (similar to other provinces) now has its own library, soon to include online pdfs and the Education program. A knowledgeable mason has more chance of staying the course. As I have often said in the Cross Keys, we must put: Freemasonry into Freemasons.
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An Act of Masonic Kindness Masonic fraternity even cut across the most basic wartime division--that between friend and foe. According to its Massachusetts charter, American Union Lodge's meetings in New York required the sanction of the area's grand lodge. Yet loyalists, hardly inclined to support the cause of the American Union Lodge, dominated the New York grand lodge's top offices. Grand Master Parsons by then lived upstate, stirring up Indians to raid patriot settlements and attack soldiers. His deputy grand master in New York City, however, confirmed American Union's warrant despite refusing to refer to the lodge as "American Union," calling it instead "Military Union Lodge." Although they were on different sides, the New York official could not prohibit Masonic activity, for fraternal ties bound together even enemies. When he discovered shortly after the June procession that his men had captured a trunk
containing a British regimental lodge's charter, he insisted upon returning the material. Even during war, he wrote the lodge, "as Masons we are disarmed of that resentment which stimulates to undistinguished desolation; and however our political sentiments may impel us in the public dispute, we are still Brethren, and (our professional duty apart) ought to promote the happiness . . . of each other."
A New Beginning On April 25th 2014, the Sovereign Grand Lodge of Egypt and the Grand Lodge of Bulgaria entered into a renewed Agreement of Recognition, Amity and Inter-visitation. The relationship between the two Grand Lodges stems back 90 years, with the first recognition taking place in 1924. After both Grand Lodges became dormant owing to national political instability in the middle of last Century, and on this the 90th Anniversary, we have once again been able to reignite the light between our two Jurisdictions. The Bond of Brotherhood which connects us all has been extended just a little bit further today.
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The new DGM of Central South Africa It can only be the highlight of any Masons sojourn in the Craft to be appointed District Grand Master by The Grand Master Mason. The appointment comes after being elected by your own Brethren which makes it even more special as there were no opposing candidates for the office. When growing up in Johnstone becoming a Mason was the furthest thing from my mind having being educated at St. Cuthbert’s High School. After immigrating to South Africa and being in the company of people who were Masons it seemed the only thing to do and is probably the best decision I made in my life. I was enthusiastic as a young Mason and wanted to get involved in the Ritual and found that I was pretty good at it. I assumed the Chair of my Mother Lodge East Rand Scots 1093 in 2002 after only four and half years in the craft. I affiliated to Lodge Herodom 1768 and took the chair there in 2006. I joined the D.G.L.of Central South Africa in 2003 after my first year as Master and enjoyed my time in the District immensely. We travelled far and wide in our District which ranges from Nelspruit in the East to Kimberley in the South West . Some trips were five hour drives to a Lodge on a Saturday morning, with a stay over and back home on the Sunday. These trips were where I got to know the Brethren I was travelling with and the Brethren in far flung Lodges who we were visiting. They got to know me and in the end I suppose this is how their confidence in me to be Dis-
trict Grand Master took root. I progressed through the ranks to become Substitute District Grand Master in 2010 which I held for 3 years. It was in November 2010 that I visited 242 with some of the Brethren from our District when we came over for The Festival of St. Andrew. I thought it only right that I should visit the Lodge in my home town. We were warmly welcomed and given the tour of the Lodge. On 5th February 2015 at a meeting of Grand Lodge I was appointed District Grand Master and I was communicated this by our Proxy District Grand Master Bro. Jim Jack (one of the CK readers) by Facebook of all means. The Grand Master, Grand Secretary and Grand Marshal Bro. Jim Jack. Came to South Africa for my Installation on 28th February 2015. We entertained our distinguished guests and their wives for 4 days previous to the ceremony on the Saturday afternoon, and it was really great getting to know The Grand Master and his wife Angela and Grand secretary and his wife Fiona. Saturday finally arrived and it was all go from Cross Keys April 2015
