Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania Publishes History
The Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania , as one appropriate means of celeb rating the 200th anniversary of its independence from the Grand Lodge of England, will publish a two-volume , comprehensive history written by historian Wayne A. Huss , Ph.D
The first vo lume of the history , tit led The Master Builders: A History of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsyl vania, is now available through the Library and Museum at the Masonic Temple in Philadelphia (See coupon below). The second volume is scheduled for comp letion in the fall of 1987. A third volume consisting of portraits and biographies of Grand Masters is expected to be published in 1988. Dr. Huss graduated from Ursinus College in 197 1 and earned a Master ' s degree at Villanova Universit y in 1973. H e attended the Universi ty of Virg inia before enrolling at Temple University in 1978 where he studied Early American, French , Englis h and intellectual histor y . He was awarded a Ph .D . in january of 1985
The title of his doctoral dissertation was, Penn sylvania Freemasonry: An Intellectual and Social Analysis, I 72 71826 It proved to be a complim entar y view of the fraternity , proving that Penn sy lvania Freemasonry ac cepted as members men from all occupat ions, all social classes , and at most levels of
Wayne A. Huss, Pb D
wea lth. Freemasonry truly advocated brotherhood , equality , religious to leration and civic respon sibility. The fraternit y adhered to a scientific , rational view of the wo rl d and its ethics were c omposed o f the middle-class vi rtu es of sob riety , thrift and industr y Volume I of The Master Builders presents a c omprehens iv e narrativ e w h ich p lac es the development of th e Mas onic fraternity within the context of the broader society . It is an approach that had not been followed in
earlier works dealing with Pennsylvania Freemasonry.
The fact th at Dr. Huss is not a member of the fraternity lends a great deal of credibility and objectivity to his s tud y . The Master Builders is fill ed with numerous interesting insights and contains many heretofore unknown details pe rtaining to the fra tern i ty s past. The narrative is augmented by many illustrative charts , tables , graphs and photographs . Sources of information fo r the history include more than 55 -hundred pages of closely-printed Grand Lodge minutes and dozens of non-Masonic works. By tediously comb ing through well-preserved manuscript records , Dr. Huss has been able to co mpile co mprehensiv e membership sta tis tic s , including occupation backgrounds , on over 90,000 individuals.
Vol ume I deals with the period from th e origin of the Grand Lodge to the ded ication , in 187 3, of the Masonic Temple on Broad Street in Philadelphia. Voume II w ill cover the period from 18 74 to 1986.
Vo lume I will be on sale in the Librar y and Museum of the Masonic Temple in Philadelphia beginning on Friday , September 26, the day o f the 200th anniversar y celebration . The coupon that accompanies this article can be used to o rder th e History b y mai l.
Pennsylvania Celebrates Masonic Bicentennial
Two hundred years ago, on September 26, 1786, 13 individual lodges met in Philadelphia to, according to the minutes of that meeting, '' es t ablish themselves as a Grand Lodge independent of Great Britain or any other Authority. "
The previous da y , at the September Quarterly Communi ca ti on of the Grand Lodge on Sep temb er 2 5 , 1786 , the ques ti o n of Masonic independence had been resolved. A motion to sever ties w ith the Grand
Lodge of England ' ' except th ose of Brotherly Love and Affecti o n , which they will always be happy to cultivate and preserve wit h all Lodges throughout the Globe" was unanimously adopted.
The minutes of the meeting close with the statement: "This Lodge, acting by Virtue of a Warrant from th e Grand Lodge of Eng land, was closed forever. '
No Grand Lodge ope rat ed in Pennsylvania for a period of less
than 24 hours, until th e Grand Convention of the 13 lodges on the 26th when it was resolved, again unanimously, " that the Lodges under the Jurisdiction of the Gra nd Lodge of Pennsylvania , lat e l y held under the authority of the Grand Lodge of England, w ill , and now do form themselves into a Grand Lodge, to be ca lled the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania , and Masonic Jurisdiction ther eunto belonging . .. ' continued to page 3.
