From Brother Chris Hodapp's BLOG

«Winchester Cathedral, a carved stone of the Freemasons' Arms» (Ars Quat. Cor. 1894).

Here we can see the Old Masonic Lodge of Winchester which was part demolished in 1990 to make way for the newsagents WH Smiths, but we still see today the masonic symbols on the outside.

It was a tradition of the German Masons that they were first formed into a brotherhood at the building of the Cathedral of Magdeburg, which was commenced about the year 1211. Bishop Lucy, a few years before, in 1202, created a company of builders for the construction of the Cathedral of Winchester . Hence Findel suggests that they were most probably the founders of the Fraternity of Freemasons in England. We have no positive authority for this, but the coincidence of time is, at least, remarkable» (New Revised Enlarged Mackey’s History of Freemasonry by Robert Ingham Clegg with the co-operation of many eminent authorities including William James Hughan. vol. 3 The Masonic History Company, Chicago, New York, London. 1921). In 1552, John Poynet, Bishop of Winchester, became the patron of the fraternity, and presided over the lodges till the death of the king Edward VI in 1553.

The second painting is of Bishop William of Wykeham building Winchester College.

Ye Olde Bargate Lodge: following the war, on 12th June 1946, there was a Masonic Service of Thanksgiving and Remembrance in Winchester Cathedral, and brethren attended in full regalia.

Having earlier requested burial with masonic honours, Jonathan Inggs’ funeral and interment by the west door of Winchester Cathedral in 1819 attracted a crowd of thousands and rated several columns in the local paper. His Brethren marked the grave with a footstone bearing the square and compasses and a headstone inscribed:

This Stone was erected by the Brethren
of Lodge CXI of
Free and Accepted Masons
As a Token of Refpect for their departed
Brother
JONATHAN INGGS
who received a summons from the
Great Architect of the Universe
at the hour of High Twelve on the
24th Day of October
AL 5819
AD1819

About a generation ago the headstone was smashed by vandals. Lodge of Economy, now No. 76, always hoped eventually to restore it. It was to mark the bicentenary of Chapter of Economy in 2003 that an operative mason, a member of the Lodge, cut the inscription on a replacement stone. Negotiations with the Dean and Chapter having finally borne fruit, the replica was recently erected and the grave restored to its original form.

The big ones for me were that 16 year period between the Great Depression and World War II. Being born in 1928, I grew up during the hard times between the stock market crash of 1929 and the end of World War II in 1945.

Corky Back Then

During the 1930's it was tough enough trying to find money to pay the rent and buy groceries. There certainly wasn't much money left over for entertaining a whole family. That's how it became popular for families to spend an hour or so on summer nights parked in the entrance of a cemetery.

The Forest Park Cemetery on Lawndale Street in Houston's east end was that place. There was a large pool with a fountain on the west side of the entrance with spaces to park in front of the pool. Actually the fountain was a number of different fountains in the pool that were choreographed to work together. The height of the streams and turning each spray head off and on for was controlled by a central control panel along with the lights.

The lights were what made the fountains so spectacular at night. There were different colored spotlights and floodlights in and around the pool that colored the water streams and sprays and changed colors as the water's spray patterns and highs changed every minute or two.

It was very dramatic to park and watch as beautifully colored jets of water shot up, some as high as 10 or 15 feet high and some only a foot or so, as they forming intricate patterns against the night sky.

There was enough variation in the patterns of light along with the different heights and textures of the spray that it was almost impossible to tell when the pattern begin to repeat it self. That made it possible to watch for a longer period of time without becoming bored.

It was a particularly good place for young courting couples to park. There were enough families parked in the area and enough light to where a young girl didn't have to worry to much about things getting out of hand. The main thing though was that it was free and money saved could be spent later at Princes Drive In for burgers and cokes.

I was with one of the family cars. I would sometime be invited to go with the Henry family from next door. Mr. and Mrs Henry along with their 3 girls and myself.

We were always looking for something to do that didn't take money. Like most young boys (the early teens or so) we wanted to want to build something with tools. Our little gang of friends, Billy, Pete, Buck and I decided to build a little club house to hold our secret meetings in. Pete had a hard time getting permission to leave his yard sometime so we decided to build it beside his house. We scrounged the neighborhood for old pieces of lumber and our dad's coffee can collection of used screws, bolts, nuts and bent nails. People didn't throw those kinds of things away back then, not even bent nails, because they could be straightened and used again.