The new DGM of Central South Africa (ctd) early morning as our Temple which has been totally refurbished was going to be officially opened by The Grand Master and the plaque to be unveiled had not yet been mounted yet due to a late completion. So it was drill & rawl plugs at 9.00 a.m. to get it put up in time. I was chairman of the building committee for the past two years and even on this day I was hands on. The Grand Master & Grand Secretary arrived at 10.00a.m. for a run through of the Ceremony just from a logistics point of view for perambulations etc as we were expecting 300 plus to attend which made the area for perambulations quite small. They returned to their hotel around 11 and I finally went home to get ready. I can’t say that I experienced any overwhelming nerves and I don’t know why I was so calm. I arrived back at the Temple at 1.30 p.m. as the unveiling was at 2.00p.m. and the Installation at 3.00p.m. The unveiling of the plaque went off fine and there was already a good crowd there early to see this happen. The Grand Master done the honours and the customary photographs were taken. Nearing 3.00p.m. there were so many people in the passageways and robing rooms, everyone wanting to speak to me and congratulate me, it was quite over whelming. There were Brethren from all over our District and from surrounding Districts and Countries. We had the pleasure of having The Grand Master of The Grand Lodge of South Africa attend as well as his District Grand Master in our Area. We had District Grand Masters from The English and Irish Constitutions in our area as well as the Irish District Grand Master from Zambia. Our Scottish District Grand Masters were from Natal, The Western Cape, The Eastern Cape and Zambia. Bro. Jim Jack (above right) got a hold of me and took me into the quiet of one of the offices to get away from all the buzz which was going on. It was probably the best thing to do and I could gather my thoughts. Eventually everyone had entered the Temple in procession and there was only me and the Tyler left outside. After about an hour of business inside Bro. David Begg came out of the Temple to take me in. I can only think of it as a blur as there was just a sea of faces as I was escorted in. The Grand Master obligated and invested me and placed me in the chair. Although this job will have its challenges I have a good team behind me and I am confident that we can move our District on in the right direction. I am proud of my routes in Johnstone, having been educated there and served my apprenticeship there before leaving those shores at the ripe old age of 21 for a new life in South Africa . I hope in my 5 years of Office that I can make a trip again to renew my friendship with 242. My thanks to Bro. Dave for supplying text and photos (more of which will be in September’s edition). It would be great to see Bro. Dave back in 242 as DGM.
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From the Columns Unfortunately, the first meeting in March was an exemplification. At the end, the PGL Annual Visit took place with the lodge receiving a clear minute. At the conclusion of the meeting, brethren retired to the Social Club where Bro. Gordon Fleming Asst. PG Tres gave a talk entitled Jeptha really started something. This was well received and out thanks to go him for taking the time to give this talk.
Traditional Observance Lodges Taken from a book review of A Trad itio nal Observance Lo d ge by Bro. Cliff Porter. The author's home lodge is different. They suffer from higher than 100% attendance, men wait periods of longer than a year to get initiated, they have never lost a single Entered Apprentice, they have nobody on the roles who is NPD or has been dropped for NPD. Men arrive on lodge days at 8:00 a.m. and are often reluctently leaving for home near midnight or 2:00 a.m. Their dues are high by American standards, the background check is rigorous, and the initiations are solemn and serious. Every lodge meeting is treated as an event and celebrated as such. Dinner is treated as a feast with all its positive connotations. Freemasonry is celebrated in every aspect of the lodge. From the artwork, the furnishings, the set up and the atmosphere; all aspects of the lodge meeting are intentional and meant to create an experience. The Lodge is a Traditional Observance Lodge or T.O. Lodge as it is called by some. Like all labels, the Traditional Observance label has caused fear and fright, anger and frustration, confusion, and edicts. It has also helped to define the practices that make the author's lodge one of the most successful lodges in the United States by any standard one might choose to measure it. This book does not claim to provide a Masonic magic pill for the ailing lodges of the world. Nor does it claim in any fashion or form that the way this author's lodge operates is the only way or the best way to operate. What this book does is explain the Traditional Observance model and encourages ideas in the area of increasing the lodge experience and allowing quality to become the watchword over every aspect of Freemasonry. The writings contains a mixture of personal experiences, practical advice, and real life examples for creating a Traditional Observance lodge or increasing your lodges fulfilment. Well worth a read—ask your local library to get a copy in.