October 18 - Rededication Day at Masonic Homes
Plans for Rededication Da y at the Mason ic Homes at Elizabe tht own on Saturda y, October 18 are now comp lete a nd th ousands of Pennsy lvania Mas ons , their familie s and friends , are p r epared t o witness a special rededication ce remony in the morning and a fi ve-unit pa rade in the afternoon in addition to a ll the fun, free food , co lor and pageantry anyone could hope to ex perience on a beautiful autumn day. T h e day will begin at 10: 00 a.m. w hen the more than 4 ,000 persons w ho have a lr ead y signed up to attend are exp ec ted to a rri ve a t the Masonic Ho m es . Roo m is ava il a b le for th o u -
sands m o re - and th e coupon th at accompanies this article on page 6 c; an be used to register your place if you have not yet done so Also included in this issue on pages 8 and 9 is a map of the Masonic Homes that gives comp lete details about every aspect of the day ' s activity including parking, transportat ion about the grounds , food and beverages , guests' crafts , Homes produce , the staging area and route of the parade , and the staging for the re ded ication ceremony that will also be the site of va ri ous en t ertainments throughout the afte rn o on
Before the day ends at about 4:00 p .m., those attending w ill have viewed a specia l ceremony at 11 :00 a.m. in which the officers of the Gra nd Lodge w ill rededicate Grand Lodge Hall in marking the comp let ion of a renovation prog ra m begun in 19 79 and the 75th anniversary of the laying of th e cornerstone of the first major building const ru c ted on the grounds of the Mas on ic Homes - and a 1:3 0 p .m . parade in whic h as m any as 1,500 Masons , most of them members of co lorfu l shr in e units from var ious pa rt s of the s tate , will participate. contin u ed to page 6.
Grand Lodge In s titutes 800 Information System
A full sound stud io has been installed o n th e sec o nd fl oor o f th e Masonic Tem p le in Phi lad e lphi a to reco r d and p la yback through an 800 toll free number mes sages of inte res t t o Freemasons who are memb e rs of lodges in Pe nns y lvani a. Th e info rm ati o n service w ill b e in augura ted by th e R.W. Grand Master , B ro. Carl W. Stenbe r g , Jr. at no o n o n Wednesd a y,
Grand Master's Itinerary
SEPTEMBER THRO U GH DECEMBER
SEPTEMBER
13 Special Co mmunication o f Grand Lodge, Co rner st o n e l ay ing, Dedi -
c ati o n and 1 DOth Anni ve r sar y,
Lo dge No. 567, Riege sv ll e
20 Annu al Ladi es Night D in n er , Premier Conclave of t he Red
Cross o Con stantin e, Maso ni c Temp l e, Pittsb urgh
21-24 Supreme Coun cil , A.A. S. R , C in cinna ti Ohio
26 200th Anniv er sar y o th e I ndepend ence o f the Gra nd Lo d ge. Sp ec ial Co mmuni c at o n t o r ed ep osi t c ap stone and co rn er s o n e b ox it em s f ro m !8 68 c o rner sto n e i n th e Maso nic Templ e, Ph il ad elphia at 3 :00p.m .
26 Sp ec i a Co mmuni c ati o n o f Grand
Lo dge in substituti o n f o r th e regular Sept emb er Q u arte r l y Co mmunicati o n in th e Maso ni c T empl e, Phil ad el phi a at 7 :00p m.
OCTOBER
3 Lo dge N o .9 206 th Anni vers ar y , Ph il ade lphia
4 Lo d ge No. 668 , 7 5 th An n iversar y , Shar o n 13 Lodge No 22 5, G r ee n sburg
O c t obe r 1 5. The Grand Master w ill use the infor m a ti on se r v ice to d eliver messages o f general interest to Pe nnsylvania Masons The 80 0 line w ill also be used for spec ial m ess ages for s p ecific aud iences. The R. W. Gran d Secre ta r y will be g iv ing in fo rm a tion to the lodge secre t ar ies from 10: 00 a.m . to 4:00p.m. o n Mo nd a y, October 20 a n d the Gr and Treas ur er w ill have infor m ation for lodge treas ur e rs and tru stees from 10 :00 a. m . to 4:00 p. m . o n Tuesda y, Oc tob er 2 1. Mat ters of genera l int e r est will be a ir ed on all o th e r days, Monday throug h Fr id ay , d ur ing the sa m e hou rs The 800 information se r v ice res p o n se and use factor s w ill be anal yzed during the earl y wee k s of ope rati on a n d an y ch ange s in sched uling , if ne cessary , w ill be ann ou n ced as soo n as possi ble. Th e toll free numb er to b e used beg inning Octob er 15 is 1-800-438-4949
Pennsylvania Celebrates Masonic Bicentennial
continued from page 1
Membe rs o f th e fra ternit y do n o t ha ve to b e members of th e Grand Lodge to attend , bu t w ill h ave to p re se nt a current du es card.
