Open-Source Freemasonry

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

Bro. Ken JP Stuczynski

Technology and techniques are trade secrets, at first slow to spread and evolve. With the advent of printing, knowledge was spread far and wide. Craftsmen in one place were aware of better practices and tools in distant lands and added them to their knowledge and toolbox.
Then came the invention of “intellectual property”. Patents hindered the copying of an idea or invention (in principle to ensure the exclusive benefit of its creator). But ideas also became publicly known. People could build their own ideas based on it. I don't think it is a coincidence that such things coincided with the Industrial Revolution and the rise of Capital. Universal knowledge is still possible, but for the consumer, we entered an Age of the Proprietary. The average person and company are beholden to certain suppliers and licenses.

Perhaps because our secrets are symbolic, Freemasonry seems unaffected by these social and economic changes. Sure, there are printed volumes from Masonic writers far and wide, but few consider them integral to cultivating our Art. Perhaps it's because we each have our own Constitutions and interpretation of Landmarks. Masons can travel and experience variations in Ritual and tradition, but most of us live and work in the confines of local quarries.
Then came the Internet and social media. Without going through Grand Secretaries or district associations, we have prolific Masonic intercourse with Brothers around the world. We share ideas and experiences. And vive la différence! Our differences give us a much deeper understanding of Freemasonry as a whole. It gives us new ideas, new programs, new inspiration of all kinds.

But we can take this further. For a generation now, there’s been a new paradigm -- open-source software. People freely contribute and build upon code, design, and functionality. We don't need a specialized platform to have a Masonic website -- tons of software is out there, mostly free. If I build you a website, for example, you can take it somewhere else and add or remove whatever you like, either yourself or a million other people who know the software. You’re not beholden to me.

Imagine membership software anyone could use and customize to fit their exact needs. Imagine jurisdictions controlling their own data in-house. Some already do this to some extent. But imagine if anyone could contribute functionality that others could use, instead of being beholden to one company to develop and roll out as a feature. There’s little expense in building and maintaining their own system using this model.

But let’s apply this to more than zeroes and ones -- to programs, flyers and graphics, budgets, bylaws, and management processes. In New York, we have the 24-Inch-Guage, which is a start, but how about a repository across jurisdictions? Imagine Masons everywhere freely sharing and contributing ideas and resources.

This isn’t a pie in the sky. Someone, somewhere, will build a digital Library of Alexandria for our Craft and perhaps fraternal organizations in general. We only need to find and support artificers for this grand purpose.

~JP

 

Bro. Ken JP Stuczynski is a member of West Seneca Lodge No.1111 and recently served as Master of Ken-Ton Lodge No.1186. As webmaster for NYMasons.Org he is on the Communications and Technology Committees for the Grand Lodge of the State of New York. He is also a Royal Arch Mason and 32nd Degree Scottish Rite Mason, serving his second term as Sovereign Prince of Palmoni Council in the Valley of Buffalo, NMJ. He also coordinates a Downtown Square Club monthly lunch in Buffalo, NY. He and his wife served as Patron and Matron of Pond Chapter No.853 Order of the Eastern Star and considered himself a “Masonic Feminist”.

What’s in Your Library? - From the Archives

By Midnight Freemason Contributor

W.B. Gregory J. Knott

Many new Masons are eager to learn all they can about the craft when they are first raised.  You hear many unfamiliar terms during the ritual and lectures that require further study to understand their meaning within the entirety of the ritual. One of the duties of a Freemason, is to educate yourself further on the craft by studying the history, meaning, and philosophy of this ancient and honorable fraternity.  Engaging in this course of study can be done in several ways and achieved through a large variety of available resources.   

I wanted to establish my own home library of Masonic resources.  I’ve always loved books, so this was an easy excuse for me to expand my personal book holdings.  But I really didn’t have any idea where to start.  I visited my local Barnes & Nobel bookstore and perused their offerings and bought a few titles and used Google Books to discover many older books that were available digitally.  I later found Masonic book publishers such as Macoy and Michael Poll’s excellent Cornerstone Book Publishers.

So the question comes down to, what are the basics to place in your home library?  I asked several people including some of my fellow Midnight Freemasons and here are some starting suggestions:

• Short Talk Bulletins by the Masonic Service Association
• Famous American Freemasons Volume I and II by Todd E. Creason
• Morals and Dogma by Albert Pike
• Hidden Keys to Freemasonry by Manley P. Hall
• Secret Teachings of All Ages by Manley P. Hall
• The Book of Words – Lawrence Kushner
• Royal Masonic Encyclopedia
• History of Freemasonry by Albert Mackey
• Ancient Freemasonry by Amblain
• Freemasons for Dummies by Christopher Hodapp – especially valuable to loan new members
• Mackey’s Encyclopedia Pre 1911 edition
• Your Grand Lodge Proceedings - Illinois Grand Lodge Proceedings
• Egyptian Mythology
• Books of the Sacred Law – Holy Bible, Koran, 
• Roberts Rules the Masonic Edition by Michael Poll
• A Bridge to Light by Rex R. Hutchens
• Born in Blood by John J. Robinson
• A Pilgrim’s Path by John J. Robinson
• Dungeon, Fire & Sword - by John J. Robinson
• Laudable Pursuit – Knights of the North
• Observing the Craft – Andrew Hammer
  
  

What’s in your Masonic Library?

