Solemn Strikes the Funeral Chime

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

WB Darin A. Lahners

Darin and Allan

I’m pretty sure that if you’re a Freemason, you immediately recognize the title of this article as the first line of the Masonic Funeral Dirge. The dirge was composed by Bro. David Vinton in 1816 and it is set musically to Pleyel’s Hymn which was composed by Bro. Ignaz Joseph Pleyel in 1791. But the purpose of this article isn’t to discuss the Funeral Dirge, I’m writing it to honor a friend and Brother, Allan Mackiewicz. Allan passed recently, December 8, 2019, after a battle with Cancer. He was diagnosed on April 24, 2018 with stage 4 kidney cancer which spread to his lungs and eventually his brain.

I first met Allan in 2003. I had overheard some co-workers at the time discussing baseball, and being a huge baseball fan, I immediately struck up a conversation. I quickly learned that they were in a PC baseball league, which used a game called Diamond Mind Baseball to simulate outcomes of the games that were played. It is a descendant of dice and charts baseball simulations such as Strat-O-Matic baseball and Pursue the Pennant. I expressed my interest in joining the league, and I seem to recall that the league was full at the time, but one of the “Owners” quit after the season, and I took over that team. I met Allan at the annual draft of debut players and free agents that next year.

Allan loved the art of the baseball deal. In Allan’s eyes, no one was untradeable. In fact, the other guys in the league would joke that Allan would win multiple championships if he held onto his players. He would agonize over trades, and then literally days after making the trade, he would trade away the player he just agonized over away, only to begin the process again. I think he got a thrill out of seeing who he could trade for. As proof of this, you can visit the league trade page, (http://midleague.com/trades.htm), pick a random year and see how many trades that Allan’s team (The Westville Warriors) made. After learning of his passing yesterday, many of the other members of our league have shared similar stories of Allan’s love of wheeling and dealing and their experiences with him. 

  

I think Allan and I hit it off because Allan had a great and somewhat twisted sense of humor, like myself. When he first told me of his cancer diagnosis, I joked with him that he was just using cancer as ploy to get pity trades from me. He immediately ran with it, and it became a running joke of ours. One of my favorite memories of Allan’s sense of humor took place at the draft held in January of 2005. One of our friends and fellow team owner, Scott, had a bowling league tournament that day, but he had the second overall pick in the draft that year. He wanted to draft David Wright with the pick, and had given us a list of players to draft for him. I thought it would be funny to prank Scott by telling him we drafted another player instead of David Wright with that pick. Allan immediately jumped on board with the prank. When Scotty called to check on the draft, Allan informed him of the pick we made for him which was not David Wright. Needless to say, Scotty was not happy with the selection. After his tournament, Scott showed up at my friend Tim’s place, where the draft was being held. We all had a good laugh when we came in all pissed off and we explained the ruse to him. We still laugh about it at every draft.

Allan was a great man. I remember when I was Den Leader for my youngest son’s Cub Scout Webelos den, we needed to visit either a fire or police department for one of the Webelos Pins that the kids needed for that rank. Allan was a captain with the Westville Police Department, and when I asked if I could bring the den over to visit the police department, he answered yes without even clearing it with his supervisors. Allan worked the night shift, but he was there to greet us that day, even though he had only had a few hours of sleep. He arranged for the K-9 unit to put on a demonstration, introduced the kids to the chief of police, and showed off their squad cars. Allan was a kind, generous and genuine person. Not only did he serve his community as a public servant, he also was heavily involved with the Westville Recreation Baseball League, serving as board president for a number of years and he played an integral part in getting additions added to Zamberletti Park in Westville for youth sports that used the facility.