OCTOBER
14 Lodge N o. 794, 25 t h Anni ve r sa r y , P easant Hill s
18 Sp ec ial Co mmunication of G r an d
Lo d ge f o r th e Red ed c ati o n o Gran d Lodge H all o n h e occa -
s o n o f th e 7 5th Ann i ve r sar y o f th e o r ginal Co rner ston e ay ing.
Maso n ic H o m es , Elizab e th tow n
24 Co mmitte e on Ma so ni c H o me s, Elizab et ht ow n
25 Lodge No. 564 , I OO t h Anni ve r sa r y Coa t esv ille
26-2 7- G ran d Lodge o f Geo rgia - 200 t h ·28 An n ve r sa r y
N OVEMBER
1 Lo d ge No 566, IOO th Anni ve r sar y Kan e
5 Lod ge No. 2 1, 207 th Anni ve r sa r y
Ban q u e t , Har ri sburg
8 Lo dge No 669 , 7 5th Ann iv er sar y, Oa k da le
11 Lodge No. 436 , Ph i lad el p hi a
15 Vall ey o New Cas t l e, A A S. R
1 7 200th Annual Co mmunica t i o n o f the Gran d Lo dge o Mar y l an d
22 Va ll ey o Pittsb ur gh , A.A.S R
29 Che st er Ro ya Ar c h Ch ap te r , No 2 58 C hest er
DE CEMBER
3 Q uarterl y Co mm un i c at i o n o f
Grand Lodge E ec tion an d ins t all ati o n of G rand Lo d ge o ffic er s,
Co r nthian Ha ll Maso nic T empl e, Ph i ade p h ia , 7:00 P.J\11.
4 G rand H o y Ro y al Arc h Cha p er of Penn sy l v an ia , M aso n c T empl e, Ph il ad elphi a
5 Co mm itt ee o n Maso ni c Ho mes , Elizabe hto w n
1 3 A. A .O. N. M S , Jaffa Templ e, Alto o na
27 Gr and l\ as ter w ill v sit Grand
L o d ge o f Ma ss ac hu se t s
THE P E NNSYLVANIA FREEMASON
Pub lication No . US PS 4 26- 140
Iss u ed Quarter y
D m bu ci o n O ffi ce- Mai ling Address MASONIC TEMPLE
O n e No rth Broad Stree r , Phi la. Pa 1910 7 Pos un ast er Send ad dress changes w a bove. Second C ass Postage Paid a t Philadel phia , Pe n nsylvania
Vo l. XXXIll Au g u s t 1986 No 3
A numb er of d is tin g uis h ed Masonic le a ders will v isit Pe nnsy lva ni a to part ici p ate in th e a nn ive rsa r y ce leb rati o n. Among th e m w ill be Bro.]. M. Ma rcus Humphre y of Dinnet, Grand Master Mason o f the Gran d Lodge of Scot land , an d Bro. Mi c h ael W W al k e r, Gra nd Secretar y of t he Grand Lodge of Ir e la n d .
Two s pec ia l co mmu n ica ti o n s of the Grand Lodge ha v e bee n p la nned for Sep tember 26. Both w ill be h e ld a t th e Mas o nic T emp le in Phil ade lph ia.
T h e first is a pub li c ceremon y that b egin s at 3 :00 p . m. whe n ite m s fr o m th e c o rn ers tone o f th e te mple , o ri g ina lly deposited on Jun e 2 4, 1868 , wi ll b e rede p os ite d in a special vaul t built int o th e floo r o f th e Gra n d Foy er off the m a in e ntran c e to the h eadq u a rt e rs buil d in g
Ite m s from t he 18 68 co rners tone b ox that have b ee n on dis p lay in t h e Librar y and Mu s e um in the Mas o nic Tem pl e fo r th e pas t s ix m o nth s w ill
be p la c ed in a n ew keysto n e -s hap ed b ox with Maso ni c m ate ri a ls of tod a y .
The v aul t w ill be c ove red w ith the w hi te m arb le caps tone that was also recove red from th e 1 868 co rf\ers t o n e .
