Clash of the Titans

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

Steven L. Harrison, 33°, FMLR

I've written a few articles here on the Midnight Freemasons blog about an incredible Brother who, in my opinion, was the 20th century's "Mason of the century." Most Worshipful Brother Ray V. Denslow was General Grand High Priest of the General Grand Chapter during the WWII years. He was the founder of the Royal Arch Mason magazine and served as its editor and publisher from 1942 until his death in 1960, at which time his son William, author of 10,000 Famous Freemasons, took over. Ray Denslow was also the world's foremost authority on international Freemasonry, and published the only complete account of the near-destruction of the Craft in Europe in the years leading up to WWII and its reconstruction following the war.

Those accomplishments are only the tip of the iceberg in Brother Denslow's Masonic resume. He was almost certainly the most famous Freemason in the world at the time, with the single exception of his good friend Harry Truman.

The shortcomings of each of us are borne out in the fact that our rough ashlars will remain so. We as Freemasons work daily toward the goal of the perfect ashlar, which seems always to lie just outside our grasp. The same was true even of a Mason of the stature of Ray Denslow. Immersed in human frailties, he had his share of doubts, conflicts, and battles… and one of those battles went supernova when the two most powerful Freemasons in the country went head-to-head. Their feud lasted for years, in an ugly fight in which Denslow was ultimately stripped of the 33°.

Denslow documents this brutal hostility in his memoirs, albeit from his own point of view; but he lays out the facts objectively enough that we can see both sides of the story. This account is spread over many pages as he tells of issues that cropped up over time. As a result, reading the books, it is difficult to see the intense impact of the story.

So I decided to take each of those incidents and compile them into an article. I intended it for the Freemason magazine here in Missouri and instead of just submitting it, I met personally with the editor and told him, "This is hot stuff. If you review it and decide it shouldn't go into the magazine, I will understand." So the editor reviewed and accepted the story. It was destined to be published for all the world to see.

A couple weeks later, I got a friendly phone call from the Grand Master. He said he liked the article. Then he said, "Steve… Steve… you know we can't publish this." I knew. And just as I had told the editor, I understood.

So I went to work on a revision. I toned some things down and threw in the standard disclaimer saying the article did not necessarily reflect the views of the Grand Lodge, the Missouri Lodge of Research, the Grand Line officers, the magazine, God or any individuals living or dead. By this time there was a new Grand Master. I met with him. He reviewed the article and gave it his blessing to be published. So the on-again-off-again publication of this hot potato was on again.

Then, I met with the Denslows themselves – Ray's granddaughter and grandson, and we talked about the issue. Not surprisingly, they saw things from Ray's point of view. I realized the publication of the article might embarrass or even alienate them after they had been so good in working with me as I edited his memoirs… and I didn't want that. In addition, let's face it, the whole episode was not Freemasonry's finest hour. So I called the new Grand Master and we once again decided not to publish the article. It's not like the story has never been told. I've just never heard it told correctly or completely.

So what to do with this thing? Well, here's what we're going to do. This September at Chicago Masonicon, I'll lay out the whole grisly story. What Denslow did that so offended the Scottish Rite that it yanked his 33°. Who his great and powerful nemesis was, and how this clash of the titans came to its imperfect resolution. I won't publish it, but at that meeting we'll sit down and talk about it… just you and me.

~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.

Bucking The Trend

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

Steven L. Harrison, 33°, FMLR

The Missouri Lodge of Research evolved from a research council formed in 1927 by a group of Masons which included famed Masonic author Ray Denslow and an obscure county judge named Harry Truman. The idea to turn the Missouri Masonic Research Council into an actual Lodge came along in 1938, and was summarily voted down at Grand Lodge because, "We've never done that before."

Two years later, with that obscure judge Truman, now a US Senator, serving as Grand Master, the proposal went through and the Missouri Lodge of Research was born. It bears the distinction of being the only Masonic Lodge, research or otherwise, to having the sitting President of the United States as its Master.

