The Future Of The Midnight Freemasons Blog

by Midnight Freemasons Founder and Editor

Todd E. Creason, 33°

Remember me?  Probably not . . . it's been awhile.

Back in 2007, I created a blog called “The Midnight Freemason” and I used that blog to post research leftovers from the books and the articles I was writing about Freemasonry at the time.  Despite much conjecture over the years, the title of the blog doesn’t have any deep Masonic meaning at all.  It merely described my writing habits—working a full-time job, I often wrote late into the night.  A friend had once commented that when his phone alerted him to an email after midnight, he always knew who it was.  That was me—the Midnight Freemason.  Hence, the title of the blog.

I posted three times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  For the first year, nobody seemed to notice.  And then a strange thing happened.  I’d go to a meeting somewhere and people would say, “I know who you are.  You’re the Midnight Freemason!”  And for the first five years it grew.  And it grew.  And it grew.  And I ran out of research leftovers, and began writing content just for the blog.  And that got harder and harder to maintain. 

By 2012 it was getting to be too much, and I called a few friends in to provide content.  Among the original contributors were Greg Knott (wrote the first contributor piece), Steve Harrison, Robert Johnson, Scott Niccum, Judy Gordon, Michael Shirley, and Brian Pettice.  I hope I didn’t leave anybody out. 

We retitled the blog “The Midnight Freemasons” (plural) and it has been a contributor blog ever since.  It was tremendous fun.  Many of us were friends, and every time we got a group of us in a room together we’d take a “Midnight Freemasons” picture.  And the blog grew, and more and more lodges found it, and were using pieces for their lodge education, and were asking permission to reprint pieces in newsletters and websites.  Over the years we’ve had more than 30 regular contributors and countless contributions we’ve published as “one time” articles. 

Robert Johnson took over as the first editor, and I began taking a step back.  He took the blog to a whole new level.  Later Darin Lahners stepped in, and has done amazing work collecting, and editing, and posting all this material.  Bill Hosler also played a huge role in managing the Midnight Freemasons.  Over the years we’ve gone from posting three days a week, to once a week, and then most recently to whenever we had a good piece to share.  And I think that was a wise decision to make—quality over quantity.  But now we’re in a new place.

Darin Lahners has decided it is time for him to explore some new projects and do some research into areas he’s interested in learning more about, and has stepped down as the editor.  And now it’s back to me.  And I’m trying to decide what to do with the blog. 

One thing I’m certain of—it’s not going away.  Too many people enjoy it.  We’re still getting 50,000 and sometimes as many as 100,000 hits a month.  That’s amazing!

If nothing else it will stay up as an archive of thousands of pieces that have been written and published over the last 19 years or so.  I’m leaning towards continuing it as a contributor blog, and being a more active contributor again myself.  But there might be some changes coming.  I’ll keep you posted.

I’d like to thank our editors over the years.  And all those contributors and the countless hours they’ve spent writing such amazing content!  That’s what’s made this work.  And, of course, our enthusiastic readers! 

Stay tuned!  There’s more to come!

~TEC33

Todd E. Creason, 33° is the Founder and (once again) the Editor of the Midnight Freemasons blog. He is an award-winning author of several books and novels, including the Famous American Freemasons series. Todd started the Midnight Freemason blog in 2006, and in 2012 he opened it up as a contributor blog The Midnight Freemasons (plural). Todd has written more than 1,000 pieces for the blog since it began. He is a Past Master of Ogden Lodge No. 754 (IL) where he currently serves as Secretary. He is a Past Sovereign Master of the Eastern Illinois Council No. 356 Allied Masonic Degrees. He is a Fellow at the Missouri Lodge of Research (FMLR). He is a charter member of Admiration Chapter No. 282 and is a Past EHP. You can contact him at webmaster@toddcreason.org

New Regular Contributors

New Regular Midnight Freemason Contributors

I am pleased to announce the addition of three new Regular Contributors to the Midnight Freemasons Blog.

