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THE PENNSYLVANIA FREEMASON Issued Every Three Months By
The Right Worshipful Grand Lodge of The Most Ancient and Honora ble Fraterni ty of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania and Masonic Jurisdiction Thereunto Belonging, through its COMMITTEE ON MASONIC CULTURE - William E. Yeager, Post Grand Moster, Chairman; Willia m E. Montgomery, G. Edward Elwell, Jr., Fronk R. Leech, William A. Carpenter, Charles A. Young and Ashby B. Paul, Grand Secretory. APPROVED AND AUTHORIZED TO BE PRINTED BY
SANFORD M. CHILCOTE Right Worshipful Grand Master Moiling Addre ss: P.O. BOX 6 88, WARREN, PA. W ILLIAM A. CARPENTER, Editor Change of Address: Notify above add re ss, your Lodge number must be included.
Vol. VI
November, 1959
No. 4
Maso ns Again Participate in Cornerstone Laying for Natio n 's Capitol Once again Masons have been called upon to participate in the ceremonies at the laying of the cornerstone of the United Sta tes Capitol. Brother George Washington, while President and also acting as Grand Master, pro tempore, of the Grand Lodge of Maryland, laid the cornerstone of the original Capitol on September 18, 1793. Fifty-eight years later, on J uly 4, 1851, Masons assisted President Millard Fillmore when the cornerstone of the House and Senate wings was set into place. The cornerstone of the extension of the east front of the Capitol was laid las t J uly 4th in a double ceremony. First, President Dwight D. Eisen ho wer sy mboli call y laid the huge 4,200-pound granite stone with the same trowel and gavel that had been used on the two previous occasions. Then followed the traditi onal Masonic ri tes conducted by Brother Reuben H. Bagley, Jr., M.W. Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia. Brother Bagley's father, whil e Grand Master of Masons in the District of Columbia in 1932, had collabora ted with the United States George Washington Bicentennial Commission in commemorating the 139th Ann iversary of the laying of the original cornerstone by President and Brother George Washington. The silver trowel with its ivory handle is the ch erished possess ion of Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22 of Alexandria, Virginia, wh ile the famous marble gavel whi ch was prepared fo r the purpose of layi ng the original cornerstone is the priceless relic of Potomac Lodge No. 5 of the District of Columbia. Both historic implements have been used on many occasions by Government and Masonic officials.
Maso nic Culture Institutes Have Proven Mos t Popular
Chief Justice Made Mason at Sight
In an effort to provide specific and detailed information and to answer questions about the use of the new series of eight pamphlets ("Fraternalism through the Ages," et a!.) in instructing pre-initiates and newly-made Masons with regard to the fundamentals of Freemasonry, a series of Institutes is being held at variou s locations throughout the State. As a rule, a number of Districts participate in each Institute, and the Officers of Lodges in those Districts together with the members of the Lodge Committees on Masonic Culture have been asked to be present. The response has been gratifying and thus fa r (October 22) the average attendance has been more than 150. The majority of the Institutes are being held on Saturday afternoons, although in a few ins tances, because of local conditions, evening meetings have been deemed more suitable. Likewise, in four cases some day other than Saturday has been selected. The Institutes are being conducted by Brother William E. Yeager, P .G.M., Chairman of the Grand Lodge Committee on Masonic Culture, assisted by Brother William E. Montgomery, Secretary of the Committee, both of whom have been greatly pleased with the interest being shown in this endeavor. Arrangements have been made for 13 Institutes including 59 of the 68 Dis tricts in the Ju risdiction, as indicated in the following schedu le: May 2-Johnstown Districts 30- 39-41 June 1-Erie District 24 Aug. 29- New Castle Districts 26- 27- 37- 53- 54 Sept. 4- Uniontown Districts 29-3 1- 43 Sept. 5- Altoona Districts 20-21- 34 Sept. 12- 0il City Districts 23- 25- 52- 56 Oct. 10-Harrisburg Districts 2-3- 4- 19 Oct. 24-Philadelphia Dist ricts A to J inclusive, plus 6- 8- 36-40 Oct. 27-Coudersport Districts 17- 22- 33-44 Oct. 31- Sunbury Districts 18- 35-46-58 Nov. 14- Scranton Distri cts 12- 13- 14-15-16-45 Nov. 21- Lancaster Districts 1_:_5-42 Nov. 23-Allentown Districts 7-9- 10- 11-50
Charles Alvin Jones, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, was made a Mason at Sight by Right Worshipful Grand Master, Brother Sanford M. Chilcote, on September 1, 1959. This happened during an info rmal visitation of Grand Master Chilcote and the Grand Lodge Office rs at a stated meeting of his Lodge, Verona Lodge No. 548, at Syria Mosque, Pittsburgh. This marked the firs t official function during the Grand Lodge's three-day Pittsburgh Bicentennial Year Celebration. The meeting of Verona Lodge was originally scheduled for Masonic Temple. The change to Syria Mosque was made to accommodate the more than 2,000 Masons who attempted to crowd into a room that seated approximately 600. Hundreds of other Masons left when they saw the huge crowd attempting to attend the meeting in Masonic Temple. The switch was made without delay since the Mosque was prepared for the Grand Lodge meeting the following day. The crowd is believed to be the largest in his tory to see a Mason made at Sight in PennsyI vania. Justice Jones was elected to the Supreme Court in 1944. He became Chief Justice in 1946. He was the Democratic nominee fo r governor of Pennsylvania in 1938 and was later appointed to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals fo r the Third Circuit. Dickinson College conferred upon him the Bachelor of Laws Degree and, later, an honorary Doctor of Laws Degree. Brother Jones became a charter member of Col. Henry Bouquet Lodge No. 787 the following day.