The dam age to the capsto n e (see p h o to below) tha t occ urred as it was b e in g re m oved fro m th e top of t h e co rn e rs ton e ch amb e r h as been repa ire d . It wi ll serve th e same fun c ti o n b y ca pp ing the v ault for th e ne w depos itory
fo r t h e o ld and n ew Masonic ma terials.
Th e public cere m o n y w ill be an adap tation of th e co rn e rs tone cere m o n y condu cted in 1868. Because of li mi t ed
s pace in t h e Grand Foyer w h e re th e
c e remony w ill take pla ce , the proceedin gs w ill be re lay ed by cl osed ci r c u it ,
c o lor televis io n to Corinth ian a n d Re n -
a issan ce H alls on th e s eco nd fl oor.
Ma so ns n ot d ire c tl y involved in th e
cere m o n y, the ir ladies a n d o th e r fam il y
m e mb e rs, a nd th e genera l publi c w ill
b e sea ted in e ither h a ll beg innin g at about 2 :3 0p.m
No ti c ket or ide nti f icat io n is requi red. Gu ides w ill ass is t v is it ors to th e
sea ti ng areas About 2 ,0 00 persons ca n be acco mmoda ted in th e lodge roo m s
The 7: 00p .m . Spec ia l Com muni cation of the G r and Lo dge is a pri vate
m ee t ing ope n o nl y t o Mas t e r Mas ons.
The eve nin g m ee ting , in t h e place o f th e r egu lar Se pt e mber Quarterl y Comm u n i c ati o n , wi ll b e held in Cor inth ian H a ll , but will a lso be tele v ise d to Renaissan ce H all in anti c ipat ion of a large crowd fo r the ann iversa r y c ele b r ation . All re se r va ti o n s fo r the 5 :00 p m d inner in th e Mason ic Te mpl e have bee n requested. Those who sent in t ic ke t requ es ts b y using th e co up on in the Ju n e issue of The Pennsylvania Fre emason aft e r Jun e 3 0 h ad to b e turn ed awa y . The 1 ,000 ava ila b le se ats h ad been a lmost immediately tak en u p by th ose who a c te d qui c kl y
completion of an eight-year renovation program
Tbe renovation of Grand Lodge Hall bas prouided tbe opportunity for construction of two new facilities - an ice cream parlor for tbe use of tbe H omes· guests and uisitors, and a museum in wbicb many objects of great sigmficance to tbe Masonic Homes at Elizabetbtown will be displayed.
Co ntinu ed t o page. ,_.
Rededication Day at Masonic Homes continued from page 1.
guides to vis it ors. Grand Lodge Hall and some of the individual guest quarters in the surrounding residential bu ildings will be open for inspection from noon to 1:30 p.m and again from 2:30 t o 4:00p.m A number of guests have vol unteere d th eir quarters and their se r v ices as One area of particular interest in viewing the renovation work in Grand Lodge hall will be the museum and the old theater and s torage space. Photographs of the work in prog res s are shown on pages 4 and 5 and an artist s concep ti on of the ice cream parlor is shown above. ice cream parlo r , new add iti o n s that flank the main entrance t o the build- There is no c harge for parking , food or beverage . ing, constructed in w hat had been an
Rededication Day at the Masonic Homes at Elizabethtown
Outdoor Advertisers Boost Drug and Alcohol Foundation
Al.CO and HOI. ABUSE MIING CIIILDREM
The Grand Lodge bas placed this message on more than 1 00 large billboards tbmugbout the state in recent montbs tbanks t o a public se1·vice p r ogram sponsored by members of the Outdoor Advertising Association of Pennsyl vania The program was first brougbt to the attention of tbe Grand Lodge by Bro . Th omas E. Buckwalter, President of the association. Bro. Buckwalter is a member of Eureka Lodge No. 302 and Vice President-General Manager of Whiteco Metmcom , I nc. H is firm , operating in the greater Harrisbw·g area, is pm-ticzpating with Penn Advertising, In c. with divisions in Yo1·k , Lancaster, R eading, Erie, Williamsp01·t and Altoona; Creative Displays Ltd. in Lehigb Valley; Morgan Signs , Inc. in Altoona; johnstown Poster Adve1·tising Co. in johnstown, and Pocono Outdoor Advertising Co. , Inc in Bangor. Each of the firms give free billboard space for a montb at a time.
Grand Lodge Hall
continued from page 4.