Patrick Dey

Patrick M. Dey is a Past Master of Nevada Lodge No. 4 in the ghost town of Nevadaville, Colorado, and currently serves as their Secretary, and is also a Past Master of Research Lodge of Colorado. He is a Past High Priest of Keystone Chapter No. 8, Past Illustrious Master of Hiram Council No. 7, Past Commander of Flatirons Commandery No. 7, and serves as the Secretary-Recorder of all three. He currently serves as the Exponent (Suffragan) of Colorado College, SRICF of which he is VIII Grade (Magister), and is a member of Gofannin Council No. 315 AMD and Kincora Council No. 8 Knight Masons. He is a facilitator for the Masonic Legacy Society, is the Editor of the Rocky Mountain Mason magazine, serves on the Board of Directors of the Grand Lodge of Colorado’s Library and Museum Association, and is the Deputy Grand Bartender of the Grand Lodge of Colorado (an ad hoc, joke position he is very proud to hold). He holds a Masters of Architecture degree from the University of Colorado, Denver, and works in the field of architecture in Denver, where he resides with wife and son.

Jim Stapleton

Jim Stapleton is the Senior Warden of USS New Jersey Lodge No. 62. He is also a member of the New Jersey Lodge of Masonic Research and Education No. 1786. Jim received the Distinguished White Apron Award from the Grand Lodge of New Jersey. He was awarded the Daniel Carter Beard Masonic Scouter Award. Jim is also a member of the Society of King Solomon.

Phillip Welshans

Phillip Welshans is Senior Warden of Palestine Lodge #189 in Catonsville, MD under the Grand Lodge of Maryland A.F. & A.M. He is also a member of the Maryland Masonic Lodge of Research #239, and the Hiram Guild of the Maryland Masonic Academy. As a member of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, S.J. in the Valley of Baltimore, he has completed the Master Craftsman programs and is a member of the Scottish Rite Research Society. His interests are primarily in Masonic education, particularly the history of the Craft, esotericism, and the philosophy of Masonry.

Please join me in welcoming all three brethren to the Blog.

~DL

Murder And Treason Excepted - Revisit

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

Steven L. Harrison, 33°, FMLR

I recently produced a Benedict Arnold video for the Whence Came You podcast.  The gist of its message is this: had a wound Arnold received in the Revolutionary War's second Battle of Saratoga been fatal, he would today be considered a great American hero.  

Having been appointed commander of the fort at West Point, Arnold contacted British Major John Andre, offering to surrender the fort to the British in exchange for an unspecified high rank and £20,000 (Roughly £2.7 million or $4 million today) .  West Point was located on the Hudson River; had the British taken control of the fort they would have controlled the river and probably turned the tide in the Revolution to their favor.  The plan fell apart when Andre was caught and, on October 2, 1780, executed as a spy.  

The British, in turn, gave Arnold the rank of Brigadier General and reduced his payment to £6,315 (£850,000/$1.25 million), since the plot failed.  Arnold moved to England and lived in relative obscurity until his death in 1801.

The video itself, a short vignette which can be seen at http://bit.ly/1VnDgVZ, doesn't tell the full story.  In researching the piece, I discovered some additional things about Benedict Arnold worth sharing:

Arnold was an active member of Hiram Lodge 1, New Haven, Connecticut.  After his act of sedition, the Lodge struck his name from its records, as did other Lodges Arnold had visited.

Benedict Arnold's father was Benedict Arnold III.  He also had an older brother named... Benedict Arnold.  It was his family's tradition to have a son with that name in each generation.  His older brother died before he was born and the family gave him the same name.  His full name was, in fact, Benedict Arnold V.

Arnold was a deserter in the French-Indian war, even though under extenuating circumstances.  He received word his mother had contracted Yellow Fever and left the battlefield to be with her.  She died shortly after he returned home.

Arnold's first profession, at 21, was a shopkeeper, selling medicines and books.  

He became a trader, a profession made difficult by the taxes the British levied to maintain the colonies.  Subsequently, to avoid the taxes, he became a smuggler.

He was catapulted to hero status when, together with Ethan Allen, he captured Fort Ticonderoga early in the American Revolution.

He led  a march to Quebec in 1775, in an effort to capture the city and make Canada the 14^th colony!  When General Montgomery, who was supporting him, died, the mission failed.