We built a frame work about 6 feet square and 6 feet high out of assorted pieces of 2 by 4 and 2 by 6 lumber against the back of Mr. Otto's garage. The garage wall formed the back wall of the club house, saving boards and it leant stability to our building.

We enjoyed that project so much, that a few weeks later we decided to expand so we added a second story. By the time we finished the second floor, we realized that the club house, being about 50 or 60 feet back from the street was susceptible to attack from our enemies, since we couldn't see them coming. That problem was solved by building a platform up in the tree beside the club house, from where one of the club members could keep watch over the house.

That worked well except that we finally realized there was a blind spot across the rear of Pete's house. We solved that problem when we discovered a 20 foot length of 2 inch pipe. It fit exactly between our tree platform and a tree about 20 feet further toward the rear of the property. With an old piece of rope stretched between the trees, a few feet above the pipe to serve as a hand rail, we could scurry between the trees without coming down to the ground.

“Now we will be safe from a surprise attack by any enemies.” We said, congratulating each other.

“Unless they come down the sidewalk in front of the house.” Someone said.

Back to the drawing board we thought. There was one insurmountable problem however. There wasn't a board anywhere in the neighborhood that wasn't already nailed down. We finally solved the last problem by installing a tin can phone from the tree platform to another tree at the front sidewalk. This security system may seem to be excessive, but it worked perfectly. We were never attacked by an enemy (whoever they were) that whole summer.

Billy, who was the secretary, still has the original notebook with the club rules. Number1. was, “Any one breaking wind inside the clubhouse gets two pokes on the arm from each member present.

- This piece was written by Most Worshipful Brother James T. McWain, the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Connecticut and posted to the Connecticut Freemasons Website. Currently, I serve M:.W:.B:. McWain as his District Deputy of Masonic District 4A and have been deeply awed by his vision of our great fraternity. Brother Jim has worked tirelessly to remind the brothers of our state that we can be better and that as Freemasons we should set an example for the rest of society. I hope that my readers will take a moment to read this article and reflect on some of his points.

Is our Fraternity just a little too common?

Thoughts about the fraternity from the 19th Century---------

“A real Freemason is distinguished from the rest of Mankind by the uniform unrestricted rectitude of his conduct. Other men are honest in fear of punishment which the law might inflict; they are religious in expectation of being rewarded, or in dread of the devil in the next world. A Freemason would be just if there were no laws, human or divine except those written in his heart by the finger of his Creator. In every climate, under every system of religion, he is the same. He kneels before the Universal Throne of God in gratitude for the blessing he has received and humble solicitation for his future protection. He venerates the good men of all religions. He gives no offense, because he does not choose to be offended. He contracts no debts which he is certain he cannot discharge, because he is honest upon principle.”

- The Farmer's Almanac, 1823

Are we ashamed today to think that our fraternity is an elite organization? Or, perhaps, we do not believe that it is!

We have high standards; admit no one who is not moral, upright before God and of good repute before the world. We do “good works” throughout the United States that are worth billions of dollars. The secret is that it is okay to be elite; but we should not be elitist. Elite is to have high standards; elitist is to consider yourself better than everyone else and to let them know it.

To be an elite organization requires constant effort. It can never be satisfied with the status quo; the standards can always be lifted.

Masonic meetings are places of learning, a fostering of ideas, and the lodge is a sanctuary for nurturing and developing friendship. It is where we go to celebrate our brotherhood. In the 18th Century, Benjamin Franklin, Voltaire, Mozart all joined a Masonic Lodge to be with gentlemen who would debate the great questions of the day.

We must understand who we are and the road we've traveled. The philosophy of Masonry required centuries to develop and should be understood and venerated by all members of the fraternity.

Each lodge should have high standards. We need to foster the joys of gentlemanly behavior. Not phony gentlemanliness, but genuine fraternal good behavior. Consequently, at times, it may be necessary to give good counsel to a brother. This can be difficult, especially when it is misunderstood as criticism.

As gentleman, we should advocate a minimum standard of dress. When initiating, passing and raising a candidate, think of just how important an event that new man will consider it to be if the entire lodge membership looks first-class and is dressed for the occasion.