Th e photographs on pages 4 an d 5 show th e co n crete work th at was done in transf o rming what had been a wood-covered , dirt fl oor in the o ld th eater section to the e ft o f the entrance and a storage area for c lothes an d supplies to the right. The ice crea m pa rl o r (see the artist ' s drawing on page 6) is to th e left o f the en trance in what h ad been th e thea t er area, and the museum s t o th e r igh t in the former storage space M ost visitors t o the Masonic H o m es in rhe past entered Grand Lo dge Hall from th e Village Green which is actua ll y the rear of rhe building Upon completion of the renovation , and beginning with the open h o use during Rededication Day on Satu rday, October 18 (see st ory beginning on page o ne) the main ent ran ce f or visitors wi ll be fr o m the front o f the building. A great dea l of int eresti n g items will be
Grand Master Awards Lapel Pin · Past District Deputy Grand Masters Honored
displ ayed, i ncluding an ant que piece o f fire fight ing equipment an d an old player piano Both are being restored f o r use o r disp l ay n the n ew facilities. The muse um is a particularly valuable addition to the Homes facilities s nce t wi ll provide a single place f or the sto r age an d disp l ay of i tems that heretofo r e h ad been s o red in nooks and c r annies and ou t -oft h e- way places thro u ghou t the grou n ds.
The R.W. Grand Master, Bro. Ca rl W.
St e nberg , Jr. , was host of a la rge cont ingent of Past Distric t Deputy Grand Maste rs who attended the Quarterly Communica t ion in Philadelphia on June 4 at the invi ta ti on of the Grand Mas ter to receive a new form of recogni t ion
Eighty-one of the 2 56 Past Dis tri ct Dep uty Grand Masters were ab le to attend t he meeting and receive a lape l pin designed by Bro. joseph M. Shanholtz, an Aide to th e Grand Master, from the jewel each man wore from his purp le co llar during th e t im e he se r ved as a Distr ict Dep ut y Grand Mas ter. The Grand Master p resented th e firs t of the lape l pins to Bro. Wilbur H Schang, who was the oldes t of the Pas t District Deputy Grand Masters by se rvice , having served the 12th Masonic D is t r ict (in the g reate r WilkesBarre a rea) from 1948 through 1960
size
Bro John K. Young, R.W. Past Grand Master , represented the Right Worshipfuls who have served as Di s tri ct Deputy Grand Masters Bro Young served Masonic Dist ri ct A in Philadelphia from 1951 to 196 1. Unde r current law, anyone who se r ves five years can be created a Past District Deputy Grand Master.
Grand Mast e r Stenberg places pin on lapel of Bro. Wilbur H. Schang. Bro. john K. Young, R. W. Past Grand Master, is to the right.
Actual
lapel pin for Past District Deputy Grand Masters.
PARKING LOT NO 1
r
A GRAND LODGE HALL
B RECREATION CENTER
c MASONIC TEMPLE
D DEIKE AUDITORIUM
E LEVIS BUILDING
(PAU L L. LEVIS MEMORIAL)
F LANCASTER COUNTY MEMORIAL
G McKEE COTIAGE
H JOHNS SE LL MEMORIAL CHAPEL
FREEMASON DRIVE
J K L M N 0
LEGEND
E.W. KUHLEMEIER MEMORIAL COTIAGE
ALLEGHENY COUNTYMEMORIAL
BERKS BUILDING-
ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICESDAUPHIN COUNTY MEMORIAL
JOHN H. DAMAN MEMORIAL
VILLAGE GREEN
FORMAL GARDENS
TUNNELS PARADE ROUTE
BUS TRIPS FOR ON GROUNDS TRANSPORTATION
ENTRANCE PARKING LOT NO . 1 SOFT ICE CREAM TRU CK
APPLE BUDER BREAD SAMPLES --t--+-
APPLE BUDER COOKING -I---t-
IN FORMATION -t--fBOOTH GIFT SHOP --+---4-
FOODAREA NO . 1 G-
BUS PICK UP & DISCHARGE
PEDESTR IANS TO VILLAGE GREEN DINING TENT
WATER FOUNTAIN 0
SODA ICE CREAM COOKIES
REDEDICATION PLATFORM AND VIEWING PLATFORM FOR PARADE
PROCESSIONAL WILL FORM HERE FOR REDEDICATION
ORCH CHAIRS CHORAL CHAIRS