Arnold again was considered a hero at the Battle of Valcour Island in the American Revolution.    He felt he should have been promoted as a result of this victory, but others were promoted over him, beginning his resentment toward the American cause.

He subsequently drove the British to the sea and was made a Major General.  With other less deserving men still superior to him, his resentment continued.

When General Horatio Gates hesitated to advance at Saratoga, Arnold took command and defeated the British.  Arnold was wounded in his left leg for the third time in his career.  He clearly was responsible for the victory but Gates snatched the glory and accepted British General Burgoyne's sword.  To add further insult, Arnold was placed under arrest for disobeying orders.  

In order to impress the father of Peggy Shipman, he purchased a 96 acre estate and subsequently married her.  The remaining money he owed on the estate sunk his finances.

When he cooked up his plot  to surrender West Point, he gave Major John Andre a pass to get him through American lines.  Andre was robbed.  When the robbers-turned-patriots discovered Andre was a spy, they arrested him and showed the pass to George Washington.  That tipped Washington off that Arnold was a traitor, and Washington immediately set out to arrest him.  Arnold escaped with only minutes to spare.  Although she knew about the plot, his wife Peggy somehow convinced Washington she was innocent.

The British made Benedict Arnold a Brigadier General in the British Army.  Americans hated him and the British resented him.  No one trusts a traitor.

An apocraphyl story claims George Washington was so angry at and so reviled Arnold he decreed his name should never be written down; subsequently he had the gravestones of Arnold's father and brother of the same name removed.  Indeed, records at Old Northtown Cemetery in Connecticut, where his father is buried, indicate "Gravestone removed in 1781."

Also, a marker known as the "Boot Monument" at Saratoga battlefield honors Arnold's heroism without naming him.  The boot commemorates the wound he received to his leg without otherwise recognizing a traitor.

The Boot Monument at Saratoga Battlefield honors 

Benedict Arnold, but does not mention his name.

In the end, Benedict Arnold regretted his seditious actions.  Knowing he was dying, he put on his former uniform and said, "Let me die in my old American uniform — The uniform in which I fought my battles.  God forgive me for ever putting on any other."

It may have been a noble thought, but it's doubtful anyone, including his former Brothers choose to forgive him.  After all, whether it be secrets or vile deeds, we Freemasons have a saying, "murder and treason excepted."

~SLH

Bro. Steve Harrison, 33°, is Past Master of Liberty Lodge #31, Liberty, Missouri. He is the editor of the Missouri Freemason magazine, author of the book Freemasonry Crosses the Mississippi, a Fellow of the Missouri Lodge of Research and also its Worshipful Master. He is a dual member of Kearney Lodge #311, St. Joseph Missouri Valley of the Scottish Rite, Liberty York Rite, Moila Shrine and 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. His latest book, Freemasons: Tales From the Craft & Freemasons at Oak Island. Both are available on amazon.com.

Virtual Friendship, Real Life Brotherhood

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

Bill Hosler, PM

 

From Left to Right: Greg Knott, Bill Hosler, Darin Lahners (Back), Todd E. Creason

 

Every Freemason knows that feeling. That feeling when you are out in public, often with your wife or partner and another Mason will approach you and mumble a couple of words, and the next thing you know both of you are smiling and shaking hands and talking. A few minutes later your significant other will ask you ”Does he belong to your lodge?” and you reply back ”Nope. Never met him before.” It’s a feeling that even though you never met the man before you share something in common that makes you feel like you have known him all your life. It’s not something you can explain and seems weird to others but it is a special thing between brothers.

Not long ago, I had the opportunity to visit Saint Joseph Lodge #970 in Saint Joseph Illinois. The lodge is located in a century old building that meets about a coffee shop in the downtown area of a small town full of shops, restaurants and a winery in main street America. It’s a vital part of this beautiful little town near Champaign. 

As wonderful as the town was the real reason I was visiting this lodge was to finally meet in person several of the Brethren I have been working with for over a half decade.

 

 Greg Knott and Bill Hosler

This little town is where I was to meet Midnight Freemasons and fellow co-hosts of the podcast Meet, Act and Part, Todd Creason, Greg Knott, and Darin Lahners. After all these years we were all physically going to be in the same room and attend the same lodge together. I was excited since this is only the second time I’ve met a Midnight Freemason in real life since I met Steve Harrison when he drove through my little Oklahoma town a few years ago. 