Good behavior is essential. We should not allow rude, coarse behavior among Masons. There was an Internet discussion recently regarding whether a brother, who showed up at a funeral home in jeans and a golf shirt to perform the solemn Masonic funeral service, should have been excluded. It should not be necessary to even discuss proper dress at a funeral, and it is sad that lodge members would condone such a lack of respect to a deceased brother and his family.

One may rationalize that society is more casual now. And some would add that it is "the internal, not the external qualifications of a man that Masonry regards."

We also say that our providence is to make good men better. If we are to polish the rough ashlar into a perfect one than we must conduct ourselves as the BEST men in society.

I have previously written that the Masonic fraternity is “out of step” with current society because we have higher standards. In other words, we should not lower ourselves to the behavior of the common group. If we are to be elite, when the world around us is rude and common, it should be our stated purpose to improve that world by improving men.

In Europe, Freemasonry is taken seriously because Freemasons take themselves seriously. We should also feel that our fraternity is solemn, noble, exclusive, dignified and special.

I am not advocating that our lodges should be stern, joyless places of strict, dreary ritualists. Not at all! A lodge should be, first and foremost, a place of brotherhood, of friendships, and close personal bonds. It is not a degree mill to be opened, closed and fled.

The degrees of Masonry should be formal, sincere, instructive and enlightening.

The business meeting should be brief.

The Feast, Philosophy and Fellowship should be the centerpiece.

Entertainment promoter Rashad Muhammad is charged in connection with nearly 500 pounds of marijuana found in North Charleston.

Attorneys on both sides of entertainment promoter Rashad Muhammad's drug smuggling case used news of Osama bin Laden's death to ask for "justice" in their opening arguments in federal court Monday.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Modica outlined a case with DNA evidence linking 40-year-old Muhammad to a high-speed chase in a minivan that authorities found abandoned with hundreds of pounds of marijuana inside. Modica described drug ledgers discovered in an alleged supplier's home near the Mexican border in Arizona and Rubbermaid containers filled with pot at Muhammad's business in North Charleston -- along with scales, bags and guns.

"Today is clearly a historical day as it relates to justice," Modica said. "Justice isn't one side or the other. Justice exists in a plane by itself."

Muhammad's attorney, Russell Mace, instead described a case marred by "a lack of evidence and inconsistency in witnesses." Touching on some of the prosecution's points, he explained that Muhammad strayed from his marriage and fathered a child in Arizona, where he also ran a clothing business.

"He was in the business of selling clothes, not in the business of selling marijuana," Mace said. "The government is going to put before you so much information to try to overwhelm your common sense. This is a simple marijuana case. How many witnesses do you need?"

The lengthy witness list means the trial could last a week and a half, a fact that U.S. District Judge P. Michael Duffy took seriously when a juror failed to show and delayed the trial's start by more than an hour. After court officials could not reach the woman through repeated phone calls, deputy U.S. Marshals retrieved her.

Duffy made her apologize to the other 13 jurors and returned her, in shackles, to a holding cell for hours until court recessed for the day. He emphasized that the aforementioned "justice" depended upon jurors doing their job.

Muhammad faces 25 years to life in prison on five counts related to the alleged drug trafficking. A well-known member of the local community, he ran a company called The Invisible Men Entertainment, along with a Masonic lodge and a colorectal cancer foundation -- all from an office on Air Park Road in North Charleston.

Prosecutors contend that investigators captured surveillance of a drug shipment arriving at that office in August 2008 and then Muhammad driving away in a rented minivan later found abandoned and loaded with about 275 pounds of pot. Mace maintains that Muhammad was in the Pennsylvania Poconos the very next day and speaking at a Masonic convention.

Two brothers stand trial with Muhammad, each charged with two counts related to the alleged drug smuggling.

Marco Torres, an attorney representing Gary Milford, said his client was not transporting drugs but merely helping another member of the Masonic lodge move after an eviction, when investigators recorded him unloading a truck at the Air Park Road office. Although questioned in 2008, Milford was not arrested until more than two years later.

"By then there was no more lodge, and Gary Milford had long forgotten about this incident," Torres said.

Pam Polzin, who represents brother Damon Milford, laid out a similar argument, saying, "There can only be one version of the truth."

All three men have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Not One Person
by W:. Dan Weatherington, PM.