The Lodge flourished over the years, providing members an outlet to meet and discuss topics of interest as well as publishing Masonic papers, articles and books. Early on, it became a mainstay of the Missouri Lodge of Research to provide its members with a book each year, usually one that the Lodge published itself. Many of those books were the products of the Denslows, Ray and his son William, who wrote the epic series 10,000 Famous Freemasons. Those books attracted members not just from Missouri, but from all over the country and even outside the US. 

In time, the Missouri Lodge of Research became the largest US research Lodge and was probably second in prestige only to England's famous Quatour Coronati. As Masonic membership began to decline after the postwar boom years, the Missouri LOR's membership also started to decline but it "held its own" in comparison to other Masonic institutions, thanks mostly to the quality of the books it was distributing.

Then, in 2001, it began distributing a series of books, Lodges of Missouri. This consisted of five volumes which detailed the history of each Masonic Lodge in the jurisdiction. The Lodge distributed one of the five volumes as its annual book for five consecutive years. 

The Lodges of Missouri series was a valuable addition to the history of Missouri Masonry. It was probably unique to the Grand Lodge of Missouri for a Grand Lodge to have such a detailed history of each of its individual Lodges.  Unfortunately issuing the series proved to be a major tactical error. Members outside Missouri had little interest in the series. Even within the jurisdiction, members tired of seeing the books come year-after-year, especially for the volumes that didn't contain their own lodges. 

Membership plummeted. Over that period, the Missouri Lodge of Research lost about half its membership. Not only was it not "holding its own" it was actually losing membership at a faster rate than Masonry in general.

Facing this crisis, the Missouri LOR officers met to come up with a plan to reverse the trend.  Immediately, of course, it began releasing books of more general and popular Masonic interest.  In addition to that the officers took the following measures:

…Established the Truman Lecture Series, bringing in world-class Masonic speakers twice a year to speak at its semi-annual meetings. This series has featured such speakers as Clifton Truman Daniel, Josef Wäges, Alton Roundtree, Arturo de Hoyos, Trevor Stewart, Robert Cooper, Brent Morris, Chris Hodapp and more. 

…Took responsibility for the management of the Missouri Masonic Museum in Columbia.  The museum details the Masonic history of Missouri and elsewhere, and contains unique memorabilia such as Harry Truman's cane and glasses, the Masonic apron of Meriwether Lewis and Wild Bill Hickock's alleged Lodge chair.

…Built a comprehensive Masonic library at its Masonic Complex. The library now contains many priceless artifacts as well as thousands of books, many rare or one-of-a-kind. It also provides an on-line electronic catalog and is working to digitize many of its volumes.

…Enhanced its newsletter, which now contains articles of esoteric and historical Masonic interest as well as being a vehicle to communicate regularly with its membership.

…Sponsors a Lodge of Research Breakfast on the final day of the Grand Lodge session, at which the Fall Truman Lecturer speaks. Arguably, this is the most popular event at Grand Lodge. 

…Established the Pickard Society named after John Pickard, first president of the original Missouri Masonic Research Council. Members may join the Pickard Society by giving small donations. Those donations do not necessarily need to be monetary; they can also come in the form of book donations or even time and effort given to the Library.

…Established the Denslow Society named for the iconic Masonic authors Ray and William Denslow. The Denslow Society's $1,000 membership fee helps insure the future of the Library and LOR programs.

These steps have helped the Missouri Lodge of Research to gain back about half the members it lost over the five-years it published the Lodges of Missouri Series. 

So, in an era when many institutions, not just Masonic, are losing members, the Missouri Lodge of Research is bucking the trend with membership numbers on the rise again. The point is, it can be done but it takes effort, cooperation and resources. To be sure, the Missouri Lodge of Research is unique and the way it turned things around wouldn't apply to most other Masonic bodies. However, the reversal of the decline started when the Lodge of research figured out a way to give its members what they wanted. That's the key and that's what all our Masonic organizations need to do… figure out what the members want and give it to them… easier said than done.

