Lodge Tips: The First in a Series.

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

Bro. Robert H. Johnson 

The night was just starting, we were gaveled down and as I sat, the button on my tux popped off and flew strait out like some stereotypical cartoon moment. I literally reached out six inches in front of me in a gut reaction, no pun intended and snatched the button before it hit the ground. 

The Grand Master of the State of Illinois was sitting in the East. I was going to have to get up a half dozen more times during the evening, not to mention the degree work I was part of. What to do?! Lucky for me, I always carry spare buttons and safety pins with me. On any given lodge night where we are in tuxedos or suits, I always am ready for the Masonic wardrobe malfunctions which seem to plague brothers at the worst of times. 

This constant flair for the law of one “Mr. Murphy” is the reason for a new series of short pieces I will be delivering. The focus? Dealing with and quick fixes for masonic wardrobe issues and other “McGuyver” solutions for a myriad of lodge problems. 

So, in honor of this latest disaster, Here is how to prepare for and handle a tux or suit button that fell off in the midst of your Masonic work. Buttons, whether falling off from the stitching coming undone or bloat from the awesome meal I cooked...errr...your JR Warden cooked, is easy to fix. Step one, be prepared with extra buttons. Buy buttons that match your jacket and that have a plastic or metal loop on the back, not “holed” buttons. Most tux buttons are made this way. Step two is to always have a a safety pin on you. I cary three all the time. A large one, and two small ones. 

To fix the coat button just poke the small safety pin through the inside of the coat toward the outside, go through the button loop and back to the inside of the coat and latch the pin. Done deal. It might not look perfect, but you wont look sloppy and most of the time any part of the safety pin you could see is hidden by your apron anyway. 

Join me next time when I tell you how to make a quick and easy hamburger bar for dinner when the monotony of hotdogs wheres thin. Now I know what your thinking, “Is he serious?” Well, you'll just have to join us next time to find out.

~RHJ

Sir Knight Robert Johnson, 32° is the editor of the Midnight Freemasons blog.  He is a Freemason out of the First North-East District of Illinois. He belongs to Waukegan Lodge No. 78. He is also a member of the York Rite bodies Royal Arch, Cryptic Council and Knights Templar, and a member of the Scottish Rite Valley of Chicago.  Brother Johnson currently produces and hosts a weekly Podcast (internet radio program) Whence Came You? which focuses on topics relating to Freemasonry. In addition, he produces video shorts focusing on driving interest in the Fraternity and writes original Masonic papers from time to time. He is a husband and father of three. He works full time in the safety industry and is also a photographer on the side as well as an avid home brewer. He is also working on two books, one is of a Masonic nature.