Properly Tiled

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

WB Darin Lahners

At the opening of our lodges in Illinois, there is the following exchange:

WM: “Brother Junior Deacon, The first great care of Masons when convened?”

Junior Deacon: “To see that the lodge is tiled.”

WM: “You will perform that duty and inform the Tyler that I am about to open BLANK Lodge Number 111, direct him to take due notice and tile accordingly.”

Junior Deacon performs that duty, he returns to his chair, and reports: “The Lodge is Tiled, Worshipful.”

WM: “How Tiled?”

Junior Deacon: “By a Master Mason, armed with the implement of his office.”

WM: “The Tyler’s Station?”

Junior Deacon: “Outside the inner door, with a drawn sword in hand.”

WM: “To guard against the approach of Cowans and Eavesdroppers and see that none pass or repass but such as are duly qualified and have permission.”

Before you decide to email me about revealing the ritual, I want you to know that the Illinois book of Standard Work is not ciphered, and anyone happening upon one would be able to know this part of the ritual, as only the modes of recognition and passwords are not revealed within it. Since it is not ciphered, I have no issue with revealing it here.

Many of our brethren have no problem bringing up the landmarks of Freemasonry whenever someone tries to discuss allowing atheists or women to be Freemasons, but they don’t think twice about violating the 11th landmark which reads: “THE NECESSITY THAT EVERY LODGE, WHEN CONGREGATED, SHOULD BE DULY TILED, is an important Landmark of the Institution, which is never neglected. The necessity of this law arises from the esoteric character of Freemasonry. As a secret Institution, its portals must of course be guarded from the intrusion of the profane, and such a law must therefore always have been in force from the very beginning of the Order. It is therefore properly classed among the most ancient Landmarks. The office of Tiler is wholly independent of any special enactment of Grand or Subordinate Lodges, although these may and do prescribe for him additional duties, which vary in different jurisdictions. But the duty of guarding the door, and keeping off cowans and eavesdroppers, is an ancient one, which constitutes a Landmark for his government.”

What if I told you that a majority of you have violated this landmark time and time again? And I told you that you are contributing to our lodges not being properly tiled. And you have revealed the secrets or Freemasonry over and over and over again, and that you don’t even realize that you have been allowing cowans and eavesdroppers into the lodge room. You’d think I was crazy.

How many of you have had this eerie experience? You’re having a discussion with someone. You look at social media, Facebook is particularly notorious for this, and you see an ad for something that came up in the discussion. I’ve had it happen, time and time and time again. Many of you might not make the connection, many of you might, but the issue is that when you install applications on your phone, and grant them permission to use your microphone, and you carry that phone into the lodge room, you have just allowed cowans and eavesdroppers to enter a tiled lodge. You have done everything that I have just accused you of above.

By this time, I’m pretty sure that most of us in the era of smart phones have violated our obligation to “always conceal and never reveal any of the secret arts, parts or points of the hidden mysteries of Freemasonry which have heretofore, may at this time, or shall at any future period be communicated as such to any person or persons whomsoever.” Every time we bring a smartphone into the lodge, we are revealing the secret arts, parts or points of the hidden mysteries of Freemasonry to the profane. Don’t believe me? Read this: https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/2019/12/19/your-smartphone-mobile-device-may-recording-everything-you-say/4403829002/

This is why I found some of the arguments against having virtual meetings so hypocritical. There was a fear among brethren about not being able to tile the online meeting properly. That essentially, we couldn’t insure that the profane wouldn’t infiltrate our online meetings and learn our “secrets”. While these secrets have been widely available on the internet since its invention, that didn’t deter the arguments. Funny that I’ve never heard any similar arguments regarding the use of smartphones in the lodge, especially because they are recording our “secrets”.

We should always remind ourselves of the ritual which is given when the Tyler is installed into his office. "As the sword is placed in the hands of the Tyler to enable him effectually to guard against the approach of cowans and eavesdroppers, and suffer none to pass or re-pass except such as are duly qualified, so it should admonish us to set a guard over our thoughts, a watch at our lips, and post a sentinel over our actions; thereby preventing the approach of every unworthy thought or deed, and preserving consciences void of offense towards God and towards man." How many of us are remembering these words when we are on our phones, hastily replying to something on social media? I dare say that if we can’t be trusted enough to have alcohol allowed in our Lodge buildings, for fear of how we might act, then why are we trusted with our mobile devices inside of the lodge room where anyone could easily take a video of our proceedings?

