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From
the Zuhrah Arabian, February, 2005
Just Between
You & .... From
Paul: I received the following from Darryl Metzger, who received
it from
Jerrv Oliver, who received it from AI Glazman, who received it from
Bill Luhm.
and so on. and so on... As
we are all well aware, and as is pointed out in the North East Angle
Lecture in
the Canadian Rite Ritual, it cannot be denied that we always had many
members
of rank and affluence. Over the
centuries many well known men have been members of our Noble Craft. For a few moments, please allow your
imaginations to run wild and consider what may take place at the
Installation
of the Celestial Lodge, otherwise known as the Grand Lodge. Even
though it was late fall, there was a warm breeze blowing and the sun
was setting
behind the Lodge Hall. Gathered in the
parking lot filled with their works were Bros Henry Ford, Ransom Olds,
Walter
Chrysler, John Willys, and Andre Citroen. The
only vehicle missing was Bro Hart Massey's tractor. Greeting
members in the entrance hall was Bro Cliff Arquette of Charley Weaver
fame and
Bro Ed Wynn. ln
the board room, a group
of senior DeMolays were gathered including Bros Walter Disney, Chet
Huntley,
Wendell Corey Van Johnson, Robert Cummings, John Steinbeck, Fred
McMurray and John
Cameron Swayze. King
Gillette, razor in hand, passed the lodge caretaker who was having a
minor
problem with his vacuum cleaner, which was quickly cleared up with the
help of
its inventor, Bro Frank Hoover, while at the other end of the hallway,
Bros
Emmett Kelly, Clyde Beatty and all seven of the Ringling Bros were
discussing
the Shrine Circus.
Taking
a quick look into the Banquet Hall, Bros John Molson, Frederick Pabst,
and
Joseph Schlitz were busy rolling in some kegs of beer for Bros Sam
Bronfman,
late President of Seagrams Distillers, who was setting up the bar for
the
festive board to follow the Ceremony. Bro
Colonel Harland Sanders was cooking up a storm in the
kitchen and it
was an easy guess as to what the evening meal would consist of.
The
orchestra members for the dance to follow were tuning up. Members
of this All-Star group included leader Paul Whiteman, WC Hardy, Nat
King Cole,
lrving Berlin, George M Cohan, Cyril Stapleton, Duke Ellington, Louis
Armstrong, Count Basie, and AI Jolson. Tonight's
performance would be M.C.ed by Bros Arthur
Godfrey and Danny
Thomas. Magical
Bros Harry Houdini and Harry Blackstone were setting up their props
while Bros
WC Fields, Oliver Hardy, Bud Abbott, Harpo Marx, and Foster Brooks were
fine
tuning their comedy routines for tonight's show which was being
produced by
Bros Cecil B DeMille, Flo Ziegfeld, Louis B Mayer, Hal Wallis and DW
Griffiths. A
number of sports celebrities were gathering together, including Bros
Abe
Saperstein, creator of the Harlem Globetrotters, who was explaining his
version
of the game to Bro James Naismith, the inventor of the game. They were joined
by baseballers Bros Charles
Ebbetts, Ty Cobb, Branch Rickey, and CyYoung, the first pitcher to be
inducted
into the Baseball Hall of Fame. A
little further along the hall was an array of Masons dressed in knee
breeches,
lace cuffs and powdered wigs, others in tuxedos, including Bros Kit
Carson,
Davey Crockett and Buffalo Bill Cody, clad in their familiar buckskins,
Chiefs
Crazy Bull Tecumseh and Joseph Brant in their native attire.
Most
colorful are the military uniforms of Lord Nelson, Lord Comwallis,
Captain
James Cook, the Duke of Wellington and John Paul Jones. I
was gazing in awe at these members of Celestial Lodge, when the Grand
Master,
MW Bro Harry Truman, appeared, accompanied by Bros John Jacob Astor,
Luther
Burbank, JC Penney, Adlai Stevenson and Jennings Bryan. Bro
John Diefenbaker had just signed the Tyler's Register with one of Bra
John
Shaeffer's pens. He
was accompanied by
Bros Robert Borden and RB Bennett, fellow Canadian Prime Ministers, and
by Bro
Joe Smallwood of Newfoundland. At
this time, the Tyler, Bro J Edgar Hoover, informed the brethren the
meeting was
about to come to order. On
entering the lodge room the brethren were greeted by the Inner Guard,
Bro Paul
Revere. Seated already were polar
explorers, Robert F Scott of England and Bro Richard E Bird of the
United
States, together with Matthew
G Peary and Canada's Henry
Larsen. Bro Charles Lindbergh was in
deep conversation with Bros Hap Amold, Gus Grissom, Eddie
Rickenbaker, and Charles Kingsfordsmith.
From the
Junior Warden's station came a
burst of laughter. Bro Will Rogers
had brought broad smiles to the faces
of the Royal personages gathered
around him, including George I,
Frederick the Great, Gustav
V of Sweden and George VI. To the right
of the Junior Warden's
chair, architect Sir Christopher
Wren was joined by Statue of
Liberty sculptor, Frederic
Bartholdi.
Bros Norman
Vincent Peale and Peter
Marshall, who would assume the Chaplain's duties this evening, were
in conversation with the DuPonts,
Peter and Victor, and the Rothschilds,
James and Nathan. Gathered
around the Secretary's desk,
Bro Rudyard Kipling was discussing
the evening's proceedings
with Bro Robert The Grand
Organist, Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart, was discussing last minute changes with Bros Gilbert and
Sullivan.
Bros Clark
Gable, Peter Sellers, Wallace
Beery, Douglas Fairbanks, and Brian
Donleavy were discussing boxing
with champions Jack Dempsey, Jack
Johnson, and Sugar Ray
Robinson. Another small group -
Bros John Wayne, Hoot Gibson and Tom Mix -
were listening to Bro William
Thaddeus Phillips, also known as
Butch Cassidy.
The founding
members Bros George
Washington, Sir John A MacDonald,
Guiseppe Garibaldi, Benito
Jaurez, John Hancock, and
Ben Franklin were seated in the
East. They have been joined by Sir
Stamford Raffles, founder of Singapore. The
Generals, Omar Bradley, Jimmy Doolittle, George C
Marshall, John
Pershing, and Douglas McArthur, take their seats next to Franklin
Roosevelt and
Winston Churchill. The Lodge Treasurer,
Bro Henry Knox was busy collecting dues from Bros Thomas E Dewey and
William
McKinley. The Master, MW Bro HRH The
Duke of Connaught, has rapped the gavel to call the Lodge to order and
it is
time for us to depart.
With one last look at this brilliant assembly, one wonders what the public’s perception of Freemasonry might be if they were able to visit such a lodge. |