It is hoped that in the near future a date cal) be fixed for an Insti tute covering the remaining nine Districts.
YOUR CORRECT MAILING ADDRESS IS MOST IMPORTANT If, at any t ime, your mailing add1·ess c h anges, please notify T h e Aide to The Committee on Masonic C ulture appointed withi n y our Lodge. He is e quipped with a special "Ch a nge o f Add •·ess Card" tha t h e will pt·ocess inlmedia tel y a nd the •·eby ass ure you of each n e w issu e of "Th e Pennsyl vania F 1·eema s on. " Failure to k eep your correct mailing address can o nly r esult in unnecessary hand1ing of your mail and t h e possibility that your copy of The Pennsylvania F reemason w ill either be returne d for lack of the proper address or the ch a n ce t h a t it may get into the hands of the wrong person. Your cooperation in making certa in that your n a m e and a dd r ess is a lways correct on our mailing list is g r e atly appreciated.
FREEMASON AN OFFIC IAL PUBLICATION OF THE RIGHT WORSHIPFUL GR AN D LO DGE OF FREE AN D ACCEPTED MA SO NS OF P ENNS YLVANIA
VOLUME
VI
NOVEMBER • 1959
NUMBER 4
A Message from Our Grand Master Th e source of th e power of Freem aso nry is to he fo und in th e individual Lodge. The Blue Lodge ign ites t he s park that sets th e flame of Freem asonry aglow. It is the duty of every Mason to keep t his Light burning. Our attention must he focused m ore enthusias ti cally on the con tinued propagation of Freem asonry. Evaluation of this principle at this time is most important. There is a pronounced tendency today t oward urbanization. P arkways a nd freeways make it possible for people to live more happily in a reas som ewhat removed from the location of their work . T ravel b y automobile o r other method of trans portation has b een mad e available to a ccomplish this p urpose. In the n ew ar eas to which they have remov ed we find the m ost m odern of churches, sch ools and homes developing. Interes t is revived in n ew community a ctivities in n ew a nd pleasant surr oundings. In all of these n ew communities th er e ar e Masons wh o can not easily attend their Lodges . The r eason s fo r th eir inability t o atte nd t h eir Lodges are m yriad. Som e of them m ay be Mason s, m em ber s of Lodges in other jurisdic tions than P ennsylvania . Th ose wh o are m em ber s of P ennsylvania Lodges may be unable to a ttend due t o the dis tance and t ime in volved. The solution of this pr oblem is to take Freem asonry to t he n ew commu nity. They sho uld he encouraged t o establish a n ew Masonic Lodge. By doing s o t he Light of Freem asonry will becom e a part of the life and v itality of the commun ity . Another factor to be considered is the impact of urbanization on cit y Lodges. T h e removal of m embers of city Lodges to urban areas has its effect on the city Lodge. An in creas ingly difficult problem today is the future of Lodges locat ed in large cities. Not only is th is problem becoming m or e a cute by reas on of t h e urbanization tr en d but it is also critical fo r numero us other r easons. Parking facilities m ay be most d ifficult. W he ther to go home and r eturn to the Lodge Meeting later in the evening or to r emain in town, attend Lodge and then go h om e is a problem to man y Mason s. It is thus obser ved that urbanization is a most important factor to be evaluated. Its effect on Freem asonry must be carefull y studied and the n ecessar y st eps taken toward solution . It is mos t essential to take the new Lodge t o th e n ew community . I know of several s u ch comm unities which have grown in size to the point wh ere sever al or more Lodges could b e supported r ight n ow. A possible solutio n to the cit y problem would be
that Scottish Rite Masonry and York Rite Maso nry, which draw th eir membership fr om the individual Lodges in their respective areas, in contemplating f uture cons truction , s o design and locate their T emples that a ccommodations may als o he provided for an adequate number of Lodges to m eet the city demand. W e all recognize that m odern design and ar chitecture has changed our entire m ode of living. Two- and three-story h ouses are becoming outmoded. By the same t ok en Lodge Meetings h eld on the third floor of buildings lacking elevator s work h ardships on many m embers. Attendan ce an d enthusiasm ar e dis couraged despit e heroic efforts of officers. Many Lodges are finan cially able to r e-locate in the community and rem odel or erect a m or e attractive Lodge h ome. I n n ew areas with the h elp of modern architecture m ost attractive multiple purpose buildings can be erected and become a center of community activities. In s u ch buildings a suitable and attractive Lodge room can be located which is easily accessible to the members. There ar e ma ny s uggestions which could be made to solve these problems. Su ccessfu l and abundant liv ing results from int elligent, proper adj us tment to the conditions and fact ors affecting environment. The potential of Fr eem asonry can b e advan ced and m ade more effective b y facing th ese problem s of changed conditions. 'Jhey must be faced as they li e in th e p athway of growth a nd expans ion. New Lodges in newly d eveloped areas are essentiaJ: New Lodges in older ar eas wh er e n o Lodge exists, mus t b e diligently pursu ed to r eality. The problem of t h e city Lodge is complex and diffic ult but can be solved. P erh aps a closer r elation ship between The Grand Lodge, York Rite Bodies, Scottish R ite Bodies and the S hrine, with a serious effort to fa ce the problem in the large city areas, will lead to proper solutions . Ever y Mas on in Pennsylvania should be alert t o t h e task of creating n ew Masonic Light and Life in every community in P ennsylvan ia . To d o s o will en able us to perpetua te Freemasonry and it will grow far bey ond our expect ations. Cordially and fraternally,
s ~~ 1#. ~k:.f'e.df,S ANFORD M. CHILCOTE, R. W. Grand Master