Todd E. Creason and Bill Hosler

 

That afternoon, Greg Knott picked me up at my hotel and after meeting Darin, we had a great dinner outside at Roch's where I was able to try a local Illinois delicacy called a ”The Horseshoe” (Google it). We spent a great meal talking and laughing after the meal was done we walked the half block to the lodge building.

Bill Hosler and WM Darin Lahners

 

Since Darin is the Master of the lodge this year I watched him open the lodge, while Greg and Todd served as Stewards for the evening. As always when you visit a foreign jurisdiction you look for the differences and similarities to the ritual you learned. 

Once the business of the lodge had been completed, Worshipful Brother Lahners asked me to approach the East. Brother Lahners presented me with a lodge lapel on Saint Joe had commissioned during the year Greg Knott was Master of the lodge and Saint Joe had the honor of winning the Mark Twain Award for Excellence in Masonic Awareness. It was a beautiful pin and I will keep it as a souvenir and as a reminder of such a great evening. 

 

WM Lahners presents Bill Hosler with a lapel pin

After the meeting, the group of us stood in the parking lot and talked for a little while. Discussing future plans for the podcast and the possibility of getting us all together in one place for a symposium type meeting. It’s amazing how we all work together, for years now connected by light and fiber optic cables all over from our locations all over the work the transformational real life was seamless. As if we all have been next door neighbors for decades.

One thing we all agreed on the time we all had together was too short and we would all have to get together again very soon.  Much like the line in the Tyler's toast used in English festive boards ”Happy to meet, sorry to part, happy to meet again.” 

 

~BH

WB Bill Hosler was made a Master Mason in 2002 in Three Rivers Lodge #733 in Indiana. He served as Worshipful Master in 2007 and became a member of the internet committee for Indiana's Grand Lodge. Bill is currently a member of Roff Lodge No. 169 in Roff Oklahoma and Lebanon Lodge No. 837 in Frisco, Texas. Bill is also a member of the Valley of Fort Wayne Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite in Indiana. A typical active Freemason, Bill also served as the High Priest of Fort Wayne's Chapter of the York Rite No. 19 and was commander of the Fort Wayne Commandery No. 4 of the Knight Templar. During all this, he also served as the webmaster and magazine editor for the Mizpah Shrine in Fort Wayne Indiana.

A Little Get-Together

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

Steven L. Harrison, 33°, FMLR

Left to right; Steve Harrison, Greg Knott, Todd Creason, Darin Lahners

Each year in May when I make my annual pilgrimage to the Indianapolis 500 – a near-religious experience – my journey takes me through the Champagne-Urbana, Illinois region. There, in recent years, I've taken that opportunity to meet with friends from the area. We have lunch, share the experiences of the past year, exchange ideas and maybe even tell a tall tale or two. Freemasons all, the conversation usually has a lot to do with the state of the Craft, whether in our local lodges or with other Masonic issues in general.

Our small group consists of Todd Creason, Greg Knott, yours truly and this year, for the first time, Darrin Lahners joined us. While Freemasonry struggles with membership issues, our exclusive “order” has grown by 33%.

Todd is the founder of the Midnight Freemasons blog. He has written a slew of books on Freemasonry including three novels where some of the characters are Brothers, and has been named a Fellow in the Missouri Lodge of Research. Greg is a Past Master of St. Joseph Lodge 970 in St. Joseph, Illinois and is a director of the prestigious Masonic Society. Darrin just served as Master of St. Joseph Lodge 970 and this coming year will be Master of Homer Lodge 199. Darrin has written about some tough issues he faced as Master this year and the fact he's out to do it again at Homer emphasizes his dedication to the fraternity. That doesn't even serve as a “Reader's Digest” version of what these men have accomplished. Their full biographies can be found at www.midnightfreemasons.org/.

These Brothers are so dynamic, enthusiastic and have had so many successes I'm sometimes surprised to find they run into the same issues I encounter; but they do. We share those issues and try to work out what solutions and suggestions we can in the space of an hour or so.