~GJK

WB Gregory J. Knott is the Past Master of St. Joseph Lodge No. 970 in St. Joseph (IL) and a plural member of Ogden Lodge No. 754 (IL), Homer Lodge No. 199 (IL) and Naval Lodge No. 4 in Washington, DC. He’s a member of the Scottish Rite, the York Rite, Eastern Star and is the Charter Secretary of the Illini High Twelve Club No. 768 in Champaign-Urbana. He is also a member of ANSAR Shrine (IL) and the Eastern Illinois Council No. 356 Allied Masonic Degrees. Greg serves on the Board of Directors of The Masonic Society and is a member of the Scottish Rite Research Society and The Philathes Society. Greg is very involved in Boy Scouts—an Eagle Scout himself, he is a member of the National Association of Masonic Scouters.

The World's Smallest Presidential Library – A Pictorial

 by Midnight Freemason Contributor

Steven L. Harrison, 33°, FML

Out in my neck o’ the woods, nestled between two iconic presidential libraries – Truman’s in Independence and Eisenhower’s in Abilene – is a third presidential library you may not be familiar with. It is the world’s smallest presidential library.

As you, the reader, skim through your mental database of American presidents and come up empty, let me suggest you may have overlooked the presidential term and accomplishments of Brother David Rice Atchison. That's right. President David Rice Atchison; the man for whom Atchison, Kansas and the Atchison-Topeka-Santa Fe railroad are named.

                        

The account of his presidency goes like this: In 1849, inauguration day, March 4, fell on a Sunday. President-elect Zachary Taylor refused to be inaugurated on the Lord's day of rest and Vice-President-elect Millard Fillmore followed suit, both delaying their inauguration until Monday, March 5. Constitutionally, this left the presidency vacant on March 4. Back then, second in line of succession fell to the Senate President Pro-Temporary, the position Atchison held. Realizing there was technically no president, North Carolina Senator Willie Magum and a group of Atchison's friends descended on his house and woke him up in the early hours of March 4. Magum administered the oath of office and asked Atchison to name him Secretary of State. With that the crowd left and "President" Atchison went back to bed. Later, Atchison reported he spent the bulk of his presidency napping and reading.

To commemorate this auspicious event, Atchison, Kansas, his namesake, has established the "world's smallest presidential library" in his honor. Located in a former AT&SF terminal, the Atchison Library shares space with another Atchison historical figure, Amelia Earhart. Also featured in the museum are Brothers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, who set up a base camp in the area.

Upon entering the museum a visitor first encounters a model of a statue commemorating Lewis and Clark's 1804 Voyage of Discovery. The full-size statue sits on the banks of the Missouri River down in Kansas City.

A little farther in, the visitor can see the Amelia Earhart display featuring pictures and artifacts of the aviatrix' life.

The world's smallest presidential library lies beyond those exhibits. One first encounters the "Hall of Presidents." Over the years the Marx Toy Company has produced a miniature statue of American Presidents in which it has included Atchison, who stands directly in front of George Washington in the display.

A Daily National Intelligencer article from March 10, 1849 told the story of his presidency. The museum has an article from another paper which recaps the Intelligencer account and notes Atchison's Salary for that day was $68.50.

Regrettably, Atchison was a supporter of slavery and, in fact, a slave owner himself. When Kansas came into the Union as a free state, Atchison led a pro-slavery militia into the state and was present at a battle that resulted in the burning of the Free State Hotel. A display in the museum offers both sides of the story speculating on Atchison's role in the uprising, showing conflicting accounts and wondering if he was an instigator or a peacemaker.

Among the artifacts of his life, the museum displays Atchison's Whitney Navy, six-shot .36 caliber revolver, which he most likely had with him during the Kansas Raid.

A gargantuan Atchison-Topeka-Santa Fe locomotive sits outside the museum.

David Rice Atchison was a member of Platte Lodge 56, now defunct, and his grave marker in Plattsburg proclaims his status as president. Most historians agree Atchison was not President of the United States. Perhaps agreeing he was the ex-officio president can serve as a compromise as to his status.

Or, perhaps, given today's growing sentiment against those who supported the United States' ghastly "original sin" – slavery, it is best to mark Atchison's auspicious day as an interesting story and otherwise let sleeping dogs lie.

~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 Freemasons blog 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.

A Midnight Freemasons Road Trip

by Midnight Freemasons Founder

Todd E. Creason, 33°

 

left to right: Senior Warden Greg Knott, Katie Creason, Junior Warden Darin Lahners, and WM Todd E. Creason

We’ve been talking for some time about the possibility of starting a Masonic Library at our Lodge—Homer Lodge No. 199 (IL).  Our Lodge over the last several years has gained a reputation as a Lodge that puts a particular focus on education.  We even have a museum room in our Lodge, so a library seemed the next reasonable step. 