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GL News Nothing new from last month.
PGL News PGL Divine Service— Sunday 26th April in Cathcart Congregational Church 2.30 for 3pm PGL Tri-Annual Communication—Monday 27th April in Lodge 347 Rutherglen at 7.30pm. The popular PGLRE Curry Night took place in the premises of Lodge St. John, Busby No. 458 on Saturday 21st March. Around sixty Brethren, partners and guests – including PGM Bro John S. Miller and his wife - enjoyed a spicy spread of pakoras and curry supplied by Bro. Raj Sattar who owns the Kebabish Restaurant in Glasgow’s Victoria Road.
Thanks to Bro. Willie Fleming SPGM for organising the event which raised £450 for PGL Benevolent Funds.
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Alexander McKenzie's Vaults
These were situated at 339-41 Gairbraid Street, Maryhill, Glasgow and later 991-99 Maryhill Road at Oran Street It was later renamed the Cabar Feidh and old Scots Gaelic word meaning Stag's Head. Bro. Alexander McKenzie (shown above in 1892) was born in Blair Athol. In 1875 he came to Glasgow and started work in MacRae’s Hotel in Bath Street, after 2 years service he was promoted to the famous Caledonian Hotel in Oban. He missed the city life and came back to Glasgow to work for Mr Stewart in Gairbraid Street, Maryhill where he prospered from shopman to manager then to partner then sole proprietor. Alexander had his own blend of scotch whisky called “Caba Feidh” which was very popular with the locals of this old established Maryhill local. Mr McKenzie was a member of several societies, an ardent Free Mason, a burgess of Glasgow and a member of the Trades' House, an Anderston Weaver, a Forester, a member of the Kelvin dock Curling and Maryhill Bowling Clubs as well as an honorary member of the Dunbartonshire Mounted Rifle Volunteers. He was a crack shot and was fond of angling. Bro. McKenzie will be known to very few today, but I wonder if his mother lodges is aware of him. Can any Glasgow Freemason enlighten us as to which lodge he joined?
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Quatuor Coronati Lodge No.2076 (London)
On the weekend of 9—11th September, 2016, the lodge will host a conference on the history and development of freemasonry. It will be held in Queen’s College, Cambridge to celebrate the 300th Anniversary of the first English Grand Lodge. The lodge was founded by brethren who were intent on using an evidence-based approach to the study of masonic history and research into Freemasonry. This innovative approach was intended to replace the imaginative writings of earlier authors on the history of Freemasonry. This new style and approach was later to be referred to as the 'authentic school' of masonic research. The founders planned to develop an interest in research among brethren everywhere, to have papers read and discussed in lodge and published in its transactions Ars Quatuor Coronatorum (AQC). Many of these transactions are available in the PGL Library at 1414.
