Andy Griffith

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

Bro. Steven L. Harrison 33˚, FMLR

In season six of the Andy Griffith show, episode 7, Sheriff Andy Taylor comes into some money. Andy, his girlfriend Helen Crump, son Opie, and Andy's Aunt Bee, have dinner and discuss what he should do with his newfound riches:

Andy: This has been quite a day.

Helen: How exciting! What are you going to do with the money?

Andy: Put it in the bank.

Helen: Put it in the bank?

Andy: What's wrong with that?

Helen: Why don't you do something fun with it? Splurge. Do something crazy.

Andy: What are you talking about?

Helen: Well, when was the last time you people took a trip?

Andy: We take trips. We go up to Raleigh every now and then. And we drove up to Asheville that time… remember?

Aunt Bee: When your cousin became a Mason.

Opie: "Can we take a trip, Pa? Can we? Can we Aunt Bee?

Aunt Bee: "Well, it's entirely up to your father, dear."

Andy: "Well, I suppose we could take a little of the money and take a little trip. Want to go to Parkinson's Falls? It's nice this time of year and Opie hasn't been there since he was a baby."

Aunt Bee: "Hmmmm…"

Andy: "Well, you wanna drive up to Asheville again and see cousin Evan Moore? He's a Grand Master now.

Well, whadya know? Andy's cousin was Grand Master of North Carolina. How about Sheriff Taylor himself? So, we know he went to see his cousin become a Mason, and you don't get in unless you also are a Brother. Aunt Bee and Opie, however, would have been shut out of the actual ceremony. It wouldn't be the first time that's happened, though. Still, the show doesn't specify. In another episode a few years before, members of a "gentleman's club" recruited Andy. Recruited? Whatever happened to 2B1ASK1? It's a moot point because Andy didn't join, since the members wanted him, but not his deputy Barney Fife. If Sheriff Andy was, in fact, a Freemason, he apparently kept it… dare I say… a secret.

Most viewers may not realize the iconic Andy Griffith Show was a spin-off from the Danny Thomas Show. In an episode of that show, country-bumpkin sheriff Andy stopped Thomas' character for speeding. The plot followed Thomas' trials and tribulations while dealing with the small town sheriff, who was also the town judge and newspaper editor. Thomas, a member of Gothic Lodge 270 in New Jersey, created the Andy Griffith show based on that pilot episode and was executive producer for several programs. He was also a 33° Scottish Rite Mason and a member of Al Malaikha Shrine in Los Angeles.

Andy Griffith himself was not a Freemason, but held the Fraternity in high regard. He actually got his comedic start performing for a few summers at the Dare County Shrine Club in – where else – North Carolina.

So there you have it: the Masonic ties to the Andy Griffith show. To recap:

Sheriff Andy Taylor: Maybe… but probably not a Freemason

Andy's cousin Evan Moore: Grand Master of North Carolina

Show creator and executive producer Danny Thomas: A Freemason

Andy Griffith: Not a Freemason

Who knows, maybe Aunt Bee or Andy's girlfriend Helen Crump were in the Eastern Star.

~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 is 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.

A Return to the Tradition of Grand Master Portraits

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

Bro. Travis Simpkins

Okay, so maybe “return” isn't the right word to use in all cases. Some Grand Lodges, like Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, have kept up the tradition of commissioning oil portraits of Grand Masters from the beginning. Other jurisdictions have always simply relied on photographs to commemorate and honor their leaders. Others still began with paintings and, for any variety of reasons, gradually let the practice fade away.

Over the past couple years, I've been happy to work with the Grand Lodge of New Jersey to help renew the tradition there. In early 2018, Roger B. Quintana was serving as Deputy Grand Master and was planning ahead for his upcoming term in the Grand East. He contacted me about the possibility of having an original oil painting made for his Grand Master portrait. He said that New Jersey had commissioned some oil paintings in the past, but that now the portraits were mostly just large photos. He wanted to return to displaying handmade artwork. We agreed on the details and I presented the completed painting to M.W. Quintana in April of 2018, on the day of his installation as Grand Master of Masons in New Jersey at the Grand Lodge's Annual Communication in Atlantic City. The portrait was well received and I was invited back again this year to present the oil painting I made of his successor, M.W. Gregory J. Scott. And if all goes according to plan, I hope to return to New Jersey for a third time in 2020.

Not all budgets are the same and some buildings just don't have the space to display large artwork. Beyond oil paintings, I've also had the pleasure of creating smaller charcoal drawings of Grand Masters for many jurisdictions. Some have gone to Grand Lodges for display, others now hang in the Mother Lodges of various Grand Masters, some are in private homes. Commemorating our leaders for posterity in an interesting and appropriate way is the important thing, regardless of artistic medium or ultimate destination.

Handmade portraits, conceived by a skilled artist, contain a humanness and a spark of life that can't quite be captured in any other way. Both timely and timeless, they offer a sense of history and tradition: a connection to the past, a vision of the present and a record for the future.

If any Grand Lodge officials, or anyone else for that matter, is looking to return to or begin a tradition of Grand Master portraits, please feel free to reach out to me.

-TS

Travis Simpkins is a freelance artist with clients throughout the United States and Europe. He currently works on projects for the Supreme Council, 33°, NMJ in Lexington, Massachusetts and the Supreme Council, 33°, SJ in Washington, DC. He also serves as a portrait artist for the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, Grand Lodge of New Jersey and other jurisdictions across North America. His artwork is in many esteemed collections, including the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum in Independence, Missouri and the George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia.

Bro. Simpkins is a member of Morning Star Lodge A.F. & A.M. in Worcester, Massachusetts. He is a 32^°  Mason in the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite- Valleys of Worcester and Boston. He is also a member of  Eureka Royal Arch Chapter, Hiram Council of Royal & Select Master Masons and Worcester County Commandery No. 5, Knights Templar.