Allan had hosted our annual baseball draft for the past several years at his home in Westville. As I was leaving in 2017, Allan pulled me aside to ask if I would sign his petition for Masonic Degrees. I was extremely honored to do so. I hope that in the brief examples I’ve shared, that I have shown that Allan was more than worthy of being a Freemason. Allan was petitioning to join Catlin Masonic Lodge #285 in Catlin, Illinois. Allan received his diagnosis while undergoing his degrees, so there was long gap between him receiving his EA, Fellowcraft and his Master Mason degrees. Allan was raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason on August 20, 2018. The irony of the evening wasn’t lost on me or many others given Allan’s diagnosis, especially during the second section of that degree. It was a beautiful degree. Allan joined the Valley of Danville, AASR Northern Jurisdiction at the fall reunion and became a 32 degree Scottish Rite Mason on October 27, 2018. He also was able to meet fellow Midnight Freemason, Travis Simpkins, at that reunion; and I know that they had a wonderful friendship because of that meeting. I’m very happy to know that Allan was able to impact the lives of many of my fellow Freemasons here in East Central Illinois, and they were able to experience the joy that he brought into my life for many years through our friendship.

Allan was optimistic regarding his health even up to the end, I think due to his strong faith in God. I really believe that he believed that he was going to beat cancer, and he maintained his belief up until the end of his battle. He had many of us convinced that he would too due to his heroic and optimistic attitude. I hope that if I’m ever facing a similar battle that I can battle it with as much grace and courage as Allan. There will be a huge hole in my life with his passing, and I’m sure that everyone that knew him has a similar feeling. It’s funny after hearing the news yesterday, and being pretty devastated by it, I was able to find our texts and messages on Facebook and emails, and I felt some comfort in having them. It’s like having special moments between us frozen in time, and that gave me reassurance for some odd reason. Allan leaves behind his wife Marla, and two daughters Ally and Myla. 

Requiescat in Pace my friend and brother. You will be missed.

~DAL

If You Say Their Name, They Are Not Forgotten

by Senior Midnight Freemason Contributor

WB Gregory J. Knott

Civil War Veteran John P. Leedy 1844-1887 

For many years I have coordinated with the local American Legion Post and the Boy Scouts to place flags on the graves of veterans in our local cemeteries.  We are a small town, but now have over 700 veterans on our lists. These veterans served in conflicts ranging from the War of 1812 to more recent conflicts.

One cemetery I save to do by myself.  Located in the rural part of our county, Stanton Friends Cemetery, was founded by the Society of Friends or the Quakers.  There was a Friends Church that met on the site from approximately 1870 – 1915. As this part of the state of Illinois was opening to settlement, those of the Quaker faith were migrating to this area to take advantage of the productive farmland.

The Quaker Church building is gone and those of the who practiced the Quaker religion also have no local presence.  My research shows that the church was dwindling in numbers, and the membership decided to close. I have numerous ancestors buried in this cemetery, including two sets of great-g-g Grandparents.  This part of my family were Quakers and were very influential in the Society of Friends in this part of the US.  

There are 35 Veterans currently buried in Stanton.  They served in the Civil War, WW I, WW II, Korea and Vietnam. Some of the older stones are becoming harder to read, so I have a list with a map to ensure that I can find them each year. Because of my family connection, I make sure that each Memorial Day weekend, the graves of the veterans in this cemetery have a flag placed by their marker, to ensure they are not forgotten.   

As I place each flag, I say the name of the veteran.  Having done this for several years, these seem like old friends that I become re-acquainted with each spring.  By saying the name of veteran, they, for a moment are still alive.  Their service and sacrifice are not forgotten.   It is an easy way for those of us in the present to connect with and be grateful for those of the past.  

This Memorial Day take a moment and say the name of a Veteran who is not longer with us, perhaps they paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.  By saying their name, they are not forgotten.

~GJK

WB Gregory J. Knott is the Worshipful Master of Ogden Lodge No. 754 in Ogden (IL) and a plural member of St. Joseph Lodge No. 970 (IL), Homer Lodge No. 199 (IL) and Naval Lodge No. 4 in Washington, DC.

