A Tribute to Some Men Who Have Made Me

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

L. Scott Niccum, 33°

Larry Niccum

I have been strangely quiet for some time now. I have tried to make posts giving props to men who have made an impact in my life to make me a better man and Mason. In the past year, we have struggled with quite a bit of heartache in our household losing my father Larry Niccum, my father-in-law Robert Westover, and Ill Joe Ethridge, 33rd Degree.  All three of these men have had such a profound effect on my life and have molded me into the person I have become. 

While I have struggled with moving forward, I kept wondering how I could give these men the credit they deserve, which I doubt I could. As is too often the case, I toyed with the idea of just putting off writing anything because I just didn't want to face the fact that three men who meant so much to me were gone.  Strange as it is, it took the kind words of my mother (Joe's widow) and Joe. They both told me without words, “If you want others to know about these men, then you know what to do.” I am reminded of the many times Joe would come into my work for his newspaper and quote a bit of ritual and respond to me, “Is it just pretty words or a way of life?” and smack with his paper and say, “I’ll see ya tomorrow.” 

Robert Westover

The ritual which we as Masons recite in our Degrees is not just part of our ceremonies but the road map of our lives, if we choose. In the last few years, I have begun to learn the lectures for our Degrees and a better way to point out the road map the Grand Warden has laid out for us and how these men have already shown me. 

Ritual is something we as Masons all know. Whether it’s our favorite we love to hear or give, or one we remember from our Degrees. My question to all of you that have heard the words: Are they just pretty words, or do you use them to navigate your life with all mankind? 

Keep your eyes open for a breakdown of some lectures and how it may make some men be better Masons which I hope will make three men I love very proud.

We are all products of what we have been exposed to. These three have made a difference in my life. Who has made a difference in yours?

~LSN

L. Scott Niccum, 33° is a member and Past Master Greenup Lodge No. 125 (IL) and a plural member of Hutton Lodge No. 698 (IL).  He is a member of the Valley of Danville, and is Past Thrice Potent Master of the Danville Lodge of Perfection.  He also serves as the Eastern Illinois Area Coordinator for the IL CHIP Program for the Grand Lodge of Illinois A. F. & A. M. and is the Traveling Degrees Chairman for Valley of Danville.  Scott and his wife Marie live in Charleston, Illinois.

Brother James Madison?

by Midnight Freemason contributor

                                                                Steven L. Harrison, PM, FMLR

     Fifteen Freemasons have served as President of the United States.  For the record, the accepted list of those Brothers is as follows: George Washington, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, James Garfield, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Warren G. Harding, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Lyndon Johnson and Gerald Ford.  When compiling such a list, one always has to note that Lyndon Johnson advanced no farther than the Entered Apprentice Degree; but an Entered Apprentice is, indeed, a Freemason.

     I say it's the accepted list because there is some debate about whether others belong on the list.  The most notable of those is Thomas Jefferson who may... or may not... have been a Freemason.  New World Order theorists, anti-Masons and others with some form of off-base agenda erroneously claim other presidents, from George W. Bush and Barack Obama to all of them, belong on the list.  Then there is the odd case of David Rice Atchison.  There is no doubt he was a Freemason, and he may... or may not... have been president for a single day, March 4, 1849 — a subject we'll leave for another time.

     There is one president, though, where the keepers of the official list (whomever they may be) might have it wrong.  

     James Madison (1751-1836) is usually not considered to be one of the US Presidents who was a Freemason, but strong evidence exists that he was a member. 

     On February 11, 1795, John Francis Mercer, Governor of Maryland, wrote the following to Madison in a letter which still exists in the Library of Congress: "I have had no opportunity of congratulating you before on your becoming a Free Mason — a very ancient and honorable fraternity." 

     John Dove, an early Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Virginia said Madison was one of the original founders of Hiram Lodge 59 in 1800, and became a charter member. 

     On September 20, 1817, Madison marched in procession with Charlottesville Lodge 90 and Widow's Son Lodge 60 to lay the cornerstone of Central College at Charlottesville (later the University of Virginia).  

     According to William R. Denslow in his iconic book 10,000 Famous Freemasons, Madison may have been a member of Hiram Lodge 59, Westmoreland Court House, Virginia, which became dormant about 1814.  All Lodge records were lost or destroyed.  

     Perhaps most telling, however, were the attacks made on Madison during the anti-Masonic period.  

     It is safe to conclude just about the only thing not confirmed about the Masonic status of James Madison - most likely Brother James Madison - is the name of his original Lodge.

~SLH

Steve Harrison, 32° KCCH, is a Past Master of Liberty Lodge #31, Liberty, Missouri.  He is the editor of the Missouri Freemasonmagazine, author of the book Freemasonry Crosses the Mississippi, a Fellow of the Missouri Lodge of Research and also its Senior Warden.  He is a dual member of Kearney Lodge #311, St. Joseph Missouri Valley of the Scottish Rite, Liberty York Rite, Moila Shrine and is a member of the DeMolay Legion of Honor.

Masonic Week

by Midnight Freemason contributor

WB Gregory J Knott

     Earlier this winter I had the opportunity to attend Masonic Week in Reston, Virginia.  Masonic Week is considered by some to be the event for Masonry nationally if you want to meet the authors, movers and shakers in Freemasonry.  Despite the many high profile attendees, many people I speak with still don't know what Masonic Week is.