The focus on education is what saved our Lodge.  Homer Lodge was chartered in 1856, and our building was built in 1892, but in 2011 we about closed it.  The building needed an enormous amount of work, including a new roof, and there just weren’t many members left to help.  In fact, we had a difficult time getting enough members at our regular meetings to open. 

Fortunately, since the Lodge had nothing to lose but closing, we were able to try a few things to save it, and one of those things was to improve the meeting experience, and put a major focus on providing good quality education at every meeting.  Our thought was that eventually, Masons from other Lodges might come to our monthly programs.  We also hoped that a few might join our Lodge as dual members as well. 

Here it is six years later, and the Lodge is beginning to see results.  We’ve got a new roof, and a new mission.  The entire Lodge has been cleaned and restored inside and out (less a little more work to do on one exterior wall).  It is certainly one of the grandest Lodges in our area—the Lodge room itself is around 2,500 square feet with towering ceilings.  We even turned what was once a room full of junk into a museum, where we’ve displayed many of the artifacts from our long history we found stored in the attic.  In addition to that, there’s a new Royal Arch Chapter that has been formed, Admiration Chapter No. 282, with the same focus on education as the Lodge.  The building is in use constantly.  It’s been used by other local Lodges, the Knight Masons, the Allied Masonic Degrees, the Illinois Lodge of Research, the Shriners.  Masonry has returned to Homer, IL in a big way.  The Officers of the Grand Lodge of Illinois A. F. & A. M. even came and rededicated the Lodge two years ago. 

So we began talking about a library.  As you know, books are expensive, and books on Freemasonry can be very expensive.  We had just started talking about how we might finance a library, when I got a call—an email actually.  It was from Noel C. Dicks, who was the Grand Master of Illinois when I became a Mason.   He wanted to know if we’d ever thought about starting a library at Homer Lodge, because he knew a Mason, WB Bill Henry, that was looking to make some room in his basement by getting rid of a bunch of books he’d collected over the years on Freemasonry. 

Sometime it happens that way!

left to right: Darin Lahners, Todd E. Creason, Greg Knott, and library donor WB Bill Henry

Shortly before Christmas, three Midnight Freemasons, who also happen to be the three principle officers of Homer Lodge No. 199, went on a road trip to pick up a load of books—over 70 volumes.  It was an incredibly generous donation.  Bill Henry’s collection will form the core of our new library that will be enjoyed by members of Homer Lodge for generations to come.  And we plan to continue to add to our collection with the hopes that our library will become a place where new members and old can come and enhance their knowledge of our beloved Craft.

Saving a Lodge is a lot of work, but as I’ve said before, once the light of Masonry goes out, it never returns.  Sometimes it’s worth the hard work and effort to preserve that heritage at all costs.  And I’ll give you one good reason why.   

We have a young Fellow Craft that is about to be raised a Master Mason.  He wanted to join our Lodge in particular—it was a family tradition he wanted to bring back.  When I gave him the tour of the building before he petitioned, he found photographs of his great grandparents hanging on the wall in our museum—both involved in an Eastern Star Chapter that met at Homer Lodge many years ago.   
If Freemasonry changes that young man's life in the same positive way it has changed the lives of many of my Brothers, every drop of sweat has been worth it.

~TEC 

For your added enjoyment, here's an episode of "Masonic Curators" that featured Homer Lodge No. 199 presented by Senior Warden (and Midnight Freemason Senior Contributor) Greg Knott.
 

Todd E. Creason, 33° is the Founder of the Midnight Freemasons blog and is a regular contributor.  He is the award winning author of several books and novels, including the Famous American Freemasons series. He is the author of the From Labor to Refreshment blog.  He is the Worshipful Master of Homer Lodge No. 199 and a Past Master of Ogden Lodge No. 754.  He is a Past Sovereign Master of the Eastern Illinois Council No. 356 Allied Masonic Degrees.  He is a Fellow at the Missouri Lodge of Research. (FMLR) and a charter member of a new Illinois Royal Arch Chapter, Admiration Chapter No. 282.  You can contact him at: webmaster@toddcreason.org

The Curiosity of Freemasonry

 By Midnight Freemason Contributor

WB Gregory J. Knott

This past month, the University of Illinois Library has featured a display on the 300th anniversary of the founding of the organized Freemasonry. Six cases of memorabilia, artifacts and books tell the story of the founding of the fraternity, what Freemasonry is, some of its well-known members, and information about the numerous appendant bodies.

I have the real privilege of working at the University of Illinois Library and I help put this exhibit together along with my colleague, UI faculty member Cherie’ Weible. Hundreds of people walk by these displays every day. My office isn’t far from the exhibit and I have observed first hand just how many people have stopped and looked at the items in the cases. People are genuinely curious about our fraternity.

Have you thought about working with your local library or historical society to do an exhibit on Freemasonry? All of our lodges contain a treasure trove of records and artifacts and these are an important part of the local history of a community.

These are great educational opportunities to let the public know your lodge is still there and thriving.

Need some help coming up ideas? I share these links with some great ideas on how to put an exciting exhibit together:

Creating a History Day Exhibit

10 Museum Design Tips

Museum Exhibit Design Tips

~GJK

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