I really look forward to this little get-together. It's nothing earthshaking. We're not going to solve the problems of the world in the small amount of time we have. Maybe its greatest significance is there are three – make that four guys – different ages, different backgrounds, different geographical regions getting together. If not for the bond of Freemasonry this wouldn't happen. I wouldn't know any of them and, although Darrin, Greg and Todd work at the same place they wouldn't know each other as well or perhaps at all.

I've seen this kind of thing happen a lot. We are a band of Brothers with common experiences and obligations. Knowing we share the tenets of Freemasonry brings us together like magnets. Just seeing that square and compasses pin on a lapel makes us want to know more about the man wearing it. It's not just a conversation piece; it represents the strong bond of Brotherhood.

This year's meeting came and went all too quickly. We finished our meal, posed for our mandatory photo and went our separate ways. Across the parking lot from the others, I barely could hear one of them say, “Meeting adjourned.”

That is until next year, God willing.

~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.

Individuation of the Craft Pt. 6

by Midnight Freemason Emeritus

WB. James E. Frey

The Individuation of the Craft Series

Equilibrium is the goal of the individuation process and the Individuation process is best represented by the balancing of the Anima and Animus Archetypes. The Animus is representative as one’s active force within themselves, taking the gender role as masculine energy. On the other hand the anima archetype is representative of one’s passive energies, the feminine aspect within all men. This stage of individuation is to balance these active and passive forces, or this masculine and feminine forces like the ying and yang to find balance and inner peace. This is represented by both the greater and lesser lights as revealed in the Apprentice degree.

The square represents the great inverted triangle or the sacred chalice of the feminine. The anima is a projection of ones experiences with their mother, sister, daughter, lover extending from the primal image of the heavenly goddess. In ancient times the great goddesses were symbolic for the lunar power of the moon. Every mother and lover is bound to be placed as a representation of this timeless image in the deepest realms of man’s unconscious. She is the balance to one’s struggles within themselves and compensates all the bitterness and disappointments we experience in the painful process of self-discovery.

The Anima is the feminine aspect men seek within themselves, but project onto others. They develop concepts of an idealized feminine that inevitably leads to ruined relationships because they never quite find in others what they are seeking within themselves. But those who come to this stage of individuation a psychologically whole person will be able to understand what they are lacking within themselves before they project onto others. This self-understanding allows them to determine what they need from another person to find a sense of balance as opposed to having his rejected deficit within them that they refuse to acknowledge.

The Animus is represented by the triangle, or compass, which has close association with the blade or masculine Sun Gods. So as the perfected Worshipful master of his lodge is balanced between the sun and the moon, the great light of understanding as represented by the volume of sacred law is only achieved by balancing the active and passive aspects of the self. This is why the square and the compasses is shown as representing how much light one receives in the craft.

Once these active and passive aspects of the self are balanced we see the final stage of individuation is spawned from this harmony. This final archetype is known as the Sun Child and represents the individualized person at the end of this process. Like Alchemical gold the psyche has been stripped of all emotional irregularities and preconceived notions of the self. The psyche being complete has found harmony and in its own way elevated itself beyond material bounds to the collected unconscious becoming an archetype itself. This is deemed the Sun child because it is an archetype of complete light and representative of harmonization of the body, mind and soul.

Within the Masonic system this is represented by the Worshipful Master of the lodge who sits in the East as the transformed man placed in the harmony of the inner self. It is interesting to note because the Master of the lodge presents you with the ability to balance the inner forces for a constructive purpose, the working tools. The Apprentice is presented with the 24 inch gauge and the common gavel.

The common gavel is given as a symbol of force or active energy and the 24 inch gauge is given as a representation of form of passive energy. The apprentice is given the common gavel to represent his life force, his will, and his potential to bring to the world. This force is how we utilize our skills to achieve our life’s purpose. If we reject our shadow and embrace the mask archetype this force is mismanaged and leads to achieving superficial goals that leads only to a sense of emptiness within the self. Pike writes “Force unregulated or ill-regulated, is not only wasted in the void… it is destruction and ruin… blind force of the people is a force that must be economized, and also managed… it must be regulated by intellect.” (Pike, Morals and Dogma, pg. 3)

~JEF