 
  Masonic Week is really a series of meetings of Masonic Bodies that use this opportunity to come together in one location and share Masonic fellowship.  The Allied Masonic Degrees (AMD) are the center piece of the meetings.  AMD was the original organizer of Masonic Week and it has been held in the Washington DC area since 1938.  Numerous including the Masonic Society, the Philalethes Society, Knight Masons and many others held their meetings. 

 
  The absolute best part of Masonic Week is meeting the brethren attending.    I had the opportunity to listen and/or speak with Masonic authors Christopher Hodapp, Brent Morris, Arturo de Hoyos, Andrew Hammer and John Palmer.  The Masonic Society hospitality suite was one of the favorite stops on the weekend.  Here in an informal setting, you can converse with some of the most well informed brethren in Masonry today. 

   
 Brother Jay Hochberg of the Magpie Mason, has an excellent series of articles from past years of Masonic Week. 

   
 Masonic Week 2014 is already in the planning process and will once again be held in the Hyatt at Reston, Virginia on February 13-16, 2014.   I would encourage all that can attend to do so.  It will be an experience you will never forget.

~GJK

WB Gregory J. Knott is the Past Master of St. Joseph Lodge No. 970 in St. Joseph (IL) and a plural member of Ogden Lodge No. 754 (IL), and Homer Lodge No. 199 (IL). He's a member of both the Scottish Rite, and the York Rite, and is the Charter Secretary of the Illini High Twelve Club in Champaign-Urbana. He's also a member of the Ansar Shrine (IL) and the Eastern Illinois Council No. 356 Allied Masonic Degrees. Greg is very involved in Boy Scouts--an Eagle Scout himself, he serves the Grand Lodge of Illinois A. F. & A. M. as their representative to the National Association of Masonic Scouters.

The Feast of the Paschal Lamb, An Honor

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

R.W.B. Michael H Shirley

Photo from Life Magazine

A couple of years ago I accepted an offer to become an officer in the George E. Burow Chapter of Rose Croix in the Valley of Danville, Illinois, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, NMJ. I knew what some of my duties would be (perform in degrees, take on increasing responsibility in Valley functions, attend board meetings, buy a tuxedo), but I was unclear on one thing, since I hadn’t attended it: the Feast of the Paschal Lamb. The Feast is conducted annually by past and present Rose Croix officers as a memorial to Valley members who have died in the preceding year. My wife describes it as an All Souls Day ceremony for Masons, and that’s a pretty good analogy. It’s open to the public, and family and friends of the decedents are specially invited to attend. 

In Danville, most of the speaking parts are taken by Past Most Wise Masters, with current officers taking spots as needed. For the past two years, I’ve had the duty of reading the Mystic Roll, the names of those who have died. Given our aging membership, it’s a long list, and it takes a while to read, especially since it’s done along with a slide show of each member’s name and photograph. And of all the things I’ve done in Masonry, it’s probably what I am most grateful for. 

Photo by WB Greg Knott

Last year, I sat out of sight in a balcony with a hand-held microphone, reading names from a glitchy program off of the screen in front of me. I was too nervous to really notice anything save my desire not to miss any names and pronounce them all correctly. This year, I stood at a podium, reading each name as it appeared on the screen, looking ahead on a list in front of me. There were no glitches; my Rose Croix Brethren did everything beautifully and the slide program worked as it was supposed to. And I realized again that everything passes. These were men who had loved Freemasonry as I do, who had participated in degrees there at the Danville Masonic Temple, standing on the floor of the preceptory as I did, and now they were gone. Each name, each face, held a lifetime of joy, sorrow, and everything in between, shared with their families, friends, and Brothers, and now they shared just a little more. Each name became a meditation for me, a moment of solemnity as I spoke it as clearly and reverently as I could, thinking of the times past when this ceremony was conducted by men who had since then all been called home by the Grand Warden of Heaven, to the time in the future when our own names would be pronounced, to be followed in a few seconds by another name, and then another.  And ultimately, no one would be left alive who remembered any of us as anything other than a name. So getting each name right mattered. Speaking each name reverently mattered. 

Being part of this fraternity is a privilege, and nowhere is it more apparent to me than at this Feast, when I speak my Brothers’ names with gratitude, my acceptance of this obligation a part of my larger obligation as a Rose Croix officer, a Freemason, and a man. And so I stand there, as reverently as I can, looking at their faces, speaking their names. As had been done before, and would be again, by men across generations. Brothers, in unbroken line, standing and speaking for one another, past, present, and future.

~MHS

R.W.B. Michael H. Shirley is the Assistant Area Deputy Grand Master for the Eastern Area for the Grand Lodge of Illinois A.F. & A.M.  He is the Past Master of Tuscola Lodge No. 332 and Leadership Development Chairman for the Grand Lodge of Illinois. He's also a member of the Illinois Lodge of Research, the Scottish Rite, the York Rite, Eastern Star, and the Tall Cedars of Lebanon. He's also a member of the newly-chartered, Illini High Twelve No. 768 in Urbana-Champaign. The author of several articles on British history, he teaches at Eastern Illinois University.