Membership in the Missouri Lodge of Research is $25/year. An application can be found at: https://tinyurl.com/moresearch The books for 2019 and 2020 are the two-volume set Ray V. Denslow's Masonic Journey, the never-before published memoirs of a 20^thcentury Masonic giant.

~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.

Four Large Brown Dusty Binders

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

Steven L. Harrison, 33°, FMLR

Illustrious Brother James Williams was a Masonic Scholar. Missouri's representative to the renowned Quatuor Coronati Research Lodge, he maintained one of the finest private Masonic Literary collections anywhere. Upon his passing in 2011, he left that collection to his Brothers in Missouri. Sorting through the volumes, Brothers found four large brown dusty binders bulging with typewritten pages. Upon inspecting the material in them, the Brothers realized they had discovered a Masonic treasure.

Ray V. Denslow was arguably the most prolific Masonic author of the 20thcentury. Among his books were Territorial Masonry – the Story of Freemasonry and the Louisiana Purchase 1804-21; Civil War and Masonry in Missouri; History of Cryptic Masonry;The Masonic Fraternity, Its Aims and Goals; The Masonic Conservators; the History of Cryptic Masonry and on, and on. Not only does that list not scratch the surface, but it also does not include any of the dozens of pamphlets he authored.

Most Worshipful Brother Denslow served as Missouri's Grand Master in 1931-32, was a founding member and Master of the Missouri Lodge of Research, had a close friendship with President Harry Truman and served as Truman's emissary on Masonic missions around the world. From 1942-1945 he served as General Grand High Priest of the General Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons, International.

To that impressive Masonic resume we can add what he considered his crowning achievement — the founding of the Royal Arch Masonmagazine in 1943. You may have heard of it. You might, in fact, have a copy of it sitting in your living room.

He passed his passion for writing on to his son, William R. Denslow, best known for his iconic work, 10,000 Famous Freemasons. He also passed something else along to his son: those four large, brown binders bulging with typewritten pages.

Brother Denslow, it seems, was a compulsive man. At home, he lived at his typewriter and pounded out every minute of his Masonic journey — the good, the bad and, yes, the ugly. He left those binders with his son and his son, in turn, handed them to Jim Williams with the strict caveat that they were not to be published until everyone mentioned in them had passed away; and for good reason — Ray Denslow pulled no punches.

The pages in this memoir record in detail his experiences as an author, a leader and Truman's personal representative as he operated at the zenith of the craft. It is a study in Masonic politics at the highest level. It is a rewarding story of how Denslow made friends across the globe and worked to unify Masonry at the close of World War II. It is also a record of how he crossed swords with a few of the most powerful and influential Masons of his time.

Work on compiling and editing this material has been in process for over a year. Now, over a half-century after his death, the Fraternity is about to see a new book — not about, but bythis great Masonic author.

The Missouri Lodge of Research did not strictly adhere to the stipulation that everyone mentioned in the book must have passed away prior to its publication. His granddaughter, Judith Denslow Ericson, and his grandson, William R. Denslow, Jr., are not only still around, but each contributed to the book. His grandson Bill, in fact, helped with the editing process and is the Executive Editor of the manuscript, bringing the Denslow name to a third generation of significant Masonic works.

The first volume of this two-volume set, Ray V. Denslow's Masonic Journey, is now hot off the presses. The Missouri Lodge of Research will distribute a hardbound copy, free of charge, to each of its members at the Grand Lodge of Missouri's annual communication in September. Frankly, the best way to ensure getting a copy will be to join the Missouri Lodge of Research. Volume 2, as well as softcover and Kindle editions, will follow in 2019. It's a must-read for serious students of Masonic history.

If you're looking for a way to join the Missouri Lodge of Research, here it is.

http://molor.org/sites/default/files/forms/Application.pdf

~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.