April Events in 242
Thursday 9th—EA by St. Barchan No.156
Thursday 26th—MM by OBs Visit: Thursday 16th—Craigends No.1042 to confer the MMD
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A Little Known Architect Peter Lyle Barclay Henderson was born in Edinburgh in 1848, son of Barclay Henderson and Mary Lyle. His father was engineer of the Edinburgh Gas Light Company's Works and his parentage probably determined the predominantly industrial nature of his practice. He was educated at Moray House and by private tuition, and in 1863 he was articled to Charles Leadbetter and James W Smith who were civil engineers as well as architects, concurrently studying at Edinburgh School of Art. He commenced independent practice at Oxford Street, Edinburgh in 1873 (according to his nomination papers: Pike gives 1881) and in 1875 married Helen Smart, daughter of James Aikman. He was admitted FRIBA on 3 December 1906, his proposers being Hippolyte Jean Blanc, also a brewer's architect, James Macintyre Henry, and Colin B Cownie, the then secretary of the Edinburgh Architectural Association. Henderson was essentially a brewer's and licensed trade architect with fourteen major clients in that field, but some of his work, particularly Mackay's St Leonard's Brewery, had considerable merit. He took an active part in public life: he was for three years moderator of Edinburgh High Constables and was a member of the Merchant Company, but failed to secure election to the Town Council in 1890. He was 'well known in Masonic circles, having attained to the 31st Degree of Scottish Masonry and been for three years the master of the Lodge of Edinburgh'. In 1899, he won the contract to design a new ‘Egyptian’ Chapter Room in The Supreme Royal Arch building in Queen Street, Edinburgh (right). Unfortunately, this has since been sold and they share premises in St. John Street, off the Canongate. Another example of a lost Masonic Hall. I wonder how many remember the old building? Henderson died at Colinton in Edinburgh on 2
June 1912. His wife had predeceased him; he was survived by a son and four daughters.
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Lodge St. Barchan’s Secret I was contacted by a Bro. John Booth from British Columbia a few years ago in regard to the diaries (dating back to 1858-59) of a Bro. William Macdonald. The diaries was found by the Maxey family who asked John to look through them as they knew he was a member of the craft. Although there’s nothing in the diaries, John made contact with me as some of Bro. Macdonald’s other belongings suggested he was a member of 156. John’s a PM of Discovery Lodge 149 in Campbell River and has just been installed as Chaplain of the newly instituted Qualicum Lodge 197. We did some digging through our old minute books and found the following entry in the minute book of June 1869 regarding William Macdonald: “The Master presented to the Lodge a copy of our charter in a handsome frame, and written in fine stile (the original spelling, not mine) by Sergeant Macdonald, Drill Instructor of volunteers. It was proposed by Bro. H Shedden, seconded by Bro. A Grant and agreed to that we offer to initiate Sergeant Macdonald as a member of our lodge on the Apprentice Degree as a mark of appreciation of his labour.” There’s another entry from July 1869 which suggests that William Macdonald took up the offer to join the Lodge. The minute of 24th July 1869 records that “William Macdonald, drill sergeant, was initiated as apprentice.” The brother was passed and raised in 1870 and received his mark degree in 1872. In between times he was elected as Secretary in November 1871 and was re-elected each year until 1875. This being the case I would assume that some of the minutes were actually written by William Macdonald although the Masters’ signatures are present. What I found odd was that during his term in office the minute book looks as though it’s been written by two different people (ie two quite different sets of handwriting). I guessed that perhaps the Brother was serving abroad and someone else was writing the minutes but when I mentioned this in a letter to John Booth he confirmed that the same could be seen William’s other diaries. My best guess is that he’s been injured and had to write with his other hand. Bro. John has transcribed the William Macdonald’s ‘Indian Mutiny’ diary from the period January 1858 to September 1859 from which is clear to see that he’s obviously an educated man. Given the original mention of William Macdonald in the Lodge minutes I wondered about this copy of our charter. I’m not a handwriting expert, but what’s interesting and a bit worrying is that the handwriting on the charter we had framed a few years back looks very similar to the handwriting used in the minutes from 1871 to 1875. Bro. Eddie Findlay PM 156 156 meets in the village of Kilbarchan on the 1st & 3rd Tuesdays: http://www.stbarchan.org.uk/ Cross Keys April 2015