If we want to properly tile our lodges, we need to keep our mobile devices outside of it. The Tyler should be collecting them as we enter, much like he insures we are properly clothed when entering the lodge room and he guards the west gate. The fact of the matter is that it’s difficult enough for the Tyler to keep the influences of the profane world outside of the lodge room. It’s even more difficult for the Worshipful Master to run a meeting when everyone is staring at their cellphone. We need to start remembering that there is etiquette to be followed during our events, and that Masonic etiquette should dictate that we should be divested of our phones prior to our entry into the lodge room. It’s the only way to make sure our lodges are properly tiled.

~DALWB Darin A. Lahners is a Past Master of and Worshipful Master of St. Joseph Lodge No.970 in St. Joseph. He is also a plural member of Ogden Lodge No. 754 (IL), and of Homer Lodge No. 199 (IL), where he is also a Past Master. He’s a member of the Scottish Rite Valley of Danville, a charter member of Illinois Royal Arch Chapter, Admiration Chapter No. 282 and is the current Secretary of the Illini High Twelve Club No. 768 in Champaign – Urbana (IL). You can reach him by email at darin.lahners@gmail.com    

Outside the Door

by Midnight Freemason Guest Contributor

Paul Nevins

Being Tyler, I have found that I have some free time on my hands during each meeting. The WiFi signal at my station is frustratingly slow. There is no cable TV or mini-fridge for me either. So my time is often spent sitting in my chair by the door, reading whatever book I brought upstairs from the Lodge’s meager library.

One evening, I found myself reading an old book containing excerpts of meeting minutes from our past. With Montgomery Lodge being over two-hundred years old, I have always enjoyed learning more about its history. There were a few intriguing notes like how Brothers Burr and King (King was Tyler at the time) concealed our Charter in various locations during the anti-Masonic era. This includes being sewn in the lining of a jacket! I’m reasonably sure my tenure as Tyler won’t be as James Bond-like as that, fortunately.

I was slightly disappointed in what little detail the book shared overall. Most meetings were glossed over with short summaries like “Jan 12, 1803 – Regular Communication. Raised one. Nine visitors.” Not much information or insight there. I still wanted to know more. I wanted to know what they discussed in those meetings so long ago. Did they have the philosophical discussions I had envisioned when I petitioned the Lodge? Did they take a moment to discuss the esoterica of our Fraternity? Or was symbolism limited to just the degree lectures? Maybe the meetings were just a dull reading of the bills and correspondence. I wish I knew. With so much going on in this country’s history in the last 200 years, I would think that there had to have been some interesting discussions; whether in meeting or later in the collation. Were those discussions in-depth and serious? Or, were they light hearted? To know this, I found that I wanted to find out more about the Brothers themselves.

Throughout our Lodge, we have portraits of many of the Past Masters. There are a few scattered pictures of Brothers who have long since departed to the afterlife. There are stacks of dusty and mildewed albums of black & white photographs of parades and formal dinners. I sat in that hall wondering what those Brethren were like beyond just the pictures. There are those excerpts in the book that give names and numbers but no real insight on who those men were as people. Pictures don’t always portray traits like humor, caring, honesty, and personality.

Even with the Brothers of today, I often find a mystery. There are just under 200 members in our Lodge but I’ve met a fraction of them. Most are men who, for whatever reason, stopped coming to Lodge. Often, I don’t really get to know them until they pass to the Celestial Lodge above. I have been to many Masonic Services over the last few years and as I sat and listened to the eulogies, there were so many stories told that had me wishing I knew that Brother while he was alive.

I urge each Brother to get to know the men in Lodge with you now. Whether they are young or old, they won’t be around forever. None of us will. Things happen. People move. People pass away. People sometimes just drift apart. Learn about those men and be able to pass on their stories because, after they are gone, the meeting minutes and photographs most likely won’t come close to reflecting who they were to us.

~PN

Installing Our Tyler

by Midnight Freemason Senior Contributor

WB Gregory J. Knott

Members of Homer Lodge No 199 for installation of Carl D. Lewis as Tyler

Our Tyler for Homer Lodge No. 199, Carl D. Lewis (Carl D.) was recently unable to attend our installation of officers because he was ill. At our recent lodge meeting, WB Darin Lahners who is WM of Homer Lodge this year suggested that we go to Carl and install him in his office. We all quickly agreed that this was an excellent idea and made a date and time to make it happen.

