Straight from Jim

Straight from Jim is information that has been provided for our monthly bulletins by our Past Master, Jim Strait.  Worshipful Jim has provided these tidbits from research he does in various books.  The link title "Straight From Jim" is a play on Worshipful Brother Jims' last name, which is spelled "Strait"   There will be more to come in the near future, so check back and  please enjoy!

1. Franco's government once sentenced a man to sixteen years in prison on a charge of rebellion for writing a pamphlet on Masonry. Five others received twelve years each on similar charges.

 
2. The largest meeting of Royal Arch Masons yet seen occurred in Kansas City, Missouri, on October 30, 1922. convention hall was utilized to confer the P.M. and M.E.M. degrees on 1100 candidates with 9000 companions watching the degrees.  Chapters participating were Orient #102, Westport #134, Independence #12, Eastgate #136,  Kansas City #28, Mitchell #14.  Music provided by a 40 piece band and 250 voice chorus! (Challenge to RAM's, Has this # ever been exceeded since 1922?)
 
3. Brothers David Williams and John Paulding of Courtland Lodge #34 of New York, helped capture Major Andre the Revolutionary Spy.
 
4. Ancient Greeks carried a sprig of Acacia as an emblem of innocence and to protect themselves against temptation!
 
5. Workmen, making repairs on the White House in the summer  of 1935 found a Masonic emblem cared on the base of a keystone of an arch under the floor, north portico.  The design is a six-pointed star, seal of Solomon, characters representing on of the sacred names of Deity-which ancient Jews were forbidden to pronounce.
 
6. Ex. Comp. James Hoban,  The man who built the U.S. Capitol and White House,  was a devout Catholic and ardent Mason.  Federal Lodge #1, Washington, D.C.  was formed under his leadership by a group of Irish Catholics and Scotch Presbyterians.  Hoban was the first Master.
 
7. The Marquis De Lafayette became a Royal Arch Mason in Jerusalem Chapter #8, New York, Sept. 12, 1824.
 
8. SOLOMON -  Sol, Latin for "Sun", Om, The hindu sacred word, comparable to the Hebrew "Jehovah", On, the sacred Egyptian name for God.
  
9. Joseph Brant, the Mohawk Indian Chief know as "Thayendanega" was made a Mason in London on April 26, 1776.  His certificate was signed by James Haseltine, Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of England.  Joseph  rescued John McKinstry from being burned at the stake, after McKinstry had given a Masonic sign.
 
10. St. Paul's cathedral in London was begun by Freemasons in 1675 and completed by them in 1710.
 
11. Robert Newman, sexton of Christ Church and the man who hung the signal Lanterns in the steeple the night of Paul Revere's ride, was a member of St. John's Lodge in Boston.  (Note:  There are no Lodge #'s in Massachusetts, to prevent bragging that someone might belong to Lodge #1, etc...)
 
12. In 1860, at Limerick, Ireland, a stone was found in a small chapel bearing the date 1517,  and also the following inscription: I will strive to live with love & care, upon the level, by the square.
 
13. From an old diary, we learn that Washington Chapter #3, R.A.M.  of Portsmouth, N.H., gave notice of it's meetings through the town crier who received from 6 to 25 cents for his work.
 
14. Raised in a balloon.  Lodge #239  of France, held a meeting in a balloon over Paris on August 23, 1879, at which time a brother was brought to Light!
 
15. The trowel used by George Washington to lay the cornerstone of the Capitol at Washington in 1793 has been used by since by 7 other Presidents of the United States for great and important undertakings.
 
16. The English Royal Institution for girls is 160 years old and has educated 7,700 children of Masons.
 
17. The first stone of America's first railroad, the Baltimore and Ohio, was laid July 4, 1828 by the Grand Lodge of Maryland.
 
18. Installed Master on His death bed.  By special dispensation, Samuel Horrowitz was installed Master of Ionic Lodge #520, Los Angeles in his hospital room.  He died seven hours later.
 
19. M.W. Bro. Harry S. Truman served as Master of the Missouri Lodge of Research while President of the United States (1950).  Both the dispensation and charter of this Lodge were signed by Truman when Grand Master of Missouri (1941).
 
20. The Anti-Masonic Party's first Presidential Candidate was a Mason!!  In 1831 the Anti-Masonic Party nominated William Wirt as their candidate for Presidency at it's first national convention held in Baltimore, Md.  Wirt was not only a Freemason, but defended the order in a speech before the convention that nominated him!!!!!!
 
21. Brother Rudyard Kipling said "I was Secretary of  #782, Lahore, English Constitution, which included Brethren of at least four creeds.  I was entered by a Hindu, passed by a Mohammedan, and raised by an Englishman."
 
22. Lodge that remained  open for fifty years.  A Lodge in Raleigh, N.C.  was in session when the news came of the assassination of President Lincoln.  The brethren left the hall without formal closing of the Lodge, which technically remained open until 50 years later, (1865-1915), the Master who presided when they rushed from the building, again handled the gavel and brought the long communication to a close.
 
23. "The Magic Flute"  by Bro. Wolfgang Mozart, is the symbolic representation of Human evolution and was composed by him to replace the symbolic Austria, thus enabling his brethren to instruct Masonically in spite of the edicts of a tyrannical government.
 
24. H.R.H. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, consort of Queen Elizabeth, was initiated December 5, 1952, in Navy Lodge #2612.  Other members of the Royal family belonging to this Lodge were Edward VII,  George VI, (both Past Masters), and H.R.H. the late Duke of Kent.
 
25. Many Irish Lodges owned "Lodge Chests"  in which the warrant, paraphernalia, Jewels, minutes, and records were kept, as well as money for charitable purposes.  Each of the three principal officer had a key to one of the three different locks on the chest,  necessating the presence of all three officers at every meeting!
 
26. The use of black balls in balloting may be traced as far back as the ancient Romans.
 
27. "More Honorable than the Star and Garter,"  The last eight Grand Masters of the Grand Lodge of England have all been knighted in the Most Noble Order of the Garter.  (Note:  Circa 1952, reference book published 1965)
 
28. Yellowstone Park, the first of the National Parks, was created at the suggestion of Cornelius Hedges, later Grand Secretary of Montana, as a national park "for the benefit and enjoyment of all the people."
 
29. Every President from Tennessee, Jackson, Johnson, Polk, has been a Mason and curiously enough the birthplace of all three was North Carolina!

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