GRAND LODGE OF MASONS IN MASSACH USETTS SUMMER 2017 Your Lodge: Where it all Begins 50 Year Veterans From the East of Grand Lodge PAUL F. GLEASON Brethren, As I write this, we are in the midst of a classic July heat wave. We have had a busy summer; now is the time the Board of Directors, business office and I complete the important work of budgeting for the new Masonic year. Preparing our Grand Lodge for what’s to come has shown me one thing: it is imperative that we all plan for the road ahead, together. I offer a few suggestions for your own planning: • Conduct an early planning meeting. Getting your members and officers together for a barbeque is a really enjoyable way to do this! • Inspire everyone to come up with new attractions for the statewide Open House (October 21 – but you knew that already, right?) • Plan on receiving the Grand Master’s Award. Put your thoughts on paper and send them to your District Deputy as soon as possible. • Participate in public ceremonies and events in your city or town. Parades, farmer’s markets, town festival days, and fundraisers are all examples of opportunities to get the Square and Compasses out in front of everyone! • Publish your activities online and in the news every month. This is a great job for someone in your lodge to take on if no one does it already. It never hurts to take a picture and send an event write up to your local news outlet for a little publicity! Beyond that, there are also two outstanding programs I’d like to encourage those of you with the time to participate in. The first is our Grand Lodge Tour Guide program. In my time as Grand Master, I have been very impressed with the sheer quantity of people (Masons and non-Masons alike) who visit us. The volun- teer Masons who conduct these tours do a great job, and they could use a few more good men in their ranks. I am going to be personally recognizing the commitment of our tour guides. Keep an eye out for news about a training session in the near future. Second, our Masonic youth programs provide a valuable, enjoyable experience for young men in DeMolay and young women in Rainbow. Over two-thirds of our DeMolay members go on to become Master Masons. It shouldn’t surprise you, though, that these programs don’t run themselves. Please consid- er volunteering to serve as an adult advisor with a local DeMolay Chapter or Rainbow Assembly as a way to broaden your Masonic experience. You won’t regret it! The warmth of the summer sun will soon give way to the warmth of a successful Masonic year for each of us. I look forward to travelling this path together! Respectfully, Paul F. Gleason Grand Master ® VOL. 35, NO. 2: SUMMER 2017 Magazine of the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts Goodbye to the “New” Lobby 10 Hello to the “Old” Lobby Grand Masters of Massachusetts 12 Most Worshipful Arthur D. Prince Lodge in Focus Ezekiel Bates 14 10 Veteran’s Medals 16 2017 Recipients 18 50 Year Past Masters 14 “The Spirit of Freemasonry” 23 Book Announcement 18 REGULAR FEATURES Lodge & District News 3 The Prodigal Mason 9 Chaplain’s Column 4 The Young Tyler 29 Grand Lodge Quarterly Communication 5 Your Welcoming Lodge Grand Master of Masons in Massachusetts MW Paul F. Gleason There is always a start. For us, the start is usually well before an applica- TROWEL Staff tion, a background check, and a thor- Executive Editor ough investigation. The start was Lee H. Fenn passing by a car with the square and compasses, or now the Masonic Design and License plate, and wondering. We Production could have watched our fathers or Kevin J. Papierski grandfathers get ready for lodge. We Copy Editor could have been watching a movie, Brian McHale like the new True Grit, and wondering what the girl meant when she said she needed her father’s body to be shipped Consulting Editor Robert W. Williams III back home so he could be buried in his apron. We could have read Ulysses, as I did, and wondered about Leopold Bloom Editorial Staff being a Mason. Stephen C. Cohn That soft start, that wonder and curiosity, ends when we David P. Newcomb become Entered Apprentices. Then we have become Masons Richard Thompson and are addressed as Brother. That change, that conscious Office Staff choice to direct ourselves toward our betterment and the bet- George S. Fontana terment of our communities, comes in a lodge with the help Helena M. Fontana of the brothers there. Information Officer All lodges conduct their business in their way, with their Elliot Chikofsky own special systems for things. Some lodges start with din- ner and proceed to the business of the evening. Other lodges Photographers reserve nights