Hiram a Beef Pythagoras is best known for the geometrical theorem that is named after him. The Pythagorean theorem or 47th problem of Euclid, as it is known to the Past Master, is inarguably of great importance to Geometry in a practical sense and to Freemasonry in a philosophical sense. Ritual informs us that upon making the discovery Pythagoras shouted "Eureka" and many lodges carry that name today for this very reason. In actual fact Eureka isproperly associated with Archimedes who is said to have exclaimed it upon discovering the formula for the displacement of liquids. In either case these mathematical discoveries were well worth celebrating. But there is another point of ritual, which contains a word not well known today. It is said that after discovering his theorem, Pythagoras sacrificed a hecatomb. Hecatomb is a word, which at one time was commonly known to mean 100 head of cattle. There are many historians who argue that the ritualistic claim is inaccurate, and that Pythagoras made a substitution instead. Being a vegetarian, these historians claim, he would not have made such a sacrifice and being poor he would not have owned so great a sum as 100 head of cattle. I am inclined to disagree with the historians and state categorically that the ritual must be correct. It is my firm belief that Pythagoras sacrificed such a quantity of cattle and probably even more. The theory is supported by the many installation banquets I've attended of late. I believe Pythagoras sacrificed these cows and we Freemasons have been forced to eat the meat ever since. What other reason could there be for the proliferation of Roast Beef Dinners in our fraternity? My evidence is as follows: 2500 year old beef would be, by nature, very tough Have you ever been to a roast beef dinner where the beef wasn't tough? I have it on good authority that at least one Grand Lodge is considering adding a fourth question of applicants, "Do you like Roast Beef." Presently there is one ritual committee greatly debating changing the name Hiram Abiff to Hiram A-Beef. This evidence is conclusive and I respectfully submit that it is proof positive for Pythagoras and his Hecatomb. The question remains where is it all kept? In recent years Rosslyn Chapel has been associated with both the Knights Templar and Freemasonry and many contemporary authors have put forth theories as to what is buried under the chapel. I believe that the true treasure is a massive stockpile of Beef and I will petition the Rosslyn Trust to permit excavations to prove the theory.
Continued over
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Hiram a Beef (ctd) Additionally many Masons have, since the word was lost sought to find it. I believe that this too is in error and that the true secret of Freemasonry is not the quest for the lost word, but rather the lost recipe that would permit Pythagoras' beef to be cooked in a manner that is palatable. In closing Brethren, I do not expect all of you to support my theories as the evidence is at best circumstantial, but would it kill us to serve one chicken dinner? Is Chinese food so far out of the question as to threaten the foundation stone of our craft? Must we forever endure the actions of one ancient brother, who may or may not have been a dues paying member? By the end of January 2002, I will have attended 10 installation banquets and will welcome a good old cheese sandwich. For the love of the craft, will no one rid us of this meddlesome cow?
By Bro. Stephen Dafoe, a new member at that time, but clearly a good visitor. Maybe he should try the steak pie round at Scottish Installations!
Heathrow Lodge
Heathrow Lodge No.7999 had a very unique crest. Looking at the centre of the badge, it looks like part of Solomon’s Seal (more common in Royal Arch masonry), but is in actual fact is part of the runway pattern at London’s Heathrow Airport. The pale blue background is to represent the association of its founders with the RAF. Unfortunately, the lodge was erased in 2006. Let’s hope conspiracy theorists don’t now think that the airport is linked to a Zionist plot!!!
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Is he?
Happy Recess Due to the new examination system in Scotland, I have no time to have a May edition so please have a happy and restful recess.
Stuart McCall, the manager of Glasgow Rangers FC shaking the hand of his asst. Manager after beating Hibs.
Masonic Torches An advert from the 1870s—torches for public processions which were common place then but rarely seen today. Even brethren from 242 used to process through the principal streets of Johnstone from the lodge to the new master’s house after the installation in December.
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Definitely No Hiding this Building!
5 Generations of Masters
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Happy Recess
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To submit an article, contact the Editor: Grant Macleod E-Mail:
sec242pm@yahoo.co.uk
Lodge Website
www.lodge242.co.uk
Thanks to Bro. Allan Stobo IPM for proof reading.
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