Carl D. Lewis has been a Mason for more than 65 years. His home lodge is Ogden No. 754 and he is a plural member of Homer Lodge No. 199 (as several of us are). He is a veteran of WW 2, having served as a ball turret gunner on a B-24 and still is an active member of the Ogden American Legion Post. Carl D. faithfully attends both Ogden and Homer lodge meetings.

Carl D.’s son, Carl W. Lewis made arrangements for us to visit his father and reserved a place for us to meet. Carl D. didn’t know we all were coming and the look on his face when he saw us all in the room was priceless. He was totally surprised.

We explained what our visit was about and told him the honor of installing him would be given to his son Carl W. Carl W. proceeded to install his farther as Tyler of Homer Lodge No. 199 and presented him with the sword, apron and jewel of his office.

As with any proper installation we had some cake and cookies for afterword. Carl D. was really gotten by our presence and told us thank you and that he was truly honored by our act of brotherhood and friendship. I believe every one of us whom were there, felt it was our honor to be able to participate in this awesome experience.

Carl D. celebrated his 93rdbirthday on Monday and is recovering nicely and we anticipate him returning to lodge meetings very shortly.

As Midnight Freemason Founder Todd E. Creason commented on social media, “Excellent! Just Excellent! People ask me why I joined the Fraternity. This is one reason.”

I couldn’t agree more.

~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.

Tyler Pete And The Stairlift Chair

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

Bro. Steven L. Harrison 33°, FMLR

Based on a true incident and with many apologies to Brother Robert W. Service and a guy named Sam McGee...

There are strange things done in the Lodge, my son
By the Wardens and Stewards and such.
The kitchen crew has stories for you
That would make you lose your lunch.
The banquet nights have seen such fright
But the scariest night I swear
Was the Fourth of July when things went awry
And Tyler Pete crashed the stairlift chair.

Now that Tyler Pete he had two flat feet; he'd been there since time began.
No one cares when he went through the chairs, but he was Master way back when.
He moved around slow, yet gave it a go as the evening's chores accrued;
But he'd let you know with a tale of woe, "Dishes I don't want to do."

On the Fourth of July we had cake and pie and heaps of Masonic green beans.
The Lodge was well fed, "Too much food," they said, "have to take it home,  it seems."
They packed it all up on plates and in cups and sat it all by the door.
There were many loads to get on the road, all stacked from ceiling to floor.

Now that Tyler Pete with the two flat feet, was still as sharp as a tack.
"Oh, I know," he said, "with his arms outspread, we'll put it all in a stack.
And the stairlift chair will take it down there... It cannot fail, I swear.
In no time at all, we'll get to the hall at the bottom of the stairs."

So he packed it up, every plate and cup and balanced it without fear.
Then he hit the switch but a little glitch made the whole load buck and veer.
Well, the chair, it stopped, but the load atop, shot out like a cannon ball.
The whole pile of trash dropped down with a crash, a big hot mess of a fall.

At very bottom, there was a problem: it was our big plate glass door.
The big ball of goop, pie, cake, beans and soup exploded through with a roar;
And glass and our food on the street it spewed — cars crashed in slime and meringue.
The last crash was shrill, but then it was still. The mishap stunned the whole gang.

Now Old Tyler Pete said, "It's not defeat. There's a good side to it all.
It may be a mess, but really we're blessed. Let's try not to be appalled. 
It's really a boon, as you will see soon. The good side of this shines through.
I'm happy you see and soon you will be: the dishes we don't have to do."

There are strange things done in the Lodge, my son
By the Wardens and Stewards and such.
The kitchen crew has stories for you
That would make you lose your lunch.
The banquet nights have seen such fright
But the scariest night I swear
Was the Fourth of July when things went awry

And Tyler Pete crashed the stairlift chair.

~SLH

Bro. Steve Harrison, 33°, is Past Master of Liberty Lodge #31, Liberty, Missouri. He is the editor of the Missouri Freemason magazine, author of the book Freemasonry Crosses the Mississippi, a Fellow of the Missouri Lodge of Research and also its Worshipful Master. He is a dual member of Kearney Lodge #311, St. Joseph Missouri Valley of the Scottish Rite, Liberty York Rite, Moila Shrine and 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. His latest book, Freemasons: Tales From the Craft, will be released later this year.