The Coolest Guy I've Ever Known

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

Steven L. Harrison, 33°, FMLR

My cousin Bob Davis, a member of Veritas Lodge 608 in Indianapolis, was likely the coolest guy I've ever known. From my earliest memory of him, he was tinkering with cars that were junky heaps of metal and turning them into automotive masterpieces. I was amazed at his drawing abilities – the sketches he drew, to me, belonged in some art gallery. He was an Eagle Scout. A product of the 1950s, he could out-jitterbug any of the kids on the old American Bandstand show. He loved all things Marilyn Monroe and all things James Dean. He turned his basement into a museum of 1950s memorabilia. He took me for rides in his dune-buggy.

Bob was also an accomplished jazz drummer. I'm told he played for many famous acts as they toured through Indianapolis, including playing alongside one of the greatest drummers ever, Buddy Rich. On a couple of occasions, he took me to the smoke-filled nightclubs where he was working. I was way too young to be there, legally or otherwise, but I sure had fun.

If all that wasn't enough, Bob had a job working with Indianapolis 500 race drivers Eddie Sachs and Bobby Marshman, helping them to promote whatever products their celebrity could help sell. The fact he worked with Indy race drivers was alone enough to brand him as the coolest guy in town as far as I was concerned – because if you're a kid growing up in Indianapolis, you're probably a race fan. I certainly was.

As race day dawned in 1964, I'm sure Bob was there not only to cheer on his work-buddies but also to see some of the all-time greats: Jack Brabham, Jimmy Clark, Dan Gurney, Parnelli Jones, and the incomparable A.J. Foyt. All the buzz was about a new guy, Dave MacDonald, who was driving a low-slung "car of the future."

The race began, and as the cars crossed the start/finish line at the end of the first lap Bob watched Jimmy Clark in the lead followed by one of his favorites, Bobby Marshman. The cars came around again and Bob followed the two leaders into the first turn. When he turned to see the rest of the field he said he saw something his mind really couldn't process.

Black smoke. Fire. Chaos.

The entire north end of the track was on fire. The ENTIRE north end. Thick smoke billowed up several stories above the track like the mushroom cloud from a nuclear test.

Coming out of turn four, Dave MacDonald in the "car of the future" had spun. His car skidded across the track, hit the inside wall and exploded in a fireball. He ricocheted back across the track where Eddie Sachs plowed into him, his car also exploding.

Eddie Sachs, Bob's friend and arguably the most popular driver at the Speedway at the time, died. Later came word that Dave MacDonald had also been killed.

After the disaster Brother Bob continued to work with Bobby Marshman, but things understandably weren't the same. Then, later that year, the unthinkable happened. Marshman died in yet another fiery crash at the Phoenix Raceway. The events of 1964 stunned Bob to the core.

Brother Bob found other ways to make a living. He was a jack-of-all-trades. He could fix anything. He continued to build custom cars and was a co-founder of the Indianapolis Custom-Car Show held in the huge parking lot next to, what else, a 1950s-style drive-in. The last car he built was a customized 1952 Chevy that was the subject of several magazine articles and won many awards. In later years his business card touted the fact that he and his wife Peggy were "the world's oldest teenagers."

Bob passed away in 2016. His gleaming black custom Chevy sat outside during the services and carried his ashes to his final resting place.

With all his talent and all the things he could do and do well, there was one thing he couldn't do. He never went to another race.

~SLH

Bro. Steve Harrison, 33° , is Past Master of Liberty Lodge #31, Liberty, Missouri. He is also a Fellow and Past Master of the Missouri Lodge of Research. Among his other Masonic memberships are the St. Joseph Missouri Valley of the Scottish Rite, Liberty York Rite bodies, and Moila Shrine. He is also a member and Past Dean of the DeMolay Legion of Honor. Brother Harrison is a regular contributor to the Midnight Freemasonsblog as well as several other Masonic publications. Brother Steve was Editor of the Missouri Freemason magazine for a decade and is a regular contributor to the Whence Came You podcast. Born in Indiana, he has a Master's Degree from Indiana University and is retired from a 35 year career in information technology. Steve and his wife Carolyn reside in northwest Missouri. He is the author of dozens of magazine articles and three books: Freemasonry Crosses the Mississippi, Freemasons — Tales From the Craft and Freemasons at Oak Island.