for ritual work and invite speakers and the Marcus Griep, Joe Raviele, ladies for their communications, like Ezekiel Bates lodge. Allan R. Sinclair, Bob Wallace From talking with the Master of Ezekiel Bates, Wor. Keith Gobin, at a recent smoker, the ladies are included in the delib- Editorial Board: eration of what speakers to bring in. Paul F. Gleason, Stephen H. Burrall, Jr., Some lodges have special nights in unique locations. The Jeffrey L. Gardiner, Donald G. Hicks Jr., David A. Libby Harvard Lodge conferred a degree on Star Island in Fort E-mail to Executive Editor: [email protected] Independence. King Solomon’s Lodge conferred a Master Mason degree in the Bunker Hill Monument building. Some Telephone: 617-401-7587 lodges go out for dinner, others cook dinner. E-mail to Lodge News Editor: [email protected] There can be huge differences in the character of lodges. Some may be academic, others townies. Some may have a Address Changes for Massachusetts lodge members, preponderance of city workers others of musicians. One, Major and notifications of deaths should be sent to the individ- General Henry Knox Lodge, is for military men. For every ual’s lodge secretary, and not to TROWEL Magazine. man there is a lodge. And every brother should say, quietly and All other inquiries should be sent to the Grand Sec- to themselves, “I know my lodge is the best in the world.” retary’s Office, Masonic Building, 186 Tremont Street, But one thing all lodges must be is welcoming. There are Boston MA 02111 men out there waiting to be brothers, they have had their soft E-mail: [email protected] start, and now we need to bring their hope to fruition. Grand Lodge telephone: 617-426-6040 As we bring in new men looking to better themselves, we Grand Lodge web page: www.MassFreemasonry.org welcome them. We are happy to see them and we extend a hand of friendship. Hopefully, they have the “right stuff” to TROWEL prefers electronic submissions and will accept join us and we have the open heart to joyously guide them unsolicited articles, with the right to edit and use when space permits. Articles and pictures, unless specified, through the process. If they do become Masons, the world of become the property of the magazine. Submitters are Scottish Rite, York Rite, and many other groups are open to requested to provide name, address, phone number, e-mail, them. We offer a fulfilling life of betterment to our Brethren, and Masonic lodge, if any. but it starts with a welcome. While the jewel of Masonry is precious, it is available all TROWEL Magazine is an official publication of the Grand Lodge of men who wish, and our able, to join us. It is up to us to Massachusetts, A.F. & A.M. © 2015: all rights reserved. Published bring them into our best lodge in the world, to bring them quarterly for members of Massachusetts lodges. Subscriptions for brethren of other Jurisdictions and non-Masons are $6.00 for one into your lodge. year, $10.00 for two years, and $12.00 for three years in the U.S. Fraternally, Lee H. Fenn only; other countries add $5.00 per year. Mailed at standard A special rates, prepaid at Manchester NH. Printed in U.S.A. DEADLINE FOR NEXT ISSUE ISSN 2372-5710 OCTOBER 11, 2017 2 GRAND LODGE OF MASSACHUSETTS FRATERNITY News Events Masonic Flash Mob Strikes Again!! The 26th District’s Masonic Flash Mob has struck again, this time at the Franklin County Relay-for-Life! On Friday June 9th 86 Masons and family members massed outside the Franklin County Fairgrounds. With officers and members representing each of the five Lodges in the 26th dis- trict, the group also included Masons from other districts and Masonic bod- ies including Melha Temple Shriners and York and Scottish Rite members. At 7:30 PM Rt. Wor. Jeff Gordon gave the command and the group stepped off from the parking lot adja- cent to the fairgrounds and passed though the main gate and then on to the walking track. Immediately, the mob attracted the attention and applause of 26th District’s Flash Mob led by Wor. Dave Kuklewicz and Bro. Nate Smith holding onlookers. The procession, led by ban- the banner and Bro. Geoff Bryant with the Masonic flag. ner bearers Wor. Dave Kuklewicz and Bro. Nate Smith and with Bro. Geoff trict’s campsite. from the mob participants. The flash Bryant hoisting the Masonic flag high Afterwards, the team presented the mob attracted the attention of the overhead, completed one lap around Relay Committee with an additional reporter from the local newspaper who the ½ mile track concluding at the dis- $860 in donations raised that evening stopped by our campsite and proceeded to interview many of the participants.